Crain's New York Business

ASKED & ANSWERED New York’s potential as a life sciences heavyweight

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NO APRON NEEDED Meal kit company embraces the microwave PAGE 3

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021

REAL ESTATE

Deals to be had in retail spaces

Landlords are now more open to adopting tech and not focusing on the long term

BY EDDIE SMALL

R

etail brokers are playing “Let’s Make a Deal” with the city’s storefronts, signing leases with sweeteners from discounted rents to more flexible terms to make the space move.

Flexibility is an essential compoINSIDE nent of getting Greed should New York retail guide retail deals done these landlords days. The sector PAGE 9 was already Top Manhattan struggling before retail leases the onset of Page 12 Covid-19, and many of those struggles have worsened during the pandemic itself, with retail availabilities in Manhattan hitting a record high during the second quarter of See RETAIL on page 15

BUCK ENNIS

The time might finally be right to relocate Madison Square Garden, upgrade Penn Station

BY AARON ELSTEIN

NEWSPAPER

VOL. 37, NO. 33

See MSG on page 17

© 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.

SPOTLIGHT

SANDWICH CHAIN ROLLS WITH COVID UNCERTAINTY PAGE 33

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SCHUSTER of Newmark at the Wilson pop-up store on Broadway

BUCK ENNIS

A SPORTING T GOOD CHANCE

here was nothing Andrew Cuomo loved more as governor than building big things. He built a new LaGuardia Airport terminal and Tappan Zee Bridge, which he named after his father. He built the Moynihan Train Hall. But he couldn’t crack the hardest nut of all: rebuilding the dismal and dangerous Penn Station.

He couldn’t because doing it right meant Madison Square Garden would have to go. But now opportunity is knocking loudly.

Eight years after the city told the

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REAL ESTATE

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

T

he world’s largest provider of flexible offices, IWG, is betting big on New York City with its third expansion in Manhattan in just over a month.

The Switzerland-based company’s newest location will be its first space under the luxe Signature brand at AEW Capital Management’s 250 Park Ave. where both IWG and the landlord have high hopes for the growth in demand for flexible office and coworking space.

“The opening … provides organizations of all sizes with the prestige

Other flexible office firms including Knotel succumbed to the pandemic’s devastation, and several of IWG’s locations under the Regus brand in the city filed for bankruptcy last year. But recently the company has been taking over its competitors’ spaces. Its last two openings were taken over from WeWork, and a third was formerly run by Virgo.

It also added more than 1 million new users in the last year across its portfolio of 20 brands, according to Dixon, and purchased a majority stake in female-focused coworking company The Wing earlier this year.

“Their expansion has been opportunistic,” said Griffin Foley of Savills’ flexible office arm Workthere, adding that IWG is taking advantage of pandemic pricing.

It can do that because of its hefty balance sheet, said Foley, while Knotel’s rapid expansion was the reason it had to declare bankruptcy.

RECENTLY THE COMPANY HAS BEEN TAKING OVER ITS COMPETITORS’ SPACES of a flagship address combined with the benefits and convenience of being able to scale up and down as business needs dictate,” said IWG founder Mark Dixon.

The 58,000-square-foot space will include a mix of high-end private offices, coworking space and four meeting rooms.

A new spin Where third-party-operated flexible offices fall short is in offering larger, more established companies the corporate aesthetic they’re

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BLOOMBERG

Coworking giant IWG triples its New York bet by expanding again, this time on Park Avenue

looking for, Foley said. Office providers have had to pivot over the past 18 months to give clients the look and feel of private offices, but on a short-term basis and with their service.

That’s where the city’s major landlords come in, offering their own spin on flexible offices to tenants in need of a smaller space or a shorter lease.

SL Green is building Altus Suites at its new One Vanderbilt building, and it’s expected to be ready for occupancy by December. Offices can range from 6,300 to 7,500 square feet, and leases can last from three to 10 years.

The Durst Organization and Tishman Speyer have their own products. Durst launched Durst Ready in 2019, and Tishman Speyer

has expanded in the past few months with two additional Studio locations. Its Studio brand now totals 350,000 square feet across the city.

APF Properties is the latest to launch its own brand of flexible office space in partnership with Avison Young. APFlex is available across 50,000 square feet in three APF buildings around Manhattan. ■

ECONOMY

JOIN US THIS WEEK! Crain’s Best Places to Work issue, celebrating 100 standout workplaces in the city, is one of the most anticipated of the year.

The Sept. 27 print edition will profile the 100 companies and offices in the city that have been deemed the best by the employees who work there.

Join us Sept. 23 at 12:30 p.m. for a virtual lunch event. The celebration will feature a live unveiling of the rankings of the 2021 Best Places to Work companies, congratulatory videos and special guest speakers.

VIRTUAL EVENT Time: 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.

CrainsNewYork.com/ BestPlaces2021

Hall of Fame event canceled Due to a resurgence of Covid-19 cases in New York City, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel our in-person event honoring the 2021 inductees into the Crain’s New York Business Hall of Fame. We are committed to keeping our readers, staff, respected honorees and the city’s business community safe.

We plan to host an event next year to honor all our Hall of Fame honorees, past and present, and we look forward to getting back to in-person events as soon as it’s safe to do so.

Congratulations again to the 2021 honorees—Dr. Albert Bourla, Vijay Dandapani, Charles Phillips, Lorie Slutsky and Melba Wilson—who have inspired us and accomplished so much during such a trying time. Read more about the honorees and their work at CrainsNewYork.com/HOF2021.

Minuscule job gains reveal city’s recovery has stalled 4,500

BY AMANDA GLODOWSKI

W

hile the national economic recovery has slowed, New York City’s has nearly come to a halt.

The Big Apple added a paltry 4,500 jobs in August, according to figures from the state Department of Labor. The increase was driven by the leisure and hospitality and financial services sectors. The largest losses occurred in local government and professional technical and scientific services. The figures mirror lackluster national economic progress.

Last month’s numbers were sharply revised from 14,200 job losses to an 18,200 gain but still reflected a minuscule growth rate of 0.004% for July. Revised figures also showed a 14,600 decline in private jobs in July. Combined with just 11,000 private-sector jobs added in August, the city was at a net negative for the summer.

“Job growth was flat in NYC for all intents and purposes, and I think that’s very concerning,” said professor James Parrott of the New School.

The unemployment rate dropped

0.3% but at 10.2%, it repostpone significant shifts mains in the double digin the fall. its; the national rate is End of benefits 5.2%. Parrott warned that NUMBER of jobs “great caution” should be The report dampens New York City taken in interpreting the hopes that the ending of added in August, according to the downward trend in ununemployment insurance Labor Department would jump-start the ecoemployment, noting that the decline is “solely a nomic recovery in the city. function of workers leavAn estimated 750,000 to 800,000 New Yorkers lost ing the labor force.” New Yorkers who have given up looking unemployment benefits Sept. 5, for work are not included in unem- when expanded federal unemployment benefits ended, according to ployment figures.

The city’s total employment level an estimate by the Century Foundais still 473,000 below pre-pandemic tion. This includes not only people levels, and just 49% of jobs have who are out of work but also self-embeen regained, compared with 90% ployed independent contractors nationally. Hotel jobs are still 40% who are ineligible for state unembelow their pre-pandemic levels, ployment insurance. and arts and entertainment jobs The federal pandemic unemployare at just 68%. ment compensation supplement “While there’s been steady was $600 per week until August monthly improvement in arts, ho- 2020. It’s been $300 since then. tels, restaurants and so on, it does There is also an extended unemlook like they’re experiencing a very ployment compensation program slow-paced rebound,” Parrott said. for workers who have exhausted the “They’re still a long way from where state’s program, which lasted for 26 they were before.” weeks. The average amount claimed August tends to be a slower month is $290 per week and is estimated to for arts and leisure generally, al- siphon $2 billion from the city’s though delayed office openings may economy per month in spending. ■

Vol. 37, No. 33, September 20, 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.

2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

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BLOOMBERG

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Founded on the love of cooking, Blue Apron warms to the microwave To fend off its competition, the Lower Manhattan meal kit company adds packaged fare to its offerings

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

B

lue Apron, founded on the idea of making home cooking easier, is introducing meals for the simplest of kitchen tools: the microwave.

The publicly traded company, based in Lower Manhattan, said last Monday that it will offer a range of Heat & Eat frozen meals alongside the ingredient-and-recipe boxes it has offered since its founding in 2012.

The move comes as Blue Apron struggles to retain customers it added during the early days of the pandemic and faces intense competition from meals-by-mail companies such as HelloFresh and Freshly.

As a startup, Blue Apron reached a $2 billion valuation, selling investors on the idea that if you send people fresh ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes, they will learn to love cooking.

“That’s why we named our company Blue Apron: Chefs around the world wear blue aprons when learning to cook,” the company’s 2017 IPO filing said. “To us, that apron

symbolizes lifelong learning, a value that permeates everything we do.”

That initial public offering was one of the weakest of 2017, however, and Blue Apron’s market value now sits at just $90 million.

Growing appetite CEO Linda Findley Kozlowski, who joined Blue Apron in 2019, said the company's mission has not changed. The new product is more of an addon to address what customers say they want.

There is a growing appetite for ready-to-eat meals, as exemplified by Nestlé USA’s purchase of Freshly, which makes microwavable meals, for $1.5 billion last fall.

“People were looking for solutions that you can deploy for these pinch-hitter moments, a day where either you need a quick lunch or maybe part of the family has soccer practice,”

Kozlowski said.

The hope is that customers sign on for a couple of microwavable options along with the standard meal kits. The Heat & Eat meals—soy-miso chicken and udon noodles with bok choy and mushrooms is one option—take five minutes in the microwave, whereas the typical Blue Apron meal requires between 25 and 45 minutes of prep and cooking time for a home chef.

“These are not a solution for ‘I don't want to cook,’ ” Kozlowski said. “They are a supplement that allows for more time to cook by having that pinch-hitter solution.”

“THESE ARE NOT A SOLUTION FOR ‘I DON’T WANT TO COOK.’ THEY’RE A SUPPLEMENT” Ups and downs

Blue Apron reported revenue of $124 million in the second quarter of the year, down about 5% from the total in the spring of 2020.

That quarter the company was boosted by the

early pandemic lockdown that had Americans avoiding the grocery store and restaurants. The company's customer count jumped to 400,000 by June 2020, an increase of about 50,000.

By the end of the year, the number of regular Blue Apron subscribers fell back to where the company had started in 2020, with about 353,000 customers. The company reported having 375,000 customers as of June 30 this year.

In the meantime, its main competitor, HelloFresh, which already offers both frozen and fresh meals, added 1 million customers in the first quarter of this year alone.

A third-party company, which Kozlowski declined to name, will produce the meals from Blue Apron and ship them to the company’s warehouses, where they will be packaged with regular meal-kit shipments each week.

Reaction to the move was muted on Wall Street. The company's share price on the New York Stock Exchange was flat Monday afternoon, around $4. ■

September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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WHO OWNS THE BLOCK

FINANCIAL DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT SPRINGS FROM THE ASHES

7 DEY ST.

SL Green goes downtown to expand into residential

BY C. J. HUGHES

A

25 CHURCH ST. This block-through edifice, a former branch of East River Savings Bank that was built during the Great Depression, is also known as 21 Dey St. In 1993 a wing of a Century 21 department store was added; the walls from next-door 22 Cortlandt St. were broken through to add display space.

Century 21, battered by Covid-19, filed for bankruptcy protection for its 13 stores last year, although the chain has since announced plans to reopen some addresses. But it won’t return to 25 Church St., said the building’s landlord, ASG Equities, which bought the property for $4.8 million in 1993, according to records. Instead, ASG is seeking a new retail tenant for its lofty 43,000-square-foot space, where it has reinstalled separating walls.

WORLD TRADE CENTER

7 DEY ST. This L-shaped site, home to a 34-story mixed-use building with apartments, offices and stores, was purchased

by SL Green Realty by way of three transactions in several years. SL Green, a publicly traded firm, bought the bulk of the site for $64 million in 2015 and added an adjacent parcel for $29 million in 2016. The final piece involved the purchase of unused development rights, or air rights, from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which controls the Dey Street Passageway, a connection to several subway lines with an entrance next door. Those air rights cost $18 million, records show.

For decades in the late 20th century, Dey Street, named for Dirck Dey, a Dutch farmer, ran for just a single block.

But with the redevelopment of the World Trade Center, a second, pedestrian-only block was created.

The site’s tallest and most recognizable tower, 1 World Trade, which is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Durst Organization, opened in 2014. Three others, 3 World Trade (2018), 4 World Trade (2013) and 7 World Trade (2006), were developed and owned by Silverstein Properties. The 9/11 Memorial opened in 2011.

But 2 World Trade, another Silverstein property, is awaiting an anchor tenant before it can rise from the ground. And 5 World Trade, a planned residential tower from Silverstein, Brookfield Properties and other firms, awaits approvals.

Likewise, the Ronald O. Perelman Arts Center is being developed by the Port Authority. The St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine, an $85 million redevelopment project, is on track after delays.

195 BROADWAY The blocklong, 29-story AT&T Building housed the phone company until the 1980s and a variety of office tenants since, including an office of book publisher HarperCollins. Its ownership also has fluctuated. L+L Holdings and institutional investors bought the column-lined structure from the financial services division of General Electric for $280 million in 2011 before embarking on a $77 million redevelopment, which led to its lobby adding an outpost of sushi restaurant Nobu and an Anthropologie store.

The investment seemed shrewd. In 2019 the owners unloaded the property in two sizable transactions.

IStar Financial snapped up the ground under the building for $275 million, while L+L, now partnered with a Korean investment group, purchased the leasehold position for $498 million.

22 CORTLANDT ST. In 1990 this 34-story, 1973 office building, owned by Mayore Estates, one of several firms controlled by Brooklyn real estate investor Moshe Drizin, welcomed a retail tenant on its lower six floors that would become a commanding presence on the block: a Century 21 department store. (Since 1961, when the company was founded by Al and Sonny Gindi, its Financial District location had been based next door, in the much-smaller 12 Cortlandt St.) Tenants on the upstairs floors of No. 22 include law, engineering and software firms, Mayore Estates said. The collapse of the World Trade Center towers in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks damaged the building, but it reopened a few months later. Century 21 ran into financial problems last year, and tensions have run high between Mayore Estates and its retail tenant. In November the landlord sued Century 21, seeking to get it to give up part of its lease. Mayore Estates sued again in June, seeking $3 million in back rent.

181 BROADWAY This 7-story office-and-residential building, which has an Aldo shoe store on its ground floor, is owned by a family whose representative is Richard Rubel.

In a sign of how the entire block can seem to be an extension of the Century 21 store around the corner, the store’s owners struck a deal in the 1960s to use the basement of No. 181 for added access to one of their shops on Cortlandt Street, public records show.

To piece together the assemblage for 7 Dey, SL Green approached Rubel about selling the family holdings, according to the New York Post, but Rubel didn’t bite.

Values have fallen recently. No. 181 is now worth nearly $3.3 million, according to the city’s most recent assessment, down from $5.02 million in 2020.

180–182 BROADWAY About a decade ago Pace University, largely a commuter school for years, began investing in dorms for its students. Its first downtown dorm, with 230 rooms across the top 20 floors of this 23-story prewar tower, opened in 2013 by way of the development team of SL Green Realty, Wharton Properties and the Harel Group.

Dorms are allowed to pack in more tenants than conventional apartments, which can boost rent revenues. The development team sold the building, whose glassy retail spaces feature an Urban Outfitters store and a TD Bank branch, to the LeFrak Organization for $195 million in 2014. “This was the first property we bought in the neighborhood,” said Brett Herschenfeld, a managing director of SL Green, which is developing a 27-story Pace dorm at 15 Beekman St. “We thought this was a great corner.”

BUCK ENNIS, GOOGLE MAPS

top office landlord, after having dabbled in dorm development, is putting the finishing touches on its first ground-up residential building.

This month SL Green Realty began leasing 7 Dey St., a 34-story rental tower near the World Trade Center with 209 apartments. But SL Green, which is best known for its high-rises around Grand Central Terminal, also has tucked three floors of office space into the new structure and a multiple-floor retail berth.

The housing market in the Financial District, which has been battered by Covid-19, wasn’t the main driver of the decision to go with an apartment building, the developer said. It was more about financial breaks conferred under the Affordable New York Housing Program, which abates property taxes for 35 years in exchange for SL Green’s offering 63 of its 209 units at below-market rates for certain income bands, said Brett Herschenfeld, a managing director of the company.

“The tax benefits have been well calculated. They give you a very good economic incentive to build affordable housing,” said Herschenfeld, who added that the tax savings flow to the office and retail spaces as well.

The firm FXCollaborative designed 7 Dey, which features amenities such as two terraces and a coworking space. It offers studios to three-bedroom units at pricey rents. Studios range from $3,500 to nearly $5,000 per month, although a concession of a free month and a half of rent on 14-month leases slightly reduces that cost.

Still, 7 Dey leased 18 market-rate apartments between Labor Day and Sept. 13, a pace that puts the entire building on track to be fully leased by early next year, even if the neighborhood continues to struggle with empty offices and stores.

The average asking rent for studios in rental buildings in the neighborhood is $3,700 per month, StreetEasy found, although most of those buildings have been open for a while. The Financial District has seen little in the way of recent rental development, even as landlords have begun considering older and underused office towers for conversions.

SL Green has been developing dorms for nearby Pace University in the past decade—their first collaboration, at 180 Broadway, is across the street—and, like many office landlords, has been hit hard by the virus.

In 2020, before February Covid-19 cases exploded in New York, the publicly traded company was riding high with a stock value of about $98. Prices plummeted to around $42 a share that May. On Sept. 10 SL Green’s shares closed around $70.

“Obviously, there have been some very dark days,” Herschenfeld said.

“But things are starting to recover.” ■

4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

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HEALTH CARE

BY MAYA KAUFMAN

L

ewis County General Hospital’s recent decision to halt deliveries after several unvaccinated maternity-ward nurses resigned rather than comply with the Covid-19 vaccine mandate became the first known manifestation of fears that the guidelines would prompt dire staffing shortages at New York hospitals.

There are early indications that the upstate hospital, located in the small town of Lowville, will not be

ciation warned that the vacancies, which it said were most significant among registered nurse and entry-level clinical positions, “may increase diversions, transfers and the need to shut down critical service lines.”

“Worker resignations are impacting workforce morale and creating challenges to scheduling staff working beyond the vaccination deadline,” the association wrote in a white paper on its findings. “Hospitals and nursing homes have already planned for a reduction in services post-implementation.”

The memo is based on the association’s survey of 60 CEOs of hospitals and other health care facilities in northern, western and central New York; the Capital District; and the southern tier conducted between Aug. 30 and Sept. 3.

The unnamed executives reported “exponential increases” in the use of traveler or staffing agencies to fill positions. The average vacancy rate was 19% among the facilities surveyed and 25% for registered

“ANY RESIGNATIONS COULD NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE ABILITY TO PROVIDE CARE” the sole facility grappling with that side effect.

The Healthcare Association of New York State sent a memo last Monday to its members, which include 246 hospitals and health care systems, alerting them to “unprecedented high vacancy rates among all health care titles,” according to a copy reviewed by Crain’s. The asso-

nurses. Executives said the projected loss of unvaccinated employees could drive the RN vacancy rate to 50%.

“With significant pockets of providers either threatening to or already leaving their positions rather than receive the vaccine, the concern is growing that any resignations could negatively impact the ability of some systems to provide care for their communities,” the association wrote in the white paper, which it sent to the governor’s office, key state officials and legislators.

HANYS President Bea Grause noted that the association “stands firm” in supporting the vaccine mandate.

“However, New York state hospitals and health systems need flexibility in workforce regulations and mandates to help them serve their patients and communities,” she said in a statement to Crain's.

The association is asking the state to instead ease requirements to allow qualified health care workers licensed in other states or in Canada to practice in New York as well as temporarily permit qualified recent graduates and volunteers to prac-

tice. It also suggested that the state issue emergency approvals of any new service reconfigurations hospitals might need to undertake during the pandemic.

Executives told the Healthcare Association of New York State they were “generally not optimistic” about improving staff vaccination rates ahead of the statewide Sept.

27 deadline for at least one shot.

Roughly two-thirds of unvaccinated health care workers are still undecided or are refusing the vaccine, the survey concluded.

Rising rates But the vaccination rate is rising.

Among the Lewis County Health System’s 610 employees, 81% are now vaccinated, up from 73% when it announced the plan to halt deliveries, according to a spokeswoman.

She said 42 staffers had resigned as of last Tuesday, and an additional 120 are still unvaccinated.

Richard Duvall, CEO of Carthage Area Hospital, about 25 minutes

ISTOCK

As Covid vaccine mandate deadline approaches, New York hospitals prepare for resignations

north of Lewis County General Hospital, and Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, said the two hospitals have seen “only a handful” of resignations due to the mandate. He said the population of unvaccinated workers has dropped from about 160 to 55 at Carthage and from 140 to 90 at Claxton-Hepburn.

The hospitals with the lowest staff vaccination rates in the state as of Sept. 7—Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Putnam Hospital Center in the Hudson Valley—have lifted their rates from 54% and 55%, respectively, to 70% and 74% as of Sept. 10, said a spokesman for Nuvance Health, the system that operates both. ■

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September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 5

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IN THE MARKETS

Tax loopholes benefiting Wall Street, real estate survive in House of Representatives plan

Restoring the full state and local tax deduction remains a priority in New York and New Jersey

I

f you work in finance or real estate, you were mighty pleased to see that two lucrative loopholes survived in the tax plan released last week by the House Ways and Means Committee. Middle-class New Yorkers hoping for a little relief have less to be happy about, at least for now.

Nothing’s over till it’s over, but now that Congress and the Biden administration have something concrete to bargain over, here’s the state of play.

mise have always been exaggerated. Before the House revenue plan emerged, John Cassidy, an economics writer at The New Yorker, tweeted he would “give up” if the carried interest loophole survived.

But the only change proposed last week was to extend the minimum holding period for an investment from three years to five.

“Paging the U.S. Senate,” Cassidy tweeted.

“Please save my career.”

1031 exchanges

This loophole is cherished by the real estate industry. It enables real This is the secret sauce estate investors to swap behind the vast wealth of one property for another private-equity or hedgefund managers and why AARON ELSTEIN without paying taxes on the transaction. There’s Warren Buffett’s tax rate is no limit on how many lower than his secretary’s.

Carried interest is the slice of an trades can be made, and if an invesinvestment firm’s profits that exec- tor dies while holding appreciated utives take home as pay. It’s taxed at real estate, heirs inherit the properthe advantageous capital-gains rate ty on a step-up basis—meaning rather than as ordinary income. It they pay no taxes on the gain when became controversial around the they sell. time of Blackstone Group’s initial These exchanges were created for public offering in 2007, when peo- farmers in the 1920s and expanded ple realized how much the firm’s to commercial real estate in 1990. partners made from carried inter- Today 20% of commercial real estate transactions are 1031 swaps. One of est.

The loophole has been around the most famous beneficiaries was for decades, and rumors of its de- Donald Trump, who 17 years ago

BLOOMBERG

Carried interest

used a 1031 to acquire 30% of 1290 Sixth Ave., his company’s most valuable real estate holding.

The Biden administration wanted to rein in 1031s by eliminating the benefits when gains exceeded $500,000. Real estate lobbyists fought back, and the Biden proposal wasn’t included in the House Democrats’ plan last week. But just in case the law changes, dealmakers say real estate investors are rushing to complete 1031 exchang-

es before the year ends.

In a statement, the Real Estate Board of New York said, “The infrastructure investments driven by 1031 exchanges are responsible for an immense amount of economic activity that creates good jobs [and] increases the supply of multifamily rental housing.”

SALT Restoring the full state and local tax deduction is a priority for law-

makers in high-tax states including New York, New Jersey and California. Few issues divide Democrats such as this one, and plenty struggle to understand why high earners on the coasts should get a benefit that’s pretty regressive. There was no SALT relief in last week’s package as Democrats punted the issue to a more deft politician, Nancy ­Pelosi.

SALT relief is expensive. Repealing the cap imposed in 2017 would cost $400 billion between next year and 2025, tax analysts say. But the benefit could be reinstated for households with an income under $400,000, which would affect 85% of people involved with this issue.

New York, meanwhile, has enacted a law that helps businesses minimize the cost of losing SALT. The statute allows partnerships and pass-through entities to deduct state taxes from federal income with no limitations.

“It doesn’t help wage earners,” said Peter Buell, a partner at accounting firm Marcum.

Analysts at Evercore ISI say partial SALT reinstatement may be necessary to solidify Democratic support for the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. The SALT limits imposed by the Trump administration are to sunset by 2025. ■

REAL ESTATE

BY EDDIE SMALL

C

ity developers who gave their employees an ultimatum to get vaccinated or else lose their job saw positive results. Most complied and got vaccinated. ​​The Durst Organization and RXR Realty have lost only one employee each since making the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for workers.

The two major firms both struck a hard line on Covid-19 vaccines earlier this year, telling their workers that they either would need to get the shot by Sept. 6 or get a new job, with limited exceptions for medical

workers made the same choice, company spokesman David Garten said.

Both spokesmen declined to provide additional information about the employees who left over the companies’ vaccine rules.

Other major real estate firms that instituted mandatory vaccine policies earlier this year include The Related Cos., which required all workers to have gotten at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by Aug. 31, and residential brokerage Triplemint, which required employees who needed or wanted to go back to the office to get vaccinated by Aug. 30.

Triplemint said it did not lose any employees over its vaccine policy, and Related did not respond to a request for comment about whether any of its employees had opted to leave the firm rather than get the vaccine.

THE TWO MAJOR FIRMS STRUCK A HARD LINE ON THE VACCINES THIS YEAR or religious reasons.

At Durst, one person out of the 350 to whom the policy applied decided to leave rather than get vaccinated, company spokesman Jordan Barowitz said. At RXR, one person of the company’s more than 500

City, federal plans Government agencies have been ramping up their vaccine require-

ISTOCK

When given an ultimatum, most employees at Durst, RXR got the Covid-19 jab

ments as the Delta variant of Covid-19 continues to spread. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration at the federal Department of Labor is developing a rule requiring all companies with 100 or more employees to ensure that their workers are fully vaccinated or undergo weekly Covid-19 testing.

An executive order from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration requires employees within the Department of Education to get at least one dose of a vaccine by Sept.

27 to return to work.

The city’s municipal unions recently sued the city over its vaccination mandate, saying it violates their members’ rights to religious

freedom and due process. The mandate applies only to the Education Department, but unions for the Sanitation, Police and Fire departments joined the lawsuit.

Throughout the state, 69.1% of the total population had received at least one vaccine dose as of last Monday morning, the state Health Department said. ■

6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

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TRANSPORTATION

Schumer blasts city’s $65 million taxi medallion bailout program, calls for alternative plan

A

s taxi drivers look for a new deal to solve the medallion debt crisis, an ally has emerged in the most powerful New Yorker in Washington, D.C. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has demanded that the city find an alternative plan to its $65 million medallion loan-restructuring program, which aims to

this year, on Sept. 12 met with taxi drivers in Murray Hill. He also delivered a passionate speech to medallion owners on Sept. 9 during a conference call with the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a group of 25,000 local drivers.

“We need New York City to make a plan that will deliver real, workable relief, solve the problem now and let you live your lives without this worry every night,” Schumer said during the call. “Unfortunately, the TLC has come up with this plan. It’s poorly structured. It’s inadequate for far too many from the very start. And making things worse, not a dollar has gone out.”

“I WORKED VERY HARD IN WASHINGTON TO DELIVER $6 BILLION IN DIRECT AID” use federal money to induce creditors holding taxi medallion loans to lower the existing debt levels that drivers owe. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the plan in March, together with Taxi and Limousine Commission leadership, but the city has yet to release any of the federal money used to fund the restructuring proposal.

Schumer, who has represented New York in the U.S. Senate since 1999 and became majority leader

Holding pattern The TLC’s rescue fund was supposed to help underwater taxi medallion owners renegotiate their loans with private lenders. Those eligible would get a $29,000 grant to help them refinance. But the program’s funds have been in a holding pattern since March as the city completes a required procurement process.

Schumer led Senate negotiations this year on President Joe Biden’s Covid-19 federal relief package, which provided nearly $6 billion in financial aid to New York City. During his call with taxi drivers, Schumer expressed frustration that the city put only $65 million toward the medalSCHUMER lion crisis when drivers and their allies have argued that much more is needed to make them whole.

“I worked very hard in Washington, against a lot of opposition, to deliver $6 billion in direct aid to New York City because I knew we had to address these problems,” Schumer said. “One of the things I mentioned was I believed this money should go to help the taxi crisis. I spoke to the mayor about it.”

The de Blasio administration and the TLC did not respond to a request for comment on Schumer’s request for a new bailout plan.

Schumer’s alliance with taxi drivers comes as the medallion’s value inches closer to a new low. Approximately 133 medallions sold for an BLOOMBERG

BY BRIAN PASCUS

average of $117,252 in August, with at least 20 foreclosure sales falling to $50,000 per medallion. Sales averaged $107,378 in June and $109,229 in July, according to TLC data. The average taxi medallion value peaked at $1.1 million in 2014 before forhire vehicle companies like Uber and Lyft entered the market.

Revised agreement With Schumer behind them, New York Taxi Workers Alliance leadership is pushing the city to broker a revised debt ceiling agreement with the creditors who hold the loans.

Instead of a $125,000 ceiling on the medallion’s value, the alliance would like the city to cap it at $175,000 and use the $29,000 federal grant to lenders to lower monthly driver payments to $800 per month, said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the group.

“They need to transform this fund,” Desai said. “They can do it by

adding a city-backed guarantee.”

Desai’s revised plan would come with a guarantee from the city to kick in the difference if a loan defaults and sells for less than its value at the time of the sale. For instance, if a medallion defaults with a $200,000 outstanding balance and the lender seizes and resells it for $190,000, then the city would be on the hook for the $10,000 difference.

“It gives the financial security and stability for these loans that incentive the lenders to reduce them,” Desai said. “And it takes the risk off the thousands of owner-drivers who face liens on their homes when they default.”

Marblegate Asset Management, the city’s largest taxi medallion loan creditor, did not respond to a request for comment on Desai’s new price ceiling.

Schumer’s office did not respond to a request for comment on Desai’s revised proposal, but he left no question as to where he stood the day he spoke to drivers.

“I’m proud to stand in solidarity with you today,” he said. “My father-in-law was a cab driver. He drove a cab for 40 years, and I know he struggled to make ends meet.” ■

HEALTH CARE

Judge temporarily blocks NY’s religious exemption ban

BY SHUAN SIM

A

federal judge last Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order against the state, preventing it from prohibiting religious exemptions to its vaccine mandate.

Syracuse federal judge David Hurd granted the order to the plaintiffs—17 pseudonymous health care practitioners—who filed a complaint last Monday. It charged that the mandate, announced by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Aug. 26, violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the Supremacy Clause and the Equal Protection Clause.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based conservative law firm.

The named defendants, Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker and Attorney General Letitia James, were barred from enforcing any requirement that employers deny religious exemptions and revoking issued ones as well as were prevented from issuing future ones.

The order does not suspend the vaccine mandate, but it temporarily restricts the Department of Health from enforcing it when individuals have claims for religious exemption, said a spokeswoman.

“We are considering all of our le-

gal options to keep our communities safe,” she said.

The order goes into effect Sept.

27, when the vaccine mandate’s deadline kicks in.

The defendants have until Sept.

22 to submit opposition to the order and show cause by Sept. 28, failing which, the restraining order would be converted into a preliminary one.

Some medical associations were dismayed by the development.

“We believe this step will result in a flurry of attempts to circumvent the well-reasoned vaccination requirement that was an important step toward reversing the recent surge attributable to the more easily spread Delta variant,” said Dr. Joseph Sellers, president of the Medical Society of the State of New York.

“No major religious denomination opposes vaccinations, and the Supreme Court has for over 100 years upheld vaccination requirements as a means to protect the public health.” Sellers added that he was hopeful the decision would be reversed in two weeks.

Not required Opponents of the mandate saw the development as advancing their cause. Liberty Counsel, a Maitland, Fla.–based law firm that litigates evangelical issues, on Tuesday announced that it would be submitting the temporary re-

straining order as a supplement to its own suit, filed in Brooklyn federal court. It had named Hochul, Zucker, Trinity Health, New York-Presbyterian and Westchester Medical Center Advanced Physician Services as defendants in the suit, also regarding the lack of religious exemptions.

“New York is required to abide by federal law and the U.S. Constitution to provide protections to employees who have sincerely held religious objections to the Covid shots,” said Mat Staver, chairman of Liberty Counsel.

However, skeptics are not so sure the argument holds water.

“We need to wait and see how the state responds, but the precedent is clear,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists, a Cranford, N.J.–based nonprofit promoting secular causes. “There is no constitutional requirement for the government to provide a religious exemption from vaccination mandates on the basis of religion, nor is there an obligation under the Civil Rights Act for employers to make onerous changes to their policies and practices to accommodate these objections.”

Fish said the purported religious objections were dubious.

“They are looking for an ‘escape hatch’ from this vaccine mandate and are grasping at any straw they can,” he said. ■

Redefining what you should expect from your accountant. grassicpas.com

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

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

City should work out amicable exit policy with MSG to finally transform Penn

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. EDITORIAL editor-in-chief Cory Schouten assistant managing editors Telisha Bryan,

Janon Fisher

S

deputy digital editor, audience & analytics

“IT IS TIME TO THINK BIG AND MAKE A PENN THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE”

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 BLOOMBERG

and, importantly, safer Penn Station.

President Joe Biden wants nothing more than to invest billions of dollars in the country’s infrastructure. The president famously commuted daily from Wilmington, Del., to Washington, D.C., during his time as a senator, earning the nickname “Amtrak Joe.” A new-and-improved Penn Station would no doubt serve as a trophy for the president’s ambition.

Let’s not forget that the Garden is facing eviction in 2023. That’s because in 2013 the City Council voted 47-1 to renew the special permit that allows the Garden to sit atop Penn Station until 2023.

That 10-year extension was presumably granted to give MSG’s owner time to relocate.

STATION Instead, its owner, Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp., invested and optimism abound. more than $1 billion in renovating As Crain’s New York Business the place. That investment alone senior reporter Aaron Elstein makes it highly unlikely that MSG writes in this week’s cover story, Chief Executive James Dolan will the conditions are right once relocate without a fight. again to consider the prospect of To be sure, we don’t advocate a relocating Madison Square protracted legal battle with Dolan.

Garden to make way for a new ometimes the stars align.

That seems to be exactly what’s happening right now in the city with regard to a slow, simmering movement to rebuild Penn Station. Now it’s time for leaders in the city, state and federal governments to muster the political gumption it will no doubt take to pull off such a massive undertaking.

In doing so, they will significantly improve the morale of hundreds of thousands of commuters who pass through the dark and dingy passages of Penn Station every day. They will demonstrate to inhabitants of the city—and, in fact, the world—that New York is rising anew, and hope

A better solution would be for the two sides to work out an amicable exit plan—one that would enable Dolan to create a bigger and better entertainment facility.

A new, reimagined Penn Station would be a tremendous asset to the city—right up there with Grand Central Terminal, Bryant Park, the High Line, Moynihan Train Hall and Times Square.

These spaces provide tourists, residents and commuters with a place to gather safely and experience New York’s unique character.

Make no mistake, a big-swing project as complex as relocating

MSG and building a new Penn Station will require enormous political will and coordination.

Lack of fortitude and funding doomed earlier plans.

But now, as the city reinvents itself in the wake of a global pandemic, the time is right to swing for the stars.

“It is time to think big and make a Penn Station that works for everyone who uses it,” Layla Law-Gisiko, a Community Board 5 official and NJ Transit rider, is quoted as saying in our story this week. “The stars may never align this way again.” ■

What New York’s next mayor needs to do about climate change

T

hey all tell us this is code red; the nation and the world are in peril.” Those are the words uttered by President Joe Biden as he toured the sections of Queens hit hardest by Tropical Storm Ida. It’s hard to forget the visual of heavy rains cascading down subway station steps and even pooling chest-high in station entryways.

Many saw the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as solely responsible for this.

Though it does have a role to play, the transit system can only do so much without a plan for the streets.

The impact of the storm surprised us all, serving as a tough wakeup call—killing at least 13 people across the city. Because of climate change, these events are expected to become worse and more frequent, stressing our infrastructure to the breaking point and threatening the viability of our

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OP-ED

BY MARCEL NEGRET AND ROB FREUDENBERG

685 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4024

communities.

Our next mayor can ensure our city is better equipped to handle devastating and worsening weather if he takes certain steps.

He should begin by understanding the magnitude of the problem so city agencies can properly address it.

The Regional Plan Association’s analysis found 20% of subway entrances—more than 400 in total— have the potential to flood during extreme weather events.

Nearly 300,000 residences are in areas that will experience flooding from 3.5 inches of rain. More than 100,000 people live in basement apartments. A solution to relocate everyone in them is not realistic.

The new mayor needs better stormwater management across our streets.

Parting clouds When extreme rain happens, it turns our 32,000 acres of paved streets into raging rivers, with water reaching places it shouldn’t. The

city should consider how much of this space can be used to integrate green infrastructure to capture some of the water, keep it out of the stormwater system and reduce the volume of flooding. Taking away just a portion of streets from parked or moving cars for these uses will benefit the entire city.

But after 10 years of green infrastructure implementation, it manages less than a third of the volume established as a benchmark in 2010, when the program was created. The pace of the program should be ramped up significantly.

City Hall needs to expand the capacity of drainage and stormwater systems.

A way to build on improving drainage and sewer capacity would be to implement an updated citywide unified stormwater rule requiring certain future projects to install preventive measures.

Finally, the next mayor needs to create more opportunities for safe, affordable housing.

People living in unsafe basement

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

apartments do so because they lack better options. A state legislative proposal would legalize basement apartments in small homes while providing technical and financial assistance to help people make the units safe and affordable.

This would establish a process to create and legalize hundreds of thousands of these spaces.

Our next mayor must get the city Transportation and Environmental Protection departments aligned with each other and with the MTA. Stronger collaboration will lead to the quicker completion of projects and mitigate the effects of rain-induced flooding sooner.

Climate change is here and will not slow down. Our window of opportunity to make substantive change is growing smaller by the day. The time to act is now. ■

SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE

Marcel Negret is a senior planner at the Regional Plan Association.

Rob Freudenberg is vice president of RPA’s energy and environmental programs.

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

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

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OP-ED

Scrap Cuomo’s plan, rebuild Pennsylvania Station

A

ftershocks from the implosion of the Cuomo administration will last for years. In at least one case, make that hundreds of years.

We’re talking about the former governor’s plans to rebuild Pennsylvania Station as part of a 20 million-square-foot monster development called Empire Station Complex. With luck, his proposal to erect 10 bland office buildings— one as big as the Empire State Building—is now dead. No one, it seems, is sorry about that.

So now we have a chance to improve the lives of generations of New Yorkers.

Today’s Penn Station, as has often been said, is a dingy subterranean misery. The morale-crushing daily passage made by hundreds of thousands of travelers and commuters is all the more galling because the original Penn Station, built in 1910 by the storied firm McKim, Mead and White, was one of the city’s grandest, most beautiful and efficient structures.

So why not take this once-in-a-generation opportunity and rebuild it as it once was? I’m serious. Why not undo one of the great crimes ever committed against architecture, urban development and the harried, day-today train passenger?

This may sound crazy, but it’s the truth: Rebuilding the original Penn Station—complete with glorious,

soaring waiting rooms, Roman columns and glass-and-steel train sheds—is surprisingly doable. This bold but simple idea will fix myriad problems in one fell swoop.

Foundation intact To begin with, the station was not destroyed—it was decapitated.

Gone are the soaring waiting rooms and the rows of columns, but all the guts remain. The entire foundation, every column supporting every piece of Penn Station, is still there, as is the configuration of the tracks.

Most of the hard work of building a train station is done. In many ways, you could argue that the easiest thing to do is to rebuild the station because you could do it without altering or affecting operations.

McKim, Mead and White’s design was a marvel of modern architecture that harked back to some of the most successful creations of ancient times, but decades of additions and poorly-thought-out renovations—including an increase in commercial space and workspaces pushed down from the decapitated top half—have turned this elegant design with remarkable throughput into a sorrowful, low-ceilinged maze.

But it can be fixed. And the result would be more than a train station.

Like other reimagined public spaces in Manhattan, such as the High Line and Bryant Park, a rebuilt Penn Station would be a grand space for New Yorkers, tourists and neighborhood residents to

enjoy, a place to rest, reflect and be elevated.

Yes, several major obstacles come to mind.

One is that circular monstrosity sitting atop Penn Station, Madison Square Garden. You’re going to have to move it somewhere if you want to rebuild Penn. James Dolan, who owns it along with the Knicks, is supposed to leave by 2023, but he is not required to go, and he has long resisted pressure to depart.

But his fortunes are somewhat tied to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with whom Dolan had a close relationship. The pandemic has hit his team’s revenue hard. After years of refusing to budge, Dolan might find a new Garden in a new location has considerable appeal.

Funding available Next is money. Of course this is a concern for any development, but the federal transportation bill awaiting approval in Washington could provide considerable funds.

The state Legislature has approved a loan of $1.3 billion to Empire Station that can’t be used for those skyscrapers. So there is at least some money here.

Last is perhaps the greatest obstacle: the innate resistance in the collective psyche of the world’s architects to replicate anything from the past. Among them, the idea that we must always move forward persists.

But there are many hugely successful examples of modern archi-

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BY ALEXANDROS WASHBURN

tecture that hark back or even directly replicate wonderful buildings that were lost or damaged.

Entire neighborhoods in Germany, for example, were rebuilt exactly as they were before they were bombed; Dresden is one example.

When the British burned down the White House in the War of 1812, did we see it as an opportunity to experiment with new forms?

No. We built the White House as it was.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame is a more recent example. Ravaged by a fire in 2019, it’s being rebuilt, and— guess what—it’s going to look exactly as it did.

Of course, the final design of a new Penn Station will go through many stages. It need not be exactly

like the original, although the proportions and the grandeur would certainly feel current today.

But look across Eighth Avenue at Moynihan Train Hall, the gorgeous transit hub that opened this year.

Though the wonderful details of this seminal structure were preserved, art and other modifications were added that would have made McKim, Mead and White’s eyes water with envy.

So too can it be on the east side of Eighth Avenue.

We had a great station. We were wrong to tear it down. Let’s build it back. ■ Alexandros Washburn is an architect and was formerly the chief urban designer for New York City.

OP-ED

Retail landlords need to get greedy in order to start renting out their empty storefronts

E

mpty storefronts rob New York City of its greatest strength—vibrant street life.

Without lively, interesting and diverse streets, our city is like any other big American city. Well, not totally like them, given its higher cost of living, smaller homes and greater taxes. If we expect people to continue to put up with these disadvantages, one of the problems we need to address is the record number of retail vacancies.

Covid-19 has taken a huge toll on retail, but the problem of empty storefronts predates the pandemic.

A report by the city’s comptroller showed that 1 in 10 stores on the Upper West Side and 1 in 8 stores in the West Village to Tribeca were vacant in 2017. The vacancy rate started taking off over a decade ago with the advent of online shopping.

Clearly, our computers will never be able to serve us coffee, cut our hair or vaccinate our pets, but what they can provide has decimated the demand for retail space.

Wrong direction Empty storefronts are much

more than just unsightly. They hurt the remaining retailers by reducing foot traffic and decreasing the viability of retail corridors. They hurt neighborhoods by diminishing the number of people who care for the street, causing trash and illegal activity to increase. They hurt the economy by reducing the number of jobs and the amount of money circulating in the surrounding community. Finally, they hurt the city’s tax base, which enables the city to maintain public space.

It’s right to blame the vacancy problem on landlords asking for rents that are too high. Excessive rents discourage new retailers from setting up shop, particularly for small stores, which add so much character to our city and lack the resources of major national chain stores.

But conventional wisdom is wrong in assuming that these high asking rents are motivated by greed.

How can someone choosing to reduce their income to zero be called greedy? Asking for excessive rents that no one will pay may be unrealistic, delusional or even stupid.

Landlords who keep their spaces vacant, earning absolutely nothing,

can hardly be called greedy.

Emotional behavior Why are landlords often doing this? Because they too are human and can act emotionally and irrationally, the way we all can. A simple analogy can help explain their behavior. Assume you had been working many years earning a salary of $200,000 a year. During that time, you often had offers for jobs with a similar salary but turned them all down because you were perfectly comfortable with your existing job.

Now suppose you lost that job and started looking for a new one at the same salary. How would you feel if the few new offers you received were for a drastically lower salary?

That is how New York’s landlords feel in this environment. Online retail has permanently and substantially reduced the demand for retail space, and the Covid pandemic has only thrown oil on this fire. Landlords’ expectations, formed over decades of increasing retail rents, have yet to catch up to the reality of today’s market, which dictates much lower rents.

If landlords were selfishly focused on getting as much money as

BLOOMBERG

BY HOWARD YARUSS

they could, the very definition of greed, they would quickly react to the changed economics, lower asking rents and fill the vacant storefronts. They would not tolerate zero income for years on end, as many of the retail landlords in my neighborhood on the Upper West Side seem to do, in the vain hope that somewhere down the road rents will shoot up. Thinking that somehow online retail will simply go away and the era of ever-increasing rents will come back was wrong before

Covid and is likely to be just as wrong after.

The sooner our city’s retail landlords get greedier and set rents so that they start actually leasing their retail spaces and earning income, the sooner we will have a more thriving, vibrant and robust retail sector and the faster New York will recover from its recent downturn. ■ Howard Yaruss is a professor at NYU’s Shack Institute of Real Estate.

September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE ACCOUNTING

LAW

The Bonadio Group

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

The Bonadio Group, a nationally ranked Top 50 CPA firm, has hired Matthew Babcock, FACHE, as a Principal specializing in healthcare in the firm’s Compliance Solutions division working out of the Albany, New York office. In his role, Babcock will consult with clients and assist with the assessment of their compliance programs, testing if federal and state Medicare and Medicaid requirements are met.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

SVB Leerink SVB Leerink, a leading investment bank specializing in healthcare and life sciences, announced that Whit Mayo will join the firm’s Equity Research team as a Managing Director and Senior Research Analyst covering Healthcare Providers and Managed Care. Mr. Mayo will be tasked with leading SVB Leerink’s research across payors, providers and health systems as the firm continues to deepen its expertise and coverage in the Healthcare Services sector. He will be based in Nashville.

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

S H A R E Y O U R C O M PA N Y ’ S J O U R N E Y

Frankfurt Kurnit has added Larry A. Welch as a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Group. Mr. Welch, who will be the Chair of the firm’s real estate practice, will be based in New York. Mr. Welch handles real estate transactions for high-profile individuals and businesses in the entertainment, advertising, restaurant, personal care, and professional services industries. He regularly advises on purchases, sales, leases, and financings of a wide range of commercial properties -- including retail stores, restaurants, music studios, art galleries, advertising agencies, gyms, professional offices, schools, and other public spaces across the country. Mr. Welch also joins the Frankfurt Kurnit Restaurants Group.

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

Valuation Research Corporation Tom Gottfried joins Valuation Research Corporation, a global valuation and advisory services firm, as Managing Director. He will provide senior-level support on complex tax valuation issues raised by mergers & acquisitions and multinational corporate restructurings to teammates across the country and to valuation professionals outside the U.S. through Valuation Research Group, VRC’s global member network. Prior to joining VRC, Gottfried worked at Ernst & Young’s Strategy & Transactions team.

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

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ASKED & ANSWERED BioLabs@NYULangone

WHO SHE IS Director, BioLabs@NYULangone AGE 46

INTERVIEW BY SHUAN SIM

W

hen the opportunity came for Glennis Mehra to be director of BioLabs@NYULangone, she said it was “serendipity.” Having been a strategy consultant for translating life science innovations into the consumer space and having run a drug discovery platform in India, Mehra saw the position as a way to leverage her entire professional experience all at once. When she assumed her role in February, one thing became clear: New York’s life science scene is in its nascent stage, but the city has the potential to one day hold its own against traditional hubs such as Cambridge, Mass., and Silicon Valley.

What are local life science companies’ impressions of their hometown?

They are by and large very vested in staying here. They can’t imagine being anywhere else. However, the city needs to grow its accessible space and ecosystem that makes it economical for biotechs and life science companies to stay.

What does that entail?

It’s not going to be just building lab space. It includes the whole infrastructure—contract research organizations, manufacturing and other support systems. I’m anticipating

EDUCATION Bachelor’s in biology and neuroscience and behavior, Wesleyan University; master’s in functional genomics and developmental neurobiology, Columbia University; doctorates in neurobiology and behavior, Columbia University

Why should the city invest in making sure life sciences firms stay here?

Being one of the densest cities in the world, as we saw with Covid, we are heavily affected by health issues. Having a robust tech ecosystem that works with the biology of life and what is needed to intervene is something New York can benefit from, not just economically but also from a health policy view. Imagine having the innovations to address future health crises born right here in our own neighborhoods.

BORN Georgetown, Guyana RAISED Queens Village RESIDES Waccabuc, Westchester County FAMILY LIFE Mehra is married with three daughters.

SPARE TIME She considers gardening, cooking and reading—especially about history—to be her main hobbies.

POST-COVID PLANS Mehra is looking forward to going on vacation to Greece.

“Or even just going to a club and dance!” she added.

in the next five years all the infrastructure will hopefully be there and we can reminisce about the days when it wasn’t crowded here in the city.

What is New York’s draw, if we’re missing those pieces currently?

What we should keep in mind is we’re still nascent and

What’s the value of incubator programs such as BioLabs?

It’s more than just making new discoveries. I like to focus on impact— what is the impact these companies will have on the world. We hope to get them to consider how they want to represent themselves in the community and how New Yorkers would view them.

The presence of someone like myself—African American, a former entrepreneur with a PhD, a woman—I want to impact individuals who do not see themselves in this role, and I take that responsibility very seriously. ■

BUCK ENNIS

GLENNIS MEHRA

growing quite rapidly. There are developments in Brooklyn Navy Yard and by the Economic Development Corp. that will create incentives for life science companies to stay. But even now research teams can reside in the city.

When it comes down to economics and talent, New York already has them. The venture capital community is active here, so access to capital is not a problem.

DOSSIER

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THE LIST TOP MANHATTAN RETAIL LEASES Biggest transactions in the first half of 2021, ranked by square footage

AMANDA.GLODOWSKI@CRAINSNEWYORK.COM

THE TOP FOUR

31 32 33 34

35

36 37 PHOTOGRAPHY BUCK ENNIS

38

39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

FROM LEFT 711 Fifth Ave., 601 Lexington Ave., 253 W. 47th St. and 508-512 W. 42nd St.

ADDRESS

SQUARE FEET TENANT

TENANT REPRESENTATIVE(S)

LANDLORD(S)

LANDLORD/SUBLANDLORD REPRESENTATIVE

NEIGHBORHOOD

DEAL TYPE

1 2 3 4

711 Fifth Ave.

28,335 Mango

Direct deal

SHVO

Ripco Real Estate

Midtown East

New Lease

601 Lexington Ave.

26,273 TMPL Fitness

Cushman & Wakefield

Boston Properties

Direct deal

Midtown East

New Lease

253 W. 47th St.

25,000 Brooklyn Chop House

Meridian Capital Group

Friedland Properties

Friedland Properties

Midtown

New Lease

508-512 W. 42nd St.

20,000 Delmonico Steakhouse

Meridian Capital Group

Merchants Hospitality/Cachet Hospitality

Meridian Capital Group

Hell's Kitchen

New Lease

48 49

5 6 7

217 Broadway

19,585 CVS Pharmacy

Newmark

Columbus Properties

CBRE

Financial District

New Lease

50

18 W. 18th St.

18,525 Summit Health

Newmark

C.A. White

Cushman & Wakefield

Union Square

New Lease

350 E. 82nd St.

18,271 Primrose Schools

Charter Realty & Development

RFR Realty

Newmark

Upper East Side

New Lease

8 9 10 11 12 13

1865 Broadway

17,422 Summit Health

Newmark

AvalonBay Communities

JLL

Columbus Circle

New Lease

537 W. 26th St.

17,044 The Chelsea Factory

JLL

Vornado Realty Trust

Vornado Realty Trust

Chelsea

New Lease

1511 Third Ave.

16,243 Gap

Newmark

Union Investment Real Estate

Direct deal

Upper East Side

Renewal

29 W. 36th St.

15,000 La Casa Del Mofongo

Meridian Capital Group

Broadway 36th Realty

Meridian Capital Group

Midtown

New Lease

100 Pearl St.

14,022 Urbanspace

Newmark

GFP Real Estate

Newmark

Financial District

New Lease

1290 Avenue of the Americas

13,321 Chase Bank

Cushman & Wakefield

Vornado Realty Trust/Trump Organization

Vornado Realty Trust

Midtown

New Lease

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

104-110 Greene St.

11,777 Vashi

CBRE

SL Green Realty

SL Green Realty

SoHo

New Lease

294-296 Grand St.

10,105 Gorillas Grocery Delivery

Ripco Real Estate

Wolf Karifol

Sinvin Real Estate

SoHo

New Lease

4 Union Square

10,025 Five Below

JLL

Vornado Realty Trust

Vornado Realty Trust

Union Square

New Lease

409 E. 14th St.

10,000 Chef's Local Harvest

Okada & Co.

The Blackstone Group

Ripco Real Estate

East Village

New Lease

447 Broadway

10,000 Soho Food Gallery

Chibeca Real Estate

AB & Sons Group

Kassin Sabbagh Realty

SoHo

New Lease

NEI

BUCK ENNIS

Sourc resea

601 W. 181st St.

9,217 Chik-Fil-A

Newmark

Crown Acquisitions

Crown Acquisitions

Harlem

New Lease

Num

850 Third Ave.

9,144 Chase Bank

Colliers

Chetrit Organization

Newmark

Midtown East

Renewal

12 1

513 Broadway

9,143 Tumi

CBRE

Premier Equities

Cushman & Wakefield/ Premier Equities

SoHo

New Lease

10

22 23 24 25 26 27

1311 Second Ave.

9,000 Williams-Sonoma

Newmark

Rudin Management

Direct deal

Upper East Side

Renewal

127 E. 59th St.

8,649 Salons by JC

Compass

118 E 60th Owners Inc.

Newmark

Midtown East

New Lease

4

1245 Broadway

8,224 Matthew Kenney Cuisine

CBRE

GDSNY

CBRE

Midtown

New Lease

2

32 E. 57th St.

8,181 Maximilian

Ripco Real Estate

Joseph P. Day Realty

CBRE

Midtown East

New Lease

0

8 W. 40th St.

8,116 Wolkonsky Bakery & Cafe

J W Burke & Co.

Jack Resnick & Sons

Jack Resnick & Sons

Midtown

New Lease

Mid

900 Broadway

8,000 Mezeh Mediterannean Grill

Cushman & Wakefield

Justin Management

Nomad Group

Flatiron District

New Lease

28

315 Hudson St.

7,665 Sweetgreen

The Shopping Center Group

Jack Resnick & Sons

Jack Resnick & Sons

Meatpacking District

New Lease

29 30

208 Canal St.

7,500 East West Bank

Newmark

208 Canal Owner LLC

Direct deal

Two Bridges

Renewal

323-325 W. 37th St.

7,300 GoBrands

Newmark

Kurz Realty

Kassin Sabbagh Realty

Midtown

New Lease

8

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

P012_P013_CN_20210920.indd 12

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6

t

5

COM

SQUARE FEET TENANT

ADDRESS

TENANT REPRESENTATIVE(S)

LANDLORD(S)

LANDLORD/SUBLANDLORD REPRESENTATIVE

NEIGHBORHOOD

DEAL TYPE

31 32 33 34

901 Broadway

7,170 Timothy Oulton

Compass

Karass Broadway 901

Compass

Flatiron District

New Lease

592 Broadway

7,163 Wilson Sporting Goods

Newmark

GFP Real Estate

Newmark

SoHo

New Lease

50 W. 14th St.

7,064 Cross Roads

Shopping Center Group

50 West 14th St. Corp.

CBRE

Union Square

New Lease

1250 5th Ave.

6,738 Labcorp

Charter Realty and Development

Dalton Management Co.

Gendron Commercial Brokers of Boston

Harlem

New Lease

35

1350 Avenue of the Americas

Just Salad

Cushman & Wakefield

SL Green Realty

Newmark

Midtown

36 37

24 E. 21st St.

6,630 Mister French

Heller Organization

Noam Management

Colliers

Flatiron District

New Lease

391 Avenue of the Americas

6,600 Orangetheory Fitness

Kassin Sabbagh Realty

Walter & Samuels

Winick Realty Group/Walter & Samuels

Greenwich Village

New Lease

38

530 Fifth Ave.

6,562 UGG

Newmark

RXR Realty/Brookfield Properties

RXR Realty

Midtown

New Lease

39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47

540 W. 26th St

6,552 Sundaram Tagore Gallery

Cushman & Wakefield

Ramrock Real Estate

Cushman & Wakefield

Chelsea

New Lease

735 Ninth Ave

6,550 Boxer's Bar

Direct deal

735-739 9th Avenue Realty Corp

Kassin Sabbagh Realty

Hell's Kitchen

New Lease

135 Third Ave.

6,526 Gramercy Discount

Kassin Sabbagh Realty

Ditmas Management Corp.

Katz NYC

Gramercy Park

New Lease

123 William St.

6,500 123 Marketplace

Kassin Sabbagh Realty

New York City REIT

Kassin Sabbagh Realty

Financial District

New Lease

225 Fifth Ave.

6,270 Chase Bank

Newmark

CIM Group

Direct deal

Midtown

Renewal

102 Madison Ave.

6,240 Rimadesio

Cushman & Wakefield

A. Ruth & Sons Real Estate

Colliers

Midtown

New Lease

3-5 W. 36th St.

6,100 Ittimani

Habendum

Equity Homes

Dynamik Real Estate Group

Midtown

New Lease

452 Broadway

6,000 Pearl River Mart

Lee & Associates

Town & Country Marina

Sequoia Property Group

SoHo

New Lease

666 Broadway

6,000 Union Square CrossFit

JLL

666 Broadway Condominium Associates

Newmark

SoHo

New Lease

1245 Park Ave.

5,672 Carnegie Specialty Foods

Cushman & Wakefield

Mount Sinai Hospital

Cushman & Wakefield

Upper East Side

New Lease

se

48 49

2-4 Bank St.

5,600 L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele

UBIQ NY

Sky Management

Lee & Associates

Greenwich Village

New Lease

se

50

233-237 W. 125th St.

5,422 Sushi Inoue

Lee & Associates

Lam Group

Lee & Associates

Harlem

New Lease

E

se

se

se

6,652

se SOURCE: CoStar Group with additional research by Amanda Glodowski. This list includes leases with terms of more than two years. In cases of ties, deals are listed with the same ranking number in alphanumeric order of address. CoStar Group conducts research to maintain a database of commercial real estate information. For more information, visit costar.com or call 800-204-5960.

se

se

WANT MORE OF CRAIN’S EXCLUSIVE DATA? VISIT CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/LISTS

se

se

TOP TENANT REPRESENTATIVES

se

Number of deals each tenant representative has on the list

se

NEWMARK

se

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD

11 7

se

3

JLL 3

se

NEIGHBORHOODS ON THE RETAIL RISE

se

Number of retail deals on the list per neighborhood

se

3

Number of times each landlord/sublandlord representative appears on the list

MERIDIAN CAPITAL GROUP 3

10

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

COMPASS

8

2

7

6

DIRECT DEAL

5

4

se

2

se

0

se

Mid

4

2

3

3

3

3

LEE & ASSOCIATES 2

n

tow

se

se

MOST ACTIVE LANDLORD REPS

KASSIN SABBAGH REALTY

12 11

se

se

BUCK ENNIS

se

BUCK ENNIS

se

CBRE

5

o

SoH

n tow MidEast

ial ron lem per Up Side inanc ict Flati trict Har t F str Dis Eas Di

LEASES on the list were direct deals.

ion Un uare Sq

RIPCO REAL ESTATE 2

0

2

4

10,582

6

8

10

AVERAGE square footage of top retail leases

12

7 4

Newmark

4

CBRE

90%

3

3

Kassin Cushman & Vornado Sabbagh Realty Wakefield Realty Trust

OF LEASES on the list are new leases, as opposed to renewals.

SOURCE: Crain’s analysis, CoStar Group

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

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BUSINESS FORUM

Why the city’s life sciences industry is still in the gestation stage

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

N

ew York needs talent.

When it comes to the recipe for building a thriving life science hub, the city has it all, except enough professionals who can carry the emerging sector.

It’s a world-class location, with billions of dollars in venture capital and National Institutes of Health funding, a deep research base and a strong talent pool, said Joel Marcus of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, but the industry isn’t concentrated

to be another company around the corner that they can latch onto,” said Rick Lifton, president of the Rockefeller University. “We’re a little sparse with maturing companies.”

Science clusters But that hasn’t kept the market from breaking leasing records, with 331,000 square feet of lab space leased during the first half of the year, more than quadruple 72,000 square feet absorbed in 2019, according to CBRE's data.

“We have a situation where Covid has created tremendous opportunities in our space,” said Glennis Mehra, director of startup incubator BioLabs@ NYULangone.

Clusters, or areas heavily concentrated with life science companies, can take 25 years to mature, Marcus said, but New York has been competing with major life science centers such as Boston and Cambridge since its first foray into life sciences in 2004.

But in Boston there’s still a higher

“BOSTON IS A DECADE OR MORE AHEAD OF US JUST IN TERMS OF THEIR ROBUSTNESS” enough to attract people to drive these companies beyond the startup phase.

“People want to move to a place where they know they’re taking a good bet in the company they’re joining, and if that doesn’t work out, they want to know there’s going

concentration of life science firms than in New York, and that’s more attractive to talent, Mehra said.

“They’re probably a decade or more ahead of us just in terms of their robustness,” she said.

She joined Lifton, Marcus and Thomas Grech, president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, for a Crain's New York Business forum on the state of the booming industry.

In the past 17 years other campuses have popped up across the boroughs, including the Manhattanville Factory District in West Harlem, the Hudson Research Center in Midtown West and the newly constructed Innolabs in Long Island City.

Thanks to the high demand for space in Manhattan, there is no available pre-built lab space there, according to CBRE's research. But as the largest borough, Queens is poised for new development and rapid growth because it has more space, Grech said.

“The development of 1.5 million square feet of life science facilities in Long Island City by 2028, in our estimation, would provide over 5,000 short-term jobs and almost

GRECH

LIFTON

MARCUS

MEHRA

THANK YOU Crain’s acknowledges the presenting sponsor of the business forum, United Airlines, as well as its corporate members, Brown & Weinraub, BTEA, Cozen O’Connor, GCA, George Arzt Communications, Greenberg Traurig, Kasirer, Nicholas & Lence Communications, National Grid and Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates. Without their support, this business forum would not have been possible.

15,000 permanent jobs,” Grech said.

Long haul Alexandria Real Estate Equities is redeveloping a former manufacturing facility there into what will be known as the Alexandria Life Science Factory. To be competitive,

though, Queens developers should focus on the cell therapy and gene therapy space, which doesn't make sense in a place like Manhattan, Marcus said.

“This is a long haul,” he said of the city’s growth as a science hub. “I think we’re still in the birthing stage.” ■

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Join us at Crain’s Best Places to Work virtual lunch event on September 23. This celebration will feature a live unveiling of the rankings of the 2021 Best Places to Work companies, congratulatory videos and special guest speakers.

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

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FROM PAGE 1

this year, according to a CBRE report.

In the past 18 months, retail brokers have had to make several changes in the ways retail leases get done to keep business moving. To fill the city’s increasingly empty storefronts, they’ve used everything from virtual tours to shorter lease terms to different rent-payment structures. The tactics have sparked a different leasing landscape for the sector—but it is one that can be more lively, Newmark Vice Chairman Ariel Schuster said.

“In the past, it was just, ‘Who’s going to pay the most rent? Call them in 10 years,’ ” he said. “It’s actually more fun to negotiate now because it used to be a little bit of a cookie-cutter format, but that has changed.”

Brokers are using three main strategies to make deals during the city’s most challenging retail market in recent history.

Shorter leases

BUCK ENNIS

One of the toughest aspects of the retail market to deal with during the pandemic is the uncertainty. This has in turn led to retailers and landlords being more willing to come to terms on shorter lease deals, in contrast to the longer ones that were more common in the past.

“It used to be a huge percentage of deals were 10-year deals, 15-year deals,” Schuster said. Terms are “a lot more flexible” now, “and I think that’s given a lot of tenants [the] confidence to come in.”

For example, sporting goods company Wilson recently opened a pop-up store at 594 Broadway in SoHo to coincide with the U.S. Open, and Newmark has signed retail deals for nine months, two years and five years on a blockfront along Lexington Avenue between East 74th and East 75th streets, Schuster said.

“If it’s a company that started two years ago, mid-20s founders, for

SOUTENDIJK of Cushman & Wakefield says next year’s a wildcard.

$615

them 10 years is a lifetime. These newer brands, AVERAGE COST they want to be per square foot nimble,” he said, in 14 out of 16 “and I think Manhattan retail nowadays landcorridors lords are interested in having relevant brands as opposed to having a longTHE AVERAGE term lease with reduction in somebody who rent in most may be a dinoretail areas in saur.”

Manhattan since last year Long-term retail deals are not dead. Wilson itself is planning a flagship store in New York on a long-term lease right next to its pop-up store. The shorter leases and increased flexibility reflect a certain amount of confidence that the city’s retail market will be back to where it was before the pandemic within a few years. These deals operate in part as a way for landlords to keep their spaces active and keep an income stream coming in during the pandemic. The other option would be to deal with an empty space.

“We weren’t solving for how New York City retail will look far into the future. We just needed to solve for the next two years, so I think that’s the biggest change that you’re seeing,” said Matthew Chmielecki, CBRE's senior vice president.

“Landlords tend to have a choice right now. It’s let your space sit vacant for the next year or two or find a creative way to get through the next year or two.”

10.7%

Rethought rents The idea of trying to get through the next few years before a broader return to normal is also part of the thinking behind the rents on retail leases. Many landlords are temporarily reducing them to survive for the next two years, but they have rent increases built into their tenants’ leases starting in year three, Chmielecki said.

CHMIELECKI of CBRE says landlords need to get creative.

“If your space was worth $200 a foot in 2019, it will be worth $200 a foot again. You’ve just got to wait two years to get there,” he said. “I didn’t restructure a single deal that said, ‘You know what? This is going to be your new rent moving forward.’

Every single restructure deal that I

BUCK ENNIS

RETAIL

$615 per square foot, throughout the borough, the lowest price in almost a decade, the report said.

Some landlords and tenants are opting for percentage rent structures. These entitle the landlord to a percentage of the retailer’s gross sales and have historically been used to bridge the gap between what the landlord wanted to get and what the tenant wanted to pay in base rent. Now, however, they are being used as tools to help retailers and landlords get through the rest of the pandemic, Chmielecki said.

“This is a tenant saying, ‘I want the space. I want to be successful moving forward, but this next year is such a wildcard, I can’t submit to base rent,’ ” he said, “ ‘so this first year, I’ll pay you a percentage of my gross sales.’ ” Percentage rent clauses have become more common in retail leases, said Mike O’Neill, an executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield. But he cautioned against viewing them as a cure-all for the industry’s problems.

“We’ve certainly seen significantly more percentage rent–heavy transactions than we have at any point in the past in Manhattan,” he said. “With that said, in many instances, that is a relatively shortterm solution.”

GFP Real Estate Chairman Jeffrey Gural echoed this point, framing percentage rent as a stopgap measure to help some of his clients weather the impact of the coronavirus rather than as a permanent new way of doing business.

“I’ve done percentage rent deals with my existing tenants while they suffer through the pandemic,” he said, “but I haven’t done any longterm percentage rent deals.”

“IF YOUR SPACE WAS WORTH $200 A FOOT, IT WILL BE WORTH $200 A FOOT AGAIN” worked on was, ‘We need a break for the next two years, and then we’ll go right back to where we were.’”

Average asking rents were down year over year during the second quarter in 14 of the 16 Manhattan corridors CBRE analyzed in its retail report, and they dropped 10.7%, to

Virtual tours Virtual tours, which became more common by necessity during the beginning of the pandemic, have proved to be a key tool for securing retail leases, said O’Neill and

Steven Soutendijk, also an executive managing director at Cushman & Wakefield. They were already fairly common in the office world, but they were not particularly common for retailers until the pandemic struck. They have since helped facilitate a surprising amount of leases, Soutendijk said.

“It’s a lot like QR codes. It’s a technology we had that we didn’t use a lot because we didn’t see the need for it,” he said, “and then, midCovid, you’re like, ‘I can’t believe we ever lived without this.’ ” These tours have helped retailers get a better sense of what type of space they want ahead of a physical tour, which then makes the physical tour much more focused and productive, as the companies can eliminate spaces that don’t work for them before having to go out and see them in person. Unlike with some of the leases and rent structures the retail industry has focused on during the pandemic that are short term by definition, O’Neill does not expect the popularity of virtual touring to change once the pandemic subsides.

“This is an aspect that will absolutely play through and remain well beyond the period of time we’re in now,” he said.

Virtual tours helped one company, Florida-based health food chain Carrot Express, which plans to expand into New York with its first store in the city later this year.

“We did virtual tours, Google Maps walkthroughs on Zoom before [a representative] was finally able to come in August,” said Soutendijk. “We negotiated through the fall and winter and signed a lease for Carrot Express’s first store on 23rd Street.”

Carrot Express will open its store at 18 W. 23rd St. in December, said Abraham Chehebar, the company's managing director. He gave the leasing process the store went through to find its space a complimentary review.

“Everything was a lot more flexible,” he said. “It was a lot easier for a small chain like us to negotiate during that time.” ■

SEPTEMBER 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 15

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MSG

Safety concerns She’s not the only one who thinks Penn Station is a safety risk; the state Legislature does too. In 2018, a year after a stampede at rush hour injured at least 16 people, a law declared that the station poses a “clear public safety hazard.”

“Penn Station is currently overcrowded, hard to navigate, at times often chaotic and has a limited capacity for security and proper policing,” the New York Pennsylvania Station Public Safety Improvements Act reads. “Penn Station is in desperate need of more access and egress to allow better entrance and exit capacity and expedited evacuation procedures. In this time of heightened terrorist threats, Penn Station needs more controlled points for security monitoring and equipment.”

It adds: “This is a pressing public safety and transportation issue and is a major objective for the state to resolve.”

Some aspects of Penn Station’s safety problems can be addressed by enlarging its claustrophobic corridors and making the place less confusing to get around—and some of that work is underway. But perhaps the biggest problem can be found at the tracks, where bottlenecks of passengers routinely form because the columns that support Madison Square Garden and the 2 Penn Plaza office tower

PENNED IN: Penn Station is known among commuters for its claustrophobic corridors that can be hard to navigate. The state Legislature has called it “often chaotic.” obstruct the platforms.

“Look around,” Brian Fritsch, a manager at the Regional Plan Association, said during a visit to the tracks. “You’ll see there’s only one staircase nearby.”

Public transit, meet private development If you visit Penn Station today, you might think the grand reconstruction project had already begun. Multiple jurisdictions have partnered to widen the corridor that parallels West 33rd Street and raise the ceiling.

“The days of people bumping their heads against a steel beam

ture is in doubt now that Cuomo is gone and, at least for now, so is demand for commercial real estate in Manhattan. Office vacancy rates were 18% in the second quarter, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield, which expect the rates to rise further.

So what does Hochul want for Penn Station? Will she scrap Cuomo’s son-of-Hudson Yards plan?

Does she support moving the Garden or shaving off its theater?

Mum’s the word for now.

“Gov. Hochul is committed to a world-class transportation network and smart development across New York,” spokesman Jason Gough said in a written statement.

“She will review the work of the Community Advisory Committee Working Group along with broad public feedback to ensure the best possible plan to improve the Penn Station district.”

Government watchdogs say Hochul should use public money to fund a massive public-works project.

“She has to take a hard second look,” said Rachael Fauss, a senior research analyst at Reinvent Albany. “Cuomo loved vanity projects; he loved ribbon-cuttings. Is this what we need?”

However the reconstruction of Penn Station is paid for, any plan immediately runs into what to do

“IF THE GARDEN LOSES THEIR PERMIT, THEY WOULD GO TO WAR” will be over,” Fritsch said.

The construction work is managed by Vornado Realty Trust, one of the city’s biggest commercial landlords. It is ceding some of the basement space in the tower it owns at 1 Penn Plaza.

But this work is just a warmup for the main event—although what exactly the main event will be isn’t a done deal.

The Cuomo administration unveiled plans this year to build a new business district around Penn Station. It said the development’s tax revenue would cover the bulk of the state’s $16 billion share of the cost to rebuild and expand the station. Vornado Chief Executive Steven Roth has called the project “the promised land” because it would mean 10 new towers and 20 million square feet of commercial space—more than Hudson Yards, the 18 millionsquare-foot, $25 billion development by The Related Cos. “This may be the biggest land-taking deal since the Dutch bought Manhattan,” state Sen. Liz Krueger said.

“What does any of this development have to do with improving public transit?”

The ambitious project’s fu-

about Madison Square Garden.

Owner MSG Entertainment said in a statement: “We look forward to working with Gov. Hochul and supporting her plans.”

Cultivating the Garden The city will soon have some leverage over the Garden, should it choose to use it.

In 1963, when the original Penn Station (built in 1910 and modeled after the Gare d’Orsay in Paris) was torn down, authorities granted MSG a special permit to operate over the new, smaller station underground. The permit expired after 50 years, and the arena’s owner asked that it be made permanent in 2013, but the City Council granted only an additional 10 years. City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden said at the time that the deadline would “create an opportunity for city, state and federal government agencies to reach an agreement with Madison Square Garden and the railroads for a comprehensive plan to relocate the arena and rebuild Penn Station.”

MSG obviously wants a say in determining its fate but declined to discuss where it stands on a potential move. The company has donated the $1,000 maximum to nine City Council candidates this year, according to campaign finance records. A committee backed by MSG Chief Executive James Dolan, the Coalition to Restore New York, gave $66,764 to Eric Adams’ campaign for mayor and the same

BUCK ENNIS

Garden to move by 2023, conditions may be right for a big swing involving a huge public outlay to move the world-famous arena and disentomb Penn Station.

The White House is led by an Amtrak fan who seeks to spend billions of dollars to rebuild infrastructure and who has revived the long-delayed Gateway project, which will add two tunnels and double Penn Station’s capacity.

Metro-North trains will roll into the station in a few years.

By the end of September Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to lay out her vision for what is to be done with the festering sore used daily by nearly 600,000 rail and subway passengers before the pandemic.

“It is time to think big and make a Penn Station that works for everyone who uses it,” said Layla LawGisiko, a Community Board 5 official and NJ Transit rider. “The stars may never align this way again.”

Lowell Kern, a member of a committee advising the state on Penn Station’s future, doesn’t think it’s realistic to evict the arena yet. He would like there to be less of it, though. He supports a plan to acquire and dismantle the 5,600-seat Hulu Theater at MSG so a grand entrance to Penn Station can be built on Eighth Avenue and passengers wouldn’t resemble rats scurrying into a hole.

“We can absolutely do better than what we have now,” said Kern, chairman of Community Board 4.

Better isn’t nearly good enough, Law-Gisiko countered.

“The problem with Penn Station is not aesthetics, it’s safety,” she said. “To make the place safe, it’s imperative to move Madison Square Garden.”

BUCK ENNIS

FROM PAGE 1

amount to other leading Democratic candidates in the primary.

So what would happen if the City Council decided it really is time for the Garden to go? Odds are Dolan wouldn’t budge, because he owns the land and spent $1 billion in the past decade renovating the arena.

“If the Garden loses their permit, they would go to war,” said Brandon Ross, an entertainment-industry analyst at Lightshed Partners.

“The legal fight would last for years.

The only way to get this done would be in a cooperative manner.”

Cooperation can be achieved at a price.

Arena owner MSG Entertainment has a stock-market capitalization of $2.7 billion. Any deal would surely require letting the Garden keep the property-tax break granted in 1982 that deprived the city of $42.5 million in revenue last year. Dolan also owns the Garden’s air rights, which Ross estimated in 2016 would amount to as much as 4.8 million square feet of developable rights worth $1.3 billion.

The numbers indicate paying Dolan to move the Garden and building a new arena nearby—possibly in the space west of Moynihan Train Hall—would cost taxpayers as much as $5 billion.

Acquiring only the theater at MSG would cost up to $77 million, Ross reckoned in 2016. He said in an interview that Dolan likely would be willing to part with it because acts could play at his other concert venues, the Beacon Theatre and Radio City Music Hall.

Buying the theater at MSG to make a dignified Penn Station entrance sounds as if it’s the inevitable outcome, even if that means the safety problems at the platforms remain. Then again, the federal government is poised to allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to improve the nation’s infrastructure. Perhaps some of that gusher could build the Penn Station that New York needs.

Law-Gisiko acknowledges that the ideal world is many years away, but she says the days of settling for half-hearted fixes need to end.

“I don’t want a future,” she said, “where our grandchildren will still be boarding trains from the basement.” ■

September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 17

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REAL ESTATE

HFZ church project foreclosure sabotaged $61 million investment, lawsuit charges

F

oreign shareholders in a beleaguered HFZ-led office project are going after its lender, Vanbarton Group, claiming the firm conducted a foreclosure sale that robbed them of their $61 million investment, according to a recent Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.

Vanbarton and HFZ’s partner on the 34-story Kips Bay office tower, Marble Collegiate Church, intentionally sabotaged the foreclosure sale to deter others from bidding on the debt and allow Vanbarton to

to invest in developments that create at least 10 jobs in exchange for green cards.

With no money left over from the sale after satisfying the debt, the three EB-5 funds lost their entire investment in the project, as did HFZ. If others had bid on the debt and purchased at a higher price, the investors would have been able to make their money back, according to the complaint.

HFZ and the investors lost a bid in April to stop the auction of the $85 million mezzanine loan on the planned office tower after the developer failed to pay it off.

The EB-5 funds sued Vanbarton that month, claiming that the lender was rushing the sale so that it could take control of the development before HFZ could come up with the money to cure its delinquency.

They blamed HFZ’s financial difficulties on the pandemic, which they claimed delayed construction, diminished cash flow and decreased the value of the development. Upon completion, the proj-

UPON COMPLETION, THE PROJECT IS EXPECTED TO BE WORTH $1 BILLION take control of the $350 million property for just $85 million, the investors claim in court papers.

Rushed sale?

The project came out of the EB-5 program, which allows foreigners

ect would be worth $1 billion.

The developer proposed getting a $40 million cash infusion from Kamran Hakim, one of the city’s largest private landlords, to save the project, but Vanbarton foreclosed anyway.

As a last resort, HFZ planned to file for bankruptcy protection to stave off the auction, but Marble Collegiate Church refused to approve it to protect its own interest in the project, the investors alleged.

A RENDERING of the proposed development at 3 W. 29th St.

HFZ CAPITAL GROUP

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

No approval?

To keep other developers from bidding on the debt, the church publicly posted a letter that said it never received approval from an attorney general before making a deal to sell the land to HFZ, court papers say.

According to New York Religious Corporations Law, the church cannot sell, lease or mortgage property

without asking a court or the attorney general for permission. That made the investment too risky for investors, which kept them from making offers on the project, the complaint said.

With both HFZ and the EB-5

funds out of the picture, the church would get a bigger payout from the project, the investors claimed in court papers.

Representatives for HFZ and the Vanbarton Group did not respond to a request for comment. ■

#501F3A

CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS 2021

CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS 2021

WOMEN IN LAW

WOMEN IN LAW Honor Notable Women in Law in New York City!

Nominations are now open! Recognize women who are serving as role models and mentors to other women attorneys, promoting inclusive practices in the workplace, and who are serving in a senior level at their law firm. This is a special print and digital editorial feature within Crain’s December 20 issue.

WOMEN IN LAW WOMEN IN LAW

SUBMIT TODAY: CrainsNewYork.com/NotableWomenLaw Nominations close on October 22.

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

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CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS 20 202 21

WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES Professional women in general, and women in accounting and consulting in particular, have come a long way since 1899, when Christine Ross became the first female certified public accountant. Today women in these fields are populating boardrooms, presiding over audits, leading CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS 202 20 21 Fortune 500 comforecasting and advising panies. The industry is vastly better for their contributions.

Although true parity is closer than ever, it has yet to be achieved. Women fill half the ranks of full-time staff at accounting firms, but just 27% of them are partners or principals. Gender wage gaps persist. As women in accounting and consulting continue to push, dare and defy, it is crucial to hold up as examples those women who have prevailed and excelled, to laud their accomplishments and to inspire imitation.

Motivated by this sentiment, Crain’s sought to identify an outstanding cohort of women in accounting and consulting. The

67 individuals who made the cut are experts at compiling, analyzing, predicting, evaluating, interpreting and financial planning.

They represent the best of the industry, with achievements deserving of commendation.

They share a tenacity that makes them—like the pioneering Ross of 122 years ago—a cause for optimism that lingering disparities will soon be eliminated.

To find these honorees, Crain’s consulted with trusted sources in the New York business world and in the accounting and consulting spaces. Nominations submitted by individuals and organizations in the New York metropolitan area were carefully vetted.

Ultimately, honorees were selected for their career triumphs as well as for their involvement in industry and community organizations.

On this and the pages that follow, discover how these skilled professionals are leading financial operations and bolstering commerce each day.

WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES

METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from submitted nomination materials as well as editorial nominations. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only executives for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after an editorial review, plus after Crain’s consulted with trusted sources in the city’s business community. To qualify for this list, female honorees had to be employed within New York City or the surrounding counties, serving in a senior leadership role as a CPA at a public accounting firm or as a consultant at a consultancy with middle-market and enterprise clients with more than $25 million in revenue. Honorees must have been in the business for a minimum of five years with a staff size of at least 25.

OLAMIDE AJIBESIN

NAIDIRA ALEMOVA

DAWN BERGEN

KIM BOZZELLA

ALLISON BRACK

Managing director Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP

Senior managing director FTI Consulting

Partner Prager Metis

Partner Citrin Cooperman

Olamide “Lami” Ajibesin has provided advice in connection with $10 billion worth of private-equity, strategic investment and secondary transactions during her career—a feat not many can claim.

Ajibesin, the managing director and practice leader of the transaction advisory services group at the accounting firm Anchin, Block & Anchin, has executed more than 200 deals in the consumer products, energy, technology and financial services industries. She is a past board member of Equity Alliance, an organization that promotes diversity at the senior level in the financial services industry. Ajibesin, who has received numerous industry awards, has been featured by multiple media outlets as an expert on finance topics. She is on the board of trustees of the Brooklyn Hospital Center.

Naidira Alemova is again doing all that she can to make sure crime doesn’t pay. Alemova, a repeat notable, has been a senior managing director in the financial services practice at FTI Consulting since 2019. She continues to lean on her more than 20 years’ experience in banking forensics and regulatory matters to execute anti–money laundering, bribery and fraud risk assessments, trace and recover international assets, and investigate questionable wire transfers and counterfeiting schemes. Alemova, a graduate of Moscow State University, speaks multiple languages. She has worked on behalf of global and regional banks and insurance companies—occasionally in connection with Justice Department investigations.

The rapid expansion of the audit department at Prager Metis in the past year is proof of Dawn Bergen’s leadership aptitude. As partner-in-charge of audit at the international advisory and accounting firm, she holds sole oversight of that practice area—a role that has her creating and implementing policies and procedures for audit departments across the firm’s 17 global offices.

Bergen, who specializes in employee benefit plans and broker-dealer audits, works closely with clients in real estate and closely held businesses, among other industries. She is an integral participant in Prager Metis’ due diligence committee; she assesses incoming firms’ audit procedures. Bergen formerly worked as an audit senior for Republic National Bank of New York, now HSBC.

Global head of technology consulting Protiviti

At the convergence of technological innovation and business management is Kim Bozzella, global head of technology consulting at the consulting firm Protiviti and a member of its global solutions leadership team. To help clients improve workforce agility and responses to dynamic business needs, she has of late been developing Protiviti’s workforce intelligence platform, an innovative tool that combines the company’s enterprise artificial intelligence and its consultative offerings.

Bozzella, an advocate for the inclusion of women in the science, technology, engineering and math fields, is on the advisory board of Protiviti’s women in technology employee network group. She is the executive sponsor for the company’s involvement in external organizations, including the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the Women’s Bond Club.

Given Allison Brack’s nearly three decades of experience serving clients and managing teams, it was no shock when she was chosen to run Citrin Cooperman’s internal tax department in 2020. At the assurance, tax and business advisory firm, Brack provides tax compliance and consulting services to private companies across a range of industries—real estate, technology, restaurants and staffing—and routinely works with high-net-worth individuals, women business owners and closely held companies. She has particular expertise in helping new ventures determine the optimal choice of entity and in structuring deals in the most tax-efficient manner. Brack sits on the board of directors of the Warrior Flow Foundation, a nonprofit that provides yoga, mindfulness and stress reduction programs in hospitals, homeless shelters and hospice settings.

September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 19

TARA BUREK

CLARE CELLA

KOREN CHEN

PAMELA CIANCIOTTA

Tax partner Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP

Partner PKF O’Connor Davies

Director BKD CPAs & Advisors

Partner Marks Paneth LLP

As one of the youngest female partners at Anchin, Block & Anchin, Tara Burek is paving the way for other women at the accounting firm and beyond.

Wielding more than 15 years of experience providing tax consulting and compliance services for privately held businesses and high-net-worth individuals, Burek consults on a variety of topics as a member of the private client group, including implementation of tax strategies to meet clients’ particular financial goals. In addition, she leads Anchin’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee, and she is deeply involved in the firm’s mentoring program. Burek lectures frequently at in-house professional-development seminars and is part of a land preservation committee in her community in Orange County, N.Y.

While battling her own challenging medical condition, Clare Cella has been mentoring and guiding fellow professionals at PKF O’Connor Davies through the challenges of pandemic-induced remote work. Her tenacity has fueled her ascent at the accounting and advisory firm, where she is office partner in charge in the New York City office. Day to day, Cella provides services for public and private hospitality and real estate and commercial clients, advising on U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and income tax reporting. Cella, a career adviser to several young women in the New York office, chairs the human resources committee and is the treasurer and past president of Hospitality Financial Technology Professionals.

Koren Chen channels 15 years of public accounting experience to better the lot of the physically challenged and disadvantaged.

As a director at BKD CPAs & Advisors and a member of the Intellectual Developmental Disabilities/ Behavioral Health team, Chen provides services to nonprofit, health care and human services organizations, particularly agencies that serve the disabled and children in special education or foster care.

Chen’s areas of expertise encompass the preparation and review of cost reports, reimbursement review and projection, rate appeals, data analysis, benchmarking, cost allocation and internal audit. She is a frequent industry speaker and a committee member for the BKD Foundation, which enriches communities served by the firm through volunteer initiatives and charitable donations.

Merging two internal tax practices, strengthening communications, creating a professional women’s networking event—all these accomplishments and more are credited to Pamela Cianciotta, a partner at the accounting firm Marks Paneth. Since embarking on a public accounting career in 1997, Cianciotta has provided clients in the financial services, manufacturing, wholesale and distribution, media, advertising and real estate industries with a range of services to help them achieve business objectives, including financial statement preparation, business planning, general review and pension plan auditing. Cianciotta co-heads her office’s Leadership Empowerment Advancement Diversity Success initiative, which helps employees with professional development, and shares her knowledge at industry round­ tables and events.

BEVERLY GINSBURG COOPER Managing director Huron These days Beverly Ginsburg Cooper finds herself more and more in demand—and once again on the notables list.

As a managing director at Huron Consulting Group, Cooper is focused on clients in the health care and higher education sectors. She guides cancer centers and academic institutions as they redefine their research and clinical visions and leads them through the necessary operational improvements and compliance management. Cooper previously was an executive at the Cancer Center Administrative Forum, a senior vice president for research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the executive director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center.

IN 2020 THE U.S. HAD 1.27 MILLION ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS. THE AMERICAN ACCOUNTING INDUSTRY IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE GENERATED MORE THAN $110 BILLION LAST YEAR. —STATISTA

JANIS COWHEY

CORINNA CREEDON

CANDACE DAMON

DEBORAH DE VRIES

CHRISTINE FENSKE

Partner Marcum LLP

Managing director BKD CPAs & Advisors

Vice chair HR&A Advisors

Partner Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP

Managing partner Baker Tilly

For LGBTQ individuals, couples and families, Janis Cowhey has proved an invaluable partner in navigating the hurdle-strewn landscape of estate, gift and income tax planning. As a partner at the accounting and advisory firm Marcum and national practice leader of its modern family and LGBTQ services practice group, Cowhey helps clients develop comprehensive estate plans that minimize taxes, often through a range of estate planning tools that she is credited with refining. Cowhey’s focus includes estate and trust administration, individual and fiduciary tax compliance, and the providing of corporate counsel for nontraditional families. She lectures frequently on LGBTQ estate and income tax issues and is quoted by major media outlets.

Corinna Creedon, who formerly ran a consulting firm specializing in outsourced and interim chief financial officer engagements, is a managing director at BKD CPAs & Advisors.

Creedon leads the firm’s New York advisory services and accounting-outsourcing-­ services practices. She is an expert at leveraging technologies to design accounting departments for more effective internal controls and alignment with organizational goals. Creedon led a task force that helps clients optimize their Paycheck Protection Program loans and navigate loan forgiveness. She volunteers for the BKD Foundation, which works to enrich the communities her firm serves, and sits on the board of Book Fairies, a nonprofit that fosters literacy in underserved communities. Creedon is a sought-after speaker on finance and audit topics.

In nearly four decades in public-private real estate and economic development, Candace Damon has made her mark. Damon was intimately involved in what remains the country’s largest effort to bring energy efficiency to affordable housing: New York’s Affordable Multifamily Program, which affects 100,000 units across the state. She and her colleagues have revitalized and made financially sustainable urban parks in New York City (Brooklyn Bridge Park) and around the country (Romare Beardon Park in Charlotte, N.C.). Damon’s nonprofit board work includes stints on the Atlantic Avenue Local Development Corp., the Urban Green Council and, currently, the City Parks Alliance. Damon is a member of the Urban Land Institute’s Placemaking Council.

An intimate familiarity with the interplay among financial statement reporting, tax and employee benefit plans allows Deborah de Vries to excel as a partner at Anchin, Block & Anchin. As a leader in the accounting firm’s law firms industry group and its compensation and benefits services group, she provides an array of accounting and advisory services to her clients. De Vries, who also develops continuing education and professional resources at the firm, played a vital role in creating and disseminating articles that updated pandemic-related relief for clients. She is Anchin’s designated partner in charge at the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Christine Fenske, a managing partner at Baker Tilly who has been advising financial institutions since 1986, is among the leaders in her field. At the advisory, tax and assurance firm, Fenske oversees three offices in the New York metropolitan area and leads the company’s financial services practice. In addition, she maintains an impressive client book. For nearly a decade she has been on Baker Tilly’s board of partners.

Fenske, who routinely pushes for culture-enhancing programs, is credited with establishing the firm’s flexible work arrangement policy. She is a founding member of its Growth and Retention of Women initiative.

Fenske serves the community as a board member of the United Way of New York City.

20 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

JAMIE FOWLER

LAURA GIOVACCO

MARIA GONZALEZ

JACKIE GORDON

Chief transformation officer Grant Thornton LLP

Global client service partner EY

Audit partner Friedman LLP

Partner KPMG LLP

Jamie Fowler’s mission of leading organizational structuring projects has taken her from Silicon Valley to Bangalore, India, to Capitol Hill. As chief transformation officer and member of the senior leadership team at the accounting network Grant Thornton, Fowler works with a team of more than 8,500 professionals to advise clients on their most pressing business problems. The formula involves tax knowledge, accounting, regulatory and advisory expertise with automation, data analytics and avant-garde technologies. Fowler, who previously was the national managing partner of tax services at Grant Thornton, speaks and writes often on topics related to transformation leadership and technology. She is on the board of directors of the Manhattan Theatre Club.

With expertise spanning banking, capital markets, risk management, regulatory compliance and internal controls, Laura Giovacco is a highly valuable asset at professional services giant EY, where she serves as the global client service partner for financial services. Giovacco, who has more than three decades’ experience working with the boards of major financial institutions to tackle complex business issues, is responsible for building and managing diverse global teams across her firm’s service lines and international locations. She is on the EY Global Governance Council and has worked on various diversity initiatives. Giovacco is the treasurer on the board of the National Organization on Disability, which works to increase employment opportunities for those with disabilities.

Maria Gonzalez, an audit partner at accounting and business firm Friedman, routinely services clients that shape city skylines in New York and elsewhere.

Working with the owners, developers, and brokers of residential and commercial properties, Gonzalez is involved in all elements of audit, review and compilation engagements, and she performs due diligence for potential property acquisitions. She has worked closely with Friedman’s Women’s Development Network, participating in efforts to disseminate breast-health education and practical insights for women navigating the challenges of professional life.

Earlier this year Gonzalez joined the firm’s diversity and inclusion board, which focuses on recruiting, corporate philanthropy, gender parity and mental wellness, as a founding member.

Jackie Gordon is an all-in participant of several programs aimed at mentoring the next generation of auditors and of maintaining ties with her mentees long after their formal programs have concluded.

That’s much to the good fortune of those acolytes, who gain tremendously from the KPMG partner’s generous sharing of expertise. At the professional services network, Gordon, an accredited Securities and Exchange Commission reviewing partner, is responsible for risk management and professional practice matters.

She is chairwoman of a governance committee that oversees valuation and credit specialists in the audit function. In addition, Gordon co-leads KPMG’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives for the audit practice on a national level.

22 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

SAMANTHA GREENBAUM Tax senior manager Withum Samantha Greenbaum’s clients are concentrated in the ad tech, health tech, femtech and e-commerce industries— and she offers unparalleled expertise to each one. As a tax senior manager at the accounting firm Withum, Greenbaum consults on topics from federal and state tax credits to equity-based compensation, guiding private and publicly held multinational businesses through tax planning and compliance matters. She is an active member of Withum’s technology and emerging growth services team, coleader of the e-comm vertical and a leader of the femtech team. As a senior woman in technology, still something of a rarity, Greenbaum is an ardent supporter of diversity and inclusion. She is a member of the New York Women at Withum Leadership Team.

S

P P

S “ r P l

l t i i a h t q p a c 2 y m s m p e a i

m

m

SHERRI GUIDONE

VERONIQUE HORNE

MINDY KAMEN

KATHRYN KAMINSKY

SURI KASIRER

Partner PwC

Senior principal Berdon LLP

Partner Janover LLC

Vice chair PwC

President Kasirer LLC

Sherri Guidone, who espouses “democratizing innovation,” returns to this list because what PwC’s U.S. assurance technology leader does is truly transformational. Guidone’s proselytizing about leveraging technological innovation in the audit process comes amid a multibillion PwC investment in tools, training and technology, including the use of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation. She continues to have primary responsibility for the delivery, oversight and quality assurance of the professional services network’s audit software tools. Before her current role, which she took in 2015, Guidone spent several years in the firm’s national methodology practice, where she helped develop audit methods and tools. The certified public accountant’s range of experience includes mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and initial public offerings.

Veronique Horne employs an individualized approach as a senior principal at Berdon, paring away clients’ tangential concerns to focus on strategic long-term needs. For the past 19 years, she has worked with high-networth individuals and family businesses at the accounting firm, advising on matters of trusts and estates. Horne, a leader in the personal wealth services practice at Berdon, provides in-house technical training on tax issues to new staff, arming them with the requisite knowledge to provide superior services. She is a voice for the organization, appearing on podcasts and radio shows to discuss proposed changes to tax laws. Horne participates in Berdon Cares, which encompasses all philanthropic activities undertaken by the firm.

Since joining Janover out of college, Mindy Kamen has steadily scaled the ranks at the accounting, tax and advisory firm. As the partner in charge of the tax practice, Kamen leads a team of professionals in providing an array of services to meet the financial needs of privately owned businesses and high-networth individuals. She was instrumental in implementing two technologies aimed at improving the methods through which Janover engages with clients’ sensitive tax information. Kamen is involved in several internal committees. In addition, she represents Janover at recruiting fairs, mentors fellow employees and provides in-house seminars.

At the professional services network PwC, vice chair and trust solutions co-leader Kathryn Kaminsky unites the firm’s wide-ranging capabilities to help clients as they seek to build trust with stakeholders.

Kaminsky oversees the largest trust platform in the world and is responsible for the quality of service to more than 21,000 partners and staff, developing diverse teams and driving innovation. During her tenure, she has worked with clients’ C-suite executives, boards and senior management to execute their business strategies and assist in meeting their financial reporting, regulatory and transformation needs. An adjunct—but highly prioritized— focus for Kaminsky is advancing women and diverse professionals. She speaks regularly at universities, conferences and internal functions on career development. Kaminsky is on the board of the United Way of New York City.

Another year, another accolade for Suri Kasirer. This one, like being named a Gotham Great by Citizens Union and a Woman of Power and Influence by the National Organization for Women— not to mention, a previous Crain’s notables nod—proves that Kasirer continues to fulfill a commitment to championing people, progress and policy. Her lobbying firm has helped clients in industries ranging from education and culture to real estate and technology to hospitality to media to health care to social service. Away from the job, Kasirer is the vice president of Citymeals on Wheels, and she is on the boards of the New York League of Conservation Voters, the Women’s Leadership Forum and the New York Building Foundation.

September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 23

NINA KELLEHER

ELLEN KERA

KAYLA KONOVITCH

JAYME KOSZYN

KAREN KOWGIOS

Director EisnerAmper

Partner Citrin Cooperman

Partner EisnerAmper

Founder Koszyn & Company

Partner Withum

Nina Kelleher’s value system at work revolves around the trifecta of people, processes and problem-solving. As a director in EisnerAmper Digital, she is credited with creating novel staff training systems and process improvement programs, among other solutions, aimed at ensuring the delivery of high-quality services for the accounting and advisory firm.

Kelleher, who leads efforts related to financial services companies, is the national leader of the special-purpose acquisition company services team. She boasts more than 15 years’ experience with internal audit, governance, risk and regulatory compliance services.

Kelleher, a working mom, supports child literary programs by organizing book and pajama drives for various organizations throughout New York City.

Ellen Kera is a partner at the tax and business advisory firm Citrin Cooperman and co-leader of its automotive dealership practice. Before her eponymous firm, Kera & Company, merged with Citrin Cooperman in 2017, it was among the few women-led accounting and advisory firms in the area. Kera consults on complex tax matters and best practices, ensures compliance with state and federal tax requirements, advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, and prepares financial projections.

In addition, she participates in panels and forums at industry organizations, educating office managers and owners on how to streamline operations and better manage their finances. Kera is an advisory board member of the Westchester County chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Private-equity, venture capital and hedge funds, family offices and management companies alike turn to Kayla Konovitch for her public accounting expertise. The partner at the advisory and accounting firm EisnerAmper, who leads its national venture capital growth initiative, provides tax-consulting services related to strategy, transactions and accounting matters, offering advice rooted in a deep understanding of the financial services sector and asset management industry. Konovitch is an active member of Young Jewish Professionals, a New York City nonprofit that provides educational and mentoring opportunities to future business leaders.

She frequently moderates the association’s venture capital panels and private-equity roundtables.

For the past 20 years Jayme Koszyn and her firm have helped New York City bounce back after some of its most challenging times: 9/11, the Great Recession, Superstorm Sandy and, now, the pandemic.

Koszyn & Company has led fundraising campaigns that have added hundreds of millions of dollars to the coffers of countless institutions across the five boroughs, not to mention in the national and around the world.

Koszyn, a Bronx-born, public school- educated daughter of a career New York City public-school teacher, remains dedicated to the city’s diversity; since her company’s inception, more than two thirds of her client roster is made up of culturally-specific, womenand minority-led nonprofits.

As nonprofit cultural organizations struggled to sustain their workforces and move to digital operations in the past 18 months, Karen Kowgios swooped in to offer pro bono counsel on federal stimulus programs. With three decades’ experience, Kowgios specializes in providing accounting services and overseeing financial operations for nonprofits and charitable foundations. The partner and practice leader at the accounting firm Withum’s theater, entertainment and arts service group illustrates generosity of spirit and stands out in her field.

Kowgios is a frequent lecturer on tax and accounting issues, and she has structured many projects between nonprofits and for-profit ventures, such as nonprofit theaters and commercial production companies. She is on the audit committee of a Westchester County school board.

EisnerAmper congratulates this year’s Notable Women in Accounting including our colleagues:

Kayla Konovitch

Nina Kelleher

www.eisneramper.com

24 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

Bonnie Sussman

Laura Macca

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n

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LISA LIM

LADIDAS LUMPKINS

CINDY MA

LAURA MACCA

Senior partner EY

Partner in charge Prager Metis

Lisa Lim, a senior partner and global tax account leader at the professional services network EY, works with the firm’s largest Fortune 50 accounts, focusing on each client’s unique business priorities and developing customized strategies to fuel growth. That approach proved invaluable in the past year and a half as she led client service teams despite the challenges of shutdowns and remote work. Lim, who takes pride in her Filipino-Chinese heritage, is passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion and speaks often on these topics.

She co-founded EY’s Empowering Women in Tax program, an annual event for women who lead corporate tax functions.

Lim is a member of the New York board of the All Stars Project, a nonprofit that invests in after-school programs and internships for at-risk youth.

Ladidas Lumpkins recently contributed to The Tools & Techniques of Income Tax Planning, a resource widely used in higher education.

Lumpkins certainly has the qualifications to do so.

She is partner in charge of private wealth services at the international advisory and accounting firm Prager Metis, where she provides strategic tax planning, compliance and consulting services to high-net-worth families and their closely held businesses.

Lumpkins specializes in the U.S. taxation of individuals and trusts in multinational family groups.

In addition, she advises on income, gift tax and estate tax matters. She is president of the Estate Planning Council of New York City’s board of directors and a board member of the Prager Metis Charitable Foundation.

Global head of portfolio valuation and fund advisory services Houlihan Lokey Accrued over two decades of training, academic study and hands-on experience, Cindy Ma’s knowledge of commodities, derivatives, securities, foreign exchange, fixed incomes, structured transactions and hedging strategies serves her in good stead in her role at Houlihan Lokey. (She holds a doctorate in finance from Columbia’s Graduate School of Business.) As global head of portfolio valuation and fund advisory services at the financial services company, Ma focuses on illiquid and complex securities valuation. She is a member of the firm’s management and technical standards committees, and she sits on the financial instrument board of the International Valuation Standards Council. Ma, whose practice has garnered several industry awards, sits on the board of Pencil, a New York City nonprofit that connects underserved public school students with the business community.

Director of business transformation EisnerAmper In a time when businesses were forced to radically remake themselves to contend with the challenges of a pandemic, Laura Macca’s role as director of business transformation at EisnerAmper proved uniquely vital.

At the advisory and accounting firm, she draws upon her extensive tax technical, accounting, operations, technology and change-management experience to direct projects across all service lines and U.S. locations, partnering with firm leadership to optimize internal processes and leverage new technologies.

Many of her advances employ robotic process automation to automate highly manual tasks.

In the past year alone, Macca’s efforts have resulted in 37,000 hours and $3.8 million saved for the firm. She volunteers as a mentor for Women in Technology, a nonprofit that empowers girls and women to excel in science, technology, engineering, math and the arts.

AS OF 2020, NEW YORK WAS THE STATE WITH THE SECONDHIGHEST NUMBER OF ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS, WITH 112,360.

CALIFORNIA WAS THE HIGHEST, WITH 150,050 ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS. —STATISTA

FLSV congratulates

Hyejin Tak, JD

on being selected to the Crain’s Notable Women in Accounting & Consulting for 2021.

FLSV is proud of Hyejin’s accomplishments and her commitment to client service and the firm’s growth.

1475 Franklin Avenue Garden City, NY 11530

flsv.com 516-874-8800

777 S. Flagler Drive, Ste 225E West Palm Beach, FL 33401

September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 25

ILENE MAK

MICHELE MCALLISTER

LESIA BATES MOSS

GINA OMOLON

NAYA PEARLMAN

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Partner Mazars USA LLP

Director Baker Tilly

President, CEO Bates Consulting Group LLC

Partner Mazars USA LLP

Tax partner Berdon LLP

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Under Ilene Mak’s direction, the global financial services tax practice at Mazars USA has grown exponentially. As a partner and co-leader of tax services at the audit, tax and advisory firm, Mak prepares and reviews income tax filings under the standards of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, oversees large corporate and partnership tax compliance engagements, represents clients before the Internal Revenue Service, and advises on tax consulting and planning issues.

She has been delivering services to financial services entities such as banks, hedge funds and private-equity funds for two decades. Mak is active after hours too. In response to the alarming increase in anti-Asian violence, she recruited colleagues to attend rallies protesting hate in New York.

With a signature blend of grace, discretion and compassion, Michele McAllister provides each of her clients with strategies tailored to meet individual accounting and auditing needs.

McAllister is the newest director of Baker Tilly’s high-net-worth family office team for the New York region, a role that has her managing and overseeing all operational and compliance requirements for wealthy individuals, families, corporations, partnerships and fiduciary entities. This is hardly her first rodeo at the advisory, tax and assurance firm: It’s been more than two decades since she joined Baker Tilly, originally in auditing. McAllister, who is passionate about securing opportunities for women in male-dominated industries, is a member of the Staten Island Economic Development Corp.’s Executive Women’s Council.

Last year, Lesia (pronounced Lisa) Bates Moss was celebrated in these pages for her career as a creative and incisive problem solver, and she has continued to rely on those talents in the ensuing months. Amid the chaotic economic landscape of the pandemic, Moss and her management consulting firm have helped small businesses access millions of dollars in Small Business Administration loans. Yet she still has found time to follow a lifelong desire to leverage her station to pursue social and economic justice for all. Toward that end, Moss is on the advisory board of the Ron Brown Scholars and the Regional Strategic Planning committee of Jack and Jill of America.

Growing up in a Philippine village where families combined their efforts to benefit the community was formative to Gina Omolon’s style of collaborative leadership. Now a partner at the audit, tax and advisory firm Mazars USA, Omolon provides accounting and auditing services to public and privately owned domestic and foreign entities, particularly those in the financial services sector. She is involved in her firm’s training and external presentations. Her broad experience spans internal audits, consulting, asset quality reviews, collateral examinations and due diligence. Omolon is chairwoman of the banking committee of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

As a tax lawyer and a certified public accountant, Naya Pearlman provides a rare combination of skills—not to mention value—as a tax partner at the accounting and advisory firm Berdon.

Pearlman advises clients on all aspects of federal income taxation, including entity formations and transactional matters, and counsels businesses and individuals on tax law changes.

As chair of her firm’s business tax tech committee, she has proved a major asset during the pandemic by interpreting for clients the flood of new tax legislation through writing, editing and distributing articles.

Pearlman, who has received several industry awards, is a leader in the Women@Berdon employee resource group.

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CONGRATULATIONS We applaud you for your outstanding leadership and your passion for helping clients.

PAMELA CIANCIOTTA Partner Commercial Business Group

26 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

DARYA SHNEYDER Partner Real Estate Group

JESSICA STROM Director Commercial Business Group

KATHERINE ZHENG Senior Manager Commercial Business Group

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LAURA PETERSON

ALYSON POTENZA

LINDSEY RICHARDS

LISA RISPOLI

Senior managing director Accenture

Partner Kearney

Partner BKD CPAs & Advisors

Partner Grassi Advisors & Accountants

Laura Peterson, who leads Accenture’s communications, media and technology business in the Northeast market, continues to be a notable presence at the company. Last year her inclusion on this list honored her role overseeing a team of 3,000 professionals and a $750 million profit-and-loss statement. But these days, when she’s not advising C-suite executives at some of the world’s most recognizable brands on how to digitally transform their businesses, she’s shepherding her own project forward as executive lead for the design and build-out of Accenture’s North America innovation flagship in New York at 1 Manhattan West in Hudson Yards. The move-in, coming amid a pandemic, confirms her company’s commitment to the city’s future.

Alyson Potenza, as a partner in the leadership, change and organization practice at the management consulting firm Kearney, has deep expertise in transforming operational functions including end-to-end supply chains, customer service, quality and engineering.

Potenza, who has a particular focus on the health care sector, worked in 2020 through the Partnership for New York City to provide research and recommendations to help the Big Apple rebound from the pandemic. At Kearney she leads development and performance-management initiatives focused on boosting engagement and active mentorship.

Potenza’s work on organizational design has been published in several media outlets, including Ivey Business Journal.

At BKD CPAs & Advisors, Lindsey Richards was recently granted two honorifics: partner and accounting and auditing director for the New York City office. That’s a testament to her accounting know-how and professional dedication, which make her a highly valued member of the BKD team. Richards is responsible for providing technical support to the firm’s auditors, performing engagement quality control reviews and delivering professional development training. She specializes in audits for health care and nonprofits, such as social service agencies and religious groups.

Richards is an active member of the BKD Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the company that seeks to enrich the communities it serves.

Lisa Rispoli’s career is dedicated to helping people extract maximum benefit from their trust and estate planning and to secure the financial futures of their loved ones. As a partner and trust and estate services leader at Grassi Advisors & Accountants, Rispoli provides administration and fiduciary services to executors and trustees, including litigation support tax compliance, income tax planning and court-prescribed accountings Rispoli, a noted expert on trust and estate matters, has been quoted in leading business and legal publications and received several industry awards. She has been involved in pro bono work throughout her career. Rispoli is on the executive board of the Estate Planning Council of New York City.

NEW YORK IS SECOND ONLY TO WASHINGTON, D.C., ($110,140) IN TERMS OF HIGHEST SALARIES FOR ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS, WITH A MEAN ANNUAL WAGE OF $101,440.

—U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

Independent thinking, collective purpose.

Congratulations to Ilene Mak and Gina Omolon for being recognized as Notable Women in Accounting & Consulting.

You both embody Mazars’ core values and principles by demonstrating leadership while empowering the people you work with every day.

You are Notable Women at Mazars and we are very proud of your accomplishments.

September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 27

TONYA ROBINSON

CYNTHIA ROMANO

GAIL ROTH

LORI A. ROTH

KATHLEEN RUTCH

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Vice chair and general counsel KPMG LLP

Global director CohnReznick

Co-managing partner Prager Metis

Partner Sax LLP

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Tonya Robinson has been described as “people-focused” and “clear-eyed,” traits that stand her in good stead as vice chair and general counsel at the professional services network KPMG. Robinson, who oversees legal, compliance, government affairs and security functions, is credited with leading transformations to better align those affairs with organizational needs and protect the KPMG brand.

Earlier in her career, she held a number of public sector roles: acting general counsel at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, special assistant to the president for justice and regulatory policy in the Obama White House and counsel to then-Sen. Joe Biden on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs.

Robinson is vice chair of the board of directors of the National Women’s Law Center.

When Cynthia Romano worked to return a struggling oil distributor to profitability after three years of losses, it was all in a day’s work. The global director of the restructuring and dispute resolution practice at the professional services firm CohnReznick boasts more than a quarter-century of experience in performance improvement, turnaround management, transaction support, and investment analysis across a range of industries.

Romano has particular expertise in liquidity management, profit improvement through operational restructuring, process redesign and capital sourcing. She has been honored repeatedly by industry organizations, speaks frequently on a range of topics, and is quoted by news and business publications. Romano volunteers for Women Helping Other Women, which empowers women to improve their economic circumstances through education and employment.

Director CBIZ & Mayer Hoffman McCann CPAs Given Gail Roth’s commitment to integrity and white glove service, it’s no wonder that high-net-worth individuals, wealthy families and executives of major companies routinely turn to her for tax planning and consulting. As director of private client services at CBIZ MHM, the financial services division of the accounting and advisory firm CBIZ, daily she oversees the outsourcing of accounting work for settlement fund trusts, small businesses, retirement funds and nonprofits along with tax compliance for these clients. In particular, she works closely, as an accountant and as an adviser, with the Headstrong Project, a nonprofit that provides confidential and stigma-free mental health treatment to military members, veterans and their families.

Lori Roth is the only woman on the executive committee of the advisory and accounting firm Prager Metis—but that’s far from her only distinction. The co-managing partner, who has been in the industry since 1984, specializes in audit and assurance services, litigation support and business valuations, servicing clients in an array of industries.

In addition, she has expertise in international matters and works with the United States subsidiaries of foreign banks and corporations. Roth, who has worked as a neutral accountant and an impartial financial consultant, has experience in matrimonial cases, shareholder disputes, corporate dissolutions and business acquisitions. She is a board member of Unchained At Last, an organization that works to end forced and child marriages in the U.S.

When advisory, audit and accounting services firm Sax merged in 2019 with James D. Miller & Co., another accounting firm, leaders suspected that they were gaining a valuable asset in Kathleen Rutch. That suspicion was confirmed last year, with Rutch’s recognition on this list. This year’s repeat leaves no doubt about her importance.

Rutch’s particular niche is tax compliance and planning for individuals, trusts, estates and not-for-profit organizations. In addition, the Sax partner provides basic personal financial planning services and prepares fiduciary accountings. She continues to be an active driver behind Sax’s primary fundraising project, a running-walking event in which all proceeds go to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital.

S s i h

Congratulations Prager Metis is proud to recognize

Lori A. Roth, CPA/ABV, CFF Co-Managing Partner

Dawn Bergen, CPA Partner-in-Charge Audit

Ladidas Lumpkins, CPA, JD, LL.M. Partner-in-Charge Private Wealth Services

for being honored as Crain’s Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting!

As a top advisory and accounting firm with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia, Prager Metis has experts around the world that can provide the level of advice and expertise you need to make your world, worth more. www.pragermetis.com Advisory Services | Audit & Accounting | Bankruptcy | Business Management Crisis Response | International Services | Tax Controversy | Tax Services 28 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

Advisors & Accountants

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SAREENA SAWHNEY

REMA SERAFI

MARIAN SHAW

COURTNEY SHERMAN

Principal Withum

National managing partner KPMG LLP

Partner UHY LLP

Managing director Deloitte

Sareena Sawhney occupies a specialized niche at the accounting firm Withum, where she holds the title of principal.

Sawhney concentrates on complex fraud investigations, forensic accounting, white-collar defense, commercial litigation and professional liability matters. Her experience includes fraud and white-collar investigations, calculating commercial damages, shareholder disputes and bankruptcy fraud analyses for Fortune 500 companies. She has worked with legal counsel to develop case strategies, assist with depositions and prepare reports for trials.

Sawhney, a serial recipient of industry accolades, routinely shares her knowledge of fraud, commercial damages and related topics through lectures and published articles.

Rema Serafi has been at the professional services network KPMG for more than two dozen years—and she has a lot to show for it. Serafi is the national managing partner for tax, a role in which she supervises more than 8,000 professionals across international, federal, state and local tax disciplines, in addition to specialty practices such as mergers and acquisitions and global mobility services. Before taking her current role, she led the economic and valuation services practice; before that, she held various other leadership positions. Serafi, a vocal advocate for equity, is a member of KPMG’s National Women’s Advisory Board. In addition, she is on the board of Enactus, a nonprofit that works with leaders in business and academia to mobilize students to improve their communities.

With deep experience in both major realms of accounting— audit and tax—Marian Shaw is a particularly knowledgeable professional at the accounting firm UHY, where she is a partner. Shaw is well-versed in the intricacies of federal, international and state income tax compliance, audits, tax standards and planning strategies. She serves U.S. multinational companies with foreign subsidiaries and foreign companies operating in the U.S. Among Shaw’s most notable accomplishments: growing UHY’s China Group, for which she serves as the primary international tax leader. The Asian American Business Development Center has recognized her for her achievements. Shaw mentors her firm’s younger professionals through its Women Invested in Success and Excellence initiative.

Courtney Sherman recently designed a forthcoming patient-provider experience for a Fortune 100 company—that’s just the sort of impressive project she undertakes regularly. As a managing director at the professional services goliath Deloitte, she leads Applied Design, Deloitte Consulting’s innovation practice, and helps senior leadership teams address growth-related challenges. In so doing, Sherman, an expert in human-centered design, develops solutions beneficial to the business in question and the end user. Those solutions typically involve physical and digital environments, customer experience strategy, concept development and innovation-capability building.

Sherman is an adjunct professor at the Parsons School of Design’s graduate program in Strategic Design and Management.

A GENDER WAGE GAP PERSISTS AMONG U.S. ACCOUNTANTS AND AUDITORS, WITH MEDIAN WEEKLY EARNINGS AT $1,419 FOR MEN AND $1,141 FOR WOMEN. —STATISTA

Congratulations Clare Cella Partner and Practice Leader, Hospitality Partner in Charge, New York City Crain’s 2021 Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting

From All of Your Friends at PKF O’Connor Davies 212.286.2600

pkfod.com

September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 29

DARYA SHNEYDER

LORNA STARK

JESSICA STROM

BONNIE SUSSMAN

HYEJIN TAK

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Partner Marks Paneth LLP

Partner KPMG LLP

Director Marks Paneth LLP

Partner EisnerAmper

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Darya Shneyder is one of the youngest professionals to be named partner in the real estate group at the accounting firm Marks Paneth: She’s a specialist at providing accounting, auditing, tax and advisory services to commercial and residential real estate owners and developers. Shneyder, who has been in the industry for more than 15 years, also has experience securing real estate tax reduction via certiorari audit filings and handling employee benefit plan audits. She has represented Marks Paneth as a speaker and panel moderator at industry events. Shneyder’s writing has appeared in several publications, and the New York Real Estate Journal and Crain’s New York Business have cited her for her achievements. Shneyder, a strong proponent of diversity and inclusion, has served on or moderated panels to promote female leadership in the real estate industry.

Last year, as government entities kicked into overdrive to meet the challenges of the hour, Lorna Stark was there to provide them with sound advice. As partner and national leader for the government and public sector at the professional services network KPMG, Stark develops and executes strategies to meet the needs of government clients, higher-education organizations and nonprofits. She has helped her client base, which includes New York City, New York state, New Jersey and the Department of Energy, tackle challenges brought on by 9/11, Superstorm Sandy and Covid-19 by leading complex projects to meet needs in education, human services, housing, transportation and public works. Stark is a trustee of the KPMG NY Foundation, which supports community-based organizations..

New York City restaurants make up the core of Jessica Strom’s clientele—and her up-to-theminute guidance on Paycheck Protection Program loans, government aid and Small Business Administration regulations has proved invaluable during the pandemic. As a director in the commercial business group at the accounting firm Marks Paneth, Strom manages engagements for clients in other industries as well—law, engineering, distribution and financial services—focusing on audit, review and compilation needs. In addition, she assists clients with forecast and projection modeling, internal control structures and best practices. Strom has 16 years’ experience in public accounting, and for the past 10 years she has provided pro bono services and counsel for a certified women-owned business enterprise in New York City.

Bonnie Sussman, a partner in the financial services group at the advisory and accounting firm EisnerAmper, was recently recognized by the New York State Society of CPAs as one of its 40 Under 40—a designation that pays tribute to her exceptional skills.

With nearly 15 years of accounting, audit and operational experience, Sussman provides services to private-equity funds, venture capital funds, hedge funds and investment advisers. In addition, she mentors junior staff and contributes thought leadership on financial services through articles and live panels. Sussman, a vocal advocate for social causes, is a diversity and inclusion ambassador for the New York office. She is active in its Asian Employee Network Committee and the Women of EisnerAmper Leadership Committee. Sussman credits her experience at Hunter College for setting her on the path for a successful career. To ensure that its students have access to mentors in the accounting profession, she attends Accounting Society events.

Partner Frankel Loughran Starr & Vallone LLP Employing a thoughtful and holistic approach, Hyejin Tak provides complex tax compliance and advisory services for some of the largest clients of the advisory firm FLSV, including private-equity funds, investment partnerships, mergers-and-acquisitions advisory firms and entrepreneurial businesses. In particular, Tak specializes in the taxation of domestic and cross-border investments and dispositions, including international and domestic mergers and acquisitions, taxation of financial instruments and tax-efficient strategies for pass-through entities. Tak, who has been with FLSV for 13 years, guides clients through all stages of the private-equity fund life cycle, from prelaunch to continuing operations and beyond. She previously worked in the public sector as an attorney.

Congratulations MARIAN SHAW We are proud of all your accomplishments and on being named one of the Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting

1185 Avenue of the Americas, 38th Fl. New York, NY 10036 212 381 4700

www.uhy-us.com 30 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | September 20, 2021

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SZE MAN TAM

YAEL TAQQU

SUSAN TEICHER

JANET TRUNCALE

JENNIFER WALSH

Partner DDK & Company LLP

Senior partner McKinsey & Company

Partner Baker Tilly

Sze Man Tam became a partner at the accounting firm DDK & Company by dint of her exceptional work and strategic vision.

Tam, the first Asian American in that role there, is constantly on the lookout for trends in the assurance field and pushes for the adoption of innovations at the firm. These days she leads a campaign for DDK to better use data analytics to automate and optimize procedures and thus better service clients. Tam, who sits on the firm’s information technology committee, has been vital to its implementation of remote working technologies during the pandemic. She has worked tirelessly to help small businesses obtain Paycheck Protection Program and other loans to remain afloat.

When The Wall Street Journal and CNBC featured Yael Taqqu that was simply the natural outgrowth of her exceptional achievements.

As a senior partner at the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company and managing partner of its New York office, Taqqu works to unite the firm’s various practices and functions. On the client end, she advises leaders in the high tech, media and telecom sectors on commercial growth through sales, marketing, digital transformation and strategy. In addition, she oversees McKinsey’s Experience Studios, a global network of spaces where clients may take part in experiential workshops and interact with startup communities. Taqqu, a patron of the arts, is executive producer of an award-winning documentary on HIV, and sits on the boards of the Juilliard School and Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center .

An indication of just how highly Susan Teicher’s clients respect her personal and professional advice: Several have named her as executor of their wills.

That’s no small ask, given that Teicher specializes in tax services and financial planning for high-net-worth individuals and families. In fact, she is the partner in charge of the wealth management practice in Baker Tilly’s New York regional offices and the tax leader, overseeing more than 50 professionals.

Teicher, who is passionate about helping women overcome hardships to succeed, was voted onto the board of directors of Women in Need, an organization serving homeless women and their children in New York City, in 2019. Teicher is on the executive council of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.

Vice chair, regional managing partner EY Janet Truncale is making a repeat appearance on this list of notables—for good reason. The EY vice chair and regional managing partner oversees a diverse team of more than 14,000 professionals based in more than 90 cities across the Americas. She and her team work closely with clients to promote a financial services industry in which institutions are trusted and flourish, customers’ financial goals are attainable, and the global economy is growing and secure.

Truncale, the recipient of a 2019 Profiles in Diversity Journal Women Worth Watching award, chairs the board of directors for the nonprofit Women’s World Banking. She is a managing trustee for the Liberty Science Center. This champion of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at EY is a proud mother of three and a role model for wellness and work-life balance.

U.S.-East market segment leader EY Throughout her career of more than a 25 years, Jennifer Walsh has broken barriers in a traditionally male-dominated profession— and fast. Walsh became a partner in 2002, only five years after joining EY, and today she is a market segment leader for technology, media and entertainment and telecommunications in the firm’s largest geographic region, by employees and by revenue. She helps a mix of film and TV, cable, advertising, sports, technology and telecommunications companies drive long-term sustainable growth and proactively react to the constantly changing environment. In addition, Walsh is a tax account leader and global client service partner.

Wanting to help her female colleagues succeed, she is a leader in the EY Professional Women’s Network. Outside the office, she sits on the boards of Children of Bellevue and First Tee-Metropolitan New York.

empower others Great leaders empower others knowing that success is not only measured by what you accomplish, but also by what you inspire in others. Withum’s Karen Kowgios, Samantha Greenbaum and Sareena Sawhney make their imprint every day — influencing today’s professionals to lead through action and passion — being a catalyst for the growth and success for their clients, colleagues and communities.

Karen A. Kowgios, CPA, Partner Theatre, Entertainment and the Arts Services Samantha Greenbaum, CPA, MAcc, Team Leader FemTech Sareena Sawhney, MBA, CFE, CAMS, MAFF, Principal Fraud investigations, White Collar and Litigation Matters

Visit withum.com to learn more.

withum.com September 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 31

LENKA WILES

ELIZABETH ZABLUDOFF

Partner RSM US LLP

How fitting that a member of the advisory board for a career advancement group called Driven Professionals is a two-time honoree on this list. Lenka Wiles continues to wield her more than 20 years of public accounting experience as she leads engagements with clients in the service, manufacturing and distribution industries. Today her client portfolio at the audit, tax and consulting firm RSM includes companies that provide services in the architectural, engineering and consulting spaces. In addition, Wiles oversees various audit engagements and co-leads RSM’s STAR—stewardship, teamwork, advancement and retention— the Women’s Employee Network Group for its New York office.

Earlier she worked on the firm’s national audit and accounting facilitation team and as its New York market international audit leader.

Principal Berdon LLP

Quite fittingly, Elizabeth Zabludoff recently moderated a panel of matriarchs and female executives at an event called “Who Runs the World.” Zabludoff is clearly among those at the helm: After founding Zabludoff & Co., a consultancy firm serving the high-net-worth marketplace, and working as a chief of staff to several family offices, she has grown Berdon’s family offices services practice to 25 members in two years—quadrupling the department’s revenues. Under her leadership, Berdon was named “best consulting firm for family offices” at the Private Asset Management Awards. Aside from sitting on the board of a significant seventh-generation family office, Zabludoff mentors women and raises money for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. After the pandemic struck, she worked with a team to donate 30,000 KN95 masks to hospitals in New York City.

KATHERINE ZHENG

ELLEN ZIMILES

DANA ZUKOFSKY

Senior manager Marks Paneth LLP

Partner Guidehouse

Director BDO

When Katherine Zheng immigrated to the United States, she didn’t speak English. Now the senior manager at Marks Paneth is the author of thought leadership pieces about everything from finding the right investment manager in the pandemic to tax credits for environmental, social and governance investing. In her 13 years at the company, Zheng has provided audit, accounting and business consulting services to hedge funds and registered investment advisers. She has been instrumental in developing the financial services group, representing the firm at conferences and seminars, among other events. To bring it full circle, Zheng helps other immigrants from Asia with tax preparation and translation.

For repeat honoree Ellen Zimiles, it’s been another notable year of making bad guys pay. As a partner and leader of the financial services advisory and compliance segment at the consultancy Guidehouse, Zimiles is a recognized expert in anti-money laundering program development, corporate governance, regulatory and corporate compliance, and public corruption. Her more than three decades of litigation and investigation features time as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York and chief of the forfeiture unit. In recognition of her contributions as a federal prosecutor, Zimiles received the Department of Justice’s John Marshall Award for Outstanding Service. She co-founded and led Daylight Forensic & Advisory, a consulting firm that Guidehouse acquired in 2010.

Dana Zukofsky had already established herself as one of the savviest professionals in food and beverage before BDO named her director of its national restaurant practice. But after adding digital transformation advisory services to her portfolio, Zukofsky is in the process of forging a growing reputation for helping clients successfully navigate the business-threatening Covid-19 crisis. It is that timely work that has earned her a return to this list. After hours, Zukofsky is deeply committed to charity and civic work. For many years she has been involved with City Harvest, which works to end hunger in New York City communities. She is a board member of the Brooklyn Curling Center.

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

BUCK ENNIS

SMALL- BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

ZARO was inspired by the chicken cutlet deli sandwiches he grew up eating in Westchester.

FOCAL POINTS

Sandwich chain rolls with pandemic uncertainty Cutlets experimented with pop-ups, delivery-only to grow the brand until it could open storefronts

BY CARA EISENPRESS

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utlets Sandwich Co., a year-old restaurant run by a scion of the Zaro’s Family Bakery clan, last week completed its largest order so far: 440 sandwiches for a Midtown-based tech firm.

“They get a lot of lunches for their office as people are coming back, but this was the largest by a few hundred,” said Richard Zaro, who started the restaurant mini chain in late 2019 after working for his family’s business for seven years. He now has three locations planned: One is open, one is about to open, and a third will be ready a few months down the line.

The order represented a major stride forward for the company, whose business strategy had to be totally rethought as the pandemic and related policies changed how restaurants could operate in New York City for over a year. By trying out a delivery-only strategy and popping up in temporary spaces, Zaro was able to get Cutlets up and running months before his official sandwich shops were ready to open.

Winner, winner Though he came up in bread, Zaro started his business because of his excitement over a different food product: the perfectly fried chicken cutlet.

$687K

Third-party delivery applications Inspired by the deli sandwiches like Grubhub were the best way to he grew up eating in Westchester build a new brand during the panCounty, he watched as competition demic, he said. “We went on all the in the fast-food fried chicken sandAMOUNT raised platforms.” Orders increased every wich space heated up. from investors to day, he said.

“Everyone tried to succeed in build out three Next up a friend helped Zaro sebowls and salads,” he said, referring Cutlets Sandwich cure a “good rate” on a six-month to the healthy-ish fast-casual storeCo. locations lease at the old Tender Greens lofronts including Dig Inn and Just cation at 900 Broadway. The busiSalad that proliferated throughout ness introduced its new neighborthe 2010s. “But no one tried to do hood to the sandwich brand while continuing great stuff in sandwiches.”

Zaro said he sourced meat from only to gain traction through delivery orders.

When an opportunity to temporarily hanhigh-quality purveyors. The Italian rolls and heroes he sought didn’t exist at his family’s dle the food and beverage operation at the company, so he buys them from Parisi Bakery McCarren Hotel in Williamsburg came up, Zaro took that too, using the kitchen to delivin Little Italy.

With the sandwiches ready to go, Zaro was er Cutlets to the neighborhood as well.

The chaotic backdrop of a city emerging about to sign a lease on his first retail shop, in Midtown South—a place he wanted to feel from the pandemic turned out to allow for “fun, inviting and clean”—when the pan- useful experimentation inside the company, demic hit. He hadn’t yet signed the lease, so as Zaro tweaked his ingredients, processes and menu items. he put everything on pause in March 2020.

“There are 1,000 things that change every But by early summer 2020, an acquaintance had suggested that Zaro simply rent day,” Zaro said. some space in a commercial kitchen and get started by delivering the sandwiches—no re- ‘Retail experience’ tail store needed.

By the end of last year Zaro had raised On July 28 he launched Cutlets from a de- $687,000 from investors to build three perlivery-only kitchen on W. 40th St. with a team manent stores. Along the way he has given up of four employees and about $100,000 of his the temporary locations, convinced that own money. well-designed storefronts are the best match

FOUNDED 2019 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES 25 OWNER Richard Zaro SANDWICH STAR Zaro loves fried chicken cutlets, and they are the mainstay of the menu, which also includes grilled chicken and turkey sandwiches as well as vegetarian options, such as grilled eggplant and fresh mozzarella.

PANDEMIC PIVOT Though Zaro had been working on the concept when the pandemic hit, he decided not to sign a lease for a retail space in early 2020. Instead, he tested out neighborhoods by renting space in delivery kitchens and pop-up locations while looking for permanent storefronts.

PROJECTED 2022 REVENUE $5 million

for his product.

“We really want to be known as a retail experience,” he said.

Currently, the Midtown store is open to greet office workers as they return. Zaro is still building out the full catering program, but he said companies are eager to order platters already.

A second shop, at 99 Third Ave. in the East Village, will be open as soon as a few city approvals come in. Williamsburg will be back in a few months, he said. Next year, when the world steadies, he predicts that revenue will reach $5 million from all three stores. ■

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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 Jones Lang LaSalle, on behalf of 850 Mezzanine B, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Secured Party”) offers for sale at public auction on October 14, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. (prevailing Eastern Time) on the front steps of the New York County Supreme Court Building, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007, and also being broadcast for remote participation via a virtual videoconference, in connection with a Uniform Commercial Code sale, 100% of the limited liability company interests in 850 Third Avenue Mezz I, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Pledged Entity”), and all other collateral pledged by 850 Third Avenue Mezz II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Debtor”) under that certain Amended and Restated Junior Mezzanine Pledge and Security Agreement, dated as of January 8, 2019 (as amended, supplemented or otherwise PRGLÀHG IURP WLPH WR WLPH WKH ´Security Agreement”) made by the Debtor in favor of the Secured Party, (collectively, the “Collateral”). The Collateral is owned by the Debtor, having its principal place of business at c/o The Chetrit Organization LLC, 1384 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10018. The Debtor directly owns the Pledged Entity, which in turn owns 850 Third Avenue Owner, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Owner”), which directly owns certain real property located at 850 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10022 (the “Premises”).

The Secured Party, as lender, made a loan (the “Junior Mezzanine Loan”) to the Debtor pursuant to that certain Junior Mezzanine Loan Agreement, dated as of June 15, 2018 (as the same has been amended, restated, VXSSOHPHQWHG RU RWKHUZLVH PRGLÀHG IURP WLPH WR WLPH WKH ´Junior Mezzanine Loan Agreement”). In connection ZLWK WKH 0H]]DQLQH /RDQ WKH 'HEWRU KDV JUDQWHG WR WKH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ D ÀUVW SULRULW\ OLHQ RQ WKH &ROODWHUDO SXUVXDQW to the Security Agreement. The Secured Party is offering the Collateral for sale in connection with the foreclosure on the pledge of such Collateral. The Pledged Entity is a borrower under a loan (the “Senior Mezzanine Loan”) in the original aggregate principal amount of $75,000,000, which is secured by, among other things, 100% of the limited liability company interests in Owner. The Premises are subject to a mortgage loan (the “Senior Loan”) to Owner securing indebtedness in the original aggregate principal amount of $242,000,000.

The sale of the Collateral will be subject to all applicable third-party consents and regulatory approvals, if any. :LWKRXW OLPLWDWLRQ WR WKH IRUHJRLQJ SOHDVH WDNH QRWLFH WKDW WKHUH DUH VSHFLÀF UHTXLUHPHQWV IRU DQ\ SRWHQWLDO successful bidder in connection with obtaining information and bidding on the Collateral, including, but not limited to, (1) complying with the restrictions applicable to the sale of the Collateral under the Intercreditor Agreement dated as of June 15, 2018 by and among the Secured Party, the holder of the Senior Loan and the holder of the Senior Mezzanine Loan, including that such bidder has obtained the relevant consents of the holder of the Senior Mezzanine Loan and the holder of the Senior Mezzanine Loan, or will repay the Senior Loan and Senior Mezzanine /RDQ SULRU WR WKH VDOH RI WKH &ROODWHUDO DQG GHOLYHULQJ VXFK GRFXPHQWV DQG SD\ VXFK DPRXQWV DV UHTXLUHG E\ WKH Intercreditor Agreement and the applicable governing documents relating to the Collateral.

The Collateral are being offered as a single lot, “as-is, where-is”, with no express or implied warranties, representations, statements or conditions of any kind made by the Secured Party or any person acting for or on behalf of the Secured Party, without any recourse whatsoever to the Secured Party or any other person acting for RU RQ EHKDOI RI WKH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ DQG HDFK ELGGHU PXVW PDNH LWV RZQ LQTXLU\ UHJDUGLQJ WKH &ROODWHUDO 7KH ZLQQLQJ bidder shall be responsible for the payment of all transfer taxes, stamp duties and similar taxes incurred in connection with the purchase of the Collateral.

The Secured Party reserves the right to (i) credit bid; (ii) set a minimum reserve price; (iii) reject all bids (including ZLWKRXW OLPLWDWLRQ DQ\ ELG WKDW LW GHHPV WR KDYH EHHQ PDGH E\ D ELGGHU WKDW LV XQDEOH WR VDWLVI\ WKH UHTXLUHPHQWV imposed by the Secured Party upon prospective bidders in connection with the sale or to whom in the Secured Party’s sole judgment a sale may not lawfully be made) and terminate or adjourn the sale to another time, without further publication or notice; (iv) accept a lower bid if the bid is on terms Secured Party determines is more favorable to Secured Party or is from a bidder that, in Secured Party’s determination, offers a more certain likelihood of H[HFXWLRQ Y VHOO WKH &ROODWHUDO DW D VXEVHTXHQW SXEOLF RU SULYDWH VDOH DQG YL LPSRVH DQ\ RWKHU FRPPHUFLDOO\ reasonable conditions upon the sale of the Collateral as the Secured Party may deem proper.

(DFK SURVSHFWLYH ELGGHU RWKHU WKDQ WKH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ RU LWV DIÀOLDWH ZLOO EH UHTXLUHG WR UHSUHVHQW LQ ZULWLQJ WR WKH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ WKDW VXFK ELGGHU L LV DFTXLULQJ WKH &ROODWHUDO IRU LQYHVWPHQW SXUSRVHV VROHO\ IRU WKH SXUFKDVHU·V RZQ DFFRXQW DQG QRW ZLWK D YLHZ WR GLVWULEXWLRQ RU UHVDOH RI WKH &ROODWHUDO LL KDV VXIÀFLHQW NQRZOHGJH DQG H[SHULHQFH LQ ÀQDQFLDO DQG EXVLQHVV PDWWHUV VR DV WR EH FDSDEOH RI HYDOXDWLQJ WKH PHULWV DQG ULVNV RI LQYHVWPHQW DQG KDV VXIÀFLHQW ÀQDQFLDO PHDQV WR DIIRUG WKH ULVN RI LQYHVWPHQW LQ WKH &ROODWHUDO LLL ZLOO QRW UHVHOO RU RWKHUZLVH 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 exemption therefrom; SURYLGHG WKDW WKH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ UHVHUYHV WKH ULJKW WR YHULI\ WKDW HDFK FHUWLÀFDWH IRU WKH OLPLWHG OLDELOLW\ FRPSDQ\ 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; LY ZLOO SXUFKDVH WKH &ROODWHUDO LQ FRPSOLDQFH ZLWK DOO DSSOLFDEOH IHGHUDO DQG VWDWH ODZV Y LV D 4XDOLÀHG 7UDQVIHUHH ZLWKLQ WKH PHDQLQJ RI WKH ,QWHUFUHGLWRU $JUHHPHQW RU LQWHQGV WR REWDLQ 5DWLQJ $JHQF\ &RQÀUPDWLRQ ZLWKLQ WKH PHDQLQJ RI WKH ,QWHUFUHGLWRU $JUHHPHQW DQG YL ZLOO EH DEOH WR VDWLVI\ DQG ZLOO VDWLVI\ DOO RI WKH RWKHU UHTXLUHPHQWV of the Intercreditor Agreement. Meeting any requirements of the foregoing shall be at the sole responsibility, risk, cost, and expense of a prospective bidder. $OO ELGV RWKHU WKDQ FUHGLW ELGV RI 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ PXVW EH IRU FDVK ZLWK QR ÀQDQFLQJ FRQGLWLRQV DQG WKH VXFFHVVIXO ELGGHU PXVW GHOLYHU LPPHGLDWHO\ DYDLODEOH JRRG IXQGV IRU WKH 5HTXLUHG 'HSRVLW DV GHÀQHG LQ WKH 7HUPV RI 6DOH

on the date of the Sale, and (2) for the balance of the purchase price for the Collateral on the closing date prescribed by the Terms of Sale. )XUWKHU LQIRUPDWLRQ FRQFHUQLQJ WKH &ROODWHUDO WKH UHTXLUHPHQWV IRU REWDLQLQJ LQIRUPDWLRQ DQG ELGGLQJ RQ WKH interests and the Terms of Sale can be found at (http://www.850ThirdAveUCCSale.com/), or by contacting Brett Rosenberg by telephone at (212) 812-5926 or by email at brett.rosenberg@am.jll.com.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES 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 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 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.

UCC Public Sale Notice

Please take notice that Jones Lang LaSalle (“JLL”), on behalf of INVICTUS 187 MEZZ LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Secured Party”), as successor-in-interest to Prophet Mortgage Opportunities L.P., offers for sale at public auction on Thursday, November 4, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) at WKH RIÀFHV RI &ROH 6FKRW] 3 & $YHQXH RI WKH $PHULFDV th )ORRU 1HZ <RUN 1HZ <RUN DQG DOVR EHLQJ EURDGFDVW IRU UHPRWH SDUWLFLSDWLRQ YLD =RRP YLGHRFRQIHUHQFH LQ FRQQHFWLRQ ZLWK D 8QLIRUP Commercial Code sale, 100% of the limited liability company membership interests (the “Interests”) in 187 KENT OWNER LLC, a New York limited liability company (the “Mortgage Borrower”), which is the sole RZQHU RI WKH SURSHUW\ FRPPRQO\ NQRZQ DV .HQW $YHQXH %URRNO\Q 1HZ <RUN WKH ´Property”).

The Interests are currently owned by 187 KENT, LLC, a New York limited liability company (the “Mezzanine Borrower”).

The Secured Party, as lender, made a loan (the “Mezzanine Loanµ WR WKH 0H]]DQLQH %RUURZHU ,Q FRQQHFWLRQ ZLWK WKH 0H]]DQLQH /RDQ WKH 0H]]DQLQH %RUURZHU JUDQWHG WR WKH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ D ÀUVW SULRULW\ OLHQ RQ WKH ,QWHUHVWV SXUVXDQW WR WKDW FHUWDLQ 3OHGJH DQG 6HFXULW\ $JUHHPHQW GDWHG DV RI 2FWREHU (the “Pledge Agreement”). The Secured Party is offering the Interests for sale in connection with the IRUHFORVXUH RQ WKH SOHGJH RI VXFK ,QWHUHVWV 7KH 0H]]DQLQH /RDQ LV VXERUGLQDWH WR L D FHUWDLQ PRUWJDJH ORDQ WR 0RUWJDJH %RUURZHU WKH ´Mortgage Loan”); and (ii) other obligations and liabilities of the Mortgage %RUURZHU WKDW DUH RWKHUZLVH DIIHFWLQJ WKH 3URSHUW\ 7KH VDOH RI WKH ,QWHUHVWV ZLOO EH VXEMHFW WR DOO DSSOLFDEOH WKLUG SDUW\ FRQVHQWV DQG UHJXODWRU\ DSSURYDOV LI DQ\ :LWKRXW OLPLWDWLRQ WR WKH IRUHJRLQJ SOHDVH WDNH QRWLFH WKDW WKHUH DUH VSHFLÀF UHTXLUHPHQWV IRU DQ\ potential successful bidder in connection with (i) obtaining information and (ii) bidding on the Interests, LQFOXGLQJ EXW QRW OLPLWHG WR WKDW HDFK ELGGHU PXVW EH D ´4XDOLÀHG 7UDQVIHUHHµ DV WKDW WHUP LV GHÀQHG LQ WKDW FHUWDLQ ,QWHUFUHGLWRU $JUHHPHQW GDWHG 2FWREHU WKH ´Intercreditor Agreement”), entered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bidder.

7KH ,QWHUHVWV DUH EHLQJ RIIHUHG DV D VLQJOH ORW ´DV LV ZKHUH LVµ ZLWK QR H[SUHVV RU LPSOLHG ZDUUDQWLHV representations, statements or conditions of any kind made by the Secured Party or any person acting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in Secured Party’s sole judgment a sale may not lawfully be made), terminate or adjourn the sale to another WLPH ZLWKRXW IXUWKHU QRWLFH DQG WR VHOO WKH ,QWHUHVWV DW D VXEVHTXHQW SXEOLF RU SULYDWH VDOH DQG WR LPSRVH any other commercially reasonable conditions upon the sale of the Interests as Secured Party may deem SURSHU 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ IXUWKHU UHVHUYHV WKH ULJKW WR GHWHUPLQH WKH TXDOLÀFDWLRQV RI DQ\ ELGGHU LQFOXGLQJ D SURVSHFWLYH ELGGHU·V DELOLW\ WR FORVH WKH WUDQVDFWLRQ RQ WKH WHUPV DQG FRQGLWLRQV UHIHUHQFHG KHUHLQ DQG WR PRGLI\ WKHVH WHUPV RI VDOH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ IXUWKHU UHVHUYHV WKH ULJKW WR YHULI\ WKDW HDFK FHUWLÀFDWH IRU WKH ,QWHUHVWV WR EH VROG EHDUV D OHJHQG VXEVWDQWLDOO\ WR WKH HIIHFW WKDW VXFK LQWHUHVWV KDYH QRW EHHQ UHJLVWHUHG XQGHU WKH 6HFXULWLHV $FW RI DV DPHQGHG WKH ´Securities Act”), and to impose such other limitations or conditions in connection with the sale of the Interests as the Secured Party deems necessary or DGYLVDEOH LQ RUGHU WR FRPSO\ ZLWK WKH 6HFXULWLHV $FW RU DQ\ RWKHU DSSOLFDEOH ODZ $OO ELGV RWKHU WKDQ FUHGLW ELGV RI WKH 6HFXUHG 3DUW\ PXVW EH IRU FDVK DQG WKH VXFFHVVIXO ELGGHU PXVW EH SUHSDUHG WR GHOLYHU LPPHGLDWHO\ DYDLODEOH JRRG IXQGV ZLWKLQ IRUW\ HLJKW KRXUV DIWHU WKH VDOH DQG RWKHUZLVH FRPSO\ ZLWK WKH ELGGLQJ UHTXLUHPHQWV )XUWKHU LQIRUPDWLRQ FRQFHUQLQJ WKH ,QWHUHVWV WKH UHTXLUHPHQWV IRU REWDLQLQJ LQIRUPDWLRQ WKH UHTXLUHPHQWV IRU ELGGLQJ RQ WKH LQWHUHVWV DQG WKH 7HUPV RI Sale can be found at http://www.187kentuccsale.com/ or by contacting JLL using the contact information below.

Contact Information for Jones Lang LaSalle: $WWQ %UHWW 5RVHQEHUJ

brett.rosenberg@am.jll.com

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 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.

AR INNOVATIONS INTL. LLC. App. for Auth. filed with the SSNY on 09/ 03/21. Originally filed with Secreatary of State of Delaware on 11/16/2017. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 245 East 63rd Street, Suite 319, New York, NY 10065. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

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 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 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 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.

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: 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 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 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 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 FORMATION OF A1traininggroup LLC. Art. of Org. filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/08/2021. 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 485 first ave apt 3B, New York, New York 10016. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

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.

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9/17/21 3:02 PM

CLASSIFIEDS

Advertising Section

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 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 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 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 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 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

SUBMIT YOUR BUSINESS CLASSIFIEDS TODAY

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 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 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 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.

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