Crain's New York Business

BROADWAY IS BACK Capacity crowds take in the first performances PAGE 3

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM

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OLD DUDS Retailers suffer anew as Delta delays back-to-office shopping PAGE 6

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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raditionally a big driver of revenue in New York City, tourism took a hit during the pandemic and its related lockdowns. Will vaccine mandates and Broadway’s reopening change that, even without the return of international visitors? We asked prominent industry players to weigh in on what needs to happen to bring back tourists—and on the prospects of a rebound.

PHOTOGRAPHY BUCK ENNIS

2021

PAGE 13

TECHNOLOGY

Influx of venture capitalist spending is fueling the hot job market in the city’s tech industry Investment in local startups totaled a record $22 billion in the first half of the year

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

F

itness juggernaut Peloton had plenty of headaches in the first half of this year.

Federal regulators are probing injuries by treadmill users that led to the company’s costly recall. And losses have widened after a

NEWSPAPER

VOL. 37, NO. 32

period of profitability last year.

Despite that, the stationary-bike and exercise media company has kept up its aggressive hiring. The company, which is headquartered on West 25th Street, reached a head count of 8,662 by the end of June, up about 130% from the same point last year,

© 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.

20,000 job postings in the tristate area’s technology sector last month, according to industry group CompTIA—the highest of any U.S. metro area (Silicon Valley metros San Francisco and San Jose were counted separately) .

See VC on page 25

ASKED & ANSWERED

REAL ESTATE

WALL STREET ASTROLOGER ON WHAT’S IN THE STARS

Dealing with storms to be developers’ problem PAGE 4

PAGE 10

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according to its quarterly report released Aug. 26.

The workforce boost—which the company said in the filing is focused on adding product development and sales and marketing roles—exemplifies the strong hiring market for the city’s technology workers. There were

9/10/21 4:14 PM

WEBCAST CALLOUT

REAL ESTATE

Sale of Columbia Property Trust sets stage for more barbarian invasions

BY AARON ELSTEIN

THIS TUESDAY! LIFE SCIENCES: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES The life sciences industry is considered one of the most promising for economic development in New York City, having the potential to create up to 40,000 good-paying jobs. Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced a plan to double the city’s $500 million investment in the sector to $1 billion. This panel will discuss the future of the industry and what needs to be done to help it realize its potential.

VIRTUAL EVENT Sept. 14 Time: 4 to 5 p.m.

CrainsNewYork.com/ SeptBizForum

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ime has run out for Columbia Property Trust, which became the city’s first office landlord to agree to be acquired since the pandemic began.

The Manhattan-based firm, which owns about 5 million square feet, mostly in New York and San Francisco, has accepted an offer from Pacific Investment Management of $19.30 per share, or $3.9 billion including debt. In the spring the landlord rejected a hostile takeover bid of $19.50 per share from activist investment firm Arkhouse Partners.

A Columbia spokeswoman declined to comment on that decision.

Considering that fewer people are working in Manhattan offices than even a few weeks ago, analysts said, Columbia executives struck the best deal they could.

“There was a robust [sale] process conducted,” Evercore ISI analyst Sheila McGrath wrote, “and as such we do not expect other offers.”

The decision by Columbia to sell underscores how vulnerable New York’s big office landlords are to the barbarians outside their gates. The owners of the world’s most prestigious buildings now are juicy takeover targets for investors looking to snap up real estate at bargain prices.

Last year Paramount Group rejected a hostile takeover bid from Bow Street, an activist fund that seized control of the board at Mack-Cali Realty before the pandemic. Paramount’s stock trades for $9.20 per share these days, less than the $9.50 to $10 per share offered by Bow Street 10 months ago.

Pandemic fallout Columbia’s sale provides realtime information on the damage done to the office market in the past year and a half. The firm has agreed to sell itself at an implied price of $681 per square foot, according to Evercore. Investors valued Manhattan real estate at $928 per square foot before the pandemic.

That indicates Pimco, whose parent Allianz co-owned properties with Columbia, paid 27% less than it would have prepandemic for a portfolio whose holdings include the former New York Times headquarters near Times Square.

Other top-shelf landlords stuck in the bargain bin could see the barbarian activists at their gates soon.

For instance, shares in the Empire State Building’s owner, Empire State Realty Trust, have lost 22% since mid-June, when they came close to their prepandemic level. Its space was valued at $436 per square foot in mid-March, when the stock was worth a bit less than $12 a share. It’s now worth a little more than $10.

The story is much the same at larger landlords SL Green Realty and Vornado Realty Trust. They have not stood still since their towers emptied. They’ve taken advantage of rock-bottom interest rates to refinance debt and keep creditors at bay. The trouble now is, firms that successfully steered through the

pandemic don’t want as much space as before, and new tenants are hard to find. Meanwhile, firms keep postponing their return to office.

Kastle Systems said New York office occupancy rates were 20.9% the week that ended Sept. 1, down 1.5 percentage points from the previous week.

Paramount filled about 190,000 of the 500,000 square feet vacated by Barclays at 1301 Sixth Ave. at the start of the year, but analysts said the majority of that is existing tenants relocating within the building.

Financial services firm Pershing took less space in renewing its lease at a Jersey City building owned by Columbia.

“We continue to believe that high-quality office buildings in major U.S. cities offer long-term value for our clients,” said John Murray, Pimco’s global head of private commercial real estate.

Once upon a time that view was so obvious it didn’t need mentioning. Not anymore. ■

Vol. 37, No. 32, September 13, 2021—Crain’s New York Business (ISSN 8756-789X) is published weekly,except for a combined issue on 1/4/21 and 1/11/21, 6/28/21 and 7/5/21, 7/12/21 and 7/19/21, 7/26/21 and 8/2/21, 8/9/21 and 8/16/21 and the last issue in December. 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.

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2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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9/10/21 4:18 PM

BUCK ENNIS

ARTS & CULTURE

BIG CROWDS WELCOME BACK BROADWAY PERFORMERS

Shows’ adherence to Covid safety measures could be why theatergoers felt comfortable buying tickets

BY CARA EISENPRESS

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ickets, please!

After an 18-month intermission, two Broadway shows opened to sold-out crowds in early September, as one of New York’s hardest-hit industries makes its comeback from pandemic closures.

One of the shows, Waitress, sold out its opening night, Sept. 2. The following day it set the single-performance record at the Barrymore Theatre, according to producers Barry and Fran Weissler. The reopened show grossed nearly $200,000 in ticket sales Sept. 3, they said, nearly as high as during Waitress’s highest-grossing week in early 2018, when it brought in an average of $203,000 per show.

It stars Grammy winner Sara Bareilles, the

show’s composer, who has agreed to stay in the lead role until Oct. 17.

Broadway backed a vaccine mandate and mask-wearing even before the city government last month announced a vaccine requirement for all indoor venues.

The promise of safety turned out to be a boon for advance ticket sales, said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, a trade group.

“We were looking at ticket sales, which were at first very robust and then slowed down,” St. Martin said during an Aug. 5 Crain’s think tank about the future of tourism

in the city. “When we made that announcement, ticket sales shot up.”

The first returnees were thrilled to be there, according to reviews and social media posts.

“I will never forget the energy in that theater tonight,” actor Adrienne Paquin wrote on Instagram after seeing Hadestown at the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway. She said it had been 546 days since she last saw a Broadway show.

“I WILL NEVER FORGET THE ENERGY IN THAT THEATER TONIGHT”

Sustained momentum?

It is unclear whether the shows can sustain their momentum amid a pared-down tour-

ism industry and local anxiety about crowded indoor activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

International tourists on extended vacations often see as many as five shows in one visit, St. Martin said, and most of them are still prohibited by the federal government from entering the country.

As of late last year, the city’s arts and entertainment industry had shed more than half of its 93,200 jobs, according to figures from the state Department of Labor. Industry employment was back up to 69,800 last month, three-quarters of its prepandemic level.

In the coming days, five more shows are set to return to the stage: Chicago, Hamilton, Lackawanna Blues, The Lion King and Wicked. At least 10 of Hamilton’s 16 September shows have sold out. ■

September 13, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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RESIDENTIAL SPOTLIGHT

Political family votes to sell its enormous prewar co-op by Central Park

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he Iscol family, which has ties to the Democratic Party, is selling its Upper East Side home.

Last month the Iscols listed their prewar co-op at 955 Fifth Ave. with the Corcoran Group for $13 million.

The unit has been kicking around since March 2020, when Brown Harris Stevens first listed it for $17 million.

The Iscols’ full-floor apartment, across the avenue from Central Park, was actually a combination of two side-by-side units.

No. 8B, which has four bedrooms, three and a half baths and a curved dining room with south-facing windows, can be purchased for $10 million. The other half of the

$13M

NEW ASKING PRICE for the Iscols’ fullfloor Park Avenue apartment

man, who sold it to the Iscols for $2.5 million.

Designed by architect Rosario Candela, 955 Fifth hasn’t been afraid to modernize. Amenities in the 18-story 1938 building include a gym and a roof deck. Once home to actor Robert Redford, who had a duplex on the 17th and 18th floors, according to property records, 955 Fifth has had other political connections. “Rockefeller Republican” Roy Goodman, a longtime state senator, lived on the 14th floor until his death in 2014.

The sellers of the eighth floor, educator and activist Jill Iscol and telecom executive Kenneth Iscol, have been fundraisers for Bill and Hillary Clinton through the decades.

But it’s their son, Zach, who has owned the political headlines re-

ROBERT REDFORD ONCE HAD A DUPLEX ON THE 17TH AND 18TH FLOORS apartment, 8A, had been for sale in July for $3 million but later was de­ listed and does not still appear available. Until 2019 that apartment belonged to author Faye Keller-

955 FIFTH AVE.

Political space

CORCORAN

BY C. J. HUGHES

cently. In fall 2020 the former Marine and Cornell graduate joined the Democratic primary for mayor of New York before exiting the crowded field a few months later to run for comptroller instead.

He ultimately lost that race to City Councilman Brad Lander. Iscol scored about 3% of the vote to Land-

er’s 31%.

Since then Iscol, who has several businesses for veterans under his belt, has taken on the mantle of fundraiser.

This summer he hosted a party for Eric Adams, the city’s Democratic mayoral candidate, at the Iscols’ summer retreat on Martha’s

Vineyard. (Kenneth Iscol and Bill Clinton were occasional golfing partners on the island.) The Iscols also have a Westchester County home in Pound Ridge.

Asaf Bar-Lev and Nicole Hechter, the Corcoran agents who are marketing the Upper East Side property, had no comment. ■

REAL ESTATE

Superstorms will be developers’ problem under proposed new runoff regulations

BY BRIAN PASCUS

R

ain gardens that capture stormwater runoff through curbside flowerbeds dug 5 feet into the ground. Green roofs that retain rain rather than funneling the water into downspouts.

Sand-filter tanks that temporarily hold rainwater.

Those are among the amenities developers would be required to include under proposed rules the city is developing to help capture more stormwater runoff—an effort that predates last month’s massive, deadly storms.

The upcoming rule changes are likely to alter how new buildings and redevelopments in New York are structured and improve their capacity to aid the city in dealing with extreme weather.

But some private developers say the rules are unclear, and they worry what the mandates will mean for their bottom line.

The city hopes the mandated green infrastructure amenities will improve the ability of its mid–20th-century sewer network to capture excessive rainfall. Runoff during tropical storm Ida overwhelmed the city’s sewerage system,

enabling flooding that damaged homes and claimed 13 lives.

One proposal would have buildings capture stormwater, filter it and then use it to cool down through their HVAC system.

The changes emerge from the Unified Stormwater Rule, following legislation the City Council passed last September. The law has yet to be implemented by the Department of Environmental Protection. The department said it expects to finalize the rules into the city code next year after completing an environmental assessment. At the time of the bill’s

The law requires developers to apply for permits so stormwater captured on-site can be monitored. According to the rules, buildings with a smaller foundation will be required to follow the new infrastructure mandate, as will buildings that exceed a certain amount of space that can’t capture rainwater, such as parking lots, driveways and other paved surfaces.

The law effectively mandates the city and the Department of Environmental Protection to change the thresholds for getting a construction permit and a hookup to the drainage and sewer systems, said Marcel Negret, senior planner at the Regional Plan Association, a civic group of urban planners and policy experts.

The rule changes will apply citywide, rather than to the 40% of areas previously regulated under the municipal separate storm sewer system. Every part of the city occupied by new developments or redevelopments can fall under the revised permitting umbrella.

Some developers who spoke with Crain’s said they are frustrated by the lack of clarity from the city on

“WE’RE REACTIVE WHEN WE HAVE A PROBLEM, AND WE TELL DEVELOPERS TO FIX IT” passage, legislators said new construction projects were clogging sewer openings.

“Our intention was to decrease pressure on our sewer system, especially when it comes to large construction sites,” said ex-Councilman Costa Constantinides, who co-sponsored the bill. “I don’t think it’s more regulation. [Developers] will just have to comply with the law.”

what is to be expected going forward.

“Frankly, property owners don’t have the in-house engineers to equip ourselves for the responsibilities the city wants to put on us,” said Radame Perez, chief executive of Mastermind Development in the Bronx. “For the city to say, ‘It’s the building owners’ responsibility to solve New York City flooding issues,’ I think it’s irresponsible.”

Other developers said the new rules are the city’s way of avoiding the heavy lifting required to improve its aging sewer system.

“It seems we’re very reactive when we have a problem, and we tell developers to fix it,” said David Schwartz, co-founder of the Slate Property Group. “Maybe it’s less expensive to upgrade the sewer system rather than retrofit every building.”

Older buildings One wrinkle could complicate the city’s vision: The proposed changes ignore the majority of buildings in the city that are neither new nor being redeveloped. The proposed unified stormwater rules might not make much of a difference if they don’t apply to more buildings in the city.

“If you’re only imposing these rules on new buildings and not on existing buildings, how much benefit does it have?” Schwartz asked. “I don’t think it’s the new buildings that caused the problem. I think it’s the old buildings that caused it.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration pointed out that it has committed at least $15 million through its green infrastructure grant program to incentivize property owners to add green roofs. The city also has a green roof tax abatement managed by the Department of Buildings equal to $4.50 for every square foot of roof space.

The city did not specify which additional rule changes it anticipates finalizing next year or how the proposed changes will affect private developments currently under construction. Planning experts said the city has a broad capacity on how to interpret the legislative framework passed by the City Council.

“The Department of Environmental Protection is still figuring out details and thresholds,” Negret said.

“There are other, more detailed considerations that the Department of Environmental Protection can define on their own through the rule-making process.” ■

4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 13, 2021

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9/10/21 2:35 PM

HEALTH CARE

What you need to know about the NY Hero Act

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ov. Kathy Hochul last week designated Covid-19 as a serious public health risk, triggering new workplace-safety requirements under the New York Hero Act. The law, also called the New York Health and Essential Rights Act, requires the state departments of Labor and Health to implement enforceable minimum workplace ­safety standards aimed at airborne infectious diseases.

Although the state Legislature passed the act this year and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law, it can be implemented only

worksites in the state are required to implement a safety plan to prevent employee exposure to airborne infectious diseases, including Covid-19. Employers can adopt a template plan provided by the state Department of Labor or establish their own, as long as it meets or exceeds the act’s minimum requirements. Employers must establish a plan within 30 days after the Labor Department publishes the model standard and the relevant industry-specific template.

2. Exposure-prevention plans must include health screenings at the beginning of the workday, face-covering requirements, physical distancing requirements, handwashing or sanitizing facilities, cleaning and disinfection protocols, and the use of personal protective equipment.

Employers must provide the appropriate face coverings and PPE. 3. Employees covered by the plans include part-time workers, independent contractors, domestic workers, home care and personal care workers, day laborers, people working for digital applica-

ALL PRIVATE EMPLOYERS ARE REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT A SAFETY PLAN after the state declares an illness to be “a highly contagious, communicable disease that presents a serious risk of harm to public health.”

Here are five things to know about the legislation.

1. All private employers with

HOCHUL

BLOOMBERG

BY MAYA KAUFMAN

tions or platforms, staffing agencies and contractors or subcontractors.

Employees or independent contractors of the state, political subdivisions of the state, public authorities and other governmental agencies are not subject to the Hero Act. 4. Employers and their repre-

sentatives are barred from retaliation against any employees who report Hero Act violations or who refuse to work because they believe “in good faith” that their work exposes them or others to an “unreasonable risk of exposure” to an airborne infectious disease.

5. Employers who do not adopt a

prevention plan are subject to a fine of at least $50 per day until they implement one. Those who fail to follow their adopted plan face fines of $1,000 to $10,000.

Prevention plan templates and more details about the law are available on the Department of Labor website. ■

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September 13, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 5

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9/10/21 2:07 PM

IN THE MARKETS

Retailers suffer anew as Delta variant postpones back-to-work clothes shopping

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y wardrobe, stuck in for strong back-to-work sales are the millennium’s sec- baked into the share prices of outond decade, could use fits including Macy’s, Ralph Lauren some updating. But and Tapestry.

I’m not sure when I’ll shop for clothes again after my employer Delayed demand pushed back our return-to-office Wall Street has seen the future, date. My remote-work apand it is full of stretch waistbands and soft-sole parel—T-shirts, mainly— shoes. Lululemon Athletwill do for a while longer.

Clothing shops won’t ica and Crocs are trading miss my modest business. near their all-time highs.

There are 94 million other Turns out, remote office workers nationwide, workers typically change however.

Evidently their clothes once a day enough of them have put or not at all, according to off buying new work Evercore ISI. The typical clothes that it’s starting to office worker changes AARON ELSTEIN her affect retailers. outfit several times a The return to office life day as she goes from was to unleash a wave of fashion work to workout clothing before spending. But after a strong start to switching to evening wear. the year, the S&P Retail ETF has risGoogle data show searches for en just 1% in the past three months the word “suit” have tailed off in recent weeks. After a sharp surge when vaccines became widely available, searches for “lipstick” have declined. Searches for “return to office” have plunged.

Some analysts bet shoppers will while the S&P 500 gained 7.5%.

Shares in LVMH have dropped by soon return and are bound to fresh13% since Aug. 9, and expectations en up their office wardrobe even if

WALL STREET HAS SEEN THE FUTURE, AND IT IS FULL OF STRETCH WAISTBANDS

they commute only a couple of times per week. Postponing the return to office “only delays inevitable pent-up spending on fashion … and does not diminish it,” Evercore analyst Omar Saad wrote in a report recently.

Maybe so. Google searches for “remote work” continue to increase, though.

“It is a secular trend rather than just a temporary one related to the pandemic,” DataTrek Research co-founder Nicholas Colas wrote in a recent client report. “How a company manages the growing trend of work from home will be an important and novel factor determining future commercial success or failure.”

Writers’ wear Me? When I departed the home office last week to head to Midtown for meetings. I picked out a button-down shirt for the occasion. In the future, if it’s not gross outside, will wear a jacket because that’s how the great writers to come out of New York newspapers, people like Robert Caro, Barry Newman, McCandlish Phillips and Tom ­ Wolfe, always dressed.

You might not have read a Wolfe book lately but you still remember his suit, don’t you? ■

BLOOMBERG

After a strong start this year, the S&P Retail ETF has risen just 1% in the past three months

SEARCHES FOR ‘RETURN TO OFFICE,’ ‘SUIT’ AND ‘LIPSTICK’ TRAIL OFF Relative interest in each online search over time, as measured by volume Return to office

Suit

100

Lipstick

84

80

81

60 40

47

20 0

9/6/2020

8/22/2021

SOURCE: Google trends

REAL ESTATE

Storm-related apartment deaths likely to hobble effort to legitimize basement units

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he deaths of New Yorkers in illegal basement apartments during Hurricane Ida is expected to complicate Mayor Bill de Blasio’s effort to legitimize the controversial dwellings.

The deaths in East Flushing, Jamaica, Elmhurst and Woodside, Queens, and in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, occurred in basements that had been illegally converted into apartments, according to the city Department of Buildings. The death at 61-20 Grand Central Parkway in Forest Hills, Queens, occurred in a legal basement apartment.

The agency’s investigation into the six locations is ongoing.

“DOB inspectors have confirmed that five of the six properties where New Yorkers tragically lost their lives during the floods were illegally converted cellar and basement apartments,” DOB Commissioner Melanie La Rocca said. “Our team is tirelessly conducting inspections at thousands of properties across the five boroughs in the aftermath of Wednesday’s storm, and we’ll

continue doing everything we can to keep New Yorkers safe in their residences.”

The department received reports of storm damage at more than 2,700 properties throughout the city, and agency workers are conducting safety inspections at the locations, La Rocca said.

Safety risks Illegal residential conversions occur when apartments are created without first obtaining the necessary approvals and permits. Unauthorized basement and cellar units, in particular, come with risks including exit issues, unsafe gas and electrical systems, and a lack of light and ventilation, according to the Buildings Department.

The number of 311 complaints the department has received about suspected illegal conversions has dropped steadily over the years, falling from about 20,000 in 2018 to 17,000 in 2019 to 12,000 last year. As of Sept. 3, the agency had received about 8,100 such complaints this year.

De Blasio announced a pilot program in 2018 that called on the city

BLOOMBERG

BY EDDIE SMALL

to spend $5.7 million on bringing existing basement apartments in East New York, Brooklyn, up to code. He estimated at the time that the program could lead to creating or preserving 5,000 apartments across the city. Officials, however, cut 92% of the program’s funding last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to The City, an

online news website.

‘A bigger solution’ The NYC Base Campaign, a coalition advocating to legalize the city’s basement apartments, has estimated that there are more than 300,000 such units in the five boroughs that could be converted to legal units.

The city plans to develop new

policies to warn basement-apartment residents about impending storms, the mayor recently said on the radio. He said it is “one of the thorniest, toughest issues” he has encountered.

It would take an enormous amount of work to bring the illegal apartments up to code. Many of the people living in them are undocumented immigrants afraid to seek help from the government, and the city does not have the capacity to suddenly provide new places for their current residents to live. There are likely at least 100,000 people in 50,000 such apartments, de Blasio said.

“I think things like identifying all the apartments, coming up with a way to canvas [tenants] with community groups so they have trusted voices in the community talking to them, particularly when there’s dangerous events like this coming—using the cellphone alerts, using mandatory evacuation door to door with first responders—we can protect people from the worst situations,” the mayor said, “while trying somehow to find a bigger solution to the situation.” ■

6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 13, 2021

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9/10/21 2:28 PM

SPONSORED CONTENT

How FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine is changing employers’ minds on mandatory jabs Now that the Food and Drug Administration has approved the Pfizer vaccine, many employers are looking into vaccine mandates for employees.

Since the agency’s full approval in August, public confidence in getting a shot has grown and vaccination rates have risen.

Recently, Crain’s Content Studio sought insight from Scott R. Matthews, a partner at the law firm of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, into how to navigate this issue. Matthews is an employment and litigation lawyer who serves clients in the real estate, marketing, financial services, executive recruiting, professional services, transportation, retail and manufacturing industries.

mandates for employees.

Employers can now take solace in knowing that one argument against imposing a vaccine mandate—that the vaccine had only been approved on an emergency basis—has been removed. This, combined with the few courts that have upheld the legality of vaccine mandates, has emboldened many employers.

SCOTT R. MATTHEWS Partner Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf

Crain’s: How has the approval of the Pfizer vaccine changed employers’ thinking about vaccine mandates?

SCOTT R. MATTHEWS: The FDA’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine has spurred significant movement on the part of employers who had been reluctant to institute vaccine

Employers who have instituted mandates are also more comfortable applying strict scrutiny to requests for exemptions to the mandate.

Human resources and legal professionals are on firmer ground when considering

later sue the employer if there’s a complication from the vaccine?

MATTHEWS: It is unlikely that an employee could successfully sue based on a complication because of the vaccine. It is essentially a voluntary decision to comply with an employer’s vaccine mandate (rather than resign).

It is more likely that litigation will focus on whether an exemption request was properly denied.

Employers should first consider whether an individual employee has legitimate grounds to seek exemptions. The law affords an exemption to those employees who have a

Employers are able to probe the extent of the objection if there is a good-faith basis to do so, but should do so carefully and with the assistance of counsel. requests for exemptions to a mandatory vaccine policy.

Crain’s: What legal issues come into play when there is a vaccine mandate? Could an employee who is compelled to get vaccinated by an employer

Crain’s: How is the Delta variant changing employers’ perspectives on vaccine mandates?

MATTHEWS: The Delta variant’s transmissibility is prompting employers to institute vaccine mandates to protect their workforce, vendors and customers from the spread of the

disease. The manner in which the disease has morphed has set back efforts to return to prepandemic operations, thereby affecting employers’ plans and business.

While many employers have been able to adjust to remote work because of technological advances, those working in the hospitality, manufacturing, health care and retail industries, for example, require in-person operations that are hampered by the speed at which the Delta variant has infected populations.

TRADITION. INNOVATION. DISTINCTION.

sincerely held religious belief opposing vaccination, or a medical condition that makes vaccination unsafe, provided that the exemption does not place undue hardship on the employer.

The religious exemption based on a sincerely held belief is widely considered to include objections based not just on an established religion, but also on ethical and moral grounds. Employers are able to probe the extent of the objection if there is a goodfaith basis to do so, but should do so carefully and with the assistance of counsel.

Employers should insist on a doctor’s written certification of need for a medical vaccine exemption. Most doctors and health care workers follow federal vaccine recommendations published

P007_CN_20210913.indd 7

by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlining what is and is not considered a medical contraindication to vaccination.

Scott R. Matthews Partner

212.237.1025 smatthews@windelsmarx.com

windelsmarx.com | twitter @WindelsMarx NEW YORK, NY | NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ | MADISON, NJ | STAMFORD, CT

9/8/21 11:45 AM

chief executive officer K.C. Crain senior executive vice president Chris Crain group publisher Jim Kirk

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

Decrepit wastewater infrastructure requires all-hands-on-deck approach

editor-in-chief Cory Schouten assistant managing editors Telisha Bryan,

Janon Fisher deputy digital editor, audience & analytics

for damaging backups when powerful storms strike.

The city is developing a set of rules that would call on new buildings to help capture more stormwater runoff. Options include more rain gardens, curbside flower beds, green roofs and sand-filter tanks.

The rules have not been finalized, but developers are worried what the mandates will mean for their bottom line.

“For the city to say, ‘It’s the building owners’ responsibility to solve New York City flooding issues,’ I think it’s irresponsible,” Radame Perez, chief executive of Mastermind Development in the Bronx, told Crain’s reporter Brian Pascus, who wrote about the emerging law (see page 4).

Of course, floodwater mitigation should not be the building owners’ responsibility alone. Everyone must have skin in the game to keep New York above water as extreme weather events become more commonplace due to climate change.

Developers should plan to invest in lowering the impact of

EVERYONE MUST HAVE SKIN IN THE GAME TO KEEP NEW YORK ABOVE WATER designed to handle water runoff based on precipitation data from 1903 to 1951. Most of the city’s sewerage system combines sewage and rainwater into its piping, creating conditions ripe

EDITORIAL

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 Brittany Brown to contact the newsroom:

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

www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise account executives Kelly Maier, ALAMY

T

here’s no question New York City’s wastewater infrastructure is woefully unprepared for extreme rainstorms.

The remnants of Hurricane Ida halted subway service, flooded swaths of the city and left 13 people dead. It laid bare vulnerabilities that remain despite more than $6 billion invested in storm preparation after Superstorm Sandy.

A higher risk of flooding is a problem for every city stakeholder.

Finding solutions will require a balanced approach between major public investment in infrastructure and private-sector changes to the ways existing buildings and new developments capture stormwater.

New York’s sewers were

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

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

new projects, not just on carbon emissions but also on absorbing more of the rainwater our concrete jungle ejects into our outdated sewers.

In the meantime, the city should balance sensible regulations that apply to new developments with incentives for owners of existing buildings to reduce stormwater runoff as well as strategic investments in flood-proofing our shared

infrastructure.

One expert put the cost of climate-proofing the city’s wastewater infrastructure in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Suffice it to say, we need to do a lot more to ensure that New York City remains functional and livable, and all must share in the cost.

As singer B.J. Thomas reminded us, “I’m never gonna stop the rain by complaining.” ■

dstein@crain.com CUSTOM CONTENT associate director, custom content marketing

Sophia Juarez, sophia.juarez@crainsnewyork.com EVENTS

www.crainsnewyork.com/events Managing Director, Marketing and Events

Jill Heise, jill.heise@crain.com marketing manager Jessica Botos,

jessica.botos@crainsnewyork.com manager of conferences & events

Ana Jimenez, ajimenez@crainsnewyork.com

OP-ED

Hochul must veto burdensome insurance disclosure bill

REPRINTS director, reprints & licensing Lauren Melesio,

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

Simone Pryce media services manager Nicole Spell

BY ALAN SMITH AND MARK BEHRENS

I

n June the state Legislature passed a bill that mandates extreme—and likely unattainable—disclosure requirements for those defending themselves in civil litigation. The disclosures do not exist elsewhere and have no legitimate purpose. When the bill arrives at her desk, Gov. Kathy Hochul should veto it.

The Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act, passed at the behest of the trial bar, would inflate recoveries for plaintiffs, imposing significant costs on businesses, municipalities, hospitals, nonprofits and others—including individuals. Much of the information to be produced would require assistance from defendants’ insurers, imposing significant costs on them too.

Currently, plaintiff attorneys can obtain insurance policy information related to claims they are pursuing. The proposed act’s voluminous disclosures go much further

and would force defendants and their insurers to consider settling cases to avoid extreme administrative costs, including in meritless cases.

Defendants would have to provide details about all lawsuits filed against them that involve the same policies as a plaintiff ’s case, including the contact information for the counsel of all represented parties in each case. This is problematic given that some mass torts involve thousands of plaintiffs and scores of defendants.

Privacy concerns A separate requirement would make defendants list the name and address of every attorney who received a fee paid out of an applicable policy. This information is irrelevant as to a defendant’s culpability and the amount of coverage available. Adjusters have privacy concerns about another requirement that could expose their personal information.

The measure also would impose

a continuing obligation on defendants to supplement the disclosures throughout a case and for 60 days after it resolves—and to certify the accuracy of the disclosures.

This would lead to costly discovery disputes. Plaintiff attorneys could focus on a document that was inadvertently withheld from the ongoing mass data dump and seize on that to demand sanctions.

As a result, future litigation could focus on defendants’ compliance with the frivolous disclosure requirements and less on the strengths of cases. Valuations of cases could factor in the cost of complying with the bill.

Defendants would struggle to satisfy other deadlines in the proposed act that are virtually impossible to meet. It seems the goal is to create unreasonable requirements that defendants cannot achieve, giving plaintiff lawyers a tool to hammer defendants over their inevitable noncompliance.

The bill reflects a gross misunderstanding of insurance. There

might be legitimate disputes between policyholders and insurers as to whether coverage is available for a claim. A defendant who certifies that coverage “may” be available provides little value. Coverage issues are frequently contested and the focus of litigation.

The bill was rushed through the Legislature without public input or comment, and it shows. The proposal is wasteful and misguided.

All New Yorkers would pay for its nightmarish requirements.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo once told Crain’s, “The trial lawyers are the single most powerful political force in Albany.” Nevertheless, he vetoed trial-bar bills when they were bad for New York.

Hochul should demonstrate leadership and independence by rejecting the disclosure act. ■

SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE

Alan Smith is a senior fellow at the R Street Institute think tank. Mark Behrens co-chairs Shook, Hardy & Bacon’s public policy practice group.

founder G.D. Crain Jr. [1885-1973]

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chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. [1911-1996]

8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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OP-ED

BY LAURA MASCUCH

A

fter missing a chance to address the housing and homelessness crisis with the bipartisan infrastructure bill, Congress has another chance to get things right when it negotiates a new budget. The $3.5 trillion spending proposal approved in both chambers includes $339 billion set aside for housing and transportation—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in programs with a proven track record of providing safe, affordable homes for millions of individuals and families across the country.

In other words, we can turn the tide against a growing homeless-

exacerbated housing insecurity for millions—many of whom had never faced the challenge before.

No significant investment Those chilling statistics, which are even starker when broken down by race, are rooted in the simple fact that there has been no significant investment in housing for the lowest-income Americans in nearly three decades. Other institutional forces, including incarceration rates and changes to mental health treatment, also play a role in the worsening crisis.

Taken together, it all appears to be an intractable, unsolvable mess.

But homelessness and housing insecurity are actually the result of poor policy choices.

And the reverse is also true: There are policy solutions that can solve the mounting emergency. The key is building housing that is tailored to and affordable for those most at risk of ending up on the streets.

There is a nationwide shortage of more than 7 million affordable units for extremely low-income renters. In New York alone, that number is about 600,000. A contribution of $45 billion to the National Housing Trust Fund—the only program designed to develop housing for this income group—would sub-

THE REALITY IS THAT WE ARE ALREADY PAYING A HIGH PRICE FOR OUR INACTION ness emergency. The tools to do so are well within our reach.

It starts by understanding that the primary driver of homelessness is the soaring cost of rent. The average household income for American renters has increased just 3.1% since 2001, while rental costs have risen by a whopping 15%. These statistics were collected prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused an economic meltdown and greatly

stantially close the gap. It would build 350,000 affordable homes including 35,000 right here in New York.

A significant portion of those should be reserved for supportive housing, which is specially designed housing with onsite services, such as mental health counseling and job training, that are tailored to meet the needs of chronically homeless individuals and families.

That should be coupled with $180 billion for rental assistance, which would cover the remainder of an eligible household’s monthly rent after they have paid 30% of their income. The vouchers would allow people at risk of homelessness to stay in their home and help those who are already homeless find permanent housing they can afford. It is a truly life-changing program.

That might seem like a lot of money, but the reality is that we are already paying a high price for our inaction. Lack of investment in such programs is costing us on many levels: in emotional and behavioral problems in children, in parenting, in increased hunger, in decreased employment, in degraded mental and physical health and

BLOOMBERG

Congress should fund supportive housing and rental assistance in budget proposal

in substandard education.

By choosing not to act, we are perpetuating a cycle of poverty and abandoning those who need help the most.

Game-changer Affordable and supportive housing is a game-changer. Two decades of studies have shown that longterm cost savings more than paid for the cost of developing new supportive housing. Importantly, the programs are proven methods to disrupt the cycle of homelessness and institutionalization: only 5% of

the most vulnerable tenants return to homelessness after living in supportive housing.

The next steps are clear. We have an emergency driven by our own political choices—and that emergency is growing more severe by the day.

Will we finally be bold enough to seize this unique moment in time and change this country for the better? ■ Laura Mascuch is executive director of the Supportive Housing Network of New York.

OP-ED

City leaders and business must unite

BY SCOTT RECHLER

T

he rapid development of Covid-19 vaccines—perhaps the greatest scientific accomplishment of this century—didn’t just happen because the world desperately needed them. Nor did they come about thanks to an ideological campaign. Or a viral tweet. No, the revolutionary tools were made possible by the public and private sectors working together for the good of the many.

The combination of the federal government’s support and the ingenuity and innovation of the private sector ensured that we now have the means to (hopefully) break free from a virus.

These kinds of partnerships give me hope for the future, not just of our country but of our city as well.

Why? Because, in an era of heightened political division, they demonstrate that we still have the ability to come together to do great things.

We have the key ingredients to tackle our most pressing challenges effectively. What’s missing is leadership that knows how to make it all work.

Leaders from government, business, arts and culture and the public health sector have said repeatedly that we need strong partnerships between the public and private sectors if we are going to design a more sustainable and more equitable New York. Creating more and better jobs, more affordable housing, a more diverse workforce trained for 21st-century jobs, stronger small businesses, minority business development—all of these and more can be achieved with public-private collaboration.

To be clear, that does not mean we need a mayor who gives the private sector everything it wants; no one benefits from zero-sum games.

But we need a leader who prioritizes sound public policy over ideologically driven slogans.

I know that many of my private-sector peers are eager to extend a hand to our new city leaders.

I look to forward to partnering with our new mayor and City Council to create that better and brighter future for all New Yorkers. ■

Build a better future for your business.

ngrid.com Connect with us on

Scott Rechler is chairman and CEO of RXR Realty.

September 13, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

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ASKED & ANSWERED The Astrologers Fund

INTERVIEW BY AARON ELSTEIN

H

enry Weingarten is Wall Street’s leading astrologist. For more than 30 years he’s run the Astrologers Fund, charting the movements of celestial bodies to help clients decide when to buy or sell their stocks. Fox News’ Neil Cavuto described him as “one of the best stock pickers I know.”

Let’s get this out of the way: How can an astrologer make people money?

Because I’m a Leo. That has helped me call all the major tops and bottoms in gold. My wife’s sign is Cancer, so she likes silver. If I give her a gold present, she has no feeling for it. Silver is going up, mainly for fundamental reasons, not astrological. It’s a valuable industrial metal, like copper.

WHO HE IS Managing director, The Astrologers Fund AGE 74 GREW UP Jamaica Estates, Queens RESIDES Murray Hill

I’m a Capricorn, so what sort of market expertise might I have?

EDUCATION Bachelor’s in mathematics, New York University

Probably real estate. Capricorns are realistic, solid, patient. Land would be part of it.

STREET ENTRY Weingarten used to sell Apple IIIs and other early computers at Merrill Lynch. He got into Wall Street through a customer whose wife was a healer, so he understood Weingarten’s interest in astrology.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is an Aquarius. What does that say about where inflation and interest rates are going?

Astrology isn’t always the most important factor in the market, but it’s always a factor. My track record is strong.

I predicted the Japanese stock market crash in 1990. I correctly timed the start of the Persian Gulf War. We’ve done well by our clients for a long time.

IN THE STARS Weingarten was introduced to astrology as a teenager by his girlfriend.

Later, he decided to become an astrologist as he was browsing the shelves at the Weiser bookshop on Fourth Avenue.

Where is the market going next?

CRYPTO FORECAST He thinks Bitcoin is a fraud and says he called the top when the cryptocurrency hit $19,000 and again at $66,000. He thinks the government will take control if digital currency threatens the dollar.

There’s 90% certainty the S&P 500 will be correcting by the equinox. Saturn, which reveals the truth of things, is affecting charts, and Jupiter, which is beneficence, entered a new cycle in 2020. Those factors, along with the market being very expensive by historical measures, give me a high degree of confidence that the near-term outlook isn’t good.

What are other planets showing?

Venus has to do with bonds, but I don’t pay much attention because I’m a lousy bond trader. The money is made from Uranus and Neptune. Uranus means

I’m hesitant to say without looking at his whole chart, but the thing with Aquarians is surprise.

If astrology works, how come we don’t have more millionaire astrologers?

Some patterns repeat with great certainty; some don’t. And even if you correctly predict the event, you might misjudge the market’s reaction. When we had Saturn and Uranus together, the Berlin Wall came down. It’s never one thing. I knew in December that Joe Biden would have trouble in August, but I didn’t know it would be Afghanistan.

Do people in finance take astrology seriously?

surprise, and by charting we can identify 25% to 30% of market surprises. That’s extremely valuable. It took me years to understand Neptune, which is confusion and uncertainty. Mercury, the messenger, is important to traders.

WHERE LEADERS CONNECT AND LEARN

There’s actually much less prejudice than 40 years ago. A number of fund managers are competent at it, though they would never say so publicly.

Astrology has become more widespread in finance because there are more investors from Asia who are comfortable with it. There’s value to it. ■

BUCK ENNIS

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10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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SPONSORED CONTENT

Back to the future Also, it’s no secret that many restaurants have been struggling to find staff to hire or rehire.

With an unemployment rate of 10.1% in June, compared with 3.8% in June 2019, the pool of potential talent theoretically exists.

Discussion about the cause of the problem, much of it politically charged, abounds.

N

ew York City has reopened and is finally coming back to life, but what and who is it coming back to?

Restaurants are welcoming guests, offices are inviting their employees back, and Broadway shows and sports games are once again selling tickets for live attendance.

Is all of this an indication that the City that Never Sleeps is waking up?

Not so fast—we might need to hit the snooze button.

What’s taking a bite out of Big Apple restaurants?

The restaurants that survived have reopened and, in some cases, are even thriving.

The driving forces behind their success include the continuation of pandemic-era expanded outdoor seating coupled with customer appetites that have been accumulating for more than a year. Customers are eager to get out of the house, meet with friends and find some semblance of normal. The combination of these ingredients may sound like a recipe for success, but many restaurants are having a hard time reaching their full potential.

So, what’s the problem? For starters, depending on the neighborhood, business lunches have not made a full return because of the low officeoccupancy and tourism levels.

Could the various federal unemployment programs that increased benefits during the pandemic and that were recently extended be the cause of the disconnect between unemployment rates and businesses struggling to hire? We will see what happens now that these payments have terminated.

Does the mass exodus of residents in big cities such as New York and Los Angeles to states with lower income tax such as Texas, Florida and Tennessee explain the worker shortage?

Perhaps both scenarios have some merit, but the word on the street is that many employees from the industry have discovered new career paths. As the co-leader of the Restaurant and Hospitality Practice at Citrin Cooperman, I believe this development is of great importance to the future and success of all restaurants.

Leading the way back to the hybrid model office Many office-based businesses have started to bring their employees back from a remotework environment. Most have begun with a “soft opening” in which working in the office is voluntary. The majority of companies intend to transition to a hybrid model, probably in the fall. In this model, workers will spend time working in the office and from home.

Business leaders think this shift is permanent. This hybrid model could end up being the best of both worlds, offering flexibility without completely eliminating human connection.

Seeing co-workers for the first time in 18 months could be

exciting and exhilarating—but also awkward. People need to get reacquainted and perhaps relearn how to socialize appropriately in a professional work environment following a period in which virtual meetings brought co-workers into one another’s private homes.

Businesses should be cognizant of the culture shifts brought on by the long-term office closures and plan their reopening accordingly.

Industries that flourish from impeccable client service need to be mindful that there is no replacement for a face-to-face conversation. For the less experienced, it is believed that growth has been decelerated.

In-person, hands-on training can be much more effective than virtual training.

One of the best ways to learn a new language is to submerse yourself into a new culture, and the same theory applies to learning and growing in your profession. Without the opportunity for employees to be surrounded by mentors and colleagues in the workplace, a lot can be lost in translation.

Learning by osmosis is of significant value, and business leaders should take that into consideration when developing their long-term strategy.

Bottom line: There’s no going back to the status quo. I foresee offices operating with a skeleton crew on Mondays and Fridays, unless there is a specific reason workers need to be in the office.

As the managing partner of Citrin Cooperman’s New York City headquarters, I say that only time will tell, but I look forward to seeing our employees and clients, and sooner rather than later.

the Yankees had an attendance of almost 900,000, and the Mets welcomed almost 600,000 attendees to their first 37 home games. Although this is a far cry from a packed stadium, remember certain restrictions remain for unvaccinated attendees.

Some Broadway shows started previews in August, with opening nights beginning in September. The reopening of Broadway will attract New Yorkers to get out and enjoy all that the city has to offer, and it should help reinvigorate one of the city’s largest revenue producers: tourism.

NYC & Company, the city’s tourism marketer, says the New York City travel industry probably won’t return to full strength for more than three years. The prediction for 2021 is 36 million visitors, which is half of what was forecast before the pandemic. The upside is that with the low occupancy in hotels, the room rates are significantly lower than they were in 2019 for the same period.

Will that entice people to visit New York? I am cautiously optimistic.

Will more and more people refrain from attending events with hundreds or thousands of people while we are still dealing with the highly contagious Delta variant? Maybe.

But according to our client Noam Dworman, owner of Comedy Cellar, his venue is selling out and even having to

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stacy Gilbert, CPA Citrin Cooperman NYC managing partner and co-leader, Restaurant and Hospitality Practice sgilbert@citrincooperman.com

turn people away at the door.

Interestingly, though, Comedy Cellar is turning away fewer people than before the pandemic. Is that because the attendees were required to be vaccinated even before the city mandated it? Conversely, maybe that is why Comedy Cellar was selling out while others were not.

Either way, people are probably attending in droves because the need to laugh is greater now than ever before.

While there are still many challenges ahead, we should celebrate the positive trend.

Businesses are coming back, and people are laughing and hugging each other like long-lost friends.

A new normal isn’t a bad thing; it is just different. Out with the old and in with the new.

The City that Never Sleeps is here to stay, and it will welcome everyone with open arms.

Be our guest, there’s plenty of room!

Madison Square Garden boasted in May of expecting nearly 15,000 fans for the Knicks playoff game. Although that was not full capacity, MSG said it was “leading the way, showing everyone that New York is back.”

For their first 48 home games,

Our C-Suite Snacks webinar series provides the middle market with brief, strategic and tactical business improvement information for 30 minutes every week. Join Citrin Cooperman’s C-Suite Snacks live every Thursday at noon for snack-size insights for business executives. Sign up at https://rebrand.ly/csuitesnacks for our weekly C-Suite Snacks invites.

11 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 13, 2021

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Advertising Section To place your listing, visit www.crainsnewyork.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

ACCOUNTING

FINANCIAL SERVICES

LAW

REAL ESTATE

BDO USA, LLP

SVB Leerink

Blank Rome LLP

Lendlease

BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and advisory firms, has welcomed Robert Schachat to its National Tax Office. Schachat has more than 40 years of experience in all federal income tax aspects of real estate and has a proven track record of advising clients in monitoring federal tax legislative and regulatory activity in the real estate arena. He currently serves as a member of the Government Relations and Real Estate Committees of the ABA Section of Taxation.

SVB Leerink, a leading investment bank specializing in healthcare and life sciences, announced that M. Toby King has joined the firm’s Healthcare Services practice to enhance its coverage of companies across the healthcare provider continuum. Mr. King joins SVB Leerink as a Senior Managing Director reporting to Global CoHead of Healthcare Investment Banking, Barry Blake. He will be based in the New York office.

Shonette Gaston has joined Blank Rome’s New York office as the firm’s Chief Operating Officer.

She will oversee the daily administrative functions of all the firm’s offices and departments, including finance, human resources, talent & diversity, information services & technology, innovation, marketing & business development, operations, and practice management, as well as serve as a key strategic partner with the Executive Committee and Partner Board. Shonette joins from Robins Kaplan LLP.

Global real estate group Lendlease has appointed Princeton, N.J.-based Rob Ledder as Operations Director, Life Science for its Americas Region. With nearly 30 years of construction experience at Lendlease alone, the highly respected Ledder will help Lendlease advance its decades of work in a sector poised for long-term growth. His role will be critical to continuing operational excellence and adding to the more than 500 life science and research facilities Lendlease has delivered across the U.S.

SHARE YOUR COMPANY’S JOURNEY

Feature your latest milestones, launches, partnerships, awards and more in Crain’s

For more information, contact Debora Stein at dstein@crain.com or submit directly to

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

FINANCIAL SERVICES

TIAA Dave Dowrich has been named as TIAA Chief Financial Officer and will join on Nov. 1 from Prudential Financial, where he was CFO for the company’s international business. At TIAA, he will be responsible for the Fortune 100 company’s financial planning, general account, management and reporting as well as its actuarial, tax and accounting operation. He will be based in New York, reporting to TIAA President and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett, and join the company’s Executive Committee.

SVB Leerink SVB Leerink, a leading investment bank specializing in healthcare and life sciences, announced that Mairin C. Rooney has joined the firm’s Biopharma investment banking franchise to bolster its offerings in life sciences and healthcare. Ms. Rooney joins SVB Leerink as a Senior Managing Director reporting to Global Co-Head of Healthcare Investment Banking, Dr. Dan Dubin. She brings over a decade of healthcare investment banking experience and will be based in the New York office.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

LAW

Ice Miller Jennifer Fredericks has joined Ice Miller LLP as the new director of business development for public finance.

Previously Fredericks was a vice president of business development for the corporate trust group at Bank of New York Mellon. At BNY Mellon, Fredericks led the corporate trust business development efforts for public finance, municipals, project finance and public-private partnerships.

INDUSTRY ACHIEVERS ADVANCING THEIR CAREERS Recognize them in Crain’s

SVB Leerink FINANCIAL SERVICES

TIAA TIAA has named Derek Ferguson as Chief Administrative Officer. He will join from Robin Hood Foundation, where he is interim CEO & COO. As CAO, a new role at TIAA, Ferguson and his team will be responsible for leading the evolution of the company’s strategy, planning and delivering strategic initiatives and overseeing the operations of the office of the CEO. Based in New York, he will report to TIAA President and CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett and join the company’s Executive Committee.

SVB Leerink, a leading investment bank specializing in healthcare and life sciences, announced that Mahe Ravi will join the firm’s Investment Banking practice to enhance its leveraged finance offerings.

Ms. Ravi joins SVB Leerink as a Managing Director reporting to Senior Managing Director, Thad Davis, and will be based in the New York office.

ANNOUNCE

YOUR BIG NEWS IN CRAIN’S!

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Hill+Knowlton Strategies Laurie Rosenfield joins Hill+Knowlton as Global Chief People Officer, where she will lead the firm’s global human capital strategy across a network spanning 77 offices in 43 countries. A media industry veteran, she has a substantial track record of accelerating business transformation and improving the employee experience. Most recently, she was the first global CPO at CBS Corporation, where she helped the company through a highprofile controversy to restore reputation and re-establish trust.

For listing opportunities, contact Debora Stein at dstein@crain.com or submit directly to

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/PEOPLEMOVES

12 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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2021

N

ew York has long been a popular global tourist destination. The city is bustling and culturally diverse, with world-class restaurants, shops and museums; vibrant neighborhoods; and, of course, Broadway. They all make for a memorable experience for visitors. During the pandemic, however, the city has struggled to signal that it is open for business and safe for tourists.

In the latest installment of our NY Now series on the city’s comeback, we delve into tourism, a major revenue driver. We check on some key metrics and ask leaders in the industry to weigh in on what’s needed to build visitor confidence.

Observers are hoping the city’s vaccine mandate, set to be enforced starting this week, will make people more comfortable with the idea of visiting.

The numbers are encouraging: Hotel stays and pedestrian traffic for Times Square and other attractions are up substantially over last year, even as a large percentage of New Yorkers tell us they won’t be going out much this fall (see page 18 for our reader survey). And international visitors, long a big part of New York’s tourist population, are still not back. As the Covid-19 Delta variant rages in many parts of the country, questions hang over any potential return to normalcy—in the tourism industry and the city overall.

But there is reason for optimism. New hotels are opening (see page 14).

Renovations are underway at major transportation hubs. Broadway is selling out shows (see page 3). Foot traffic in parts of the city is returning to prepandemic levels. New York remains New York. As E.B. White wrote more than 70 years ago, it’s a city that’s “something unique, cosmopolitan, mighty and unparalleled.”

— Cory Schouten, editor-in-chief

PHOTOGRAPHY BUCK ENNIS

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2021

BY THE NUMBERS

$14.7B

THE ANNUAL economic impact of Broadway on the city.

500K

THE NUMBER OF hotel rooms sold per week in July, up from 370,000 in May

BUCK ENNIS

CHRIS HEYWOOD, executive vice president of global communications at NYC & Company.

TOURISTS MAKING A SLOW RETURN TO NEW YORK

feat form with the trac O ope retu way pac pec “Th who sub pres that tion

City on track to recapture more than half the tourists who came in 2019

CRAIN’S WEBCAST

OCT. 28 CRAIN’S NEW YORK NOW SUMMIT: TOURISM’S COMEBACK Tourism is a critical driver for the city’s economy and one of the industries most damaged by the pandemic. For our New York Now Summit, we’ll examine the city’s fledgling visitor comeback and discuss what the industry and government can do to recharge and reinvent local tourism.

A VIRTUAL EVENT 4 to 5 p.m CrainsNewYork.com/NYNSummit

D

omestic tourists are returning to New York City in greater numbers despite concerns over the Delta variant and rising COVID cases. The data affirms the city’s vibrancy, even as international visitors remain predominantly sidelined.

According to the Times Square Alliance, more than 200,000 people per day passed through the iconic entertainment district during the month of August.

This is double the foot traffic numbers from March 2021, though still half of pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, hotel occupancy approached 500,000 room nights sold per week in July, up from 370,000 in May. As the weather cools, activity is expected to heat up again with the reopening of Broadway shows, restaurants and new hotels. The city’s vaccination mandate, which takes effect this week, is predicted to help persuade out-of-towners that they will have a safe experience in the Big Apple.

Overall, New York will recapture more than half of the 66.6 million tourists who visited in 2019, with a projection for 36.1 million tourists this year, according to NYC & Company, the city’s official destination marketing organization.

“There is such extraordinary appeal to the arts, cultural and dining scenes in New York

City,” said Chris Heywood, executive vice president of global communications at NYC & Company, which launched a $30 million advertising campaign in June to promote the city. “We never had to do much hard selling, because people saw New York City in the news or pop culture; but since we were the epicenter of the virus, it’s been incumbent

upon us to show that we are open for business, alive and well—and thriving.”

The city’s nascent comeback has been buoyed by commitment from diverse sectors of the economy. JetBlue’s recent announcement that it will maintain its headquarters in Long Island City and expand its flagship terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport will make it easier for more people to come to the city. Renovations at LaGuardia Airport and the new Moynihan Train Hall are also designed to entice visitors.

“We are upgrading the front door of New York City, which is great to see,” Heywood said.

‘There’s only one Broadway’ New tourist attractions have helped bring in visitors. Little Island, the Barry Diller-funded park on the Hudson River, just finished hosting a free month-long arts festival

14 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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BUCK ENNIS

ISTOCK

BY DIANE HESS

“WE ARE UPGRADING THE FRONT DOOR OF NEW YORK CITY, WHICH IS GREAT TO SEE" demand.

Though they are optimistic, New York’s cultural institutions realize it will be a long road back to pre-Covid peaks.

A perfect intersection

G

featuring more than 450 artists and 160 performances. Elsewhere, an observation deck with citywide views at One Vanderbilt, called the Summit, is anticipated to be a major attraction.

Of course, the most eagerly awaited reopening in New York City is imminent: The return of Broadway. In its last season, Broadway had a $14.7 billion annual economic impact and employed 97,000 people. It is expected to usher in a wave of visitors.

“There is only one Broadway and people who love live entertainment know there is no substitute for it,“ said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, noting that ticket sales for the 36 shows in production have been brisk, a reflection of pent-up

19

KENNETH WEINE, chief communications officer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

usi-

een tors nces in terAire to rdia Hall

BUCK ENNIS

JOANNE KWONG of Pearl River Market.

Can’t get to Europe?

SoHo might be the next best thing Amid ongoing travel restrictions, Americans who might have gone abroad are looking for a similar vibe in Manhattan’s cobblestoned neighborhood

BY DIANE HESS

S

oHo retailers and restaurants have registered a rebound in activity in the past few months, as the neighborhood attracts a mix of locals and domestic tourists who might otherwise be traveling to farther-flung destinations.

With its cobblestone streets, one-of-akind boutiques and proximity to mass transit, SoHo has always been a popular draw for certain tourists. The trend has strengthened since the spring. Amid ongoing travel restrictions, New Yorkers who might have gone to Europe are looking for a similar vibe in SoHo. In recent months, several exclusive retail openings and restaurant reopenings have livened the neighborhood, as have pop-up art exhibitions. The popular Balthazar brasserie, for example, reopened in June.

See and be seen BUCK ENNIS

Dicus, executive director of the SoHo Broadway Initiative, a neighborhood improvement district.

Foot traffic in SoHo seems to be back to pre-pandemic levels, said John McDonald, chief executive of Mercer Street Hospitality.

Revenues at his SoHo restaurants Lure Fishbar and Bistrot Leo are growing and, in some cases, better than a normal summer, he said, especially midweek.

“SoHo has always been a playground for New Yorkers,” McDonald said, “and it’s a bull’s-eye for anyone who visits the city from outside the area.”

Hungry for experiences Not knowing what the future held, Joanne Kwong signed a lease in the fall for her family’s 50-year-old Asian emporium, Pearl River, on Broadway. Since opening its doors in May, revenue has grown monthly, she said.

“We’re pretty packed on the weekends,” Kwong said.

“People are looking for things to do, whether it's eating out or browsing through stores.”

The sensory-centered Sloomoo Institute, which has been in SoHo since 2018, has enjoyed a 150% boost in sales since May, co-founder Sara Schiller said.

The interactive slime museum is now welcoming around 1,000 visitors per day, five days per week, from the tristate region and beyond, she said.

Families are arriving to connect in person, having developed online relationships with the facility’s slime experts during the pandemic, Schiller said.

“Covid has shown people how hungry they are for experiences,” said Karen Robinovitz, also a Sloomoo co-founder. “There is an incredible desire to get out again.” ■

“SOHO HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BULL’S-EYE FOR ANYONE WHO VISITS FROM OUTSIDE THE AREA” In the spring, Lacoste debuted a flagship at 541 Broadway. The Japanese fashion label A Bathing Ape established a store on Mercer Street. Valentino premiered a location on Spring Street. Other brands have inked deals to move to the area, including high-end British jeweler Vashi, French apparel maker AMI Paris and Canadian coat seller Kanuk.

New ood

ring Dillfinival

After being closed for five months, the Metropolitan Museum of Art opened with 3,000 guests per day from September 2020 through the winter of 2021. In the summer, the museum had 10,000 attendees per day, a marked improvement over the previous months but below 2019 highs of 20,000 people daily.

Since September, the museum has been open six days per week, as well as on Friday and Saturday evenings.

“We could have reopened in a modest way programmatically with few exhibitions and only certain areas accessible, but we were as ambitious as ever, presenting important and critically acclaimed exhibits, such as Jacob Lawrence and Alice Neel,” said Ken Weine, chief communications officer of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “We wanted to send a very strong message that the museum and New York City are resilient, and that we have a responsibility, which we take seriously, to fulfill our mission even in these most challenging times.”

Since the beginning of August, the city’s hotel sector saw more than 104,000 rooms in active inventory, accounting for about 80 percent of total capacity including new and under construction projects. Two-year-old hotel Selina Chelsea reached full occupancy during the summer, as guests booked rooms for vacations and remote work.

“New York is one of the few cities in the world that delivers the perfect intersection between work, travel and culture,” said Paulo Pena, chief operations officer of Selina, a hotel chain that touts rooms designed to accommodate coworking, recreation, wellness and local experiences.

Nearly a dozen new hotels are planned to open in September, including the Henn na Hotel New York, a Japanese chain known for its fully robotic hotels; the Pendry Manhattan West; SpringHill Suites by Marriott JFK; the Aman Hotel on Fifth Avenue; and others.

“We’re at a pivotal moment in the recovery trajectory,” Heywood said. “This fascinating mix of hotels speaks to our appeal and the confidence that investors have in New York.” ■

“SoHo is a place to see and be seen, whether it’s finding fashion, feeling street energy, looking for places to eat or drink, or waiting in line at sneaker drops,” said Mark

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DAVID CRITCHELL, CEO of New York Harbor Tours.

2021

CRUSING ALONG

75%

BUCK ENNIS

BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, marine services production was 25% of his revenue; city tours made up the rest

370

Smooth(ish) sailing

IN 2019 demand rose for 370 excursions. At the beginning of 2020, Critchell bought two more boats.

Even as some of its competitors on the Hudson River closed for the season, New York Harbor Tours is on track to do as many trips this year as it did in 2019

BY DIANE HESS

E

ven as some of its competitors on the Hudson River, such as RIBNew York, have been closed for the season (though the 5-year-old business says it ex-

pects to return in spring), New York Harbor Tours has continued to offer excursions around Manhattan. The tour operator is on track to do as many trips this year as it did in 2019.

When tourism came to a halt at the peak of the pandemic, in

2020, David Critchell, CEO of New York Harbor Tours, turned his focus on local customers.

He kept his business going with dual offerings: a two-hour cruise around Battery Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Williamsburg Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the U.N. Building and up the Hudson River. He also maintained a three-hour excursion around Manhattan.

“WE ARE THE ANTIDOTE TO THE CIRCLE LINE WITH A THOUSAND PEOPLE ON IT”

A passion for sailing

Serving the travel, tourism and hospitality industries with dedication and pride.

Public Relations, Government & Community Affairs, BID Development & Expansion, Special Events & Promotions, Destination Marketing, Sports Promotion THE

Cristyne L. Nicholas CEO

'ZERTS BAR

George Lence President

www.nicholaslence.com

“We became the best thing to do in town, as New Yorkers were desperate to get out of their apartments,” Critchell said.

When Covid-19 restrictions started to ease, he slowly began to see visitors from California, Texas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Delaware, the Midwest and the tristate region.

Although Critchell now estimates activity is nearing 2019 levels, he is still without European travelers. “British tourists, in particular, were a big part of our business,” he said.

In 2018 New York Harbor Tours logged 250 trips; in 2019 demand rose for 370 excursions.

At the beginning of 2020, Critchell bought two additional boats—a 25-foot vessel, mainly intended as a workboat, and a 38-foot, 25-passenger yacht.

“We are the antidote to the Circle Line with a thousand people on it,” Critchell said.

A passion for sailing led Critchell, a former journalist, to build a business that shows people the beauty of the city, viewed from the sea. His first job was with Manhattan by Sail, a sailboat tour operator, where he worked for a decade. In 2013 he founded New York Harbor Tours

to offer marine services for film production.

“We handled everything related to water for filming,” Critchell said. “If a director wanted to show people on a yacht drinking wine, we would find a boat, chase boat, safety boat and divers, in addition to dealing with all of the permitting and safety issues involved.”

Memorable experiences Following a decade and a half in the harbor, Critchell began offering city tours in 2017 on a six-passenger motorboat, and that segment of the business began to grow. Before the pandemic, marine services production was 25% of the revenue; city tours made up the rest.

“Critchell is one of the better operators on the harbor,” said Miles Pincus, operator of Pier 25.

“He sees his tours as an opportunity to provide an escape, which is what separates him from being a boat driver—he’s someone who creates truly memorable experiences.” ■

16 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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SPONSORED CONTENT

2021

EMPIRE WHOLE HEALTH HEROES AWARDS

Nominate a New Yorker committed to revitalizing our great city Do you, or someone you know, demonstrate leadership and commitment to the safety and wellness of New Yorkers by making a difference, specifically relating to the revitalization and reopening of New York City?

Empire is The Whole Health Company. We are dedicated to improving the health of every single New Yorker. That is why Empire, in partnership with Crain’s New York Business, is presenting year two of the Empire Whole Health Heroes Awards. This year join us in identifying and celebrating health care leaders, business executives, and essential workers who are committed to bringing New York City back to life.

Crain’s New York Business newsroom is not involved in the judging or selecting of the honorees.

Employees of Anthem, Inc., Empire BlueCross BlueShield and Crain’s New York Business, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and advertising and promotion agencies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible.

Services provided by Empire HealthChoice HMO, Inc. and/or Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc., dba Empire BlueCross BlueShield. Independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans.

P017_CN_20210913.indd 17

Health Care Whole Health Heroes: Leaders in health care delivery or leaders in professional services/technologies supporting the health care sector (nurses, doctors, EMTs, etc.)

Business Whole Health Heroes: Leaders in the private sector (CEOs, business owners/ executives, HR directors, etc.)

Essential Whole Health Heroes: Leaders in essential services (infrastructure, transportation, emergency services, warehouse and delivery, critical manufacturing, food and agriculture, government and community-based services, such as childcare)

Visit CrainsNewYork.com/wholehealth2021 to submit your nomination.

Deadline is Oct. 18, 2021

9/8/21 10:01 AM

GETTY IMAGES

2021

Readers weigh in: How will New York’s tourism sector comeback shake out?

SURVEY SAYS

66%

Two-thirds of those surveyed say the city should encourage visitors; fewer say they themselves are planning to take advantage of local cultural offerings this fall

SAY THE CITY is going to recover to where it was before the pandemic, but most think a full recovery will take until after 2022.

BY CARA EISENPRESS

G

retchen Berger can’t wait to see Randy Rainbow perform in person this fall.

Berger, a real estate appraiser, said the singing comedian, known for his viral YouTube political spoofs, kept her laughing through years of strife during the Trump administration and the isolation of the pandemic.

Now Rainbow is also her ticket back to engaging with the city’s cultural offerings: Berger snagged a seat at his sold-out Oct. 30 performance at the Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side, where she lives.

“This is me getting back to my normal life,” Berger said, “and absolutely supporting the arts too—especially the theater that just got so killed.”

The tourism sector’s comeback has been slow. A recent Crain’s survey shows that although two-thirds of responding New Yorkers agree the city should be encouraging

40%

BELIEVE THAT most employers will ask staff to return to the workplace for most of the workweek by January.

38%

SAY THEY will go out less often this fall.

dicted 36.4 million visitors will come this year and by 2024 the city will have 69.3 million visitors when international tourists return— more than the 66.6 million who came in 2019.

Business travel will be the last to return, the agency expects. NYC & Company has created a $30 million ad campaign that is directed at attracting regional tourists. It will launch in Europe and Asia when international restrictions ease.

Changing circumstances In the meantime, can New Yorkers’ patronage make up for some of the missing tourism business?

About one-fifth of the 351 readers who responded to the survey said they had tickets for concerts, and one-fifth said they would attend the theater in the fall. Nearly half plan to visit the city’s cultural institutions with the same frequency as they currently do, 17% said they would go more often, and 38% said they would go less often.

For Faith Masi, director of marketing at an architecture firm in Midtown, a lot depends on the path of Covid-19 and the protocols at any individual venue. The Bushwick resident has been going to outdoor concerts and some indoor venues in Brooklyn where everyone inside has shown proof of vaccination.

Right now, she said, she buys tickets only two to three weeks in advance, because circumstances can change quickly. She went to MoMA PS 1 in April and expects to spend time at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney, the New Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art more regularly now that vaccinations are required inside for those, she said.

“If I want these institutions to exist in five or 10 years, right now is a crucial moment for me to attend, to pay full price for tickets or to buy a drink when there,” she said. “They are all trying to bounce back from 14 months of

“THEY ARE ALL TRYING TO BOUNCE BACK, AND I DO FEEL A LITTLE RESPONSIBILITY” tourism to aid the recovery, 65% have no plans to participate themselves. Their responses reflect the complicated balance between safety and economic boosterism that stalled the recovery’s momentum during the summer.

More generally, 66% now think that the city’s economic recovery will be complete after 2022, up from just 58% last quarter. That is in line with the pace of the tourism recovery described by NYC & Company, the official tourism agency for the city, which has pre-

THE PATH TO RECOVERY FOR NYC’S CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

complete stoppage, and I do feel a little responsibility to spend and attend.”

Back to work?

Some 4 in 10 readers who responded to the survey think a return to the office will happen in January 2022, whereas last quarter 48% thought that would happen in September. A quarter of those responding had their own return-to-office dates pushed back.

Amanda Gill, who works at Coyne PR’s New Jersey office, said she goes there once or twice a week but used to like going into the main New York City hub occasionally.

Gill is not sure when she will return to commuting to New York. Her plan to spend a weekend in the city dining out and going to cultural institutions is complicated by concern over bringing her daughter, age 6, to indoor venues. Children under 12 have not yet been approved to receive a vaccine, but they are at very low risk of hospitalization or mortality.

The effect of the long recovery on the city’s affected establishments remains to be seen.

Federal grant programs for the performing arts and restaurants are both out of money, and many small businesses report landlords are growing tired of waiting for back rent.

Yet worry does not dull an essential optimism among Crain’s readers and city businesses. Fifty-nine percent of those surveyed think the city’s vaccine mandate will eliminate other business restrictions, such as closures, although 57% do expect a high number of Covid-19 cases in the winter.

“The city will get back on its feet. Tourism will return,” said restaurateur Russell Jackson, who runs Reverence in Harlem. Jackson said that business continued to be slow during the summer, with weekly revenue maxing out at 30% below his break-even point.

“But we all have to be there at the end to be able to embrace that,” he said. ■

WE SURVEYED 351 Crain’s readers last month about their fall plans. Here’s what they said.

A VITAL CUSTOMER BASE

LIMITED CONCRETE PLANS

PROLONGED RECOVERY

HYBRID WORK GROWS

In the next year, will you visit the city’s cultural institutions more or less than in pre-Covid-19 times?

Have you bought tickets for any of the following for the fall?

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

This quarter the amount of Crain’s readers working in a hybrid setting has increased by 17 percentage points since the previous quarter.

Where are you working from now?

38%

17%

Less frequently

No change

More frequently

42%

A CONCERT 22% A PLAY AT A THEATER 20% A MUSIC FESTIVAL 8% THE OPERA 5% A DANCE PERFORMANCE 5%

45%

0

20%

40%

41% Partly at home; partly at the office

26% 16%

15%

22% September 2021 60%

80%

100%

January 2022

June 2022

Numbers do not add up to 100% due to rounding.

Later than June 2022

Working from the office all the time

37% Working from home all the time

SOURCE: Crain's NY Now survey of readers

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OTHER VOICES

“NEW YORK IS ONE OF THE FEW PLACES IN THE WORLD WHERE A VISITOR CAN TRAVEL THE GLOBE WITHOUT LEAVING THE CITY’S BORDERS.”

VISITORS WANT AUTHENTICITY AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY. THAT’S GOOD NEWS FOR THE FIVE BOROUGHS WITH STREETS AROUND THE WORLD empty of pedestrians and restaurants and retail stores shuttered, the global pandemic has made us question the future of our neighborhoods, cities, small businesses and the industries that drive our economy.

There’s no question the pandemic has influenced a shift in consumer behavior, values and priorities. What was NIKOA EVANS important before the pandemic and what is important 18 months later vary widely today for most, and emerging trends across all industry sectors reflect these shifts in demands and preferences.

Tourism is no exception, with recent trends indicating that travelers are seeking destinations and experiences that offer authenticity and cultural immersion, choosing to prioritize once-in-a-lifetime experiences over mainstream destinations and activities.

So what does this mean for the future of the city’s tourism industry? It means that the sector is poised to come back stronger than ever. Cultural diversity is part of the city’s DNA. It is the very asset that positions the tourism industry to be a key driver of New York’s recovery and set a new standard for how tourism can be a platform to celebrate global diversity and inclusion.

There is no better place than New York for cultural tourism to thrive. As an international city of neighborhoods and cultural communities, New York is one of the few places in the world where a visitor can travel the globe without leaving the city’s borders. Its multicultural landscape offers authentic and culturally immersive experiences through its international cuisine, music, fashion, arts, entertainment, communities and businesses.

Among the city’s top visitor destinations, Harlem is one of the world’s most globally recognized neighborhoods and considered the center of Black culture, attracting millions of visitors in the years before the pandemic to experience its Southern charm and hospitality.

One of the top purveyors of Harlem’s hospitality is the multigenerational Woods family, owners of Sylvia’s restaurant. This cultural institution has been a “must visit” for decades.

GETTY IMAGES

2021

Through cultural platforms such as Sylvia’s Gospel Open Mic, a Sunday institution, visitors are treated to traditional gospel music while dining on the restaurant’s famous Southern cuisine.

Sundays in Harlem also feature a celebration of fashion and style as locals dressed in their “Sunday best” stroll along the avenues to attend a church service and Sunday brunch. It is authentic cultural experiences such as these that will welcome visitors back to Harlem and other “villages” throughout the city’s neighborhoods.

By investing in cultural tourism, the city ensures the sustainability of its diverse communities and the economic ecosystems they support. As global borders begin to reopen after more than a year of social distancing and uncertainty, the more we encourage people to visit our neighborhoods and experience cultural differences, the more people will learn how similar we really are. ■ Nikoa Evans, a strategy consultant to national brands, economic development corporations and entrepreneurs, is executive director of Harlem Park to Park.

OTHER VOICES

FUN CITY. Who here remembers that phrase? It cries out to us from the 1960s as Mayor John Lindsay’s slogan designed to attract tourists.

And you know what? It was fun back then, even if the city’s reputation around the country was one of toughness and rudeness.

Fun City reminded the world that New York was also a city of museums, restaurants, Broadway shows, jazz clubs and folk venues, not to mention beautiful parks, towering skyscrapers and grand avenues, a place where you could have a great time and not go broke.

PETER It was fun until it wasn’t.

MADONIA Crime inched up and then shot up—not entirely the fault of the Lindsay administration—and other services faltered. By the 1970s crime was out of control and dump trucks were falling through the elevated West Side highway because it had become so decrepit.

I think back now to that moment, that inflection point.

Tourists and residents occupy the same city. One group cannot have fun if the other doesn’t. Among those things sought by tourists are the buzz—of streets crowded with rushing New Yorkers, of bars jam-packed with office workers unwinding after an intense day.

I don’t care if you have all the best, most interesting restaurants, clubs and museums—if you fall through the West Side highway on your way there, it’s no fun.

It’s no fun if the bars are empty because the office buildings are empty.

It’s no fun if you are dining at an outdoor table and staring at a pile of garbage.

It’s no fun if you are assailed on the street by someone clearly in need of medical help.

The city has always recovered—either from the long, slow decline of the 1960s and 1970s or from the out-of-the-blue nightmare of Sept. 11. I have no doubt it will again. But to get the tourists back, we must focus first on core issues, the bedrock foundation of a safe, fun city.

There’s been lots written about crime being out of control. Now, realistically, it’s nothing like the bad old days of the late 1980s and 1990s—but the perception is there. So before we advertise how much fun there is to have here, we have to get that problem solved, literally and optically.

The same goes for the troubled individTIMES SQUARE 1960S uals, who for some reason seem so much more prevalent than before the Coronavirus struck.

We’ve also got to get some coherence for all outdoor dining venues and clarity on how long they will exist.

Here in the Belmont section, “Bronx Little Italy,” where I chair the business improvement district, we are a tight-knit community. Our business has been strong because our core is strong. We’ve taken on some of the jobs the city is supposed to do. Our restaurants are doing well because early in the pandemic we came together and created Piazza de Belmont, marketed holistically as an alfresco dining and shopping destination. The rest of the city can learn from us.

Once the city takes care of the basics, of the core and of the needs of its residents, the needs of the tourists will follow naturally.

And we’ll all have fun. ■

GETTYIMAGES

FUN CITY IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS. ARE WE HAVING FUN YET?

Peter Madonia is chairman of the Belmont District Management Association.

20 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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Who’s putting the “new” in New York City?

Find out how Nicole is reigniting NYC’s travel and tourism through Moynihan Train Hall.

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

ey.com/NextYorkCity

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OTHER VOICES

TOURISM CAN ENHANCE THE CITY’S RECOVERY

2021

IT’S NO SECRET that the pandemic has hit the

travel, tourism and hospitality industry sector harder than others. But it’s also true that tourism is the very industry with the potential to speed up and enhance our recovery.

It's now undeniable that tourism has long been a driver of economic prosperity for the city. Just two years ago, the city’s tourism sector marked its 10th consecutive year of record FRED growth, welcoming 66.6 million visitors, supDIXON porting more than 403,000 jobs across the five boroughs, generating $47.4 billion in direct spending (equaling $6,000 per resident), and adding almost $7 billion in state and local taxes, including $4.9 billion in the city.

The road to recovery is fragile—especially with the Delta variant surging—but there is reason for optimism.

As vaccination rates have risen and promotion has accelerated, travelers are cautiously making plans to visit the city. New York is experiencing a return of both day-trippers and overnight visitors attracted to all there is to see and do across the boroughs. Through the summer we watched hotel demand trend upward, particularly on weekends, although we are only 60% of the way back to pre-pandemic norms.

Meetings, conventions and big events are moving forward with plans to safely convene here. From the NY NOW show, which was the first to return to the Javits Center last month, to events such as NYC Homecoming, the U.S. Open, and the highly anticipated return of Broadway, the New York City Marathon, and other performing arts and entertainment venues, we are confident in the city's ability to safely host events on every scale.

Visitors are learning New York is still the safest big city.

Our vaccination rates are high, and our Covid-19 rates are low-

WITH MOST BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL ON HOLD, WE NEED TO ATTRACT MORE DOMESTIC TRAVELERS

GETTYIMAGES

NYC HOMECOMING

CHARLES FLATEMAN

EMILY RAFFERTY

JONATHAN TISCH

TIM ZAGAT

er than many other areas of the country. We know how to safely enjoy the city’s dynamic offerings by observing common-sense precautions.

It will take time, possibly until 2024 or 2025, to regain 2019's volume. With most business and international travel still largely on hold, we will need to attract more domestic travelers to make up the difference in visitor spending. That will take sustained promotion.

With continued commitment and investment by the public and private sectors, we will again reach our previous records—with time. And we'll do so by emphasizing regenerative tourism, by borough and by neighborhood, highlighting and supporting the small and entrepreneurial businesses and multicultural experiences— such as the Queens Night Market and the Bronx Beer Hall— that make New York, New York and unlike any place on earth.

We’ll highlight our sustainable offerings such as dining outdoors, biking, surfing, and strolling through city parks and botanical gardens, all the while honoring our world-class arts and cultural institutions, world-famous attractions, countless dining and shopping establishments, and our unparalleled diversity, vibrancy and welcoming spirit.

As we say in our recently launched recovery campaign: It’s time for New York City. ■ Charles Flateman is executive vice president of the Shubert Organization and board chairman of NYC & Company, the official destination management and marketing organization of New York City. Emily Rafferty is a former NYC & Company board chairman and president emerita of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jonathan Tisch is a former NYC & Company board chairman and co-chairman of the board of Loews Corporation and chairman and CEO of Loews Hotels & Co. Tim Zagat is a former NYC & Company board chairman and co-founder of the Zagat Survey. Fred Dixon is president and CEO of NYC & Company.

OTHER VOICES

AS TOURISM REBOUNDS, LET’S RESPECT RESTAURANT WORKERS from how we operate our businesses to how we look at revenue streams to how we lead our everyday lives. Tourism, domestically and abroad, has been a boon for us, especially at our flagship Chinatown location with its crooked and storied street. But as popular as we may have been, it was all quickly taken away by an undercurrent of Sinophobia.

When reports of the first cases in Wuhan emerged in January, people—city residents and tourists—began avoiding Chinatown BARBARA LEUNG in fear of contracting the virus. To contextualize how January and February 2020 contrasted to previous years: Business at our Doyers Street location was down as much as 70% year over year; and the Lunar New Year, which should’ve been a joyous time, was eerily quiet. With no cases of Covid-19 reported in Chinatown and with nearby neighborhoods (where our Nolita restaurant fared well) still bustling, it was hurtful to be regarded not as humans but as disposable entertainment.

I hope this is not what post-pandemic New York City will be like.

Even if it takes domestic and international tourism in New York a significant amount of time to rebound, I hope guests can at least now start to reframe their thought patterns.

One of the many things the pandemic has highlighted is how essential workers have been disregarded. From cooking in a kitchen to managing tables to serving guests, working in a restaurant is immensely difficult, both physically and mentally.

But these workers are expected to perform perfectly day and night or risk having tips withheld or, worse, being skewered anonymously on a review website. First-generation immigrants leading restaurants juggle all of the above and sometimes handle the mental aerobics of communicating in a second language.

To have a true “better-than-ever” tourism sector, locals and tourists need to be more empathetic toward the hospitality sector. The compassion shown by diners with their patience and gratuities should not stop just because we’re vaccinated and

GETTYIMAGES

THE PAST 19 MONTHS HAVE BEEN life-altering in every sense—

have resumed some semblance of normalcy. To start, let’s acknowledge the cost of goods, value the labor and expertise in the kitchen and in the dining room, and respect the essential workers who try their best to deliver an experience to you. ■ Barbara Leung is head of operations and marketing and chief dumpling eater at Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Nom Wah Nolita and Nom Wah at the Market Line.

22 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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If you own a small business, we see you. Now more than ever, you can rely on our local expertise and personal approach to start something big.

As a preferred SBA lender, we can lend directly to businesses with reduced paperwork, faster approvals, and quicker access to funds.

Visit us in person or at santanderbank.com/business to help your business grow.

©2021 Santander Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Santander, Santander Bank and the Flame Logo are trademarks of Banco Santander, S.A. or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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The best part about owning your own business is owning your own business.

2021

In their own words

Crain’s recently brought some of the city’s leaders together to talk about how hotels, restaurants and other tourism-related businesses will recover from the pandemic. Here’s some of what they said.

COMPILED BY CARA EISENPRESS

We need to open the borders. Other countries are open, and we can emulate what they are doing successfully. It’s a federal issue, but we should all be pushing hard for the borders to open.”

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

New York is a leader in what is being done in terms of Covid prevention at conventions and meetings. I’d like to see forethought and communication about the plans from the government. That would help my side of the business.”

—Alan Steel, president and CEO, Javits Convention Center

We did a huge renovation while the hotel was closed. We recommitted to the neighborhood and the city.”

—Michael Achenbaum, co-owner and president, Gansevoort Hotel Group

There is a hunger to get out and explore that we see in leisure travel.

People dream about coming to this city, and there is going to be a big hunger for getting out.”

—Irene Bar-Am, sales manager, Greater New York, United Airlines

For the hospitality industry, it’s about getting back to where we were, to socialize and get together in a normal way, and not think about the pandemic and all the uncertainty. … The restaurant hiring question is complicated. It’s a job where you work nights, weekends. You’re on your feet dealing with people.

What are we doing to attract more employees?

Small businesses don’t have a LinkedIn. We need a better job-match operation.”

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

BUCK ENNIS, GETTY IMAGES, ISTOCK

We lost very few employees. Workers in the performing arts are coming back to New York City. It’s not like any other normal business.

People in it have to work here—their souls are in it. …

The lag in tourism has been because visitors don’t think entertainment is open. Tourists have said that when shows open, they will come to New York, but until then they will travel elsewhere.”

—Charlotte St. Martin, president, Broadway League

We should rededicate street space in New York City to new uses. I think it’s time to stop the tour bus traffic. I’d like to put that on the list of things to get rid of.”

—Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO, Partnership for New York City

24 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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VC

JOB POSTINGS DIP SLIGHTLY AS DELTA VARIANT BRINGS UNCERTAINTY

Meanwhile, recruiters say candidates with the right engineering skills are balancing multiple offers.

“The competition is just crazy, with a huge supply-and-demand imbalance,” said Rick Dionisio, chief executive of Midtown-based tech recruiting firm Ingenium. “I haven’t seen anything like it in my 25 years doing this.”

30K

Big money

15K

FROM PAGE 1

25K 20,356

20K

10K

BLOOMBERG

The market is fueled by venture capital flowing rapidly into startups, as well as by large publicly traded companies that are catching up on hiring held up by the Covid19 pandemic, Dionisio said. Investment into local startups totaled a record $22 billion in the first half of this year. More than a dozen technology firms have gone public since January.

There are about 350,000 workers in the city’s technology industry, according to estimates released this summer by CBRE, up 13% in the past five years. Those jobs are

Employer postings for tech positions in the metro area

Oct. 2019 SOURCE: CompTIA

based in Brooklyn, grew its employee roster to 1,600 by the end of June.

“Q2 consolidated head count was up over 20%, and you can expect this rate of hiring to continue this quarter,” Etsy CFO Rachel Glaser said last month on an earnings call. The company is focusing on hiring in technical product development roles, she said.

Etsy and Peloton were among the few publicly traded technology companies in the city to include a headcount update in their recent quarterly filings. The majority of companies limit such disclosure to their annual report.

That includes Datadog, a cloud-monitoring firm in Midtown whose $40 billion market cap makes it the most valuable technology firm in the city. The com-

“YOU ARE GOING TO SEE FOR YEARS TO COME A VERY TIGHT LABOR MARKET” increasingly challenging Wall Street as the city’s best paying.

Median pay at Midtown database software firm MongoDB reached $220,000 last year. The company’s head count reached 2,900 in June, according to a spokesperson, up about 35% from the same point last year.

Online crafter marketplace Etsy,

Aug. 2021

pany employed 2,185 as of Dec. 31.

It did not respond to a request for a more recent figure.

CEO Oliver Pomel said on an earnings call last month that the firm was hiring aggressively for sales and research positions.

“It’s an interesting time for hiring because the job market is very hot and there’s also many people taking some time off,” Pomel said. “So it’s a lot of effort to grow at the level at which we want. But we’re happy with the place we’re in, and we’re very happy we made the choice to keep steadily recruiting throughout the pandemic.”

The market is particularly tight for workers skilled in artificial intelligence, machine learning and cybersecurity. Those were the roles cited as most desired in a survey of 300 employers this summer by consulting firm Accenture and industry group Tech:NYC. “New York’s economy is populated by the industries most aggres-

sively embracing AI,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow and policy director at the Brookings Institution, which recently published a report about which cities were adopting AI fastest. “You are going to see for years to come a very tight labor market.”

Retrain.ai, a startup in Midtown that uses artificial intelligence to help employers retrain their workforce, has grown its head count to 31 between New York, London and Tel Aviv since launching last year, backed by $20 million in venture capital. Full-stack developers— coders who work on both the front and back ends of computer applications—are hardest to find, said Chief Operations Officer Isabelle Bichler-­Eliasaf.

In a tight market, Bichler-Eliasaf said, employers are turning to workforce training to fill technical roles.

“Not just startups and tech companies but also the banks that are

themselves becoming technology companies—they are all facing the same challenge,” she said. “But you can take people within your company and develop them into the roles you need.”

One hiccup A major unknown in the market is the Covid-19 Delta variant, which has caused major tech firms to postpone their return-to-office plans. It is unclear how it will affect hiring—but there was a slight dip last month in new tech job postings in New York, according to CompTIA data.

“Many labor market commenters cited the Delta variant as contributing to the disappointing jobs report—at least nationally—so it is a factor,” said Tim Herbert, executive vice president for research and market intelligence at CompTIA. “But it is difficult to determine the net effect in tech hiring in the short term.” ■

REAL ESTATE

BY EDDIE SMALL

A

partment leasing in Manhattan and Brooklyn reached historic highs last month, although the pace of activity has slowed since the spring amid concerns about the Covid-19 Delta variant and postponed return-to-office plans, according to the latest rental report from Douglas Elliman.

There were 8,201 new leases in Manhattan last month, up 7.1% from July and 64.3% from August 2020. It was the most new leases signed in August since at least 2008, the report says.

Renters in Brooklyn similarly signed a significant number of leases, with 2,071 deals last month, up 10.7% from July and 27.9% from August 2020. It was the most August new lease signings in the borough in at least 13 years.

Lasting impact The slowing pace of activity since the spring, however, indicates that the pandemic’s economic impact on the city has not gone away, said

Jonathan Miller, chief executive of appraisal firm Miller Samuel and author of the report. July and August are normally the most active leasing months in the city.

“New leasing activity—while it’s still unusually heavy—didn’t sustain the trajectory that was built after vaccine adoption really ramped up in the spring,” Miller said. “April, May and June were phenomenal volumes, and now we’re still seeing record activity, but not to the same extreme level that we’d seen before.”

The net effective median rent in Manhattan increased by 1.5% month over month, hitting $3,118, up from $3,073 in July. It was down 1.4% year over year, dropping from $3,161 in August 2020, the report says.

That was the smallest year-overyear rent decrease since May 2020, when rent just barely ticked up by about 0.1%.

The numbers indicated that Manhattan rents are getting closer to stabilizing, Miller said.

The size of concessions stayed the same year over year, at 1.9

months, but the share of new leases with concessions dropped from 54.2% to 37%, the report says.

Listing inventory also fell dramatically, dropping to 8,364 from 11,794 in July and 15,025 in August 2020, while the borough’s vacancy rate dropped to about 3.2%, the report says.

The only neighborhood in Manhattan where the median rent rose year over year was downtown, where it ticked up by 2% from $3,750 in August 2020 to $3,825 last month. The median rent in northern Manhattan and on the East Side and West Side dropped slightly, between 0.4% and 0.7%, year over year.

“A broad stroke for why downtown was the only neighborhood that saw an uptick in median rental price was because it is seeing the highest prices of the four regions,” Miller said. “As a result, this is a rental market where we’re seeing stronger recovery.”

In Brooklyn, the net effective median rent was $2,722 last month, down 2.4% from July and 5.4% from August 2020, when it was $2,878. It

was the 14th consecutive month that the net effective median rent in the borough dropped year over year.

The concession size remained stable year over year, at 1.5 months, and the share of new leases with concessions dropped from 43.3% in August 2020 to 31.8% last month.

Listing inventory in Brooklyn dropped by 54.4% between July and August, falling from 12,293 to 5,608, but it increased by 44.2% compared with August 2020, when it was 3,890, the report says.

The Queens scene Elsewhere in the five boroughs, in northwest Queens, the net effective median rent last month was $2,571, a 4.1% drop from July, when it was $2,680, and a 1.9% drop from August 2020, when it was $2,622.

BLOOMBERG

The city is still setting apartment-leasing records even as pace slows due to Delta concerns

The concession size was two months, up slightly from 1.8 months in August 2020 but down slightly from 2.3 months in July. The share of leases with concessions dropped to 38.6% from 42.5% in July and 59.2% in August last year.

There were 549 new leases signed in the neighborhood last month, a 37.9% increase from July and a whopping 157.7% increase from August 2020.

Listing inventory still increased year over year, from 642 in 2020 to 1,010. ■

September 13, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 25

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CLASSIFIEDS

Advertising Section

To place a classified ad, contact Claudia Hippel at 312-659-0076 or email: claudia.hippel@crain.com

PUBLIC SALE NOTICE UCC PUBLIC SALE NOTICE

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT RICP II 241 BEDFORD, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (together with its successors and assigns, “Secured Party”), will offer for sale at public auction (the “Sale”) on October 27, 2021 at 2:00 P.M. (New York Time), in WKH RIÀFHV RI 'HFKHUW //3 ORFDWHG DW $YHQXH RI WKH $PHULFDV 1HZ <RUN 1HZ <RUN (subject to the COVID-19 pandemic and applicable law (including any Executive Orders of the Governor of the State of New York) relating thereto), and also broadcast for remote participation via virtual audio/ video teleconference, one hundred percent (100%) of the issued and outstanding limited liability company interests (collectively, the “Membership Interests”) in each of 241 Bedford Investors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and Redbridge Bedford Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “Pledged Entities”), together with certain rights and property representing, relating to, or arising from the Membership Interests (collectively with the Membership Interests, the “Collateral”).

Based upon information provided by 241 Bedford Partners, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and Redbridge Bedford Partners LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, “Debtor”), the Pledged Entities DQG FHUWDLQ RWKHU SHUVRQV DQG HQWLWLHV DIÀOLDWHG WKHUHZLWK LW LV WKH XQGHUVWDQGLQJ RI 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ EXW ZLWKRXW any representation or warranty of any kind by Secured Party as to the accuracy or completeness) that: (i) Debtor owns one hundred percent (100%) of the Membership Interests in the Pledged Entities; (ii) the Pledged Entities (a) own one hundred percent (100%) of the limited liability company interests (the “Mezzanine A Collateral”) in 241 Bedford Associates, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and Redbridge Bedford LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “Property Owners”) and (b) have pledged, among other things, the Mezzanine A Collateral as collateral for a senior mezzanine loan made to the Pledged Entities (the “Mezzanine A Loan”); (iii) the Property Owners own (and Debtor indirectly owns) certain condominium units in the real property known as 241 Bedford Condominium and by the street numbers 156 to 170 North 4th Street, 155 to 175 North 3rd Street, 239 to 243 Bedford Avenue and 237 Bedford Avenue, Borough of Brooklyn, County of Kings, City and State of New York (collectively, the “Property”) and (iv) the Property is subject to a mortgage loan (the “Mortgage Loan”) made to the Property Owners.

Debtor has granted to Secured Party a security interest in the Collateral as collateral for a junior mezzanine loan made by Secured Party to Debtor (the “Mezzanine B Loan”). The Mezzanine B Loan is subordinated to the Mezzanine A Loan and the Mortgage Loan.

The Collateral will be sold as a single lot, and will not be divided or sold in lesser amounts, on an “as is, where is” basis, with all faults, and without representations or warranties of any kind or nature whatsoever, including, without limitation, any representation or warranty relating to title, possession, quiet enjoyment, or the like, and without any recourse whatsoever to Secured Party or any other person acting for or on behalf of Secured Party. Secured Party reserves the right to restrict prospective bidders to those who will represent that they (i) are purchasing the Membership Interests for their own accounts for investment and not with a view to the distribution or resale of such Membership Interests; (ii) are an accredited investor within the meaning of the applicable securities laws; (iii) have VXIÀFLHQW NQRZOHGJH DQG H[SHULHQFH LQ ÀQDQFLDO DQG EXVLQHVV PDWWHUV VR DV WR EH FDSDEOH RI HYDOXDWLQJ WKH PHULWV DQG ULVNV RI LQYHVWPHQW DQG KDYH VXIÀFLHQW ÀQDQFLDO PHDQV WR DIIRUG WKH ULVN RI LQYHVWPHQW LQ WKH &ROODWHUDO LY

will not resell or otherwise hypothecate the Collateral without a valid registration under applicable federal or state laws, including, without limitation, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or an available H[HPSWLRQ WKHUHIURP SURYLGHG WKDW WKH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ UHVHUYHV WKH ULJKW WR YHULI\ WKDW HDFK FHUWLÀFDWH IRU WKH OLPLWHG liability company interests to be sold bears a legend substantially to the effect that such interests have not been registered under the Securities Act and to impose such other limitations or conditions in connection with the sale of the Collateral as the Secured Party deems necessary or advisable in order to comply with the Securities Act or any other applicable law; (v) will purchase the Collateral in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws; (vi) DUH RU ZLOO EH DW WKH WLPH RI FORVLQJ RI WKH VDOH D 4XDOLÀHG 7UDQVIHUHH DV GHÀQHG LQ WKH ,QWHUFUHGLWRU $JUHHPHQW

and (vii) will be able to satisfy and will satisfy all of the other requirements of the Intercreditor Agreement. The FRVW H[SHQVH DQG ULVN RI VDWLVI\LQJ DQ\ RI WKH IRUHJRLQJ UHTXLUHPHQWV VKDOO EH VROHO\ WKH UHVSRQVLELOLW\ RI WKH SURVSHFWLYH ELGGHU PLEASE TAKE NOTICE WKDW WKHUH DUH VSHFLÀF UHTXLUHPHQWV IRU DQ\ SRWHQWLDO ELGGHU LQ FRQQHFWLRQ ZLWK obtaining information, bidding on the Collateral and purchasing the Collateral (the “Requirements”), including (i) complying with the restrictions applicable to the sale of the Membership Interests set forth in that certain Intercreditor Agreement, dated as of May 25, 2018 (the “ICA”), including without limitation, that such bidder is a ´4XDOLÀHG 7UDQVIHUHHµ DV GHÀQHG LQ WKH ,&$ DQG WKH ZLQQLQJ ELGGHU PXVW GHOLYHU DOO GRFXPHQWV DQG SD\ VXFK amounts required by the ICA (including, but not limited to, providing replacement guarantees and indemnities E\ D 6XSSOHPHQWDO 7KLUG 3DUW\ 2EOLJRU DV GHÀQHG LQ WKH ,&$

LL FRPSO\LQJ ZLWK HDFK 3OHGJHG (QWLW\·V JRYHUQLQJ documents, the Mezzanine A Loan documents and the Mortgage Loan documents, and (iii) complying with all other DSSOLFDEOH TXDOLÀFDWLRQV DQG UHTXLUHPHQWV LQFOXGLQJ EXW QRW OLPLWHG WR VXFK TXDOLÀFDWLRQV DQG UHTXLUHPHQWV VHW forth in the Terms of Public Sale relating to the sale of Collateral) (collectively, the “Terms of Sale”).

Secured Party reserves the right to credit bid, reject all bids and terminate or adjourn the Sale to such other date and time as Secured Party may deem proper. All bids (other than credit bids of Secured Party) must be for cash and the successful bidder (other than Secured Party) must be prepared to deliver immediately available federal funds L IRU WKH 5HTXLUHG 'HSRVLW DV GHÀQHG LQ WKH 7HUPV RI 6DOH ZLWKLQ WZHQW\ IRXU KRXUV DIWHU WKH FRQFOXVLRQ RI the Sale and (ii) for the balance of the purchase price of the Collateral on the closing date prescribed by the Terms of Sale and otherwise comply with the Requirements. The winning bidder must pay all transfer taxes, stamp duties and similar taxes incurred in connection with the purchase of the Collateral.

Further information concerning the Collateral, the Sale, the requirements for obtaining information and bidding on the interests and the Terms of Sale can be found at http://www.241bedforduccsale.com, or by contacting Brett Rosenberg of JLL Capital Markets by telephone at (212) 812-5926 or by email at brett.rosenberg@am.jll.com.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of the formation of Limited Liability Company. Name: NYCR SUBCDE 23, LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on August 10, 2021. NY office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom the process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to: NYCR SUB-CDE 23, LLC, c/o NYCRCDE, LLC, 99 Hudson Street, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10013.

Purpose / character of LLC is to engage in any lawful act or activity.

LAURA YORKE LITERARY SERVICES, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 08/26/2021. 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, 23 East 74th Street, APT. 14ABD, NY, NY 10021. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of Columbia Butlers, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy of State of NY(SSNY) on 06/07/21. Office loc: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 625 W 57th St Apt 454 NY, NY 10019. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of BSREP IV BROOKFIELD PNR L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/26/21. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/18/21. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the L.P., Brookfield Place, 250 Vesey St., 15th Fl., NY, NY 10281-1023. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808-1674. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 110 FIFTH AVENUE REALTY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/18/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 251 W. 92nd Corp., c/o Rabina Realty, 505 Fifth Ave., 27th Fl., NY, NY 10017. 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. The regd. agent of the company upon whom and at which process against the company can be served is 251 W. 92nd Corp., c/o Rabina Realty, 505 Fifth Ave., 27th Fl., NY, NY 10017. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Formation of 203 Flatiron Property Management, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/21/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Registered Agents Inc., 90 State St., Ste. 700, Office 40, Albany, NY 12207.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of 50TH & 5TH LIC JV LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/27/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 11 Park Pl., Ste. 1705, NY, NY 10007. 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 FORMATION OF Harlem Biscuit Company LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/18/20. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC at 235 W. 135TH STREET, 3B, New York, NY 10030. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of MAMOURA HOLDINGS (US) LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/02/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/22/21. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: One Vanderbilt Ave., NY, NY 10017, Attn.

General Counsel. Address to be maintained in DE: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Arts of Org. filed with the Secy. of State, Division of Corporations, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY. NAME: DEFT CHARTERS LLC. Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/06/2021. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to the LLC, c/o Foreht Associates, LLP, 228 East 45th Street, 17th floor, New York, NY 10017.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Glam-Amor Skin LLC. Art. Of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/18/21. Office loc: NY County. Prin. Office of LLC: 38W 32nd St, Ste. 1102, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against LLC to address of its principal office.

Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of 303-305 GROUP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/13/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Pietro Martire, 155 W. 85th St., NY, NY 10024. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of CSC ENTITY SERVICES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/27/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/14/98. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Cientifico Latino LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/14/2021. 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 or her is: Cientifico Latino LLC 400 West 119th Street, Apt 5D New York, NY 10027. The LLC designates the following as its registered agent to whom to send a copy of any process to the LLC: United States Corporation Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Avenue Suite 202 Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Educational Services

48 W 37 ASSOCIATES LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 07/01/2021. 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, C/O Adams & Co. Real Estate, Inc., 411 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY 10016. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of 315-317 GROUP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/13/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Pietro Martire, 155 W. 85th St., NY, NY 10024.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of JOY, LOVE & PEACE LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/04/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Florida (FL) on 09/02/03. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 3595 Anchorage Way, Coconut Grove, FL 33133, Attn: Dania Da La Vega, also the address to be maintained in FL. Arts of Org. filed with the Secy. of State, R.A. Gray Bldg., 500 South Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399. Purpose: any lawful activities.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY NAME: OTHER PARENTS LIKE ME LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 06/11/2021. Office Location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him or her to the company at 130 Watts Street, New York, NY 10013.

Principal business address: 43 County Road 635, Hampton, NJ 08827.

Purpose: Any lawful acts.

Notice of Qualification of CrossHarbor Institutional Partners 2021 Access Advisors LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/23/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/26/21. Princ. office of LLC: 200 West St., NY, NY 10282. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: Intertrust Corporate Services Delaware Ltd., 200 Bellevue Pkwy., Ste. 210, Wilmington, DE 19809. 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 CrossHarbor Institutional Partners 2021 Access LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/23/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/26/21. Princ. office of LLC: 200 West St., NY, NY 10282. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of BSREP IV BROOKFIELD PR L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/26/21. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/18/21. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the L.P., Brookfield Place, 250 Vesey St., 15th Fl., NY, NY 10281-1023. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808-1674. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

26 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

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Advertising Section

CLASSIFIEDS

To place a classified ad, contact Claudia Hippel at 312-659-0076 or email: claudia.hippel@crain.com PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Justice, Accountability, and Security Institute, L.L.C.. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on June 14, 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: 413 Grand Street, Apt. 1701, New York, NY 10002.

The principal business address of the LLC is: 413 Grand Street, Apt. 1701, New York, NY 10002.

Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of ABNER GP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/16/21.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 40 E. 69th St., NY, NY 10021. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Philip J. Michaels, c/o Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, 1301 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of RGM GP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/08/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Philip J. Michaels, c/o Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, 1301 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company. Name: Breaking Ground VI LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on June 16, 2021. NY office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to The LLC, c/ o Common Ground Management Corporation, 505 Fifth Avenue, Fifth Floor, New York, New York 10018. P urpose/character of LLC is to engage in any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of DEAD OUTLAW, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/30/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: c/o Significant Others Inc., 118 W. 22nd St., 7th Fl., 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.

Notice of Qualification of ACRE SOLUTIONS L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/09/21. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/30/21. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP 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 Coastal Returns, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/09/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Coastal Returns, LLC, c/o BFFA 1430 Broadway, Ste. 1208, NY, NY 10018. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of FINEGOLD CENTRAL PARK, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/10/16. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Deborah Finegold, 10897 E. San Felipe Ave., Clovis, CA 93619. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of 37A - 200 AMSTERDAM, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/09/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 155 WEST 11TH 9D LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/09/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/02/21. Princ. office of LLC: 820 Morris Tnpk., Ste. 301, Short Hills, NJ 07078. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Real estate.

SCRIMALE REALTY, LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 08/02/2021. 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, 745 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor, NY, NY 10151. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of THE IMMOBILARIE GROUP LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 6/11/2021. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to TEFONE HERRING, THE IMMOBILARIE GROUP LLC 30 W141st Street, Suite 4N, New York, NY 10037 Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of RYM OWNER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/21/21.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 17 Henmar Dr., Closter, NJ 07624. 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 Formation of PSINY Enterprises, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/22/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 82 Soundview Dr., Port Washington, NY 11050, Attn: Adam Schaffner. Purpose: any lawful activities.

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To place a classified ad, contact Claudia Hippel at 312-659-0076 email: claudia.hippel@crain.com To place a or classified ad, Call 212-210-0189

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