Crain's New York Business

ASKED & ANSWERED Comptroller-elect Lander on the Gowanus rezoning

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM

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EATING IT UP A renowned Harlem chef gets funding to fuel his chain’s expansion

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DECEMBER 20, 2021

POLITICS

Does Scott Stringer deserve a second chance?

The outgoing comptroller, favored in the mayor’s race until assault allegations derailed his bid, considers his next steps

BY BRIAN PASCUS

T

owers of cardboard boxes run along the windows in a historic office building close to City Hall, suggesting moving trucks are not far away. Near a conference room where officials once debated solutions to the 1970s fiscal crisis, an executive desk sits empty. On a nearby shelf is a framed pho-

to of a woman and two children.

Despite the appearance of a closed shop, city Comptroller Scott Stringer and his squad of 600 budgetary watchdogs have continued to take the de Blasio administration to task. In the past three months, Stringer’s office has issued a 6,400-word report summarizing the failure of communications among city agencies during the Covid-19 lockdown, blasted

the city for a lack of contracts with minorityand women-owned businesses amid the pandemic, and successfully sued Mayor Bill de Blasio to rescind certain emergency powers. Not all bluster, Stringer also sat with the mayor to jointly announce plans for the city’s pension funds to invest $50 billion in renewable energy companies by 2035.

Output notwithstanding, the comptroller’s

office is mostly quiet these days. Stringer had hoped to move his belongings across the street and take over de Blasio’s desk at City Hall come January. His bid seemed to be gaining momentum in the spring, before the Democratic primary in June, with him securing key endorsements from unions and See STRINGER on page 17

They ousted a dynasty, subdued a pathogen and danced a duet with power or disgrace. Check in with a few of the New Yorkers behind the headlines in 2021 and find out what’s ahead for them next year

Most likely to pick a fight (and win)

Most likely to get paid in Bitcoin

Least likely to dilly-dally with her agenda

Most likely to find the cure for a disease

Most likely to ride the subway

Most likely to rewrite his résumé

Most likely to order room service

Least likely to make his voice heard

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NEWSPAPER

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© 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.

GOTHAM GIG

Giving a voice to immigrant workers PAGE 47

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2021 NEWSMAKERS YEARBOOK

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POLITICS

De Blasio report card: A look back on everything the mayor achieved—and didn’t—in his two terms

Fixing social and economic inequality GRADE:

H

D

omelessness has exploded across the city. Spending on shelters doubled between 2014 and 2018, but a record number of New Yorkers—60,000—were homeless by mid-2021.

Affordable housing was another pillar of de Blasio’s agenda. Although the administration constructed or preserved more than 165,000 affordable units, the New York City Housing Authority’s stock remains in a dilapidated state: More than $40 billion in repairs are needed.

—Brian Pascus

GRADE:

T

B+

he mayor initially found any of his public health responses to the Covid-19 pandemic dominated

by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. De Blasio reasserted himself after Cuomo resigned, instituting a vaccine mandate for all city employees. He went further this month, announcing that every private employer in the city must mandate vaccines for their workers. His Key to NYC program has limited indoor activities such as dining, entertainment and fitness to the vaccinated, and his Test & Trace Corps is now a major part of city life. —B.P.

Bridging the digital divide GRADE:

D

C

Addressing the climate crisis GRADE:

N

ew York has faced a number of severe weather events in the past eight years, most recently the remnants of Hurricane Ida in September—which killed more than a dozen residents in the outer boroughs. Since de Blasio’s election, during the second Obama administration, climate advocacy has reached a fever pitch, driving government action.

In 2015 the United States joined the Paris agreement, only to exit during the Trump years and later rejoin under President Joe Biden.

All the while, New York has passed landmark legislation to combat fossil fuel emissions. Local Law 97, passed last year, required large buildings to meet new energy-efficiency requirements. City infrastructure officials have adopted goals in line with the Biden administration’s plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. And this month the City Council approved a bill banning natural gas hookups in

e Blasio often has mentioned internet access within his tale of two cities. Telecom giants ignored the city’s poorest neighborhoods, he said, helping to create the digital divide in connectivity that was exposed by the pandemic.

But the results from his promise to fix that imbalance have been mixed.

His administration sued Verizon and guaranteed a new broadband option for 500,000 households through a settlement last year. His January 2020 Internet Master Plan to boost competition among CITY PUBLIC HOUSING internet providers was needs as much as $40 praised by experts, but billion in repairs. private partners only recently began putting it most new buildings. The mayor into action.

De Blasio leaves office having also has restricted the use of cars on launched a series of ambitious, de- certain city thoroughfares.

—Brandon Sanchez tailed efforts—the execution of which will now be largely left to Eric Getting rezonings approved Adams’ administration.

—Ryan Deffenbaugh GRADE:

T

BUCK ENNIS

A-

THE HOMELESS POPULATION is near an all-time high.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS Crain’s New York Business wishes you a peaceful and relaxing holiday season.

Please visit CrainsNewYork.com for news updates; we'll back in print Jan. 10.

C

he most notable housing policy of the de Blasio administration was mandatory inclusionary housing, which requires a share of new units sparked by zoning changes to be permanently affordable. His administration hailed the program as the strictest zoning affordable housing requirement in New York’s history, but it has been criticized for not going far enough with its affordability requirements.

The mayor’s administration had a mixed record of success in completing its proposed rezonings. Although it did achieve a pair of victories at the tail end of de Blasio’s tenure, passing plans for Gowanus and SoHo/NoHo, several other ef-

HURRICANE IDA brought destruction and death to the outer boroughs.

AP PHOTO

ON A BRISK January day in 2013, a little more than a year after demonstrators occupied Zuccotti Park in protest of corporate power, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio announced he would run for mayor of New York.

“Let’s be honest about where we are today,” he said. “This is a place that in too many ways has become a tale of two cities, a place where City Hall has too often catered to the interests of the elite rather than the needs of everyday New Yorkers.”

Eight years later, de Blasio’s administration has in some ways worked toward egalitarianism, as when he delivered universal preschool. But most of the city’s inequities are as glaring as they ever were. Scandal-plagued Rikers Island is still open, Wall Street bonuses are soaring amid high unemployment, and homelessness is worse than ever.

Crain’s reporters looked at a few of de Blasio’s major goals and assigned grades to his efforts.

—Brandon Sanchez

Fighting the pandemic

forts fell short, including attempts in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and Southern Boulevard in the Bronx.

—Eddie Small

Working with the hotel industry GRADE:

D

C

e Blasio isn’t popular in the hotel industry. That’s no surprise, given his proposed hotel special permit, his decision to move homeless people into empty inns and a city law requiring shuttered hotels to pay their workers severance.

The special permits are designed to keep existing hotels competitive by curtailing the number of new ones that may be built, but limiting business opportunities in New York is almost never a good idea.

De Blasio’s decision to utilize empty hotels during the pandemic to keep the homeless out of crowded shelters, while well-intentioned, angered some New Yorkers living near the inns, whose neighborhoods, some say, became exposed to more litter and drug use.

Moving the homeless back to shelters then was met with an outcry from advocacy organizations.

—Natalie Sachmechi

a rock-solid AA. During de Blasio’s tenure, the S&P 500 grew at an annual compound rate of about 12.5%. It was just 3.1% during the Bloomberg years. Surprised? The result actually says little about either mayor.

Bloomberg’s score was dinged by the 2008 financial crisis. During de Blasio’s time, the market got a huge jolt from the Trump administration’s tax and fiscal policies.

When we look back, the de Blasio years will be seen as a golden age for the city from a financial perspective—whether we want to credit him or not.

—Aaron Elstein

CONFERENCE CALLOUT

BUCK ENNIS

BY CRAIN’S STAFF

Boosting the economy GRADE:

M

A

ayors here have limited control over the city’s finances.

They can’t spend more than the city has and run up a large deficit.

But this much is true: The economy was amazingly strong during most of de Blasio’s tenure, which meant he had funding for priorities such as universal pre-K. During his tenure, jobs and prosperity spread outside Manhattan and into the other boroughs at levels unseen in decades until the pandemic. He leaves with the city’s credit rating at

CORRECTION ■ Tommy Nicholas is the CEO of Alloy. His last name was incorrect in “City ripe to reign as capital of fintech,” published Dec. 6.

JAN. 19 CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS POWER BREAKFAST Join Crain’s New York Business as we show you how the newsroom really works. With our new series, Crain’s Power Breakfasts, we will be creating breaking news onstage. Every other month, we will bring you the opportunity to listen to the biggest influencers and policy makers in the city and the tristate area. Our first event in the series will feature Gregory Russ, chair and CEO of the New York City Housing Authority, interviewed live onstage by Crain’s New York Business Editor-in-Chief Cory Schouten.

NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB 180 Central Park South, Ninth floor 8 to 9:30 a.m.

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Vol. 37, No. 46, December 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. $140.00 per year. (GST No. 13676-0444-RT) ©Entire contents copyright 2021 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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RESTAURANTS

Harlem chef lands capital to add up to eight locations Two firms are funding Fieldtrip’s expansion in the city and beyond

BUCK ENNIS

JOHNSON’S Fieldtrip serves fare inspired by rice-eating cultures.

BY CARA EISENPRESS

I

n 2019 fine-dining chef JJ Johnson scraped together enough money to open a fast-casual restaurant on Lenox Avenue in Harlem. He thought he could find an audience to enjoy his rice bowls topped with ingredients inspired by a variety of the globe’s rice-eating cultures.

“I barely had enough money to open that location,” Johnson said. “I was being really gritty, hoping that the food would

be delicious enough for people to enjoy.”

Despite doubters who told him that people don’t open fast-casual spots in Harlem, diners came through the door, and great reviews in the city’s food press followed.

Johnson expanded to Midtown, proving to the industry and himself that a Black founder could build a brand that resonated beyond a majority Black and brown neighborhood.

He now has the chance to expand even bigger. His company, Fieldtrip, recently announced it has raised its first round

of capital to expand in New York City and eventually beyond.

Two firms are funding the expansion: the Founders Table Restaurant Group, which focuses on fast-casual food companies, and Pendulum, which seeks to help build minority- and woman-led companies.

Fieldtrip did not disclose the size of the investment nor the valuation of the firm, but it said the money was enough to See LOCATIONS on page 46

WORKPLACE

Mass Zoom firing backlash offers lessons for remote-work era

T

he video has racked up thousands of views across YouTube, Twitter and TikTok, along with news coverage across the world: “If you are on this call, you are part of the unlucky group being laid off.”

That was part of a painfully awkward, roughly three-minute video message Dec. 1 to 900 employees from Vishal Garg, CEO of Manhattan-based Better.com. Workers across several departments at the online mortgage startup heard on the

Zoom call that their jobs had been cut. Eliminating hundreds of jobs is never going to be received well—but the level of backlash against Better may offer some lessons for management in the age of remote work.

If layoffs cannot be avoided, the Society for Human Resource Management recommends they be done in-person.

But with employees increasingly spread across the country, can companies that must conduct layoffs online do so in a ISTOCK

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

See LAYOFFS on page 46 DECEMBER 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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WHO OWNS THE BLOCK

HANNAH STREET AND MURRAY HULBERT AVENUE

Housing project could propel redevelopment at decommissioned Navy base on Staten Island Affordable 360-unit building would dock along gritty waterfront strip

BY C. J. HUGHES

MURRAY HULBERT AVENUE In October, after a long search, city officials picked a team led

by Monadnock Development to develop a 360-unit all-affordable project on a waterfront parcel where Navy ships once docked. Fifty-four of the units will be set aside for people who have struggled with homelessness. Medical offices for Richmond University Medical Center will be included, and the YMCA will offer a counseling center. The project, decades in the making, is the latest effort to reinvent an industrial area that has struggled since the Navy’s departure in the 1990s. “We look forward to working together to create resilient affordable housing and community facilities that will serve New Yorkers of all ages,” Monadnock founder Nick Lembo said in a statement. The new project will be reserved entirely for lower-income individuals, including the formerly homeless. The affordable housing complex will rise on a windswept, fenced-off parcel called Site A, off Murray Hulbert Avenue.

7 NAVY PIER COURT The contemporary-looking buildings hugging the water’s edge are Urby Staten Island, representing the most ambitious previous effort to revitalize the former Navy Homeport base.

Urby, developed for $275 million by Ironstate Development in 2016, offers 571 apartments, 115 of which are leased at below-market rents to make them affordable. Market-rate studios start at $1,914 a month, and one-bedrooms rents start at $2,112, a spokesman said. Amenities include a small working vegetable farm. Seven of eight retail spaces, clustered around a central plaza, are leased. This Urby was the first in a chain; others are now open in Jersey City, Harrison, New Jersey, and Stamford, Connecticut. But the second phase of Urby Staten Island, which was supposed to open several years ago on an adjacent Homeport site, has not yet broken ground. The developer had no comment.

450 FRONT ST. The clutch of interconnected industrial buildings at this corner is home to Staten Island MakerSpace, a coworking site for artists who need to weld, use laser cutters or do some 3-D printing. Sculptors DB Lampman and Scott Van Campen co-founded the nonprofit in 2013. The complex’s most prominent structure is the peak-roofed brick building at Thompson Street, a 1912 structure once home to factory for mixing bowls and wooden spoons run by the Jaburg Brothers company. (A sign remains.)

The site sold for $5.7 million in 2017; both the buyer and sellers used limited liability companies. An empty lot across the street owned by the city that once housed junk cars has been reborn as MakerPark, a small sculpture park and event space that stages dance parties and plays, among them Shakespeare’s “Timon of Athens.”

RENDERING SECCHI SMITH, GOOGLE MAPS

A

385-425 BAY ST. decades-old effort to make This sprawling site, which contains a large parking lot and two over a barren slice of Staten single-story structures—a Western Beef grocery store and a Island—the Stapleton watermultiple-tenant building with a Rite Aid pharmacy—may be the front—has taken some steps biggest test of the appetite for building on Bay Street. In 2019 forward with the selection of a develthe low-slung block was one of about two dozen in the Bay oper for a 360-unit apartment house, Street area to be rezoned to allow for a new mix of building even as concerns about dramatically types, including housing; the Western Beef site, for example, is making over a former industrial area allowed to have structures up to seven stories tall, or a total of persist.

480,000 square feet of new construction. (Other blocks were The new project will be reserved ensimilarly rezoned on nearby Canal Street.) During the summer, tirely for lower-income individuals, inthe brokerage Lee and Associates put the site up for sale, for cluding the formerly homeless. The an undisclosed price, although it now appears to be off the affordable housing complex will rise market. The city puts its worth at $3.31 million. The seller, on a windswept, fenced-off parcel based on tax records, is Michael Parisi and Son Construction, called Site A, off Front Street. It is part which also owns commercial properties in Queens. The zoning of a 35-acre, city-owned former naval wasn’t a slam dunk: Critics worry that landlords with rental base called Homeport that was dehousing will now sell out to developers and deprive people of commissioned in 1994. It’s been courtplaces to live. But city officials promise to make $250 million ing new uses since the early 2000s. worth of local improvements, including better sewers in the Urby Staten Island, a residential propflood-prone area and a waterfront park. erty, opened nearby in 2016.

Two more undeveloped sites remain, including one where the second phase of Urby Staten Island was to go; it has yet to break ground.

“Everything is slowly coming to560 BAY ST. gether,” said James Prendamano, chief executive of Prendamano The art deco-style Paramount Theater, Real Estate, which is not involved which dates to 1930, hasn’t shown a movie in Site A. “I think we still need help since the early 1980s. (For a few years, it from the powers that be, but things was a rock club; Metallica took the stage in are happening.”

1983). But the building, a 40,500-squareThe new building, featuring foot property that stretches along Union gray-toned walls and sections set Place, has struggled to find long-term new at angles to one another, is from a uses since then. Most recently, plans to team led by Monadnock Developconvert the building into a catering hall ment, a builder known for moduwere floated, building permits show. But lar construction. Its portfolio inmajor changes may finally be afoot. The cludes One John Street, a luxury owners sold the building, which is not in condo in Dumbo, and One Flushthe rezoned area but close to it, for $10 ing, a 232-unit below-market-rate million in July, records show. Both parties project in Queens. shielded their identities with limited liaMonadnock, which was selected bility companies. Centuries ago Cornelius from a crowded field after a public Vanderbilt grew up on a farm on the site, vetting process, did not return a the Staten Island Historical Society said. call for comment.

The Site A building, which counts Sisters of Charity, a local nonprofit, among its partners, will include health care and counseling facilities.

111 CANAL ST. The news, announced earlier in the fall, comes two years after a This wine-colored, red-brick Romanesque major rezoning of the blocks edifice from 1889 is the former Edgewaalong Bay Street, a busy thorter Village Hall, which offered a courthouse oughfare that sits on the other and other government offices when the side of railroad tracks from Site A. area was an incorporated village, accordOn commercially zoned blocks ing to research from the city’s Landmarks 668 BAY ST. that have long had strip-mallPreservation Commission. Two major brewtype stores fronted with parking A force for some early revitalization eries were nearby; they used local springs lots, developers can now put up has been Lakruwana, the Sri Lankan for their lagers’ water and nearby caves for apartment buildings, some as tall restaurant in the ground-floor of this storage. Health clinics are inside the hall as 13 stories. But some residents tenement-style building, which also has today. The building, a landmark, sits in say Stapleton’s infrastructure is eight apartments. Lakruwana, starting Tappen Park, a nearly 2-acre green space ill-equipped for that kind of uras a pop-up in Times Square in the early ringed by plane and maple trees, and brick ban-style density and have op1990s, moved to this location at Broad sidewalks, and named for a World War One posed it. Gentrification is also a Street in 2011; Staten Island is home veteran. concern. to thousands of Sri Lankans. Buddha But city officials say the heads and clay pots decorate its dining rezoning could create 2,600 room; a vivid mural of an owl is painted homes, 1,300 of which would be afacross an exterior wall. The owner of the fordable housing. A new recreation three-story, 5,684-square-foot buildcenter, a continuation of an esplanade ing is Robert Adamo, who owns several that now spans only the waterfront by commercial properties on Staten Island, Urby and a new public school also are including 124 Central Ave. and 35 Victoplanned. ■ ry Blvd., both in next-door Tompkinsville.

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

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Moving forward together We’ve been through a lot together and have proved to be resilient. The approaching new year brings with it new possibilities to help our clients, communities and teammates move forward and prosper — safely.

Using our industry-leading digital tools, like mobile check deposits, Erica,® CashPro® and access to Zelle,® individuals and businesses are finding it easier to do their everyday banking. Across the country, the expertise of our specialists and our teammates in financial centers is helping clients meet all their financial needs at every stage of their lives.

In our communities, we continue to collaborate with local partners, business leaders, experts and academics across the public and private sectors to fuel job growth and financial stability. More than $400 million of our $1.25 billion commitment to advance racial equality and economic opportunity is already supporting diverse small businesses and partners, including many recipients here in New York City who provide job skilling and hiring programs.

We’ve also increased resources to support our teammates’ emotional and financial well-being. Recently, we raised our minimum hourly wage for U.S. employees to $21 per hour, moving closer to our goal of $25 by 2025.

My teammates and I look forward to growing existing partnerships and creating new ones as we work together to make a difference. Have a safe and happy holiday season.

What would you like the power to do? ®

José Tavarez President, Bank of America New York City

Learn more at bankofamerica.com/metroNY

Zelle and the Zelle related marks are wholly owned by Early Warning Services, LLC and are used herein under license. Bank of America, the Bank of America logo, Erica® and CashPro® are registered trademarks of the Bank of America Corporation. Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender © 2021 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

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IN THE MARKETS

New York’s last Black-owned bank harnesses popularity of Reddit to take in more cash This is the fifth time mission-driven Carver Federal Savings has raised money since the fall of 2020

“IF NOT FOR CARVER, SO MANY BUSINESSES IN HARLEM WOULD HAVE DIED”

“If not for Carver, so many businesses and nonprofits in Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Jamaica, Queens, would have died,” Lloyd Williams, chief executive of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, told Crain’s this year.

CEO “Michael Pugh is doing what major banks won’t do for communities of color: He is taking chances, pragmatic chances. He is showing it can be done.”

In a statement, Pugh said the additional capital raised will “further support our positive progress while maintaining safety and soundness for the bank.”

BLOOMBERG

C

arver Federal Savings, where GameStop, AMC and other New York’s last Black- meme stocks were revived. The reowned bank and a Reddit surgence of Carver benefits more favorite, is taking advan- than shareholders: Each dollar of tage of its surge in popularity. It capital funds about $10 in loans plans to sell up to $20 million worth from the institution. Since 1948, the bank has served small of shares. businesses, nonprofits It would be the fifth and other borrowers time the bank has raised shunned by big lenders. money since becoming a “The way to come back hit with those looking for from the pandemic is to ways to support Black ensupport institutions that terprises in the wake of were loyal to Harlem,” Silthe murder of George icon Harlem co-founder Floyd by a Minneapolis Clayton Banks told Crain’s police officer.

Harthis year after his firm, lem-based Carver said AARON ELSTEIN which provides internet recently that it will use connections and computthe proceeds to originate er training, opened an account. loans and pay down debt.

Maximizing profit and shareCarver was ignored by most of the financial community, and its holder value isn’t the primary mission of Carver, which has seven branches and $700 million in assets and is a federally designated community-development financial institution. The bank stock seldom changed hands, until often loses money, but regulators it started getting championed on and community leaders praise its WallStreetBets, the Reddit forum work with the underserved.

While things last The bank’s thinly traded shares went for less than $3 each until getting swept up in the frenzy in the summer of 2020 after Floyd’s death.

The share price reached $42.50 in July but recently has settled around $10.

“We believe that the recent vola-

While the dynamics last, Carver is busy raising cash to further its mission. Assuming it completes the share offering announced last week, it will have raised more than $30 million since the fall of 2020.

That would increase its capital base by more than 50%. ■

tility and our current market prices reflect market and trading dynamics unrelated to our underlying business, or macro or industry fundamentals,” parent Carver Bancorp said in a regulatory filing, “and we do not know how long these dynamics will last.”

TOURISM

International tourists join in NY’s holiday spirit, a month after U.S. lifts travel restrictions

I

nternational tourists have returned to New York, propping up the city’s arts, culture and hospitality industries, one month after the U.S. invited them back— provided they could show proof of vaccination against Covid-19.

“Foot traffic is noticeably up on Fifth Avenue, almost back to prepandemic levels,” said Jerome Barth, president of the Fifth Avenue Association, which has mounted an extensive display down the avenue, past the extravagantly lit department stores and down to the Rockefeller Center tree.

Customer spending at the avenue’s retailers, Barth said, was up— sometimes even compensating for the lost sales of 2020.

Of course, it is hard to distinguish dollars spent by American tourists from those spent by overseas visitors, but observers have reported hearing foreign languages in hotel lobbies and accents among shoppers.

One anecdotal piece of data is the percentage of New York City visitors who have taken a survey available in the print edition of tourist magazine City Guide NY

since late November. Of those, 45% were international. City Guide is once again being distributed at 300 hotels around the city and generally skews international, said Ethan Wolff, its director of content management. But nearly half was a good showing, considering that visitors from abroad typically stay longer and spend more money during their visit, he said.

“It could have been 25% and I wouldn’t have been surprised,” Wolff said.

On Broadway, foreign guests might see several shows in one visit, said Charlotte St. Martin of the Broadway League. Capacity at shows has averaged about 83% since international tourists were allowed back as of Nov. 8, according to gross sales figures provided by the league. Total attendance in November ranged from 210,000 to 238,000, compared with 2019 figures of 270,000 to nearly 300,000.

Foot traffic in Times Square was up 4% in October and reached 260,000 the weekend after Thanksgiving, double the 2020 traffic but still down from 337,000 in 2019, according to the Times Square Alliance.

Nationwide, the Transportation

day cocktail-creation classes, wreath making and the “Ugly Sweater” Fresh Towels Comedy Show.

Some destinations hold off

VISITING FOR THE HOLIDAY tourists from Spain snap a selfie Security Administration expects high travel volumes through the December holidays. That follows a 10-day Thanksgiving holiday during which 21 million travelers were screened by the TSA. The week of Nov. 15, the hotel occupancy rate jumped from 68% to 74% citywide, according to STR, which tracks the industry. By the week that ended Dec. 4, that number had dropped to 71%.

Selling the city overseas Some of the interest could be the result of the renewed effort by NYC

BUCK ENNIS

BY CARA EISENPRESS

& Company, the city’s marketing agency, which has ramped up outreach overseas, said Chris Heywood, executive vice president.

Promotion is planned in eight key international markets, he said, and 13 of 17 representative offices around the globe have reopened.

Holiday events, such as markets and shows at Moxy brand hotels in the East Village and Times Square, have attracted high attendance and produced a solid amount of usergenerated content on social media, according to Moxy. The company reported strong ticket sales for holi-

New York City is the top destination for domestic tourists this winter, according to TripAdvisor, based on site and consumer sentiment data.

The data comes with a qualifier: Some tourism-focused organizations plan to wait until spring and are not open yet.

“Tourism was a mainstay of the audience that supported Amateur Night at the Apollo,” said Janelle Procope, president and CEO of the Apollo Theatre. “That’s why we decided not to do our own productions until 2022’s first quarter.”

Stocks fell recently at a range of travel-related public companies, including Airbnb, Delta Airlines and Marriott International.

“Urban destinations, where we have a large presence in the U.S. and Canada, continue to lag the recovery,” Marriott said when filing its third-quarter numbers, “though they also saw demand rise during the 2021 third quarter compared to the 2021 second quarter.” ■

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TECHNOLOGY

What is Web3? Mayor-elect Adams touts the role New York could play in the vision for a new internet “WEB3 IS A CONVERGENCE OF FINANCE, TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE”

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

M

ayor-elect Eric Adams recently declared New York the home of Web3, and that buzzword has been hard to miss of late within the city’s technology scene.

Some of the tech industry’s top investors and startup founders are coalescing around a new vision for the internet—Web3—which would have no central authorities, such as Facebook, Google and Amazon.

Web3 would run on the same technology behind cryptocurrencies.

As more of the tech scene embraces the ideals of so-called Web3 or Web 3.0, here's a guide to the concept:

What is it?

Which are the innovators and companies to watch?

Though Adams may be a bit early in declaring the Big Apple the home of Web3, several major New York– based players in the technologies are behind the concept, as Crain’s

NFTs reportedly have a market value of $27 billion.

recently covered in “City ripe to reign as capital of fintech,” published Dec. 6.

In SoHo is Uniswap Labs, inventor of the largest decentralized, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange. In Flatiron is OpenSea, the largest marketplace for NFTs. ConenSys, a creator of applications based on the Ethereum blockchain, is based in Brooklyn and raised $220 million last month at a $3.2 billion valuation, making it among the city’s most valuable startups.

“Web3 is a convergence of finance, technology and culture, and New York has long been a hub for all of those industries,” Mary-Catherine Lader, chief operating officer of Uniswap Labs, recently told Crain’s.

Andreessen Horowitz, the Silicon Valley investment firm that is among the best-known proponents of Web3, hired its first Manhattan-based partner during the summer. It also recently leased the former JCPenney office in SoHo. Companies built on Web2 concepts are shifting over too. Brooklyn-based Kickstarter announced recently that it would soon use blockchain technology to power its crowdfunding software for creative projects.

Why does Web3 matter for New York?

By definition, a decentralized web is unlikely to grow out of any single region—whether New York, Miami or the Silicon Valley. So why should Adams talk about it at all?

“Yes, a lot of this is happening online, but a lot is offline too,” said Emil Skandul, a technology consultant and columnist. “People are networking in-person still, and they want to meet other developers and talk about Web3.”

BLOOMBERG

Although still quite early in its development, Web3 refers to a potential new version of the internet powered by blockchain ledgers, the record-keeping technology that is best known for its use in cryptocurrency.

The broader vision extends beyond crypto. Web services would shift away from the centralized servers of large companies and operate on a more individualized and peer-to-peer level, like during the messy early days of the internet, now referred to as Web1.

Web2 is the current version you use to pay your bills, chat with friends and read articles on Crains NewYork.com. The web has become easier to navigate, but power has become centralized. Google (as Alphabet), Amazon and Facebook (as Meta) are now among the 10 most valuable companies in the world.

Under the Web3 vision, the open, searchable nature of the blockchain can supplant the role that major companies play as online intermediaries—hosting and connecting communities. Cryptocurrency tokens would incentivize participation in those communities.

The concept has been brought to new prominence this year, thanks in part to a massive surge in the popularity of cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens. The virtual blockchain-based collectibles, known as NFTs, have a market value of $27 billion, according to a report from Chainalysis (which is itself a fast-rising local cryptocurrency-focused startup).

Naturally, there is debate around the utility of NFTs—much like the future of Web3 itself. Proponents describe them as a way for artists and other creators to finally take ownership of their work online and capitalize on its value. Others see a potential speculative bubble in the same vein as meme stocks.

Cities’ economic development strategies are shifting in response to remote work, Skandul added, to focus on attracting skilled workers to live in a city rather than on landing a single big employer, such as Amazon or Facebook.

Adams and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez promising to be paid in Bitcoin, or declaring a belief in Web3, could help send a signal that their city is a home for people working on the technology.

Adams has backers in the crypto-

currency industry, where Web3 talk is most popular. Crypto billionaires Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss were among the donors for Adams’ transition fund. The brothers co-founded Gemini, a cryptocurrency trading platform that raised $400 million recently at a $7 billion valuation.

Jukay Hsu, CEO of nonprofit tech training hub Pursuit, is on Adams’ technology advisory committee. He sees Web3 and the rise of cryptocurrency as something that the city can harness for greater equity—fitting with the mission of the nonprofit he founded in Queens a decade ago.

“If you believe that crypto will be a major wealth creation event over the next decade, it is really critical that we try to make sure everyone has access and can participate in that growth,” Hsu said. “So even if there is a wariness to this idea—and that is something that is itself great about New York—we should endeavor to shape the growth of this so everyone can participate.” ■

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

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

Local firms must prioritize Covid mandates while welcoming back foreign tourists

I

t’s been a month since international tourists have been allowed to return to the U.S., and the city’s businesses are welcoming them with open arms.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that they are flocking back to New York, and local arts and cultural institutions, which usually see a boost from foreign travelers, are reaping the benefits. The Broadway League has found that capacity at plays and musicals has averaged about 83% since they were allowed back Nov. 8. And as reporter Cara Eisenpress found in her story “International tourists join in NY’s holiday spirit, a month after U.S. lifts travel restrictions” (page 6), foot traffic

EDITORIAL editor-in-chief Cory Schouten,

cory.schouten@crainsnewyork.com managing editor Telisha Bryan assistant managing editor Anne Michaud data editor Amanda Glodowski

that international tourists typically vacation here longer and spend more money during their stay than domestic tourists. And although that benefits Broadway shows and shopping destinations like SoHo, their dollars also provide a much-needed bump to hotels, restaurants, corner stores, bars and boutiques.

Of course, New York must continue to be vigilant against Covid-19 and any emerging variants. Recent measures to require patrons ages 5 and older to show proof of vaccination to enter a Broadway theater and for masks to be worn in indoor public places, as mandated by Gov. Kathy Hochul, will help. And, though tempting to let travelers slide, businesses should endeavor to be strict about enforcement.

The public good—and striving to ensure that city residents never again face the high infection rates that plagued New York during the dark, early days of the pandemic—must always trump efforts to recoup lost revenue.

New York has long been

digital editor Taylor Nakagawa deputy digital editor, audience & analytics

Jennifer Samuels art director Carolyn McClain photographer Buck Ennis senior reporters Cara Eisenpress,

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

Brian Pascus, Natalie Sachmechi, Brandon Sanchez, Shuan Sim op-ed editor Jan Parr,

opinion@crainsnewyork.com executive assistant Brittany Brown to contact the newsroom:

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

www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise sales manager Courtney McCombs account executives Kelly Maier, Marc Rebucci,

BUSINESSES SHOULD ENDEAVOR TO BE STRICT ABOUT ENFORCEMENT in Times Square reached 260,000 the weekend after Thanksgiving, double the 2020 figure, according to the Times Square Alliance.

Ethan Wolff, director of content management for tourist-focused magazine City Guide NY, noted

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

Laura Warren

BLOOMBERG

people on the move manager Debora Stein,

regarded as a must-visit destination around the world. And the money international tourists spend here is absolutely necessary to the economic recovery. As long as firms prioritize govern-

ment policies meant to keep us all safe, businesses should be able to build upon the momentum they’re already seeing and get their bottom lines even closer to normal in the New Year. ■

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

Sophia Juarez, sophia.juarez@crainsnewyork.com custom content coordinator Ashley Maahs,

ashley.maahs@crain.com EVENTS

www.crainsnewyork.com/events marketing manager Jessica Botos,

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

OP-ED

Ana Jimenez, ajimenez@crainsnewyork.com

Private donors can help put job training within reach for those who need it most

senior manager of events Michelle Cast,

michelle.cast@crainsnewyork.com REPRINTS director, reprints & licensing Lauren Melesio,

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

BY KENNETH ADAMS

L

abor scarcity is a problem affecting nearly every industry, from small businesses to the largest employer in town: the city of New York itself. Without more restaurant workers, electricians, cybersecurity experts, teachers, nurses and bus drivers, the city’s economic recovery will be sluggish at best.

When we consider ways to ensure that local employers find the workers they need, we should recognize that it is not enough to simply help unemployed New Yorkers return to their former lowwage jobs.

The goal should be to help job-seekers—especially those low-income New Yorkers whose lives have been most upended by the Covid-19 pandemic—find a new job at a family-sustaining wage and with prospects for advancement.

The key is training. And the partners for a large-scale workforce

training initiative are hiding in plain sight: the continuing education divisions of New York’s community colleges and universities, which offer data analytics, medical billing, phlebotomy, plumbing and many other fields of study. These programs are located on campuses across the five boroughs. They provide adult education—such as English as a second language, high school equivalency and financial literacy—as well as technical skills training in collaboration with local employers and government agencies.

Thanks to grants from charitable foundations and the government, many of these programs have grown to become the most effective training provider in their area.

What’s more, they’re economically efficient. By leveraging classrooms, office space, utilities, phones and other resources on their host campus, they lower overhead costs.

The obstacle to launching a citywide workforce-training initiative with continuing education divi-

sions is finding a way to pay for it.

Because federal and state financial aid programs for higher education, such as Pell grants and the state’s Tuition Assistance Program, were designed for students seeking a college degree, they don’t help job seekers hungry for skills training, industry credentials and nearterm employment.

Community college aid LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, for instance, which I head, launched a scholarship program this year for its workforce-training students, funded by private donors. The college foundation provides an 80% tuition subsidy—up to an individual cap of $7,200—to low-income tristate residents looking for training.

LaGuardia offers 10 programs backed by those adult and continuing education scholarships. By lowering the cost of the pharmacy technician course to $280, for example, an industry credential and a good job at a Walgreens, CVS

or a mom-and-pop pharmacy is within reach.

So far LaGuardia has awarded scholarships to almost 600 students. Thanks to a recent grant from the New York Community Trust, the program will be scaled up next year in collaboration with Hostos Community College in the Bronx.

We need to see more private donors step up to provide such scholarships to make continuing education feasible for the people who need it most.

Imagine the economic impact of a great upskilling of the city’s workforce—not only employees enjoying higher wages but employers finding the skilled workers they need. New employers would move to New York, attracted by the education and competency of its workers. And new business investment would drive economic growth and tax revenue. Everyone could win. ■

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

Kenneth Adams is president of LaGuardia Community College.

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

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OP-ED

To ensure an inclusive recovery, encourage and support local minority-owned small businesses

T

here’s still much New York City policymakers need to do to help the many minority-owned small businesses that hung on amid unprecedented challenges during the past year. But simply sustaining the firms that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic will not be enough to ensure an inclusive recovery in New York. City officials should also take steps to help spark the creation of thousands of new Black- and Latino-owned businesses, and set them up to succeed.

Even before the pandemic, less than 10% of New York City’s businesses were owned by Black and

est by the Covid crisis but were the least likely to benefit from government support.

Dramatically increasing the number will help build long-term wealth in communities of color. It will also spark a wave of hiring in these same communities because minority-owned businesses are more likely to hire people of color.

Creating jobs At the same time, seeding new minority businesses and supporting low-income entrepreneurship can help New Yorkers generate income at a time when jobs are relatively scarce. The citywide unemployment rate (8.4%) is still more than twice what it was before the pandemic—and much higher in lower-income neighborhoods—and many of the industries that were most likely to employ New Yorkers of color are expected to have a slower recovery.

Mayor-elect Eric Adams should set a goal of increasing the number of Black- and Latino-owned businesses by 50% in the next five years and implement policies that greatly increase support for aspiring mi-

HELP PEOPLE TRANSFORM THEIR SIDE HUSTLES INTO FORMAL VENTURES Latino New Yorkers, despite their making up over half (51%) of the city’s population. The number is likely considerably lower today, following a year in which minority-owned businesses were hit hard-

GETTY IMAGES

BY JONATHAN BOWLES AND JEANIQUE DRUSES

nority entrepreneurs.

First, the city should offer $5,000 grants for any new business established before June 2022 by current residents of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. It should couple the funds with technical assistance from a local provider so these new businesses come out of the gate strong and set up for success—and growth.

Second, the city should launch new business startup competitions

in lower-income neighborhoods— at branch libraries, New York City Housing Authority complexes and community colleges. The winners might get a year of free rent in an empty storefront or $25,000 in cash, and community-based business-assistance organizations should help with financial planning and marketing strategies for all finalists.

Third, the city should relaunch the New Business Acceleration Team and base it out of City Hall.

Before being weakened in recent years, NBAT had great success in helping businesses open faster.

With greater resources, expanded authority and a focus on lower-income neighborhoods, NBAT could help new businesses in communities of color navigate city regulations and open more quickly and efficiently.

Fourth, the city should expand the New York City Housing Authority’s Business Pathways program, which provides NYCHA residents with customized training and resources to start businesses. Expanding the program is a way of helping more of the city’s public housing residents turn to entrepreneurship. It’s a way to help them transform their side hustles into formal ventures.

With these policies, the city can ensure that Black and Latino entrepreneurs are a big part of the entrepreneurial renaissance already underway in New York, and it can help new businesses get on the path to long-term success. ■ Jonathan Bowles is executive director of the Center for an Urban Future. Jeanique Druses is vice president of global philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase.

OP-ED

BY FRED KOWAL

H

eroes work here. It’s a nice sentiment for burned-out health care workers to hear, but it does nothing to fix the nationwide hospital staffing crisis that threatens the public health care system. But to borrow from singer-songwriter Barrett Strong, love don’t pay the bills. What the health care community really needs is money.

Fully funding public health systems and rebuilding the health care workforce pipeline will enable state institutions to hire and retain the

talent. In 2019, the Association of American Medical Colleges predicted a national shortage of physicians—between 37,800 and 124,000—by 2034. In New York, even greater shortages of lab technicians, physical therapists and mental health care workers are coming, according to a report from asset management firm Mercer.

The primary driver of the shortages? A lack of resources to train new recruits. In 2018, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing estimated 75,000 qualified applicants were not accepted into nursing programs because there was insufficient classroom space, faculty or training facilities for students.

Covid-19 dramatically exacerbated this crisis, with many doctors, nurses and support staff walking away after 22 months of back-breaking frontline work.

Although some claim vaccination mandates fueled this crisis, the data proves that is a small cause compared to those lost to burnout or to the virus itself. Of far greater

A LACK OF RESOURCES TO TRAIN NEW RECRUITS IS A BIG DRIVER OF SHORTAGES staff they need and to expand critically necessary health care programs in higher education.

Chronic underfunding and understaffing at hospitals started long before Covid-19, leaving those institutions short on staff and cutting off the critical pipeline for future

GETTY IMAGES

Covid did not create our health care crisis; it merely exposed the deep structural problems in our system

impact is a health care market that has become increasingly concentrated, through hospital mergers that raise costs yet rarely improve quality or access. And this, again, predates Covid-19.

A much-needed first step For years former Gov. Andrew Cuomo systematically cut desperately needed financial support and mission funding from public health systems, including those run by the State University of New York.

In what could indicate a changed approach, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a boost in overtime pay at SUNY facilities, awarding staff two and a half times the usual pay for overtime through the end of this year. More recently, the United University Professions union signed an agreement with the state and SUNY for a pilot program for overtime pay for members at SUNY-operated hospitals in Brooklyn, Stony Brook and Syracuse. This is an excellent and much-needed first step, but to

truly turn the tide, our hospitals must receive the funding they need.

We cannot continue to insult health care workers by pretending that it was only Covid-19 that created this staffing shortage or by ignoring the need to support and train the next generation. After asking so much of these workers through the past 22 months, that is the only way to sufficiently show our appreciation.

As the largest higher education union in the nation, UUP has fought for full funding at our hospitals for years. Like public hospitals around the country, New York’s teaching hospitals overwhelmingly serve under-represented and under-resourced communities. These facilities are often the only health care option for their communities, who deserve access to world-class care.

Covid-19 did not create the nation’s health care crisis; it simply exposed the deep structural problems in our health care system. ■ Fred Kowal is the president of the United University Professions union, with members serving at 29 State University of New York campuses.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes submissions to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@CrainsNewYork.com. Send op-eds of 500 words or fewer to opinion@CrainsNewYork.com.

Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. Crain’s reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity.

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

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ASKED & ANSWERED

BRAD LANDER New York City Council

DOSSIER

INTERVIEW BY EDDIE SMALL

WHO HE IS City councilman representing District 39 in Brooklyn and comptroller-elect

ity Councilman Brad Lander will take over as the city comptroller in just a few days, but he ended his time on the council with a bang, helping shepherd the longawaited Gowanus rezoning across the finish line.

The effort was years in the making, and city officials expect it to bring about 8,000 new housing units to the Brooklyn neighborhood, more than 3,000 of which will be affordable. Lander said he believed the rezoning ultimately succeeded due to the high level of community involvement, and he is confident it will survive any additional challenges that might come along.

AGE 52

C

Why did the Gowanus rezoning pass when so many others have failed?

This proposal didn’t start with a developer. This started with the community saying, “We recognize that we need to think about the future of Gowanus,” coming up with a set of shared goals for the future and working really hard to push for a plan that met those goals.

What types of changes would you like to see in the city’s land-use review process?

With the reactive process we have, a developer puts a proposal on the table, or City Hall tells a community “You’re next,” and those communities get in a defensive crouch because they weren’t consulted. Each proposal, especially when it’s developer-driven, is claiming that

GREW UP St. Louis

The starting point needs to be a comprehensive plan.

Then council members can judge proposals against that plan. If people have said, “We need X more affordable housing units citywide,” when a proposal comes, if your colleague says, “I’m against it,” you can say, “I hear you, but we said as a city we need this affordable housing, and X% of it needs to be in your community.”

Why do you support eliminating the 421-a affordable housing tax break?

RESIDES Park Slope EDUCATION Bachelor’s in fundamentals: issues and texts, University of Chicago; master’s in social anthropology, University College London; master’s in city planning, Pratt Institute POWER COUPLE Lander has been married to Nonprofit New York CEO Meg Barnette for 25 years. The couple has two children.

FUN RUN He has run the Brooklyn Half Marathon multiple times and hopes to do it again in the spring.

GOOD EATS His favorite restaurant is Tanoreen, a Middle Eastern eatery in Bay Ridge. But now that he will rep the whole city, he is looking forward to finding good spots in the other boroughs too.

I think 421-a is trying to do two things but badly. It is trying to be an affordable housing program, but if you measure how much money we’re giving away against how much affordable housing we’re getting, I don’t see how anyone could justify it. Its second purpose is solving for a few of the big problems within our property tax system that make it difficult to build rental housing. We need to address those issues through broader property tax reform.

What role do you see the city comptroller’s office playing in distributing federal infrastructure funding?

I want to help the city make decisions more strategically. For instance, most of the federal money is for road repair. As Hurricane Ida showed us, one thing we must do in New York City is strengthen our sewer infrastructure. What opportunity is there for the city to stitch together federal resources for roads and bridges with city dollars for sewer renovations? I’ll be pushing for that. ■

it’s for the public good, but the public never said what it thought was good.

Do you think the City Council gives too much or too little weight to member deference?

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10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | DECEMBER 20, 2021

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THE LIST TOP HEALTH INSURERS Ranked by number of recipients enrolled in Medicaid managed care

RANK RANK

11 22 33 44 55 66

INSURER/ INSURER/ LOCAL ADDRESS LOCAL ADDRESS

PHONE NUMBER/ PHONE WEBSITENUMBER/ WEBSITE

HEAD OF OFFICE HEAD OF OFFICE

Healthfirst Healthfirst 100 Church St. 100 Church New York, NYSt. 10007 New York, NY 10007

212-801-6000 212-801-6000 healthfirst.org healthfirst.org

Pat Wang Pat Wang chief executive President, President, chief executive

Fidelis Care Fidelis Care Blvd.

95-25 Queens 95-25Park, Queens Blvd.

Rego NY 11374 Rego Park, NY 11374

718-896-6500 718-896-6500 fideliscare.org fideliscare.org

MetroPlus Health Plan MetroPlus Health Plan 160 Water St. 160 St.10038 New Water York, NY New York, NY 10038

AMANDA.GLODOWSKI@CRAINSNEWYORK.COM

NYC NYC MEDICAID MEDICAID RECIPIENTS RECIPIENTS

SIGN-UPS THROUGH SIGN-UPS THROUGH TEMPORARY TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR ASSISTANCE FOR 1 NEEDY FAMILIES NEEDY FAMILIES 1

SIGN-UPS THROUGH SIGN-UPSSAFETY THROUGH NET SAFETY NET 2 ASSISTANCE ASSISTANCE 2

SIGN-UPS THROUGH SIGN-UPS THROUGH SIGN-UPS THROUGH SIGN-UPS SUPPLEMENTAL NEW YORKTHROUGH STATE OF SUPPLEMENTAL OF SECURITY INCOME 33 NEW YORK STATE HEALTH SECURITY INCOME HEALTH

1,016,630 1,016,630

140,568 140,568

48,486 48,486

60,160 60,160

767,416 767,416

Thomas Halloran Thomas Halloran Chief executive Chief executive

653,318 653,318

67,191 67,191

27,640 27,640

30,850 30,850

527,637 527,637

212-908-8600 212-908-8600 metroplus.org metroplus.org

Talya Schwartz Talya Schwartz President, chief executive President, chief executive

458,143 458,143

64,910 64,910

20,411 20,411

19,808 19,808

353,014 353,014

Empire BlueCross BlueShield Empire BlueCross BlueShield HealthPlus HealthPlus 9 Pine St. 9 Pine St. NY 10005 New York, New York, NY 10005 UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealthcare 1 Penn Plaza 1 Penn Plaza New York, NY 10119 New York, NY 10119

800-300-8181 800-300-8181 empireblue.com/ empireblue.com/ nymedicaid nymedicaid

Jennifer Kuhn Jennifer Kuhn President, New York Medicaid President, New York Medicaid

344,495 344,495

50,835 50,835

15,657 15,657

16,733 16,733

261,270 261,270

212-216-6400 212-216-6400 uhc.com uhc.com

Michael McGuire Michael McGuireUnitedHealthcare of New York Chief executive, Chief executive, UnitedHealthcare of New York

205,763 205,763

29,709 29,709

11,842 11,842

9,367 9,367

154,845 154,845

HIP of Greater New York HIP of Greater 55 Water St. New York 55 NewWater York, St. NY 10041 New York, NY 10041

646-447-5000 646-447-5000 emblemhealth.com emblemhealth.com

Karen Ignagni Karen Ignagni President, chief executive President, chief executive

113,394 113,394

15,464 15,464

7,208 7,208

8,096 8,096

82,626 82,626

Data is as of November 2021 and excludes enrollment in Medicaid special-needs, managed long-term care and health and recovery plans. Source: State Department of Health with additional research by Meena Thiruvengadam. 1--Assists families Datachildren is as of November 2021 and excludes enrollment in Medicaid long-term care and health and recovery to plans.

Source: Department of Health with research

by Meena Thiruvengadam. families 1--Assists with when the parents or other responsible relatives cannotspecial-needs, provide for themanaged family's basic needs. cash assistance eligible needyState individuals and families who areadditional not eligible for Family Assistance. supplement 2--Provides 3--Federal income with children when the needs parentsfororaged, otherblind responsible relatives cannot provide fororthe cashas assistance 2--Provides program to fulfill basic and disabled people earning little no family's income.basic It hasneeds. the same application Medicaid.to eligible needy individuals and families who are not eligible for Family Assistance. 3--Federal income supplement program to fulfill basic needs for aged, blind and disabled people earning little or no income. It has the same application as Medicaid.

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DECEMBER 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 11

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

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

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With over a decade of experience with a Big Four accounting firm, DeSimone comes to Aprio with extensive experience performing varying financial reporting and audit procedures for clients across the United States. DeSimone will lead Aprio’s northeast audit practice, further evolving the firm’s growing presence in the tri-state area.

Public Works Partners, a WBE/DBE certified planning and consulting firm, has named Allison Quigney as a Principal. The promotion builds on Quigney’s 10-year career with the firm, during which time she has led over 50 projects for nonprofit, public, and government organizations. Quigney finds inspiration in the wide variety of people Public Works supports and is committed to equipping its clients with the tools, resources, and expertise to better serve their communities.

Dreamscape Companies has appointed Scott Broder to President of Hospitality. In this role, Broder will continue to oversee Dreamscape’s impressive hotel portfolio as well as organize and direct all activities pertaining to hospitality-related investments and transactions. Having joined the firm in September of 2020, Broder recently served as Executive Vice President Head of Hotel Investments. Under Broder’s guidance last year, Dreamscape has executed approximately $400M in hotel acquisitions.

Gift of Adoption, a national non-profit providing financial assistance to complete the adoptions of vulnerable children, is excited to announce that Ekata Doshi and

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CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy Foundation

EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants

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Mary Wright joins

ARTS

FINANCIAL / TECHNOLOGY

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Artsy

Alloy

Hylant

Artsy, the largest global online art marketplace recently acquired social impact auction platform Greenhouse Auctions and appointed its founder, Shalomi Rabi, a 20-year veteran as the VP of Artsy’s commercial and benefit auctions businesses. Previously, he held the position of Vice President at Christie’s and Head of Sales at Phillips where, collectively, he oversaw a record number of singleowner auctions and a multitude of world auction records.

Brian Bender has joined Alloy, the leading identity decisioning platform for banks and fintechs, as the Vice President of Strategic Alliances, where he’ll foster relationships with data and technology partners to create unique value for Alloy’s end clients. Brian brings over 20 years of experience in strategic planning and alliances development. Most recently, he led partnerships at 1010data, where he was responsible for transforming the company’s data and channel partner business.

As Managing Director of Transactional Risk, William Walker is instrumental in the continued expansion of Hylant’s executive risk practice. In this role, he will drive revenue growth through successful and innovative executive risk program structure, management and consultation. He will also consult and lead representation and warranty insurance (RWI) engagements.

Advertising innovator Evan Rutchik has founded LocalFactor, a multi-platform advertising company dedicated to helping businesses reach localized audiences effectively and simply across all media channels. Launched earlier this year, LocalFactor has run a multitude of campaigns for Fortune 200 and Small Cap companies across North America. Headquartered in NY, NY, Rutchik serves as CEO.

EPIC as senior vice president in the firm’s growing New York-based Financial Institution & Complex Risk practice. Wright brings 24 years of experience in the finance and Insurance industry to EPIC. She was most recently employed at CRC Group, where she was responsible for Practice Group Sales and Marketing. She was also Director of Knowledge Mgmt. at Swett & Crawford and a financial lines broker at AON. Wright will support EPIC clients with their increasingly complex risks.

To place your listing, visit www.newyorkbusiness.com/ companymoves or contact Debora Stein at 917.266.5470 / dstein@crain.com ANNIVERSARIES

Doshi

Jeffrey Ramson

joined its national board of directors. Doshi, Strategic Advisor on the regulatory, quality and compliance team at Sikich, will capitalize Ramson on twenty years of experience in finance and business optimization to help the organization reach its strategic goals. She is passionate about making adoption accessible to children in need.

Ramson, founder and CEO of PCG Advisory, has thirty years of experience as a professional investor and entrepreneur. He was drawn to the mission of alleviating the transactional and logistical costs of adoption.

TRANSPORTATION ARK Import Export Center, LLC The ARK at JFK is pleased to announce the appointments of Elizabeth A. Schuette to President and CEO and Kiera A. Schuette Mejia to Director of Sales and Marketing.

The ARK provides safe and humane animal reception, accommodation, handling and transport services to airlines and their ground handling Mejia agents as well as shippers, forwarders, and individuals. Both Elizabeth and Kiera have been with The ARK since its opening in 2017. With over 40 years of experience, Elizabeth is a seasoned real estate, banking and operations executive. She oversees The ARK’s daily operations. Kiera has gained experience working in all areas of The ARK and is uniquely qualified to lead the company’s marketing and sales efforts.

TRANSPORTATION

HEALTH CARE

CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT STO Building Group Construction management firm STO Building Group has hired Jerry Rosenheck as Chief Data Officer, a newly created position to help the company develop strategic platforms and systems that enable data-informed decision-making. Rosenheck will work closely with STOBG’s newly appointed Chief Innovation Officer, Rick Khan, and the extended STOBG leadership team to help the firm collect, assess, and interpret data to improve processes and outcomes.

COPE Health Solutions

LAW

Edina Vukic, Senior Vice President, MSO

Latham & Watkins LLP

Operations has over 25 years of experience with a deep understanding of provider and health plan relationships.

Her broad experience in overall network management, development, contracting and operations, strategy, and business planning ranges with a variety of health plans (large and small), health care systems, hospitals, IPAs and multi-specialty groups and with a variety of product types that include Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial lines of business.

Marlon Paz has joined the New York and Washington, D.C. offices of Latham & Watkins as a partner in the Capital Markets Practice and the Financial Institutions Industry Group within the Corporate Department. Paz, a former Senior Special Counsel to the SEC’s Director of the Division of Trading and Markets, advises broker-dealers and other financial services firms on matters related to securities regulation, SEC and FINRA enforcement, internal investigations and examinations, and compliance.

COMPANIES ON THE MOVE

Vantage Airport Group, LaGuardia Gateway Partners

Suzette Noble, an accomplished leader with more than 20 years of experience developing and operating transformational guest experiences, joins LaGuardia Gateway Partners, the Vantage-led private organization leading the $5.1B transformation and management of the new Terminal B at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, as Chief Operating Officer.

Most recently, Ms. Noble led Krispy Kreme through a $150M retail market launch amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Lavitt Group Melville, NY 631-777-3544 www.lavittgroup.com Lavitt Group, a third-generation family-owned company in the business of selling and installing windows and doors for the trade and consumers is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. Today, the company is led by Jason and Keith Lavitt, grandsons of the founder Hal Portnoy. The company has evolved into an installing retailer of premium to luxury window and door products curated from domestic and European manufacturers. Presently, the company is comprised of Super Enterprises in Melville, NY; Authentic Window Design in Westchester County, NY; Architectural Visions, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia and Nashville, Tennessee. Learn more at www.lavittgroup.com.

MERGERS / ACQUISITIONS

Office Resources New York, NY 212-704-9848 www.ori.com Office Resources is proud to announce the acquisition of Arenson Office Furnishings effective November 16, 2021.

OR Principals Kevin Barbary and Paul Fraser commented, “We are very excited about our continued growth in New York and what this acquisition will mean for the New York marketplace. Arenson has a tremendous history and brand in the Tri-State area. We look forward to our combined teams servicing our clients, Architecture & Design partners and Real Estate community at the highest level.” Arenson, has been a top contract furniture dealer for more than 35 years with locations in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The founding Knoll dealer will be rebranded as Office Resources in 2022.

Learn more at www.ori.com.

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

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NEWSMAKERS 2021

The people behind the headlines, 2021 The pandemic cast a hush over many public places, but the quiet did not extend to these New Yorkers. Their activities brought down a political dynasty, mass-produced a revolutionary vaccine and put a retired cop in Gracie Mansion

Eric Adams, mayor-elect

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Albert Bourla, Pfizer CEO

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fizer generated about $36 billion in revenue from its Covid-19 vaccine in 2021, and 2022 looks like it will be an even bigger year as the pandemic drags on and on. That’s unfortunate for the world, but if Pfizer vaccines and treatments manage to fend off the omicron variant, this enormous company will gain even more clout, and Chief Executive Albert Bourla could be seen as something of a miracle worker.

Omicron boosters could generate up to $50 billion in additional revenue for Pfizer, according to Morgan Stanley—more than the company’s entire sales in 2020. Pfizer has said it can adapt its vaccine for the variant in six weeks and have initial batches ready by March. Its new oral antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, could generate an additional $26 billion in sales.

Pfizer revenues are poised to reach $113 billion in 2022, Morgan Stanley estimated, while net income could hit $43 billion. Pfizer didn’t invent the revolutionary vaccine that carries its name—that was done by German partner BioNTech—but the American giant assisted with clinical testing and distribution.

Pfizer’s newfound status as a world savior is all the more startling for a company whose best days seemed behind it just two years ago. Pfizer hadn’t produced a blockbuster drug since Viagra in 1998.

Since unveiling the extraordinarily effective Covid-19 vaccine in November 2020, its stock price has returned 53%—better than the S&P 500’s 43% and Apple’s 32%.

Bourla, the son of Holocaust survivors from Greece, invested $2 billion of Pfizer’s money into developing the Covid-19 vaccine. He may be remembered as the company’s most consequential CEO since Edmund Pratt, who in the 1970s pivoted the manufacturer into drug development.

Pfizer traces its origins to a Williamsburg chemical company founded in 1849, around the time Walt Whitman expressed his admiration for the innovative enterprises sprouting up in Brooklyn. “Mark the spirit of invention everywhere, thy rapid patents,” he wrote in Leaves of Grass.

pandemic. These range from shoring up New York’s commercial real estate industry to addressing the city’s $4 billion budget gap. Adams emphasized addressing budget issues in particular during an interview with Crain’s.

“I can’t overestimate the fat and mismanagement we have in our budget,” he said. “When I start to listen to experts, I am just blown away by how much waste, mismanagement and, in some cases, potentially, fraud there is.”

– EDDIE SMALL

Letitia James, attorney general of New York

BOURLA MAY WELL BE REMEMBERED AS ONE OF PFIZER’S MOST CONSEQUENTIAL CEOS

– AARON ELSTEIN

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ric Adams may not technically become New York’s next mayor until 2022, but his successful 2021 campaign for the top job in the city helped him dominate the news this year as few others did.

The Brooklyn borough president emerged victorious from an ultracompetitive and wide-open Democratic Party primary in July, beating out former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, former City Hall legal adviser Maya Wiley and former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, among other challengers. His victory was seen as a win for more moderate Democrats, as he focused on wooing centrist voters, and he easily defeated Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa in November, on what was otherwise a largely disappointing Election Day for Democrats across the country.

Adams spent much of his campaign speaking about the need to strike a balance between fighting crime and improving the city’s police force. The former police captain has pledged to go to the city’s precincts and let the officers know they have his support while stressing that they need to treat New Yorkers with respect. “Immediately, I’m changing the tone,” he said. “I’m going to visit the precincts. I’m going to do this after the election and have a one-on-one roll call with the officers to tell them that I have their backs to do their jobs.”

He has also promised that the city “will no longer be anti-business” in a shot at Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration, which the business community has frequently targeted with criticism throughout his tenure.

Adams will face a host of challenges immediately upon taking office and attempting to lead a city that is still struggling to emerge from the onslaught of the

L

etitia James emerged as arguably the most powerful woman in New York state this year. Her investigations led Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign in August, and she is seeking to interview former President Donald Trump under oath as part of her probe of the Trump Organization.

James began 2021 by investigating the Cuomo administration, after allegations surfaced that his office underreported the number of deaths in state

nursing homes because of Covid-19. James determined that the deaths were undercounted by thousands, and her office soon took a wider focus into Cuomo’s behavior as chief executive, after multiple women came forward to accuse him of workplace sexual harassment.

James pulled no punches once her independent investigation was released to the public on Aug. 3, after five months of work. Her team concluded Cuomo had violated state and federal laws by sexually harassing 11 women over a period of seven years.

Investigators said the governor’s actions were part of a larger pattern of behavior, one that fostered an environment where flirtations were normalized, bullying was common, and aides could not say no to the chief executive.

James said her findings were supported by interviews with 179 witnesses and a review of tens of thousands of documents. She characterized the conclusions by investigators as “a sad day for New York” and added that Cuomo broke the law.

“No man—no matter how powerful—can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period,” James said.

After Cuomo resigned, speculation began that James could replace him as governor. During the fall, James announced as a candidate, becoming the highest-profile challenger to Gov. Kathy Hochul. But James shuttered her campaign in December and said she would run for re-election as attorney general instead. She cited the need to finish “a number of important investigations and cases that are underway.”

– BRIAN PASCUS DECEMBER 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 13

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NEWSMAKERS 2021

Polly Trottenberg, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation

S

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teven Roth and Donald Trump have been partners since 2007. Roth owns 70% of 1290 Sixth Ave., and the Trump Organization has the rest.

The skyscraper generated $58 million in revenue for the Trumps, making it the most valuable asset in the Trump portfolio. The Trump Organization’s revenue has shrunk considerably since 2016, and the family just sold the hotel in Washington.

Roth tried to sell 1290 Sixth in 2020. Should workers return to offices in large enough numbers, maybe this is the year Roth hits the bid.

Roth launched Vornado in 1980 and became the city’s largest commercial landlord. He defeated Trump in a long battle for control over Alexander’s, an ailing East 58th Street department store, thanks to Trump’s going bust in the early 1990s. Trump punched back by outbidding Roth in 1998 for the General Motors Building. The men became partners after Roth bought the majority share of 1290 Sixth from Chinese investors in 2007.

Trump hitched along as a minority shareholder. He had gotten his 30% share in return for giving up a slice of the West Side that he had tried to develop into Trump City or Television City. He blamed Mayor Ed Koch for foiling his plans and called the mayor “pervasively corrupt and totally incompetent.”

Koch called Trump “greedy, greedy, greedy.”

Roth’s plan is to build about 10 office towers in the area around Penn Station in the years ahead. His “promised land” project would be larger than The Related Cos.’ Hudson Yards. Gov. Kathy Hochul backs the idea in hopes the development will pay for rebuilding the train station.

The project would certainly transform a big slice of the West Side.

Will the market for all this new space be there at a high enough price? Stay tuned.

– AARON ELSTEIN

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

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that Th Cuo accu unti Ja had unw offic alth C by t accu insi has inve Th rela mem men mem app C onc

Steven Roth, CEO of Vornado Realty Trust

HOCHUL HAS PUSHED THROUGH INITIATIVES THAT STALLED UNDER CUOMO

– BRIAN PASCUS

F

12/16/21 1:01 PM

NICOLE BENGIVENO/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX

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athy Hochul made history in 2021 when she became the first female governor of New York. Hochul, a former pizza parlor server, completed her rise from humble beginnings in Buffalo to the executive mansion in Albany after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned amid an impending impeachment vote on Aug. 10.

After serving as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor for six and a half years, the former member of the House of Representatives assumed the reins of state government during the summer and immediately promised a different style of politics. She expressed a desire to turn the page on the intimidation and dysfunction that defined the Cuomo years by harnessing a more collaborative approach across the Empire State.

“People will soon learn that my style is to listen first and then take decisive action,” Hochul said shortly after Cuomo announced his resignation. “No one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment.”

Even her toughest critics would be hardpressed to argue that Hochul has failed to assert herself over the unwieldy world of Albany. She’s pushed through numerous initiatives that either had stalled under Cuomo or weren’t even being considered.

Her office established the bureaucratic infrastructure needed to jump-start the state’s adult-use marijuana industry and completed the rollout of a $2.1 billion fund to provide unemployment benefits to excluded workers.

Hochul also opened the spigot of state government by showering small businesses, renters and even landlords with financial relief. She changed eligibility standards to the state’s $800 million small-business assistance program, set aside $450 million to support the tourism industry, put $25 million toward rental assistance to help low-income residents outside of New York City avoid eviction and announced that $125 million would be available to landlords who couldn’t participate in earlier emergency relief programs.

During a Nov. 18 breakfast gathering in Midtown, Hochul promised city business leaders that she would usher in a new era of collaboration by bringing people together to solve the state’s biggest problems.

– EDDIE SMALL

A

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Kathy Hochul, governor

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P

olly Trottenberg has emerged as a key player in President Joe Biden’s administration this year after being nominated to serve as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

She resigned as the city’s Department of Transportation commissioner in December 2020 and was confirmed and sworn into her federal role in April, giving an official with strong New York roots one of the most prominent voices in the agency. She now serves under Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Trottenberg’s position took on even greater significance after the recent passage of the federal infrastructure bill because the Department of Transportation will play a key role in implementing the legislation. The law provides up to $108 billion for transit and should help several long-awaited New York projects move forward. These include support to shore up Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C.; construct four new Metro-North stations in the Bronx that will bring riders to Penn Station; extend the Second Avenue subway to East Harlem and Upper Manhattan; rehabilitate the East River tunnels; and push ahead with the Gateway tunnel project connecting New York and New Jersey.

New York Building Congress CEO Carlo Scissura has also called for using the infrastructure bill as an impetus to tear down the controversial BrooklynQueens Expressway.

Trottenberg had indicated even before the infrastructure bill passed that the Gateway tunnel would be a major priority for her. Work on it had stalled before Biden’s election; funding was tied up amid fighting between the former Trump and Cuomo administrations. But Trottenberg promised to prioritize the tunnel during her confirmation hearing, calling it “a project of national significance.”

She expects the infrastructure measure to improve public transportation in general, which could help stem a growing reliance among New Yorkers on cars to get around.

“I know from my time in New York City that when public transit is convenient, reliable and affordable, people will choose to drive less,” Trottenberg said on a phone call with reporters, according to local news outlet The City. “And that means fewer emissions and less congestion.”

NEWSMAKERS 2021

Dr. Howard Zucker, former state Department of Health commissioner

ng

D

onmost

ure

r. Howard Zucker steered New York through the initial onslaught of the pandemic in 2020 to the rollout of vaccines and then the rapid domination of the highly transmissible delta variant as the state’s health commissioner.

By the time he resigned in September, he was better known for what he didn’t do—and what he was prevented from doing by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his allies.

A bombshell investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James revealed in January that the state Department of Health, under Zucker, had undercounted Covid-19–related deaths of nursing home residents by as much as 50%.

Interview transcripts from the investigation showed that Cuomo and an inner circle of advisers, not the department’s public health experts, often held sway on pandemic-related decisions.

Zucker did not have regular meetings with Cuomo and struggled to speak both freely and directly with him during the pandemic, the New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee found in its impeachment investigation into the former governor. Although Zucker was not named in the Assembly’s investigative report, which was released in November, he can be identified through his description as the only health care professional on the state’s Covid-19 task force.

New revelations about the pandemic-era Department of Health from journalists and myriad investigations have kept Zucker’s name in the news even after his resignation, bringing to a close his tenure of more than five years at the agency’s helm.

Andrew Cuomo, former governor

F

BUCK ENNIS

ormer Gov. Andrew Cuomo made news for all the wrong reasons in 2021.

He opened the year on a high note for his handling of the pandemic in 2020, but he soon fell under a cloud of suspicion after Attorney General Letitia James determined on Jan. 28 that his office misrepresented the accurate number of Covid-19 deaths in state nursing homes.

These findings were soon overshadowed by accusations from multiple women who accused Cuomo of workplace sexual harassment. Cuomo steadfastly denied the allegations and accused James and others of “playing politics,” while telling the public to withhold judgment until the end of an independent investigation.

James’ five-month investigation concluded Aug. 3, when her team announced that Cuomo had harassed 11 former and current state employees from 2013 to 2020, and that he engaged in unwanted kissing, touching and hugging, and fostered a “toxic workplace” at the governor’s office in Albany. After serving as governor for 10 years, Cuomo resigned from office Aug. 10, although he insisted that he never intentionally disrespected any woman.

Cuomo’s fortunes continued to decline as the year wound down. A criminal complaint filed by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 28 charged Cuomo with a misdemeanor. He was accused of placing his hand under an assistant’s blouse and groping her while the pair were inside the executive mansion on Dec. 7, 2020. The Albany County district attorney, however, has called the complaint “potentially defective” because the sheriff’s office filed while the investigation was ongoing.

The former governor’s troubles came full circle toward the end of the year, with questions relating to the $5.1 million book deal he received from Penguin Random House for writing a memoir about his handling of the Covid-19 crisis. After the Assembly released an impeachment report that determined Cuomo had used state resources and employees to write his memoir “for personal gain,” the state’s ethics commission voted Nov. 16 to revoke its prior approval of his deal.

Cuomo may now lose out on the millions of dollars that he made while touting what was once a sterling reputation.

e

the sold

– MAYA KAUFMAN

NYCMAYORSOFFICE/FLICKR

BUCK ENNIS

HE STRUGGLED TO SPEAK FREELY AND DIRECTLY WITH THE GOVERNOR DURING THE PANDEMIC

– BRIAN PASCUS

is

Sam Chang, hotel developer

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NICOLE BENGIVENO/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX

dy,

ew people embodied the precarious and unpredictable state of New York’s hotel market this year better than Sam Chang, who has reigned as one of the city’s most prolific hoteliers for years.

The developer parted ways with several of his hotel projects in 2021 as the industry struggled to recover from the pandemic. He sold his Times Square Hyatt at 350 W. 39th St. to a limited liability company for about $166 million, his Financial District Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites at 100 Greenwich St. to Concord Hospitality Enterprises for $69 million and his Midtown West Comfort Inn at 548 W. 48th St. to an LLC for $22.7 million.

In an interview with Crain’s in late October, Chang said the reason behind his spate of sales was his readiness to retire. Although he has made this claim before and continued to do business, he insisted that his retirement plans were real this time and the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on New York’s hotel industry did not play a role in his decision.

He indicated that he had already intended to retire, and he was simply following through on that plan.

Chang estimated that he still owns about 30 hotels overall and said he plans to sell most but not all of his remaining properties. He appeared to take a loss on the sale of his Midtown West Comfort Inn, which he bought for about $29.2 million in 2017, but he managed to flip the Financial District Marriott for more than he paid for it.

Chang’s sales were far from the only major hotel deals that took place this year amid a bleak environment for the industry. C-III Capital Partners bought the famed Lexington Hotel in Midtown for roughly $175 million—barely half of what seller DiamondRock Hospitality paid for it in 2011—and Yellowstone Real Estate Investments bought the Watson Hotel on West 57th Street for about $155 million.

But the sheer volume of Chang’s sales, coupled with his insistence that they are part of a planned retirement that will actually stick, made his deals stand out more than most.

– EDDIE SMALL DECEMBER 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 15

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NEWSMAKERS 2021

James Dolan, CEO of Madison Square Garden

T

he stars have finally aligned to build a dignified Penn Station. But ultimately the fate of the train station and the 600,000 commuters who used it daily before the pandemic is in the hands of James Dolan.

Dolan controls Madison Square Garden, which sits atop the massive rail hub, and very little can be done for the underground station unless he’s on board.

A plan supported by Gov. Kathy Hochul calls for a grand new station entrance on Eighth Avenue. That would require shaving off the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Analysts five years ago estimated the 5,600-seat arena was worth less than $80 million. The estimate could go higher now, considering Congress has earmarked $1 trillion for infrastructure nationwide.

Even if he parted with the theater, Dolan could still book top acts at Radio City Music Hall or the Beacon Theatre, which he also owns. Penn Station would still be in a basement under this plan, but at least the sun would shine in places.

But the city would be better off moving Madison Square Garden a block or two west so an entirely new Penn Station could rise. A new arena would cost in the ballpark of $5 billion.

That seems prohibitive, but Dolan is using his own funds to develop Sphere, a cutting-edge $2 billion concert and entertainment venue in Las Vegas. He spent $1 billion a decade ago renovating the Garden. He owns the Knicks and the Rangers and their network, and sports gambling is a vast new reservoir of money. Dolan can finance a new state-of-the-art arena.

As an incentive, the city could extend the property-tax break granted in 1982 that saves MSG $40 million a year. A new Garden, which would be the fifth building to carry the name, seems like just the thing to go along with the 10 office towers that Hochul wants built to pay for the new Penn Station.

– AARON ELSTEIN

AP PHOTO

PENN STATION WOULD STILL BE IN A BASEMENT, BUT SOME SUN WOULD SHINE IN PLACES

CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS 2022

BLACK LEADERS & EXECUTIVES

Nominate Notable Black BLACK LEADERS & EXECUTIVES Leaders & Executives

RK BUSINESS 2021

Crain’s New York Business is proud to announce Crain’s 2022 Notable Black Leaders and Executives, a special print and digital editorial feature on Monday, February 21, 2022 that will profile notable black leaders within the New York City business community. Help us determine 2022’s honorees who are making an impact on our business landscape.

SUBMIT TODAY:

CrainsNewYork.com/NotableBlackLeaders Nominations close on January 7, 2022 16 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | DECEMBER 20, 2021

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STRINGER FROM PAGE 1

business groups. Polling had him in third place, behind entrepreneur Andrew Yang and the eventual winner, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. Then two accusations of sexual assault completely derailed his campaign.

Stringer’s future now falls into a gray area. As he leaves office, making way for Councilman Brad Lander to move into his seat, he takes with him a solid legacy of public service. But the misconduct allegations, though never litigated, have called his character into question, stains not easily removed in the eyes of the public. The combination makes Stringer’s next steps uncertain.

“I don’t have an action plan or a due date,” Stringer told Crain’s of his intentions during a recent interview. “I’ve spent a lifetime—my whole career—where my only options were going to large electorates and asking them to hire me. I’m open to whatever opportunity there is for me where I can make a contribution.”

But is New York still open to Scott Stringer?

Suddenly canceled

STRINGER has been the city comptroller since 2014.

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On the morning of April 28, Gothamist published an account from New York City political lobbyist Jean Kim, who alleged Stringer had sexually assaulted and harassed her when she served on his unsuccessful 2001 campaign for public advocate. Kim claimed Stringer groped her in taxis on three separate occasions, kissed and groped her in a bar without her consent, and lorded his role in city politics over her as part of their unbalanced power dynamic.

The allegations broke as Stringer prepared for a fundraiser, scheduled for the following day, that was to double as his 61st birthday celebration. The event was supposed to build off the momentum he’d gained from an endorsement by the 200,000-member United Federation of Teachers union.

Stinger held a press conference outside his home in Lower Manhattan the afternoon the story came out and denied the allegations as his wife stood beside him. He stated that he and Kim had an “on-and-off relationship over several months,” before he was married, when he was 41 and she was 30, one he said he believed was mutual and consensual.

“The behavior described is inaccurate and completely antithetical to the way I have conducted my entire life,” Stringer said that day.

“This isn’t me. I didn’t do this.”

He had been seen as the candidate of the left, the only progressive in a crowded mayoral field who could appeal to unions, activists and Upper West Side moderates.

He had a reputation as a reformer, a fighter, the guy who knew how the sausage was made yet somehow kept his hands clean. He’d received the endorsements of climate change advocates and the Working Families Party, which had supported de Blasio during his successful mayoral run in 2013. Dozens of elected officials, mainly progressives, proudly stumped for him. But

after the report, many rescinded their endorsement.

Assemblywoman Yuh-line Niou of Manhattan had considered Stringer a political mentor and even likened him to family. But she too felt compelled to step away from him.

“In that moment, he hurt us,” said Niou, who withdrew her support the day of the article. “It was hard because I was so disappointed.”

A few weeks later, on June 4, The New York Times published an account from fashion stylist Teresa Logan, who alleged Stringer had

sexually harassed and made unwanted advances toward her in 1992, when she worked at an Upper West Side bar he co-owned. At the

Logan but apologized if he “ever did anything to make her feel uncomfortable.”

Neither Kim nor Logan responded to repeated requests to comment for this story.

Kim and her attorney, Patricia Pastor, filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office, which told Crain’s it had reviewed it and determined it lacked the jurisdiction to move forward. The AG’s office declined to tell Crain’s the timing of

“I WAS SURPRISED AT ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WALKED AWAY FROM HIM” time Logan was 18, and Stringer was 32.

Stringer issued a statement that day saying he had “no memory” of

the complaint, and Pastor did not respond to a request for comment.

By the time the Democratic primary arrived, June 22, Stringer’s campaign had lost all momentum.

He finished in fifth place, with just 5.5% of the vote.

“I was surprised at all the people that walked away from him,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

Weingarten has been a friend of Stringer for three decades. “I think that walking away from him was what doomed his candidacy.”

See STRINGER on page 18

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

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STRINGER FROM PAGE 17

Stringer declined multiple requests to address the allegations for this article. He would say on the record only that his previous comments—which denied any wrongdoing and apologized for any unintentional offense—would have to suffice.

Moving forward

STRINGER had been lauded as a progressive reformer in the mayoral race.

“He has such deep knowledge in so many different areas,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who has known Stringer since the early 1990s. “It would be a waste if he were not to offer his talents in the future.”

Andrew Kirtzman, a political consultant with expertise in reputation management, believes the circumstances surrounding the allegations against Stringer are “muddled.” This is in contrast to the clear-cut, actionable allegations leveled against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo about his conduct while in office. Kirtzman said avenues in public life remain open to Stringer if he chooses to take them.

“I don’t think it’s an unsalvagable reputation issue, in this particular case,” said Kirtzman, president of Kirtzman Strategies, a firm that specializes in crisis management and political communications.

“There’s a threshold beyond which people involved in #MeToo situations are considered radioactive, and I don’t think he’s in that territory.”

The cloudy nature of the allegations and the major effect they were able to have nonetheless remain on the minds of some.

“To me, it’s an unfortunate example of how we’re going to see people try to derail campaigns in the future,” said Ruth Messinger, Democratic nominee for mayor against Rudy Giuliani in 1997. “And I say that as a strong supporter of the #MeToo movement.”

Nadler noted that due process is part of the American tradition, and Weingarten pointed out that the timing of the accusations raised

“I WANT HIM TO BE PART OF THE CITY’S COMEBACK AND FUTURE, BUT I DON’T KNOW” figured out a way to maximize the power of every office he’s held.”

After six terms in Albany, two as Manhattan borough president and nearly two as city comptroller, Stringer set his sights on Gracie Mansion, announcing his campaign for mayor in September 2020.

But now even his mentor has questions about his way forward.

“Who knows?” Nadler responded when asked if Stringer will have a second act. “I want him to be part of the city’s comeback and future, but I don’t know. I hope he does.”

Others say an elected official with Stringer’s type of experience should definitely remain in public service.

BLOOMBERG

In the months following the campaign, Stringer and his team have been hard at work reviewing city contracts, auditing government agencies and managing New York’s $270 billion pension fund. His staff includes a few longtime loyalists.

Two top lieutenants—Sascha Owen, his chief of staff, and Alaina Gilligo, first deputy comptroller— have each served in their role since Stringer took office in January 2014, following a razor-thin victory over former Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

“The next morning after the campaign ended, I brushed it off and said that we have audits and investigations and six months to go,” Stringer told Crain’s. “I don’t mope.

I move forward.

“We’ve got a lot of work we still need to do,” he continued. “My immediate concern right now is how we transition this office to Brad Lander. We know from the first 100 days that the transition means everything.”

His knowledge of such processes stems from his nearly four decades immersed in city government.

At age 12, he biked from his parents’ Washington Heights home to volunteer on the campaign of former Rep. Bella Abzug, his cousin, during her unsuccessful 1977 run for mayor. At 19, he joined the team of Jerry Nadler, who at that time served in the state Assembly.

Stringer worked his way up from office volunteer to neighborhood liaison, chief of staff and later campaign manager. Nadler mentored Stringer for more than a decade.

And when Nadler was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992, Stringer succeeded him as the assemblyman for the Upper West Side’s 67th district in 1993.

“I was so impressed with him,” Nadler said. “He is creative and has

questions for her, especially with neither claim being recent or related to Stringer’s public service.

“There was never going to be any opportunity for him to litigate against them because both accusations happened decades ago and were about his personal life as opposed to his work life,” Weingarten said. “I think there’s going to be some reckoning here about how you put these kinds of accusations in context.”

But some former supporters of Stringer believe any allegation warrants the stigma of culpability.

The day the Kim allegations broke, Niou issued a joint statement with state Sens. Alessandra Biaggi and Julia Salazar citing their experiences of childhood sexual abuse and the need for zero tolerance regarding assault. Now, Niou says both Stringer’s denials and Kim’s allegations could be true because different people have different interpretations of the same experience.

“Intent is different than impact,” she said. “You could’ve harmed someone without knowing it.”

Messinger said it’s critical that stories of abuse come out and are litigated. But she noted that uncorroborated accusations are now given the patina of truth once enough people, or influential media outlets, deem them beyond investigation.

“We have a model where you can bring an accusation against someone, and in this case it looks like you don’t have to do anything to prove it,” Messinger said. “As someone who cares about public life, I think it’s terrifying.”

What’s next?

Stringer’s most recent work in the comptroller’s office—highlighted by his growing the city’s

Others disagree. pension funds from $147 billion to Erica Vladimir, co-founder of the $270 billion and divesting $48 million from private prison companies Sexual Harassment Working Group, and $4 billion from fossil fuel com- a collective of eight former city and state legislative staffers panies—has drawn who claim they experipraise. enced discrimination, “He carried out his harassment and abuse at statutory responsibilithe hands of elected offities with vigor and did AMOUNT the cials, argues Stringer’s things outside the box city’s pension apparent lack of contrias well,” said state Sen. funds have grown tion has disqualified him John Liu, city comptrolto under Stringer from public life. ler from 2002 to 2009.

“Based on what we’ve Liu now represents the seen and, frankly, hav11th District in northen’t seen from Scott, I eastern Queens. “The AMOUNT Stringer don’t think he’s earned a pension funds perand Mayor Bill de right to step back into the formed well against Blasio announced political life,” Vladimir benchmarks, in part the pension funds said. “He has not reached due to some reforms will invest in out to see how he can that he brought about.” renewable energy support systemic changHis longtime colcompanies by es in harassment and leagues say they believe 2035 discrimination, and he in his moral compass. has not apologized for “He has the highest the way he lashed out at degree of ethics and has always done what is right,” said Gil- the victims.”

As for Stringer, while he contemligo, the first deputy comptroller.

“Every single day I’ve seen some- plates his next move, he is drawing one who has his heart in the right lessons from his personal biograplace. And at a time when trust in phy.

“Look, I grew up as a city kid. I government is eroding, it’s really refreshing to have someone who love this town,” he said. “It’s not puts the best interest of New York- how hard you get knocked down.

New Yorkers want to know how you ers front and center.”

Three female allies of Stringer— get back up.”

He recalled losing a race for the Rosenthal, Weingarten and Messinger—all said that he de- City Council in 1989—and winning an Assembly seat four years later. serves a second chance.

“The voters I’ve spoken to think He cited his loss in the race for so, and so do I,” Rosenthal said. public advocate in 2001—and add“Before the general [election], peo- ed that he became borough presiple said to me, ‘This is such a dent four years after that.

“I hope to lead by example. The shame,’ and they want to see him average New Yorker gets knocked run again.”

“He definitely deserves to try down a lot harder than I’ve been again,” Messinger said. “He de- knocked down,” he said. “You nevserves to be considered by the elec- er learn from the campaigns you torate, and I hope they are wiser win. You learn from the campaigns you lose.” ■ than the last time.”

$270B $50B

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CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS 2022

Despite the gains for women in the legal field in both representation and pay, they still lag their male counterparts by a wide margin. The pandemic has made the situation worse.

The effects on women lawyers, especially those with children, during the pandemic were documented in a number of surveys in the past couple of years. Although all lawyers worked from home, women reported taking on a much larger share of child care and housework during that time, making it even harder than usual to rack up billable hours and shine in the boardroom.

It is against this challenging backdrop that the women chosen for Crain’s 2022 Notable Women in Law list are even more remarkable.

This group of 119 women are exemplary in every way. These impressive attorneys were chosen not only for their skills and accomplishments in the courtroom, but for their leadership outside of it. In addition to their long hours representing everyone from executives at Fortune 500 companies to immigrants seeking asylum, our honorees this year shored up morale among their colleagues during the pandemic and found ways to keep business going in the face of turmoil.

ISTOCK

To find these honorees, Crain’s consulted with trusted sources in the legal industry and in the general New York business world. The many nominations submitted by organizations and individuals in the metropolitan area were carefully vetted. Each notable lawyer was selected for her outstanding professional achievements and her pro bono work or involvement with industry and community organizations.

Read on to learn about their amazing accomplishments.

METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from submitted nomination materials. This list is not comprehensive. It includes only executives for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after an editorial review. To qualify for this list, female honorees had to be employed within New York City or the surrounding counties, serving in a senior-level role at a law firm with a staff size of at least 10 (partner, shareholder, practice group chair). Honorees must have been practicing law for a minimum of 10 years and served as a role model or mentor to other women attorneys and/or promoted inclusive practices in the workplace.

ROBIN ADELSTEIN Global head of antitrust and competition Norton Rose Fulbright

In an age in which corporations are often scapegoated by politicians and the public, Robin Adelstein is devoted to making sure her corporate clients receive fair treatment in the courts. As global head of antitrust and competition at Norton Rose Fulbright, Adelstein advises many of the world’s leading companies on cutting-edge antitrust issues and has directed material litigation and government investigations to positive results. Her pragmatic approach to the practice of law is informed by her previous experience; she served as in-house antitrust and litigation counsel at Swiss health care company Novartis and U.K. alcoholic beverage leader Diageo before becoming North American general counsel of Sandoz, the generics and biosimilars division of Novartis. Adelstein, an expert on antitrust issues, has held leadership positions for several years in the American Bar Association section of antitrust law.

ELIZABETH ADINOLFI

TERRI ADLER

Chair, guardianship practice Phillips Nizer LLP

Managing partner Duval & Stachenfeld LLP

The difficulties in guardianship cases have become a media focus, as controversies involving the guardianship of public figures such as Britney Spears and Sumner Redstone have dominated headlines. As chair of Phillips Nizer’s guardianship practice, Elizabeth Adinolfi routinely handles contested, high conflict guardianship proceedings.

She is frequently appointed by judges in guardianship cases, especially when there are questions about one party’s mental capacity. Adinolfi presented a program in July on the Britney Spears conservatorship case for the New York Bar Association, which received wide coverage by media outlets.

Adinolfi works pro bono for a number of nonprofits, including the Sanctuary for Family Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services, where she handled two appellate matters for the center’s clients.

As a founding partner at Duval & Stachenfeld, Terri Adler has made a name for herself by finding innovative solutions for real estate investors and developers shaping the New York skyline. In her nearly 25 years in this role, Adler has helped the highest-profile players in real estate debt and equity achieve their objectives and supported major institutional clients in their investments in real estate investment trusts, real estate funds and portfolios. She was NorthStar Realty’s legal adviser in its investment in RXR Realty, a transaction that included 108 properties and is one of the largest in the city’s history. More recently, Adler created the legal framework for the first sponsor capital fund to solely target opportunity zone investments.

RACHEL EHRLICH ALBANESE Partner, New York; vice chair, U.S. restructuring DLA Piper

As vice chair of DLA Piper’s U.S. restructuring practice, Rachel Ehrlich Albanese is known for her leadership in navigating complex, high-profile matters while remaining committed to the development of her fellow attorneys. In a largely male-dominated field, Albanese has fostered an award-winning practice with her deep knowledge of the transformation space. In 2020 she led the team that represented medical device company Valeritas Holdings in the first Chapter 11 case to cite the pandemic as a factor leading to bankruptcy. The case won numerous awards, and Albanese was named a 2020 Crisis Leadership Trailblazer by The National Law Journal. In addition to numerous accolades in the restructuring sector, Albanese has been widely recognized for her commitment to the advancement of women in New York’s business and legal communities. She maintains an active pro bono practice focused on children, bankruptcy and veterans.

MARISSA ALTERNELSON Partner Sidley Austin

As a partner and litigator in Sidley Austin’s national practice, Marissa Alter-Nelson has represented numerous high-profile clients, such as Cargill, Citibank and AT&T, in state and federal court actions. Among her many noteworthy cases, Alter-Nelson is a lead player on the Sidley team representing Citigroup and its affiliates in what has been described as the largest private antitrust litigation in U.S. history. As the first African American lawyer in Sidley’s New York office to rise through the ranks from first-year associate to partner, Alter-Nelson is committed to enhancing diversity at her firm and throughout the legal community. She has a robust pro bono practice representing death row inmates who were denied a fair trial.

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NOTABLE 2022 NESA AMAMOO

DOROTHY AUTH

LISA BEBCHICK

KATRINE ALIHA BECK

BARBARA BECKER

Partner, real estate Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Partner and head of the intellectual property practice Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Partner, litigation and enforcement practice group Ropes & Gray LLP

Co-founder and partner Fullerton Beck LLP

Chair and managing partner Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Nesa Amamoo, a newly minted partner, was already an established star in the New York real estate group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. With her impressive track record of steering diverse real estate and private-equity deals, Amamoo is helping shape the city’s ever-changing landscape. In just one of many deals, she represented the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the recently approved public-private partnership agreement with JFK Millennium Partners to build a $3.9 billion terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Beyond her client work, Amamoo has a strong commitment to diversifying the legal profession’s talent pipeline and mentoring young lawyers. Amamoo co-chairs the Philanthropy Working Group of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, an organization with more than 285 law firms nationwide that addresses systemic racism in the law. She has won numerous awards for her wide-ranging pro bono work.

Dorothy Auth’s road to the top of the legal profession in intellectual property is unique among leading attorneys. She initially pursued a Ph.D. in biochemistry to understand disease mechanisms and then received a J.D. to apply legal context to issues relating to scientific innovation. This combination of knowledge, coupled with 30 years of experience in complex patent litigation, has made Auth a leading attorney on IP issues. As head of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft’s intellectual property practice, Auth recently won a closely watched case for Quantile Technologies, and she successfully represented ABInBev in several high-profile patent litigations in the International Trade Commission. Auth has been recognized for her work in numerous publications, most recently as a 2020 Intellectual Property Trailblazer by The National Law Journal and in the 2022 edition of the Best Lawyers in America.

Lisa Bebchick is one of the leading litigation and enforcement attorneys in Manhattan. As partner at Ropes & Gray, Bebchick has built a career focused on complex commercial, securities and real estate litigation and white-collar criminal defense and securities enforcement. She has represented individuals and institutions in a variety of regulatory matters, including multimillion-dollar criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings. Bebchick is a top pick for clients in connection with investigations conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. attorney’s office and the New York attorney general’s office. In addition to her battles in the courtroom, Bebchick is a fierce advocate for women in the legal profession. As co-chair of Ropes & Gray’s 600-lawyer women’s forum, Bebchick implemented a number of programs to keep women lawyers connected during the pandemic. She provides pro bono counsel to prison reform groups such as the Correctional Association of New York and the Innocence Project.

Katrine Aliha Beck co-founded the women-owned, full-service litigation firm Fullerton Beck in 2018. Since then the firm has grown from five attorneys in one office in White Plains to 24 attorneys and 18 support staff in three offices. The firm’s revenue has more than doubled, and its roster of clients has tripled.

Beck, an immigrant from Iran, and the first in her family to become a lawyer, has become one of the most well respected attorneys in her areas of practice. Those include cases involving negligence, construction accident claims under New York Labor Law, motor vehicle accidents and premises liability claims. As important as Beck’s leadership ability and commitment to diversity and inclusion is her focus on fostering a caring and collaborative work environment. Last year her firm instituted Juneteenth as a work holiday before it became a federal holiday.

Barbara Becker in May became the seventh chair and managing partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher’s 131-year history and the first woman to hold the position. The move came as no surprise to those who know Becker’s work as one of the top mergers-and-acquisitions lawyers in New York.

Becker, previously co-chair of the firm’s M&A practice for more than a decade, has advised recognizable brands such as Accenture, Berkshire Hathaway Energy and PepsiCo. In her new role, Becker has made diversity one of her priorities, already assembling a diverse leadership team that has had a significant impact on the culture of the firm. More than 61% of the lawyers in the 2022 new partner class are from a diverse background.

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OF THE 5,552 PARTNERS AT LAW FIRMS IN NEW YORK CITY, 22.5% ARE WOMEN, WHEREAS OF THE 11,193 ASSOCIATES, 47.1% ARE WOMEN. SOURCE: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR LAW PLACEMENT

RONIT BERKOVICH Partner, restructuring department Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Ronit Berkovich, an anchor partner in one of the world’s top restructuring groups, is recognized as one of the foremost attorneys of her generation. Her achievements include serving as debtors’ counsel in the landmark Chapter 11 cases of General Motors, Lehman Brothers and WorldCom/MCI. For the past 18 months at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Berkovich has guided global businesses through uncertainty and led some of the most complex restructurings. She is advising Johnson & Johnson in the mass tort Chapter 11 case of Imerys Talc, and recently she led the Chapter 11 restructuring of EP Energy, the largest U.S. oil and gas bankruptcy in years. In addition, Berkovich serves on numerous committees, including the National Bankruptcy Conference, an invitation-only group that advises Congress on bankruptcy laws.

MARIANNE E. BERTUNA Executive partner Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins PC

As a named partner at Aidala, Bertuna & Kamins, a top criminal and civil defense firm, Marianne Bertuna has worked on cases defending boldfaced names such as Harvey Weinstein and 50 Cent. But she also has a passion and expertise for defending people who don’t make the front page of the newspaper, especially younger people on their way to college who get in trouble for the first time and risk ruining their future. Bertuna’s specialty is representing individuals charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. She has been named one of the top 100 attorneys in this field by the National Academy for DUI Defense. In addition to her busy caseload, Bertuna is on many bar associations and local school boards. She is a member of the attorney grievance committee of the Appellate Division and the past president of the Columbian Lawyers Association.

ELISE BLOOM

LAUREN BOGLIVI

MAYAN BOUSKILA

Partner Proskauer Rose LLP

Partner and co-head, mergers and acquisitions and private-equity group Proskauer Rose LLP

Partner Helbraun & Levey LLP

In the male-dominated world of sports law, Elise Bloom has built a market-leading sports labor and employment law practice representing the most powerful sports leagues in the United States.

As a partner at Proskauer Rose, Bloom is the goto attorney for Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Major League Soccer. But sports isn’t her only game. With more than 30 years of experience in employment law, she has fended off class-action suits for companies in a wide range of industries, most notably her successful defense of Fox Searchlight Pictures in the precedent-setting “Black Swan” unpaid internship case. Bloom, a nationally recognized leader, has received countless accolades. Most recently she was named a 2021 Game Changer by Sports Business Journal.

In working with influential and high-profile media giants, Lauren Boglivi has worked extensively on transactions that shape the way media content is viewed and accessed around the world. As partner and co-head of the mergers-and-acquisitions and private-equity group at Proskauer Rose, Boglivi has been at the forefront of industry-defining M&A deals, in particular in media and entertainment and the growing U.S. gaming industry. Among her many transactions, Boglivi recently represented Hearst Magazines in its sale of Marie Claire U.S. to the British publisher Future, and advised Discovery on its sale of the Great American Country network. As one of just a handful of female partners in her field in New York, Boglivi seeks out junior women to mentor and join her team.

Mayan Bouskila, a recent arrival to the United States from Sydney, Australia, has rapidly distinguished herself as a rising star in New York City’s hospitality, real estate and corporate sector. In less than two years at Helbraun & Levey, Bouskila has ascended to partner and chair of the real estate group. She created a program to support business owners of all sizes to renegotiate and revive commercial leases, enabling more than 200 restaurants to remain solvent and operational during the pandemic, the toughest time the sector has faced in memory.

Bouskila is the inaugural chair of Helbraun & Levey’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee, a critical component of the firm’s commitment to minority mentorship, donation allotment and increased pro bono engagement.

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KATHRYN (LEE) BOYD

LARA BUCHWALD

Partner Hecht Partners LLP

Partner Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Kathryn (Lee) Boyd is an authority on international human rights with more than 25 years of experience handling complex litigation, international arbitration and class-action suits. She has litigated more than 30 trials and arbitrations and represented clients in high-profile disputes, such as victims of Argentina’s “dirty war,” Indigenous peoples suing multinational oil companies and families of airplane hijacking victims. She has sought the restitution of cultural property seized during the 1915 Armenian genocide and the Holocaust. As a partner of Hecht Partners, Boyd was recently appointed co-lead counsel on a multibillion-dollar case against BNP Paribas, brought by a class of roughly 15,000 victims of the genocide in Sudan who now live in the United States. Boyd has spent years traveling the United States and meeting with Sudanese refugee communities to bring this case.

Lara Buchwald is at the center of high-profile complex commercial matters in courts nationwide, representing major corporations such as Aetna and Con Edison. As a partner at Davis Polk & Wardwell, she has deep experience in commercial disputes, shareholder derivative litigation and securities litigation. She has been trial counsel in a number of high-profile bankruptcies. In the past year alone Buchwald has successfully defended numerous corporations, among them Crestview, Delta and Citibank. Buchwald is deeply committed to serving her community. She has won Legal Aid’s Pro Bono Publico Award nine times and serves on the organization’s board of directors and as co-chair of its development committee.

AS OF 2020, 37.4% OF LAWYERS IN THE UNITED STATES WERE WOMEN. SOURCE: STATISTA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

LAURA BUTZEL

VALERIE CAMPBELL

Partner and chair of the firm’s taxexempt organizations department Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Partner Kramer Levin

Laura Butzel leads Patterson Belknap’s tax-exempt organization group, one of the largest in the country devoted to serving not-for-profits.

Her extensive client list includes foundations such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, public charities such as the American Civil Liberties Union and nonprofit theaters, universities and advocacy groups. This past year Butzel advised on a consolidation of two women’s health organizations, on a university joint venture and on a theater acquisition. Butzel, deeply committed to the nonprofit sector, mentors rising attorneys who are interested in that field. She is a trustee at Teachers College at Columbia University and an executive committee member of the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, among other board positions.

Navigating the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is not for the faint of heart. That is why developers and major institutions turn to Valerie Campbell for help. As a leading member of Kramer Levin’s elite land-use practice in the city, Valerie Campbell advises residential and commercial developers, property owners and cultural, religious and educational institutions in land-use, zoning, historic preservation and environmental matters for major projects. Campbell has counseled beloved local arts institutions such as the Frick Collection and Carnegie Hall on how to obtain approvals for expansion projects.

Campbell’s expertise comes from inside knowledge—she has three decades of experience working on city land use, including previous positions as general counsel to the Landmarks Preservation Commission and as deputy counsel to the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation.

Congratulations Valerie G. Campbell We are proud to congratulate our partner Valerie G. Campbell on being named one of Crain’s New York Business’ 2022 Notable Women in Law.

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NOTABLE 2022 JESSICA CAREY

DALE CENDALI

HANNAH CHANOINE

Partner, litigation department co-chair Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP

Partner Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Partner O’Melveny & Myers LLP

Dale Cendali is a nationally recognized leader in the field of intellectual property litigation, having successfully litigated and tried numerous high-profile cases and argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the past 18 months alone, Cendali achieved a victory for Lucky Brand in a trademark dispute with Marcel Fashions Group that went to the Supreme Court, won a precedent-setting motion for summary judgment on behalf of Take-Two Interactive Software and continued her string of wins for Epic Games in litigation concerning the protectability of dance steps alleged to have been used in Epic’s popular Fortnite video game. Cendali is an adjunct professor at Harvard Law School, where she teaches copyright and trademark litigation. Her team in Kirkland & Ellis’ copyright, trademark, internet and advertising group consists mostly of women, and a number of them are members of the LGBTQ community.

Hannah Chanoine is the go-to consumer class-action defense lawyer for companies facing nationwide false advertising cases relating to everyday goods and services. As a partner at O’Melveny & Myers, Chanoine counsels clients on strategies for mitigating class-action litigation risk during product and label development. She has represented leading manufacturers and retail distributors of whitening toothpaste, high-definition televisions, coconut water and Greek yogurt, among many other household brands.

Chanoine recently helped lead the team that won complete dismissal of a putative consumer class-action case alleging that Sketchers’ light-up shoes contained a battery defect. She made headlines for leading the team that worked with the Lambda Legal Defense Fund to achieve a victory for nonbinary New Yorkers seeking an “X” gender marker on their driver’s license.

As the first female co-chair of the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison litigation department, Jessica Carey leads some of the most sensitive and high stakes litigation for the biggest corporations and financial institutions worldwide. Among many other wins, Carey recently won a major victory for Glencore, getting a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against it dismissed, and she secured a dismissal of an Anti-Terrorism Act lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson.

Carey is a sought-after thought leader and speaker, and she regularly writes and speaks on U.S. anti-money-laundering developments in financial institutions and fintech companies. Carey has an active pro bono practice, working with Sanctuary for Families and the Legal Aid Society.

ANNA MERCADO CLARK Partner Phillips Lytle LLP

As the leader of Phillips Lytle’s e-discovery and digital forensics practice, Anna Mercado Clark is considered a trailblazer in cutting-edge data analytics and technology.

Clark represents leading health care providers, insurers, technology startups, manufacturers, retailers and education institutions in matters relating to data security and privacy. As an adjunct professor in Fordham’s masters of studies in law compliance program for high-level professionals, she developed and teaches a popular class on data privacy and security. Clark, who has won numerous awards, is active in a host of organizations promoting diversity in the legal field, such as the National Filipino American Lawyers Association, of which she was a founding New York City member. ,

CARRIE COHEN

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Partner, investigations and whitecollar defense Morrison & Foerster LLP

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Carrie H. Cohen’s trial experience and distinguished record of success in high-stakes, white-collar cases has made her a top attorney in political circles.

As a partner at Morrison & Foerster, Cohen has successfully represented Lovely Warren, the mayor of Rochester, New York, against campaign finance charges and Judge John A. Michalek against criminal public corruption charges, among many other individuals. She has deep experience in this field; she previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where she secured the conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Cohen served as chief of the public integrity unit in the criminal division in the New York attorney general’s office and as an assistant attorney general in the Civil Rights Bureau, where she received an award for outstanding service.

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WOMEN ACCOUNTED FOR 54.5% OF FIRST-YEAR LAW STUDENTS IN THE FALL OF 2020.

SOURCE: CATALYST

ROBIN COHEN

VICTORIA COOK

EMILIE COOPER

LAURA DELANOY

GINA DELCHIARO

Chair Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna

Partner, entertainment group Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

Partner Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Clients with household names such as American Airlines, the Carlyle Group and Pfizer turn to Robin Cohen to secure insurance coverage for their biggest losses. In fact, Cohen has recovered more than $5 billion in insurance coverage for corporate policyholders.

Such results—and her undefeated record at trial—make her one of the most feared lawyers in the insurance bar. In January, after years of practicing at high-profile firms, she launched Cohen Ziffer Frenchman & McKenna. Since then Cohen has won a number of high-profile cases, including a first-of-its-kind decision from the New Jersey state Supreme Court that allowed NJ Transit to access up to $400 million in insurance coverage for damage incurred from Superstorm Sandy and a precedent-setting ruling in Delaware for Verizon Communications that gave it $24 million in defense costs and allowed it to seek coverage for a $95 million settlement. Cohen is making sure her firm has a diverse workforce: Of the 18 attorneys hired since the firm launched, 10 are women.

As a leading entertainment lawyer, Victoria Cook represents filmmakers, writers, directors, actors, producers and television networks on projects in both Hollywood and the independent industry.

Cook has been involved in a number of important documentary films, most recently those focused on protests, racial justice and democracy. They include “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” a documentary about Stacey Abrams, and “Immigration Nation,” a docuseries about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Cook is a regular on the film circuit—she is a mentor at the Sundance Film Institute and serves on the advisory board for the Hamptons International Film Festival.

She is the co-founder of Torah Trumps Hate, an activist organization with thousands of members.

Real estate litigation partner Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

Partner, director of pro bono initiatives Akerman LLP

Emilie Cooper has had a significant impact on New York City’s real estate industry, and she is an active voice within the community.

Cooper, recently hired as a partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, has extensive experience in handling complex commercial disputes in the real estate and hospitality sectors. In the past 18 months, she has represented real estate group JDS Development in a dispute stemming from the construction of a residential skyscraper on West 57th Street, and OREI Investments IV LLC in a dispute concerning a mezzanine loan for the Ace Hotel in Chicago. Cooper regularly publishes articles concerning litigation developments that are pertinent to New York City real estate, and she has been a go-to voice about foreclosures during the pandemic.

With more than 20 years of experience in high-profile mergers and acquisitions and in capital markets transactions involving significant public and private security offerings, Laura Delanoy is among a handful of women who have risen to the top of the deal-making world. As a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher, she has participated in many of this year’s biggest deals, including Kansas City Southern’s $31 billion mega railway merger with Canadian Pacific and Fidelity National Financial’s $2.7 billion acquisition of FGL Holdings. Delanoy is a leader and role model at her firm. She has co-chaired the women’s professional development committee for more than five years, and she is the firm’s alternative work schedule coordinator. In that position, she helps associates manage work-life balance with flexible scheduling.

To boost its already robust pro bono initiatives, Akerman hired Gina DelChiaro in 2019 to head up its pro bono department.

DelChiaro has 15 years of experience working on similar initiatives, most recently at Lawyers Alliance for New York, where she managed pro bono projects for in-house counsel from corporate legal departments. She spent six years as an attorney for Human Rights First, where she launched a program providing legal representation to refugees and asylum seekers.

Under DelChiaro’s leadership, Akerman helped the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida achieve a First Amendment rights victory for the homeless, and the firm successfully represented the Law Enforcement Action Partnership in increasing transparency in law enforcement after the killing of George Floyd.

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MELINDA DUTTON

Shareholder Greenberg Traurig

Partner, Manatt Health Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP

Brandilyn Dumas, a former schoolteacher, was the first in her family to go to graduate school. Now as a real estate shareholder at Greenberg Traurig, she is helping to shape New York City’s skyline.

She represented a major office landlord in a two-phase, $2.4 billion Midtown investment project, and she has been involved in countless multimillion-dollar sales of hotels. Dumas, a Harlem resident, is a board member for the Harlem Link Charter School and the Winchester Thurston School. In addition, she is a selection panelist for the New York University Law School AnBryce Scholarship program, for which she was once a recipient. She will appear in the “Ones to watch” section of the next edition of The Best Lawyers in America.

Melinda Dutton, a renowned innovator in the health care industry, is an architect of Manatt Health’s groundbreaking multidisciplinary professional services model, which combines legal acumen with regulatory and consulting expertise to serve all the needs of health care stakeholders.

Dutton is a key adviser to federal and state regulators, local governments, providers, payers and life sciences companies in navigating the legal, regulatory and market challenges of today’s ever-changing health care industry. Dutton is a recognized authority on publicly financed health care and is a leading voice in the movement to combat health inequity by addressing the importance of social drivers of health. Dutton is on the advisory committee of the Children’s Defense Fund– New York and the board of trustees of the Community Service Society.

NEARLY 15% OF FEMALE LAWYERS TOOK ON ADDITIONAL CHILD CARE RESPONSIBILITIES DURING THE PANDEMIC, VERSUS 5% OF MALE LAWYERS. SOURCE: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

KAREN DYER

MARY EATON

Partner Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Co-head, securities and shareholder litigation practice Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP

In her years representing Fortune 500 corporations and significant multibillion-dollar companies, Karen Dyer has been involved in some of the most complex and high-dollar-value commercial cases in the country. As a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, Dyer represents Ashford Hospitality, Argo Turboserv, Starr International and The Related Cos. in various litigation matters. She has been named one of the 500 leading lawyers in America by Lawdragon every year since 2008, and she has been recognized as a leader in commercial litigation by The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013. Dyer, who is active in pro bono work, served as counsel in the civil case brought against Backpage.com involving sex trafficking charges.

Mary Eaton has extensive experience litigating high-stakes securities class actions, shareholder derivative claims and other complex business disputes. In 2020 she joined Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as a partner. She is lead counsel for Tyson Foods in a putative securities class-action suit that alleges the defendants made false and misleading statements concerning workplace safety during the pandemic. Among her high-profile cases, Eaton represents Pinterest in multiple derivative and class-action suits and AstraZeneca in a securities class action challenging statements regarding the clinical trial for the company’s Covid vaccine.

Eaton spends much of her energy on pro bono cases, supervising more than 15 matters in the past 18 months. She has spent her entire career advocating on behalf of low-income New Yorkers and the LGBTQ+ community, among other marginalized populations.

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We Congratulate Our Partners

Roxane Reardon and Mary Touchstone for their Recognition as Notable Women in Law N E W YOR K

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NOTABLE 2022 NICOLE FANJUL

ILENE FARKAS

REGINA FAUL

JULIE FINK

LARA FLATH

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Co-deputy office managing partner, New York office Latham & Watkins LLP

Partner; executive committee member; co-chair, music litigation practice Pryor Cashman LLP

Chair, labor and employment practice Phillips Nizer LLP

Managing partner Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP

Partner, complex litigation and trials Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

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Lara Flath represents a variety of clients, including JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Peco Foods, in high-stakes commercial, securities and antitrust litigation in federal and state courts throughout the country. Flath also assists clients with regulatory investigations, including enforcement matters before the Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. She has represented individuals in white-collar crime investigations brought before the Department of Justice as well. As a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Flath maintains an active pro bono practice. In a federal trial, she recently led an all-women team that successfully challenged Indiana’s abortion laws.

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Banking partner Nicole Fanjul was promoted to co-deputy managing partner of Latham & Watkins’ New York office—the firm’s largest with 635 lawyers—on the eve of its move to the iconic Time & Life Building. Fanjul represents lenders and corporate borrowers in complex financing transactions, with a focus on syndicated leveraged finance and direct lending.

Among her involvement in many high-profile deals, Fanjul advised on the acquisition financing for Takeda’s $46 billion acquisition of Shire, the largest overseas takeover by a Japanese company. Fanjul maintains an active pro bono practice, frequently advising on immigration matters, especially with immigrant victims of domestic violence.

Ilene Farkas, recognized as a leading copyright attorney for more than two decades, represents top entertainment companies and artists such as Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa and Mariah Carey.

In the past 18 months she has successfully defended Ariana Grande in a music copyright infringement claim regarding the song “7 Rings” and won a case for Jay-Z in an infringement claim regarding the song “Black Effect,” among many other high-profile cases. Farkas, the most senior female litigation partner at Pryor Cashman, is a member of the firm’s executive committee. She has run the firm’s summer associate program for more than 20 years.

Farkas is a formal mentor to several female attorneys each year.

Regina Faul brings the knowledge of more than three decades of experience to her role as chair of the labor and employment practice at Phillips Nizer.

Faul advises companies on a variety of matters, including employee relations, collective bargaining, employment litigation and insurance defense. The seasoned litigator has represented clients in hundreds of arbitrations and court litigations. Faul counsels business owners on union relationships and represents clients from the early stages of union organization to collective bargaining negotiations. She has extensive experience on both sides of the negotiating table; Faul spent more than 15 years representing Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union.

As the managing partner at Kaplan Hecker & Fink, Julie Fink is one of the youngest managing partners at a major law firm. In this role, Fink leads a diverse commercial and public interest litigation practice and oversees all aspects of the firm’s management, growth and strategic planning. She represents clients such as Pfizer, T-Mobile and Uber in matters ranging from commercial litigation to product liability.

This year she was a lead attorney for the NCAA to conduct an independent investigation into gender equity issues in connection with the association. Fink and her Kaplan Hecker co-founders are LGBTQ+ women, and the firm is still majority women and LGBTQ+owned, a rarity in the legal industry.

WOMEN MAKE UP 35.1% OF PUBLIC-SECTOR LEAD ATTORNEYS IN NEW YORK STATE, BUT JUST 20.8% OF PRIVATE-PRACTICE LEAD ATTORNEYS. SOURCE: NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION

HELENA FRANCESCHI

KELLY FRAWLEY

Partner Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP

Partner Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP

As a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel, Helena Franceschi represents leading financial institutions in connection with regulatory investigations, examinations, enforcement actions and litigation.

Franceschi’s legal matters are frequently cross-border in nature because of her clients’ global reach. She is an expert and thought leader in the laws of numerous foreign jurisdictions, recently co-writing two articles on cross-border matters in the New York Law Journal. At Cahill, Franceschi chairs the women’s initiatives committee, a group dedicated to helping women at the firm succeed by providing them with networking, education and mentoring opportunities. She was recently named to Benchmark Litigation’s 40 and Under Hot List. In addition, Franceschi was a Litigation Rising Star finalist for the Women in Business Law Awards.

As co-head of Kasowitz Benson Torres’ matrimonial and family law practice, Kelly Frawley is one of the top matrimonial and family attorneys in New York City.

Her clients range from CEOs to stay-at-home parents, all of whom rely on her to handle complex custodial and financial matters, custody, child-spousal support and paternity disputes.

Frawley, a noted expert in the field, is sought after to provide commentary on matrimonial law topics and celebrity divorces for numerous publications, including The New York Times and O, The Oprah Magazine.

Before joining Kasowitz, Frawley was as an assistant district attorney in the New York County district attorney’s office, where she handled narcotics cases.

OLGA LUCIA FUENTES-SKINNER Partner Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes

Olga Lucia Fuentes-Skinner is a veteran New York City trial lawyer. She has litigated significant commercial cases, including accounting malpractice, breach of contract and fraud cases, in state and federal courts around the country.

Fuentes-Skinner successfully represented MF Global in a $3 billion accounting malpractice case against PwC and Teva Pharmaceuticals in an antitrust case brought by the Department of Justice. Throughout her career, she has established herself as a leader for women attorneys, particularly women of color, insisting that she and other women make courtroom appearances and hold leadership positions. Eight months ago Fuentes-Skinner fulfilled a longstanding dream of co-founding her own law firm, one of few elite firms with a Latina’s name on the door. From there, she will continue to advocate for equity and inclusion in the legal sector.

SARAH GILBERT

CAROL GOODMAN

Partner Crowell & Moring LLP

Partner; co-chair of litigation department; chair of employment practice Herrick, Feinstein LLP

As a member of Crowell & Moring’s litigation group and the youngest partner to serve on the group’s steering committee, Sarah Gilbert has successfully defended a number of top-tier financial institutions in high-stakes litigation. She won a significant victory on behalf of a private-equity fund in a case involving allegations of misappropriation of fund assets.

Gilbert has extensive experience in class actions, consumer fraud, unfair competition and commercial contracts. She is a key member of a team representing eight Blue Cross Blue Shield companies in the largest pending antitrust multidistrict litigation in the U.S. Gilbert has an active pro bono practice, and she is part of a partnership with the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation.

Carol Goodman is a recognized employment defense litigator and an expert in sexual harassment law.

As a partner at Herrick, Feinstein, Goodman has developed sexual harassment training programs for many companies involving thousands of employees annually. Goodman directed her firm’s newly formed emergency management team, which was founded to manage the firm’s response to the pandemic.

Goodman provides complex litigation services to clients with a recent emphasis on wrongful-termination claims. Goodman is a go-to resource for the media on employment issues and considerations for employers facing difficult issues posed by the pandemic. She is frequently quoted by Bloomberg, CBS and The National Law Journal, among others, and was an invited speaker before the Manhattan Vaccine Task Force.

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MEAGHAN GRAGG

Partner, Corporate Group co-chair Crowell & Moring LLP

Partner Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

Jennifer Grady is a partner in Crowell & Moring’s New York office, where she represents investment banks, broker-dealers and funds, among other financial institutions, in connection with derivatives transactions, distressed debt and bankruptcy claims. Grady is the first woman to co-chair the Corporate Group at Crowell, a role she took after successfully spearheading the combination of storied Wall Street boutique Kibbe & Orbe with Crowell & Moring during the uncertainty of 2020. Grady, originally a managing partner at Richards Kibbe & Orbe, was responsible for holding the lawyers together as they searched for a combination partner during the pandemic.

Her leadership during this time was lauded in numerous legal publications. The New York Law Journal named her a 2021 Distinguished Leader.

Meaghan Gragg is a partner in Hughes Hubbard & Reed’s litigation department and international and domestic arbitration, corporate reorganization and bankruptcy, and art law groups. She has extensive experience in handling complex commercial disputes, with an emphasis on international arbitration and cross-border litigation. Gragg also advises artists, auction houses, collectors, galleries and museums on a variety of matters. She has been involved in some of the industry’s most challenging matters.

She worked on the Lehman Brothers liquidation, ultimately managing a team handling more than $127 billion in claims against the estate, and she works with the legal department at Sotheby’s, where she advises on commercial transactions. Gragg is co-chair of her firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee and co-founder of the firm’s LGBTQ affinity group.

WOMEN LAWYERS EARN 71.6% OF THEIR MALE COUNTERPARTS’ WEEKLY SALARY. SOURCE: CATALYST

MANDEE GRUEN

MIRIAM HARWOOD

Partner, co-chair, private investment funds practice Goodwin

Partner Squire Patton Boggs

Mandee Gruen, the first female co-chair of Goodwin’s private investment funds practice, is a trusted counsel to fund managers, sponsors and investors around the globe. Her background in regulatory matters enables her to guide clients through securities law and Adviser Act– related issues with ease. Her experience as a tax lawyer makes her savvy when it comes to investor negotiations and carry and fund structuring. Gruen uses this experience to help clients grow in the long term.

She has worked with the Sares Regis Group since its first fund almost a decade ago, providing guidance on subsequent funds, co-investment deals, real estate investment trusts and structuring for international investors.

Gruen leads her firm’s pro bono support for Give Blck, a new digital platform raising visibility for Black-founded nonprofits.

As co-head of Squire Patton Boggs’ investment arbitration practice and partner in its international dispute resolution practice, Miriam Harwood is an internationally known practitioner. Harwood has handled numerous international matters, including representing Spain in an annulment proceeding before the International Centre for Settlement of Disputes; she won an award of 128 million euros in a battle regarding renewable energy regulations. She represented Croatia in an ICSID arbitration brought by a German national in a dispute over ownership of property alleged to have been purchased during Croatia’s War of Independence in the 1990s. Harwood lectures regularly at conferences around the world about international law and arbitration. She was named to the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators in 2020 for a six-year term.

We congratulate all of the distinguished women lawyers recognized by Crain’s New York Business as Notable Women in Law, especially our partners Sarah Gilbert and Jennifer Grady.

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Your dedication to clients, commitment to the community, and vision in your fields are leading the way for generations of lawyers to come. crowell.com

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NOTABLE 2022 LUCILA (LULI) HEMMINGSEN Partner King & Spalding

Lucila Hemmingsen is recognized as a go-to expert on Latin America-related disputes.

Hemmingsen, a native of Argentina, is qualified in civil and common law and has a trilingual practice—English, Spanish and Portuguese—and nearly 20 years of experience in international arbitration. As a partner at King & Spalding, she represents private parties and states in commercial and investment arbitrations across multiple jurisdictions worldwide.

Hemmingsen has a unique ability to guide U.S. clients through the intricacies of jurisdictions in Latin America. Likewise, she brings comfort to Latin American clients dealing with U.S. counterparts.

Her experience runs a broad gamut of industries, including construction, renewable energy, oil and gas, mining, and banking and finance. Hemmingsen, who writes about international arbitration topics, speaks about them at Harvard, Columbia and New York University.

JENNY HOCHENBERG

ELLEN HOLLOMAN

MEEGAN HOLLYWOOD

VANESSA JACKSON

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Partner Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Partner Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Partner Robins Kaplan LLP

Partner Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

Since being elected partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in 2017, Jenny Hochenberg has become a leading corporate lawyer in shaping the deal economy. This year alone Hochenberg advised on transactions with an aggregate deal value exceeding $75 billion, including many of the largest and most innovative cross-border takeovers of all time. They include representing GW Pharmaceuticals in its $7.2 billion acquisition by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, the largest cannabis industry deal to date; and Afterpay, in Australia’s biggest buyout ever with the company’s pending $29 billion acquisition by Jack Dorsey-led Square. Hochenberg is a high-profile thought leader in emerging trends in mergers-and-acquisitions law and corporate governance. She teaches classes on M&A transactions at Columbia, New York University, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania. She grew up in Bulgaria and came to the U.S. to study at Dartmouth on a full scholarship in 2002.

As a partner in Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft’s global litigation group, Ellen Holloman represents financial institutions, corporations and individuals in civil litigation, and at trial, as well as in related regulatory enforcement proceedings and internal investigations. Holloman also has extensive experience in securities litigation, and regularly advises clients in connection with corporate governance disputes and proxy contests, notably as one of the few Black women attorneys in this field.

She is a recognized thought leader within the rapidly evolving area of environment, social and governance issues. Holloman, an award-winning author on corporate governance and workplace issues, including diversity, inclusion and sexual harassment, is sought after by clients to represent them in sensitive internal investigations related to matters involving #MeToo and other social justice issues.

As a partner and member of the Antitrust and Trade Regulation Group at Robins Kaplan, Meegan Hollywood prosecutes actions involving price-fixing and unlawful monopolization, among other anticompetitive practices. Since being named partner in January 2020, Hollywood has helped recover more than $1.5 billion for victims of anticompetitive conduct. In the past year and a half, she has served as lead attorney in the representation of a direct action plaintiff in opt-out litigation against two of the largest freight railroads in the national accused of conspiring to fix prices on rail shipments. In addition she has represented a proposed class of broadcast television advertising purchasers in an antitrust case.

Hollywood, a first- generation college student, is the firm’s pro bono chair and a member of its Diversity Committee.

Vanessa Jackson, a partner in Davis Polk’s preeminent finance practice, represents borrowers and lenders on a range of finance transactions that regularly involve billions of dollars. In the past year Jackson focused on clients in the hard-hit air industry, raising financing to help companies such as Aeromexico and Delta manage their liquidity to reach the other side of the pandemic. In addition, she played a lead role advising clients on the government’s $600 billion Main Street Lending program. Jackson, a thought leader in the banking space, regularly speaks and writes on topics related to the industry, recently co-authoring a chapter in Chambers USA’s “Banking & Finance” guide. She is an active member of her firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee and its Black Affinity Group Steering Committee.

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ROUGHLY 1 IN 4 (28%) FEDERAL JUDGES IS A WOMAN. SOURCE: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

ERICA JAFFE

ILENE JAROSLAW

JAYME JONAT

JULIE JONES

KAREN KING

Partner Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP

Chair, white-collar criminal defense Phillips Nizer LLP

Partner Holwell Shuster & Goldberg LLP

Chair Ropes & Gray LLP

As chair of Phillips Nizer’s white-collar criminal defense practice, Ilene Jaroslaw works on cases that are often front-page news. Jaroslaw, a member of the firm’s Integrity Oversight and Investigations practice group, puts her expertise to use in external and internal investigations of financial institutions, college admissions and sexual misconduct. This year, Jaroslaw was lead counsel in a $10 million lawsuit brought against U.S. Figure Skating and one of its coaches in connection with sexual abuse allegations. She represented an employee in the executive chamber of the governor’s office in the investigations of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s behavior while in office.

Jaroslaw, an award-winning federal prosecutor earlier in her career, has a seat on the Council of the Criminal Justice Section of the American Bar Association, where she makes policy decisions on behalf of the section’s 16,000 members.

As a partner at Holwell Shuster & Goldberg, Jayme Jonat is involved in numerous large-scale litigation efforts that, in addition to their considerable monetary stakes, have tested new legal theories and affected business practices across entire industries. Those efforts include defending Visa in antitrust litigation against many of the world’s largest retailers and representing a government-owned pension fund in claims against the world’s largest life insurance carriers. Jonat’s pro bono cases are significant, as well. She is working on two cutting-edge workplace discrimination cases with the American Civil Liberties Union. In the first lawsuits of their kind, Jonat’s team alleges that the policies of Frontier Airlines toward pregnant and breastfeeding pilots and flight attendants violate civil rights law. The cases, which are ongoing, could establish precedent on how employers must treat working mothers.

Julie Jones became chair of Ropes & Gray in 2020, just before the pandemic disrupted and damaged businesses around the world. In this challenging time, Jones has led ambitious and creative programs and initiatives at Ropes & Gray.

She pioneered a phased return-to-office plan and expanded flexible work arrangements in what has become a model for other law firms. Jones also deployed the firm’s world-leading health care practice to guide clients during the pandemic. Demand for the firm’s services has never been brisker. During the first 10 months of 2021, Ropes & Gray surpassed its record $375 billion in mergers-and-acquisitions deals handled. Jones, one of the world’s premier corporate lawyers, has led numerous multibillion-dollar deals, and she has won consistent accolades for her work on behalf of clients that include some of the world’s largest companies and investors.

Partner Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC

Erica Jaffe is a corporate partner in the mergers and acquisitions and private-equity practice at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson.

Jaffe has represented public and private companies, financial sponsors and investment banking firms across a range of sectors in stock and asset acquisitions, joint ventures and divestitures, among other matters. In the past 18 months, Jaffe has advised a number of high-profile clients, including 1-800 Contacts in its $3 billion sale to affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Leidos in its $1 billion acquisition of L3Harris Technologies’ security detection and automation business. Jaffe regularly co-authors thought leadership pieces for Wall Street Lawyer and the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance.

Karen King has more than 20 years of experience litigating complex commercial matters, with a particular focus on securities and derivative actions, financial crimes compliance, regulatory investigations and strategic advice. King joined Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello as a partner in February. As one of the few top litigators who speak Mandarin, King is often the go-to lawyer on cross-border disputes involving China-based entities or documents. King, widely recognized for her pro bono work, was awarded the Thurgood Marshall Pro Bono Award by the Federal Bar Council in 2019. She currently represents a mother who escaped domestic violence, in a Supreme Court case about the interpretation of the Hague Convention on the civil aspects of international child abduction.

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DINA KOLKER

Partner Clayman Rosenberg Kirshner & Linder LLP

Partner Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP

Isabelle Kirshner, a partner at Clayman Rosenberg Kirshner & Linder, is one of the most sought-after criminal defense lawyers in New York.

She has more than 30 years of experience defending individuals and entities in a wide range of criminal matters, including investigations and prosecutions relating to securities fraud, money laundering, bank and tax fraud, the distribution of crystal meth and allegations of sexual misconduct. She has successfully represented a number of individuals in high-profile matters, including a former New York state attorney general.

Kirshner sits on the Peer Review Committee for the Criminal Justice Act and the Criminal Justice Advisory Board for the U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York.

As a partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, Dina Kolker focuses primarily on labor relations in the public sector, working with some of New York City’s largest public employee unions. Her work gained additional importance in the past two years as the pandemic highlighted key workers’ critical role in keeping society functioning. During this time, Kolker advised the United Federation of Teachers regarding school closures and reopening, and the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association in connection with the increased waste generated by a lockeddown population. Kolker, who came to the U.S. from the Soviet Union, grew up in a working-class, immigrant community. That background has provided her with a socioeconomic perspective not often found in corporate law, which allows her to understand and advocate for union clients.

IN STATE SUPREME COURTS, WOMEN MAKE UP 39% OF ALL HIGH-COURT JUSTICES.

AMANDA KRAMER

VANESSA LAVELY

Partner Covington & Burling

Partner Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP

Amanda Kramer represents corporations and individuals in sensitive, high-stakes government investigations and enforcement actions, white-collar criminal defense, internal investigations and workplace culture reviews.

Kramer was recently hired by the National Women’s Soccer League to lead an investigation of the league’s operations and allegations against coaches and owners. Kramer joined Covington & Burling in 2019 after serving as assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York for more than a decade.

During those years, she was a senior member of the Southern District’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force and coordinator of its Human Trafficking and Project Safe Childhood. Following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death, Kramer helped found the When There Are Nine Scholarship Project, which awards scholarships to women law students.

Vanessa Lavely is a top trial lawyer and go-to attorney for high-profile companies with cases that make headlines. As a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Lavely recently tried a derivative action for Tesla CEO and board member Elon Musk related to Tesla’s $2.1 billion acquisition of SolarCity Corporation. She also represents Musk and the Tesla board in a number of compensation matters. In addition, Lavely is representing Facebook in a putative class action and individual antitrust litigation related to the multibillion-dollar digital advertising agency, among other well-known companies. Lavely has an active pro bono practice; she works extensively with the nonprofit Her Justice, which helps disadvantaged women find pro bono legal representation. She participates in Cravath’s Women’s Initiative, which helps women advance in the legal field.

Shining a light

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We congratulate two of our own, Sarah Paul and Cynthia Shoss, for being recognized as Crain’s 2022 Notable Women in Law.

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Cynthia Shoss © Eversheds Sutherland Ltd. 2021

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NOTABLE 2022 KELLIE LERNER

HALLIE LEVIN

LAUREN LEYDEN

RAQUEL LIBERMAN

LISA LINSKY

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Partner, co-chair of the antitrust and trade regulation group Robins Kaplan LLP

Co-chair, trial practice; partner WilmerHale

Partner Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Partner Fragomen

Partner McDermott Will & Emery

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As a partner in Fragomen’s New York office, Raquel Liberman represents multinational corporate clients on a variety of immigration matters, including nonimmigrant visas, permanent residence and citizenship.

Liberman helps companies develop strategic plans for the movement of personnel around the world, ensuring compliance with evolving immigration laws.

In the past year, an especially tough one for the firm because of the pandemic, Liberman and her team brought in seven startup clients. Liberman’s understanding of immigration goes deeper than her knowledge of law—she emigrated from Colombia to New York City at 18 to attend New York University’s film school.

After receiving her master’s there, as well, she moved to Buenos Aires. It was from there, after learning about South American displacement and refugee issues, that she returned to the U.S. to receive her law degree.

Lisa Linksy is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ community who has raised the bar for diversity in the legal profession. For more than 20 years, Linksy has helped numerous law firms and companies establish LGBTQ+ workplace programs. At her own firm, McDermott Will & Emery, she was the first partnerin-charge of the firm’s diversity, and she created the firm’s LGBTQ+ Committee. In addition to this work, Linsky focuses her practice on complex litigation and investigations involving sexual harassment, abuse and misconduct, trust and estate, product liability and mass torts, and civil rights. She was formerly with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, where she investigated and prosecuted sexual abuse cases involving children and adults.

Whether taking on pharmaceutical giants, financial companies or makers of automotive parts, Kellie Lerner consistently files high-stakes antitrust lawsuits, which have resulted in billions of dollars in recoveries for harmed consumers and other victims of anticompetitive behavior. As a partner and co-chair of the antitrust and trade regulation group at Robins Kaplan, Lerner is an award-winning attorney and an antitrust law thought leader who is regularly quoted in The Washington Post and Bloomberg Businessweek. Her recent investigation into Wells Fargo’s unnecessary auto insurance practices, along with her leadership in the Air Cargo Antitrust Litigation and Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, secured a combined $2.8 billion for U.S. consumers.

Hallie Levin is an award-winning trial lawyer who serves as lead counsel on high-stakes commercial disputes. As a partner and co-chair of Trial Practice at WilmerHale, Levin has cases that are often in the news. She recently won a victory as co-lead trial counsel for T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom, in a landmark antitrust trial in which attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia failed in their effort to enjoin the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. Levin wins praise for her ability to handle the divergent personalities of C-suite executives, corporate board members and challenging trial witnesses. She serves in many capacities for the New York City Bar Association, the Federal Bar Council and the Federal Bar Foundation.

As labor and employment partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Lauren Leyden has developed a niche practice focused on the nexus of traditional labor law and cutting-edge corporate transactions.

Leyden, one of the few lawyers nationwide with this experience, regularly plays leading roles in the largest and most complex restructurings. In the past 18 months, Leyden has advised on 7-Eleven’s $21 billion acquisition of Speedway and Alden Global’s $633 million acquisition of Tribune Publishing, among others. She has led efforts to help clients—and her own firm, as well—navigate workplace challenges arising from the pandemic. This year she was tapped to become Akin Gump’s hiring partner. In that role, she will steer the firm’s efforts to hire and retain top legal talent and promote diversity.

THE AVERAGE EQUITY PARTNER COMPENSATION FOR WOMEN IS $728,923 VERSUS $861,349 FOR MEN. SOURCE: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION.

NNEOMA MADUIKE

MARITA MAKINEN

ANDREA MANDELL

LINDA MARTIN

RANDI MASON

Member, Banking and Finance Department; co-chair, Lender Finance Practice Group Otterbourg PC

Partner; chair, mergers and acquisitions; co-chair, transactions and advisory group Lowenstein Sandler

Partner Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP

Partner Freshfields

With more than 29 years of experience providing expert tax advice to the securitization industry, Andrea Mandell is a highly regarded partner in the tax group at Schulte Roth & Zabel. Mandell advises many of the most sophisticated and creative players in the market on the tax aspects of structured finance, securitization and fund formation. She just completed a four-year term as the chair of the Structured Finance Association’s Tax Policy Committee, and she was elected to the board of the association, the securitization industry’s most respected group in advocacy, policy and research. Mandell, a frequent writer and sought-after public speaker on tax-related regulatory developments affecting structured finance, has won numerous awards.

As a partner in Freshfields’ dispute resolution practice and co-head of its global class and collective actions group, Linda Martin is adept at helping her global clients navigate multinational challenges.

Martin has extensive experience resolving complex and cross-border commercial disputes in a broad range of industries, and in all stages of business dispute resolution, including litigation, arbitration and mediation. Although based in New York, she appears regularly in federal, state and bankruptcy courts across the U.S. Active in pro bono work, Martin recently led a team of Freshfield’s associates to help an Afghan Special Immigrant Visa applicant and his pregnant wife escape from Afghanistan as the country fell to the Taliban. In addition, she leads a team representing a small-business owner in a landlord-tenant dispute caused by the pandemic.

Martin is an award-winning thought leader and writer on cross-border litigation.

Partner and co-chair of the corporate department Morrison Cohen LLP

At Otterbourg PC, Nneoma Maduike represents many of the largest U.S. and global institutional lenders, regional banks, hedge and private-equity funds, and commercial finance companies. Maduike advises on structuring and documentation of lease and loan transactions, including asset-based, cash-flow and structured finance, loan workouts and restructurings, and portfolio acquisitions. As a diverse woman succeeding in the rarified air where law and finance intersect at the highest levels—both male-dominated fields—she believes mentoring is second in importance only to learning the law. Maduike has received numerous accolades, including being named by Best Lawyers in America as one of the country’s top 15 Women of Influence.

Marita Makinen performs complex transactional work for some of the world’s best-known brands. As a partner at Lowenstein Sandler, Makinen works on deals that frequently involve highly complex capital structures, intricate management incentives, talent retention issues and protection of intellectual property. Her recent representations include The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. in its increase of ownership of Deceim Beauty Group Inc., and PVH Corp. in the sale of its Speedo North America business for $170 million. Known for her astute interpretation of Securities and Exchange Commission rules and regulations, Makinen provides practical disclosure advice grounded in a solid understanding of her clients’ business objectives. She chairs her firm’s governance committee, the group in charge of all the firm’s committee appointments.

Throughout her career, Randi Mason has led deal teams on numerous major transactions.

As a partner at Morrison Cohen, Mason recently represented Global Automotive Systems in its sale to an affiliate of Patriarch Partners, represented XL Fleet in its $16 million acquisition of World Energy Efficiency Services, and assisted Echelon Fitness in its $65 million capital raise led by Goldman Sachs. Mason is one of the highest-profile leaders at her firm. Along with co-chairing the firm’s largest department and serving on its executive committee, she chairs a task force that develops and implements transformative firmwide programs. Mason serves on many boards and task forces, including Women in Funds, a social community for female leaders working in the investment funds industry.

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MARTHA MCGARRY

Partner Sidley Austin LLP

Partner, co-leader of U.S. mergersand-acquisitions practice Mayer Brown LLP

Diane McEnroe is a partner in Sidley Austin’s drug and medical device regulatory practice, with long-standing relationships in the food, drug, medical device and personal care industries.

McEnroe, an expert on functional foods and dietary supplements, is counsel to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association’s dietary supplement council; she provides advice on Food and Drug Administration regulation to members in this association and works to modernize governing laws. In addition to managing a regulatory practice, McEnroe frequently supports the firm on life sciences transactions, recently representing Vegamour with an $80 million equity investment by General Atlantic. McEnroe, who is often quoted as an expert source, is an adjunct professor at Fordham University Law School, where she teaches food and drug law. She has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for the past four years.

Studies have shown that female law firm partners often work in the biggest mergers-and-acquisitions transactions, but they rarely lead them. Martha McGarry, a partner at Mayer Brown, continues to challenge that status quo.

McGarry has been a prolific M&A lawyer for decades. She is known for her dexterous handling of numerous complex transactions for high-profile companies, including American Express, the Coca-Cola Company and the Hershey Company.

McGarry joined Mayer Brown this year after working for 43 years at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, where she was the first woman to make partner in the M&A practice. McGarry is recognized as an industry leader by numerous rankings and publications, including Law360’s Top Female Dealmakers.

FORTY-ONE PERCENT OF ALL LAW SCHOOL DEANS THIS YEAR WERE WOMEN, UP FROM 10% IN 2000.

SOURCE: ROSENBLATT’S DEANS DATABASE AT THE MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE SCHOOL OF LAW

KATHLEEN MCGEE

CHRISTINE MCGUINNESS

Partner Lowenstein Sandler

With nearly two decades as a prosecutor and leading regulator, including as bureau chief of the New York attorney general’s Bureau of Internet and Technology, Kathleen McGee is a highly accomplished attorney with a valuable skill set. Now, McGee leverages her extensive public-sector experience by representing clients on issues ranging from white-collar criminal defense matters to commercial disputes involving technology, cybersecurity and privacy. McGee’s practice as a partner at Lowenstein Sandler includes representing global businesses, scale-ups and startups in multiple sectors. This year, with the advent of the Cares Act, McGee focused on helping loan applicants navigate the challenging process of securing federal aid through the Paycheck Protection Program as businesses contended with the pandemic and consequent economic crisis.

NOTABLE Q&A

Partner and executive committee member, real estate practice group leader Schiff Hardin LLP

For many real estate lawyers, the pandemic hit their business hard.

But Christine McGuinness, leader of Schiff Hardin’s real estate group, had one of the busiest periods in her 30-year career. Since early 2020, McGuinness has booked more than $1 billion in deals. They include a 125-year lease for a site on the Lower East Side of Manhattan valued at more than $100 million.

In addition to being the only female of the eight-member executive committee, McGuinness heads the firm’s New York City office. She helped open it in 2002 with just four attorneys and grew it to its current total of 41 lawyers. McGuinness is on the board of directors of Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County. She represents the nonprofit Leviticus Fund, which provides financing to develop housing for low-income populations.

Sponsored Content

with Lisa Zeiderman

How an entrepreneurial attorney became an advocate for financial empowerment

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CRAIN’S: What made you decide to focus your career on matrimonial and family law?

Matrimonial, divorce and family lawyer Lisa Zeiderman often taps the negotiation skills she honed as a fashion-industry entrepreneur at Miller Zeiderman, the firm she co-founded in 2013 after going through her own divorce and returning to school. The 40-person firm now has offices in both New York City and White Plains. As a thought leader, Zeiderman is author of a popular blog on Psychology Today and contributes to the New York Law Journal among other publications. She serves as Vice President of the Board of Savvy Ladies and on the Board of Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT). Crain’s Content Studio recently connected with her on her journey as an attorney.

ZEIDERMAN: I went through a divorce while I was an entrepreneur in the fashion industry. That experience underscored the importance of having a great lawyer during a challenging time, and I was inspired to go to law school and embark on a second career in matrimonial law.

I realized I could make a positive difference for many people and their children.

CRAIN’S: What was your inspiration for starting your own firm?

ZEIDERMAN: Having had the benefit of great mentors, both female and male, I was ready to set out on my own and build a team of attorneys and staff who would be knowledgeable, compassionate and responsive. My goal was to create a practice encompassing skills from my former career and my experiences as both litigant and attorney.

CRAIN’S: You started out with an unusual background—as a former business owner in the fashion industry. How has that informed the way you practice law and run the firm?

CRAIN’S: You have done a lot of charitable work, particularly in the area of financial literacy for women.

Could you tell us about the work you’re doing, and why you are so passionate about it?

ZEIDERMAN: I recognized that law, like most businesses, is a service business.

I learned the art of negotiation on the streets of Seventh Avenue. And owning a business in fashion can be rough-and-tumble, and so can family law. You need to have a very thick skin. In many cases, the stakes are high–particularly in custody or highnet-worth cases.

ZEIDERMAN: I am proud to work with several nonprofits, including serving as VP of the Board of Savvy Ladies, and on the Board of Legal Information for Families Today.

Women gain financial empowerment through Savvy Ladies and learn to advocate for themselves in the court system through LIFT. Because many women never gain basic financial knowledge or control, focusing on educating all women about personal finance is essential.

CRAIN’S: What are the biggest challenges for law firms today?

ZEIDERMAN: Locating skilled attorneys who can write, understand the evidentiary rules, make coherent arguments in court and work well with clients. The labor shortage is very real.

We also need to deal with technology as it relates to privacy issues, and find ways to integrate and mentor young and new attorneys into our firm’s culture despite not being in the office every day.

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NOTABLE 2022 JUDY MOK

MARY MONGIOI

SUSAN MOSS

PARVIN MOYNE

ALIYA NELSON

Partner Ballard Spahr LLP

Partner Forchelli Deegan Terrana LLP

Founding partner Chemtob, Moss, Forman & Beyda LLP

Partner Greenspoon Marder LLP

Judy Mok has extensive experience negotiating complex payment transactions for the world’s largest retailers, financial institutions and businesses. In particular, Mok is known for negotiating and drafting co-branded and private-label credit card agreements, payment network agreements, and merchant, servicing and processing agreements. In addition, she advises clients on launching and marketing various business initiatives, such as loyalty and rewards programs and mobile payment solutions. A partner at Ballard Spahr, Mok has worked in the payments space for more than a decade at several major law firms and as senior payments counsel at Apple Inc. Mok, committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, founded and leads the Asian American Business Resource Group at Ballard Spahr.

As a partner at Forchelli Deegan Terrana, Mary Mongioi looks out for her clients’ furry companions. Mongioi chairs the veterinary practice group, which provides strategic counsel to large corporate and individual veterinary businesses on all aspects of corporate law. In the past 18 months alone, Mongioi and her team have overseen more than $500 million in veterinary acquisitions. She has doubled her practice group revenue in each of the past two pandemic-affected years.

Mongioi attributes that success to being an active member of industry organizations and listening to clients’ concerns.

She chairs the program committee for the nonprofit VetPartners, an association of veterinary business specialists.

Few attorneys can say their clients had an enjoyable time getting a divorce. Susan Moss, partner of Chemtob, Moss, Forman & Beyda, is a zealous advocate in the courtroom yet uses humor to help her clients make it through their high-asset divorces. Moss has become the go-to attorney for high-profile executives and the Hollywood elite for negotiating settlements and litigating the most complex family law and matrimonial cases in New York. Since joining her current firm in 2002, Moss has helped grow the practice to 13 lawyers. Judges regularly appoint her as an attorney for the child because they respect her tireless and unique advocacy on behalf of children caught in the crossfires of their parents’ divorces.

Partner Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Akin Gump partner Parvin Moyne, a former federal prosecutor with extensive public- and private-sector experience, is a highly sought-after white-collar defense lawyer in New York.

Her practice focuses on the representation of financial institutions related to allegations of fraud and corruption, and the defense of individuals and corporations in criminal prosecutions and government enforcement actions. In addition, Moyne maintains an active pro bono practice, serving as a board member of the Volunteers for Legal Service, which provides free civil legal services in New York City, and of the Arc’s Criminal Justice Advisory Panel, which supports criminal-justice advocacy for people with developmental disabilities. She is her firm’s liaison with the Alliance for Asian American Justice, a new national initiative among law firms to combat Asian discrimination.

As a leading partner in Greenspoon Marder’s corporate and entertainment, media and technology practice groups, Aliya Nelson represents clients in negotiating deals related to corporate matters, equity and debt financings, mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures. Nelson works with a broad spectrum of clients, including marketing agencies, sports, media, and Grammy award-winning artists, songwriters and producers. Most recently, she represented Homestead Entertainment LLC in a historic deal that led to the streaming, on-demand and cable release of the documentary Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first airing of a documentary about a Black Greek letter organization on a major cable network. Nelson, a thought leader and voice for the entertainment community, is often approached for speaking and media engagements.

Notable Women in Law Congratulations to our partners recognized by Crain's New York Business for their client service and contributions to law in the greater New York City area.

Moira Penza

New York Washington, D.C. Los Angeles

wilkinsonstekloff.com

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CN02057

Leadership. Vision. Dedication.

Greenberg Traurig congratulates our own Brandilyn Dumas on her recognition on Crain’s New York 2022 Notable Women in Law list.

Your vision and commitment to clients, colleagues, and the community has earned you the respect as a trusted leader and role model.

Greenberg Traurig is committed to its women lawyers’ success, which includes a firmwide women’s affinity group encompassing recruiting, retention, and business development. The firm regularly collaborates with like-minded organizations to address these issues on a broader scale in a variety of industries and communities. Greenberg Traurig also takes thoughtful action to address issues such as maintaining a healthy work-life balance, breaking the glass ceiling, mentoring, taking charge of your health, and giving back to the community.

G R E E N B E RG T RA U R I G, L L P | AT TO R N E Y S AT LAW | 2300 AT TO R N E YS | 40 LO CAT I O N S ° | G T LAW.CO M

Greenberg Traurig, LLP | One Vanderbilt Avenue | New York, NY 10017 | 212.801.9200 Greenberg Traurig, LLP

GreenbergTraurigLLP

GT_Law

GT_Law

W O R L D W I D E LO CAT I O N S

United States, Europe, Middle East, Asia,

Greenberg Traurig is a service mark and trade name of Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Greenberg Traurig, P.A. ©2021 Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Attorneys at Law. All rights reserved. Attorney advertising. °These numbers are subject to fluctuation.

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NOTABLE 2022 BONNIE NEUMAN

SARAH PAUL

MOIRA PENZA

ANNE CORTINA PERRY

E. DANYA PERRY

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Head of real estate practice Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Partner, U.S. head of corporate crime and investigations Eversheds Sutherland

Partner Wilkinson Stekloff

Partner, co-chair of culture risk and sensitive investigations practice Jenner & Block LLP

Founding partner Perry Guha LLP

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With her successful track record, Bonnie Neuman is a first phone call for many of New York’s leading real estate financiers. This year, she became the first woman to be named head of the real estate finance group at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, assuming this leadership role five years after becoming partner. Neuman has developed a client base that includes the largest lenders in real estate. She has advised clients on about $26 billion in loan originations since May 2020. Recently, she represented the lenders on the $1.1 billion financing of two Durst-owned trophy properties in the city. In addition to her busy practice, Neuman is active in numerous organizations that advance the careers of women and diverse attorneys.

Sarah Paul is a highly sought-after attorney for help with all areas of white-collar defense and tax controversy. As a partner and U.S. head of corporate crime and investigations at Eversheds Sutherland, Paul recently led a team of more than 100 people in a cross-border investigation involving disclosures to regulators in multiple jurisdictions. In addition, she designed financial crimes-related policies for global companies that address international laws.

Before joining the firm in 2019, Paul was an award-winning assistant U.S. attorney who played a leading role in the U.S. investigation of the Panama Papers scandal. Paul provides pro bono assistance to the nonprofit Georgia Resource Center, a law office that represents people on Georgia’s death row.

As a partner at Wilkinson Stekloff, Moira Penza has been a key player in many of the firm’s highest-profile cases. Most recently, Penza served as co-lead trial counsel for defendants Warner Chicott and Watson in a federal antitrust class action, which settled for less than 5% of the trebled damages. In addition, she successfully represented Summer Zervos, pro bono, in her defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, based on his public denials of a 2007 sexual assault. Penza previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where she led the prosecution and trial conviction of Nxivm founder and sex trafficker Keith Raniere, who was sentenced to 120 years in prison.

Anne Cortina Perry is a top-tier litigator who helps global clients navigate the most high-stakes and confidential investigations brought by government entities and organizations.

As a partner at Jenner & Block, Perry is called upon by senior executives to lead their most challenging inquiries, including sensitive matters involving allegations of sexual misconduct. Earlier this year, Perry helped launch her firm’s culture risk and sensitive investigations practice, which covers matters involving #MeToo and other allegations of criminal, sexual or racial harassment or discrimination.

She regularly engages in financial crimes cases, including anti-money-laundering and Bank Secrecy Act violations, and investigations for companies in highly regulated industries.

Perry leads pro bono matters for underserved women in immigration and family court matters.

Following senior leadership positions in government service and as in-house counsel, E. Danya Perry co-launched her own firm in 2019. A women-and minority-owned litigation boutique, Perry Guha has already achieved success representing corporate and individual clients in high-stakes litigations and social impact cases. Perry’s high-profile clients include Michael Avenatti and Michael Cohen, whom she successfully defended in federal court when Cohen was taken into custody for his work on an upcoming book about his experiences with former President Donald Trump. Perry’s perspective is in high demand outside of the courtroom; she frequently speaks on breaking legal issues for media outlets and has written numerous op-eds and articles.

Phillips Nizer Congratulates Crain’s New York

2022 Notable Women in Law

Elizabeth A. Adinolfi, Guardianship Practice Chair (2022) Regina E. Faul, Labor & Employment Chair (2022, 2020, 2018) Ilene Jaroslaw, White Collar Criminal Defense Chair (2022, 2021, 2020) Helene M. Freeman, Intellectual Property Partner (2019) Lisa R. Radetsky, Real Estate Co-chair (2019)

New York ● New Jersey ● Geneva www.phillipsnizer.com 32 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | DECEMBER 20, 2021

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AMANDA PERSAUD Partner, asset management Ropes & Gray LLP

With more than two decades advising preeminent private fund sponsors, Amanda Persaud is one of the nation’s go-to attorneys on private fundraises for large private-equity raises, new credit platforms and hybrid fundraises.

Persaud, a partner in Ropes & Gray’s asset management group, most recently guided Vistria’s $2.68 billion Fund IV. She convened hundreds of parties to secure the total capital commitments, nearly double the company’s $1.5 billion target.

Persaud, a Guyanese American and one of few partners of color at a premier law firm, is committed to promoting racial equity in the legal profession. As a board member for the Girl Scouts of Greater New York, she helps the 100-year-old brand expand its donor base among asset managers.

KIMBERLY PETILLODÉCOSSARD Co-chair of mergers-and-acquisitions and corporate advisory practice groups Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP

Since becoming a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel in 2014, Kimberly Petillo-Décossard has advised on more than 75 mergersand-acquisitions and financing transactions, totaling more than $30 billion.

Under her leadership, the firm’s practice group is on pace to earn four consecutive years of growing revenue. Her most impressive deal this year was her work with longtime client ICON on a $12 billion acquisition. The transaction catapulted ICON to No. 3 in size among drug development and clinical trials.

For her recent transactions, experience and deal-making prowess, Petillo-Décossard has earned some of the legal community’s highest awards, including a 2021 Law360 MVP in M&A, a recognition bestowed upon only six practitioners globally.

WOMEN MADE UP 25.3% OF ATTORNEYS IN LEAD COUNSEL ROLES IN NEW YORK IN A 2020 REPORT, SLIGHTLY UP FROM THE 24.7% FOUND IN 2017.

SOURCE: NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION’S COMMERCIAL AND FEDERAL LITIGATION SECTION TASK FORCE ON WOMEN’S INITIATIVES

RALIA POLECHRONIS

OLIVIA RADIN

Partner Wilkinson Stekloff

Partner Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Ralia Polechronis is a highly skilled litigator focused on complex commercial matters. In the past 18 months, as a partner at Wilkinson Stekloff, she has represented a number of high-profile clients. They include the Altria Group in a sizable antitrust case in which the Federal Trade Commission was seeking to unwind a $12 billion transaction between Altria and Juul Labs; and Medtronic, in products liability cases arising out of claims that its hernia mesh products have design defects. Before joining the firm, Polechronis was the executive director and general counsel of the nonprofit Partnership for Educational Justice, where she led national impact litigation strategy in education reform.

When the world’s biggest companies need help, they often call on Olivia Radin. As a partner with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Radin seamlessly provides valuable compliance and regulatory advice across a variety of industries. Her major differentiator is her commercially driven approach.

As a former investment banker at Morgan Stanley, Radin puts herself in the shoes of her clients and provides uniquely business-savvy legal counsel. In the past 18 months, Radin has expanded her pro bono work, overseeing criminal-justice and immigration matters on behalf of the Office of Appellate Defender and the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act LGBPTQIA+ Resentencing project. Radin was recently appointed as the New York managing partner for Freshfields, the first woman to hold this position.

Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP congratulates our partner Kelly A. Frawley on her recognition as a Notable Woman in Law by Crain’s.

Kasowitz’s core focus is commercial litigation, complemented by our exceptionally strong matrimonial and family law, real estate, employment, and bakruptcy practices. We are known for our creative, aggressive litigators and willingness to take on tough cases.

kasowitz.com

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NOTABLE 2022 ROXANE REARDON

DOROTHEA REGAL

Co-head, global capital markets practice Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Founding partner, co-managing partner Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney LLP

As co-head of Simpson Thacher’s top-ranked global capital markets practice—the first woman to hold this position—Roxane Reardon is a trailblazer in the capital markets space and one of the country’s premier advisers on initial public offerings. Since the pandemic, Reardon has taken her practice to new heights. In 2020, she guided transactions aggregating more than $50 billion for the likes of Schwab, Boston Scientific and CVS Health. This year, she advised on transactions aggregating more than $30 billion in connection with offerings by Progress Software, the Cheesecake Factory and Marriott Vacations, among others. Reardon, who has won numerous awards, is often quoted in the press for her valued observations concerning capital markets.

As head of the Insurance Recovery Group at Hoguet Newman Regal & Kenney, the litigation boutique she co-founded 26 years ago, Dorothea Regal has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars from insurers for corporate policyholders.

Regal is sought after for strategic advice and representation in complex and valuable insurance coverage disputes, and she has contributed to cutting-edge developments in insurance law.

Euromoney recently named Regal the 2021 Insurance & Reinsurance Lawyer of the Year.

Perhaps more important, Regal has distinguished herself as a champion of women lawyers.

She was instrumental in establishing her firm’s policy of flexible hours and work locations—even before the pandemic—so her attorneys can maintain a work-life balance.

THE NUMBER OF MALE STUDENTS IN LAW SCHOOL DECLINED EVERY YEAR BETWEEN 2010 AND 2020.

IN 2010 THERE WERE 78,516 MALE LAW STUDENTS; IN 2020 THERE WERE 52,766.

SOURCE: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

NINA ROKET

MENG RU

Co-administrative partner; leader, commercial leasing practice Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP

Partner Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Nina Roket is a nationally recognized commercial real estate lawyer and one of the few female lawyers holding multiple leadership positions at her firm. In addition to being a partner in Olshan Frome Wolosky’s real estate practice and chairing the firm’s commercial leasing practice, she is co-administrative partner, a member of the executive committee, the head of the hiring committee, and the founder and chair of Olshan’s women’s committee. Roket’s clients include high-profile office buildings in Manhattan and luxury retail sites across the U.S. Since the pandemic, Roket has created the lease restructuring, loan restructuring and distressed real estate group—a new practice area to provide a multidisciplinary swat team approach to solving Covid-related issues that have rocked the industry.

Meng Ru represents some of the most sophisticated financial institutions and their portfolio companies in domestic and international debt financings.

In the past 18 months, as partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, she has played leading roles in numerous multibillion- and multimillion-dollar transactions for clients such as Goldman Sachs and U.S. Concrete. Ru, a first generation Chinese immigrant, has become a leader in her firm and community. In 2009 she co-founded the Chinese Business Lawyers Association, an educational forum on U.S.-Chinese business and legal issues. At her firm, Ru co-chairs the diversity, equity and inclusion council. This year, Ru was selected as a fellow by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

We are proud to join Crain’s New York Business in recognizing our friend and colleague

CAROL M. GOODMAN partner, co-chair of the Litigation Department and chair of the Employment Practice.

Congratulations to Carol and all of the 2022 Notable Women in Law.

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lowenstein.com |

Lowenstein Sandler congratulates our partners, Marita A. Makinen and Kathleen A. McGee, on their inclusion in Crain’s distinguished roster of 2022 Notable Women in Law – New York.

Marita A. Makinen Partner Chair, Mergers & Acquisitions Co-chair, Transactions & Advisory Group

Kathleen A. McGee Partner The Tech Group, White Collar Criminal Defense

Lowenstein’s steadfast commitment to opportunities and advancement for women includes focused employee resource groups, equitable benefits and services to facilitate work-life balance, and dedicated mentorship and sponsorship to support a diverse and inclusive workplace.

N E W YO R K

PA LO A LTO

NEW JERSEY

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WA S H I N G TO N, D.C.

© 2021 Lowenstein Sandler LLP

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NOTABLE 2022 KATE ULRICH SARACENE

ALLISON SCHOENTHAL

Partner and chair, employee benefits and executive compensation practice Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Kate Ulrich Saracene, a national thought leader in employee health and benefit plans, was named chair of the employee benefits and executive compensation practice group at Katten Muchin Rosenman in 2019. Since then, the group’s average billable hours per attorney increased nearly 300 hours year over year and its profit more than tripled.

Saracene spent a dozen years as a human resources and labor relations professional at Xerox, which gave her valuable in-house experience and insight into day-to-day employment issues. Saracene is a founding member of her firm’s National Wellness Committee and has even taught mindfulness and yoga to the legal community.

She is a sought-after speaker and author who has been quoted in dozens of national and regional publications.

Partner Goodwin

Wall Street banks and other large financial institutions often turn to Allison Schoenthal for their most important consumer disputes. So when she recently moved from Hogan Lovells to become partner and the New York head of Goodwin’s consumer financial services litigation practice, many of them followed her. Along with her team of five attorneys, Schoenthal’s move meant the transfer of hundreds of mortgage cases and enforcement matters for the likes of CIT Bank, Fannie Mae and Wells Fargo. Schoenthal is one of only three women who is Chambers-ranked nationwide for consumer finance litigation.

She has been named a Law360 Banking MVP. Schoenthal is on the New York Foreclosure Task Force, a group that works to make the foreclosure process more efficient and equitable.

THE FIRST FEMALE LAWYER IN THE U.S., ARABELLA MANSFIELD, WAS ADMITTED TO THE IOWA BAR IN 1869.

SOURCE: ONE LEGAL

JENNIFER SELENDY

TERRI SELIGMAN

V

Founder, co-managing partner Selendy & Gay

Partner and chair of the advertising, marketing and public relations group Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz PC

C K L

Jennifer Selendy, a seasoned trial and appellate lawyer, helped launch Selendy & Gay in 2018. The firm has made a name for itself by successfully defending big names, among them McKinsey & Company, while boasting 50% female ownership and a strong mission to promote diversity. More than 22% of the firm’s attorneys identify as LGBTQ. Selendy has been widely recognized for her legal skills in high-stakes disputes and for her leadership. She is just as impressive out of the courtroom.

Selendy recently partnered with a small coalition of lawyers, journalists and activists that successfully evacuated a group of 250 at-risk schoolgirls, family members and faculty from Kabul to Canada following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, with an additional 250 at-risk schoolgirls headed for Ecuador in the coming weeks.

In an era of ubiquitous marketing, there are few things more important to consumers than truthful advertising. So when advertisers such as American Express, Clorox and Etsy have questions about compliance, they turn to Terri Seligman, one of the country’s leading advertising lawyers. As a partner at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, Seligman helps clients develop and defend their advertising claims and market products in compliance with law, regulation and intellectual property rights.

Seligman is routinely chosen for the top honors in her profession, and she regularly presents at advertising industry conferences. She is a prolific author whose nearly 200 posts on “Frankfurt Kurnit’s Advertising Law Updates” blog have been read by thousands.

S a

t C C s c T a t i i I t i r i c c i

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Latham & Watkins congratulates all of the talented women lawyers recognized on the Crain’s New York Business Notable Women in Law list, including our partners Nicole Fanjul, Alli Stillman, and Lisa Watts.

n s c a h r a c t o F c a N l a t a P t f

We are thrilled and proud to be part of the New York legal community.

Nicole Fanjul

Alli Stillman

Lisa Watts

Photo credit: Allison Stillman headshot courtesy of Buck Ennis/CNYB

LW.com

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36 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | DECEMBER 20, 2021

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VALENTINA SHAKNES

CYNTHIA SHOSS

CAROL SIGMOND

DEBRA SILVERMAN

LAURIE STANZIALE

Co-founding partner Krauss Shaknes Tallentire & Messeri LLP

Partner Eversheds Sutherland

Partner Greenspoon Marder LLP

Real estate-construction partner Fox Rothschild LLP

Cynthia Shoss is a sought-after attorney, focusing her practice on insurance regulation, nationally and internationally, with respect to complex opportunities and challenges companies face.

A list of major insurance companies has been seeking the counsel of the Eversheds Sutherland partner for nearly four decades. Until the spring, Shoss was co-chair of the firm’s global board, a position that made her one of the most influential women in the global legal industry. She was the first woman and the second lawyer in private practice in the 100-year history of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel to receive its lifetime achievement award. Among her many board appointments, Shoss is the chair of the nonprofit Economic Mobility Corporation, which helps the less advantaged to succeed.

Carol Sigmond has been recognized as one of New York’s most respected construction law litigators for more than 40 years.

As a partner in Greenspoon Marder’s construction and litigation practice groups, she concentrates her practice on construction and real estate matters, such as mediation, litigation, appeals, arbitration, contract preparation, and bid protests in the public and private sectors. Since the pandemic, Sigmond has developed work-safety protocols for construction clients and assisted commercial and residential tenants and landlords in navigating the effects of Covid-19. Sigmond, who has won numerous awards for her work, is a sought-after speaker and author on issues relating to construction law.

Partner-director, chair of health care practice group Garfunkel Wild

For the past 15 years Valentina Shaknes has established herself as a leader of the matrimonial bar and a go-to practitioner in the small community of lawyers with expertise in international custody cases arising under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction—a niche specialty. In 2019 Shaknes co-founded Krauss Shaknes Tallentire & Messeri, a woman-owned matrimonial law firm that advises high-net-worth individuals and celebrity clients in complex family law matters.

In the two years since its launch, the firm has more than doubled in size and received national recognition. Shaknes specializes in valuations and divisions of closely held businesses and complicated custody proceedings.

As chair of Garfunkel Wild’s health care practice group, Debra Silverman represents hospital systems, faculty practice plans and physician group practices.

Her specialty is managed care contacting, health care delivery networks, accountable care organizations, physician arrangements, and antitrust and regulatory matters. Along with administering her firm’s managed care group, Silverman handles direct negotiations with major managed care organizations such as Aetna, Cigna and United Healthcare. Silverman, a widely known thought leader in her field, is a frequent lecturer for the Healthcare Financial Management Association and a contributing author. She has been included in The Best Lawyers in America every year since 2016.

With nearly 20 years of real estate and construction experience, Laurie Stanziale represents domestic and international owners and developers, major construction companies, trade contractors, architects and engineers.

As a partner in Fox Rothschild, Stanziale advises clients throughout a project’s life cycle, mitigates risks, and protects and defends clients’ interests in disputes involving construction defects, payment claims and liens, among other issues.

Stanziale is a speaker, author and continuing legal education instructor who has taught the popular program “Welcome to the Neighborhood” with the National Law Institute for the past decade. During the spring, the adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School will teach construction law.

REVENUE AT LAW FIRMS JUMPED 14% DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, ACCORDING TO A SURVEY OF 110 FIRMS. SOURCE: WELLS FARGO PRIVATE BANK LEGAL SPECIALTY GROUP

ALISON STEIN

JODI STEIN

ALLI STILLMAN

JOCELYN STRAUBER

ALLISON TAM

Partner; co-chair of content, media and entertainment practice Jenner & Block LLP

Partner Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP

Partner Latham & Watkins

Partner Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Alison Stein became the first woman co-chair of Jenner & Block’s nationally recognized content, media and entertainment practice in February. As such, Stein represents media, technology and video game companies, television and movie studios, fashion and beauty companies, record labels and artists. Among her many high-profile engagements, Stein recently co-led a team that won a complete victory for ViacomCBS in a $100 million trademark dispute over the title of the MTV reality show MTV Floribama Shore. She serves as counsel for Endeavor on anti-piracy work and for Nintendo on multiple copyright litigations. Stein maintains an active pro bono practice; she is the primary music-licensing adviser to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and she is on the board of Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

Major real estate developers call upon Jodi Stein to help them with the toughest part of their projects: obtaining the required zoning and land use approvals from New York City agencies. As a partner in Sheppard Mullin’s real estate, land use and environmental practice group, Stein recently represented AB Capstone and Arch Companies, providing a zoning opinion for a $106 million loan to build a mixed-use project in Queens, just one of many high-profile projects. Before private practice, Stein was vice president of acquisitions and development for one of the largest privately held real estate companies in North America. Earlier in her career, she spent several years representing West Harlem in its negotiations with Columbia University.

Partner, government enforcement and white-collar crime Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates

Alli Stillman, a nationally renowned litigator, represents public and private companies in a range of industries in copyright and associated intellectual property litigation matters. With a concentration in technology, media and entertainment, Stillman’s work often centers on issues that help shape national copyright law. As a partner with Latham & Watkins, Stillman is called upon by major entertainment companies to handle contentious matters, including music streaming giant Spotify, in the infringement suit brought by Eight Mile Style, Eminen’s music publisher. Stillman was the only attorney selected for Leadership Music’s Class of 2022, a nationwide program for established music industry leaders.

Jocelyn Strauber represents companies and individuals in criminal and civil enforcement matters.

Before joining Skadden Arps in 2013, Strauber was a prosecutor in various roles, most recently as co-chief of the Criminal Division’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit for the Southern District of New York. During that time, she supervised the successful prosecution of high-profile terrorism cases, including that of Faisal Shahzad, the attempted Times Square bomber. Strauber is currently representing Michael Nowak, former head of JPMorgan’s global precious metals desk, in defending charges brought by the Department of Justice alleging various federal crimes, among many others. Strauber is active in pro bono and volunteer work. She is leading a team that is providing help to the Innocence Project in its representation of death row inmate Stacey Eugene Johnson.

As a partner and co-chair of Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s insurance transactional and regulatory group, Allison Tam is among a handful of women who have risen to the top of this industry. Tam’s experience includes advising on some of the largest insurance mergers-and-acquisitions and restructuring transactions in the U.S. and internationally in the past 24 years. She represented KKR in its $4.4 billion acquisition of Global Atlantic, Protective Life in the $3.3 billion acquisition of Liberty Mutual’s individual life and annuity business, and MetLife in its spinoff of Brighthouse Financial.

Out of the courtroom, Tam is on her firm’s diversity and inclusion committee and its women’s professional development committee.

DECEMBER 20, 2021 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 37

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NOTABLE 2022 KAT THOMAS

PRANA TOPPER

Esquire Thomas Counselor At Law LLC

Partner and New York office partner Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP

Kat Thomas is a human rights defender who litigates in civil court on behalf of survivors of gender-based and sexual violence. She has represented survivors with claims against both large institutions and their perpetrators. Thomas helps survivors to achieve restorative justice, regain their power and make choices to recover from the harm they have suffered.

Thomas has worked with the United Nations in researching, investigating and reporting gender-based violence and other human rights abuses against women, sex workers and the LGBTQ community both nationally and internationally.

Prana Topper leads Manatt, Phelps & Phillips’ New York office, and she is a key member of the firm’s national litigation team. With extensive experience in entertainment law and complex business litigation, Topper represents clients in contractual disputes, royalty claims, copyright law, business torts, employment matters, class actions and securities law.

Recently Topper successfully defended music company BMG in a lawsuit challenging the company’s decision to sever ties with the musical group Die Antwoord. She was part of a team that secured a summary judgment in a landmark copyright litigation in favor of defendants, including DJ Marshmello. Topper was named to Law360’s 2021 Trials Editorial Advisory Board.

CALIFORNIA HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF FEMALE ATTORNEYS, FOLLOWED BY NEW YORK AND FLORIDA, AS OF MAY 2020.

SOURCE: STATISTA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

MARY TOUCHSTONE

BETH TRACTENBERG

Partner and head of the firm’s fund finance practice Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Partner Steptoe & Johnson LLP

As head of the fund finance practice, Mary Touchstone has helped establish Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as a global leader in the representation of financial sponsors in fund financings.

She is widely acknowledged as an innovator in the subscription credit facility market and represents many of the world’s preeminent sponsors of private-equity, real estate, energy, infrastructure, debt and other investment funds on the largest and most complex fund facilities. Her esteemed roster of clients includes Blackstone, KKR and Lexington Partners. Since January 2020, Touchstone has advised leading private-equity and investment firms on the finance aspects of funds totaling nearly $60 billion in aggregate.

In her more than three decades of work in the highly sensitive practice of trusts and estates law, Beth Tractenberg has focused on developing interpersonal relationships with her clients, approaching them as members of a family. That focus shines through in the accolades Tractenberg has received as head of Steptoe & Johnson’s private client practice and co-chair of the firm’s tax group. She has been recognized

by Best Lawyers in America and

by New York Super Lawyers, among others. Tractenberg built her firm’s trusts and estates practice from the ground up, and she continues to add additional lawyers. She is in high demand as a speaker in nationally and internationally.

Willkie is proud to congratulate Allison J. Tam and Laura L. Delanoy and all of those distinguished as 2022 Crain’s New York Notable Women in Law.

Allison J. Tam Partner, Corporate & Financial Services

Laura L. Delanoy Partner, Corporate & Financial Services

38 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | DECEMBER 20, 2021

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NOTABLE 2022 NIKI TSISMENAKIS

MARCY WACHTEL

Partner Goldstein Hall PLLC

Partner-chairperson of the matrimonial and family law department Katsky Korins LLP

At the age of 31, Niki Tsismenakis was the youngest woman to be named partner at Goldstein Hall. She concentrates her practice in affordable housing and community development, real estate finance, cooperative and condominium law, and not-for-profit law.

Tsismenakis has been involved in numerous large-scale, multimillion dollar real estate transactions, as well as plans to provide affordable housing for seniors, veterans and low-income residents. Tsismenakis has received a number of awards for excellence in urban law and commercial leasing and negotiation. She is president of the New York chapter of Women in Housing and Finance Inc.

Marcy Wachtel has been with Katsky Korins’ matrimonial and family law department since 1985 and as a partner since 1990. She has established a premier practice, litigating on trial and appellate levels in New York state, Connecticut and New Jersey, winning honors and awards along the way. But what distinguishes Wachtel from other matrimonial specialists is her strong settlement orientation and success in reaching private, out-of-court resolutions, even in complex marital estates.

To that end, Wachtel developed and trademarked ConsensUs, an alternative dispute resolution process for matrimonial matters outside of the courtroom.

Wachtel has been appointed to four terms on the New York City Bar Association’s Matrimonial Law Committee. She has lectured at numerous institutions.

U.S. COMPANIES SPENT $22.8 BILLION ON LITIGATION IN 2020.

SOURCE: STATISTA RESEARCH DEPARTMENT

NICOLE WASHINGTON

LISA WATTS

Partner Kirkland & Ellis

Vice chair Latham & Watkins LLP

Nicole Washington advises the highest-profile names in private equity on their most significant fundraises and complex challenges. As a partner at Kirkland & Ellis, Washington is a key member of the firm’s investment funds group.

Her wide-ranging experience includes advising Veritas Capital on its $1.8 billion inaugural Veritas Capital Vantage Fund, KKR on its first open-end private-equity vehicle, and former baseball player Alex Rodriguez on launching a special-purpose acquisition company called Slam Corp.

Washington is a board member of PeacePlayers International, a nonprofit that uses sports to unite and educate young people to create a more peaceful world.

She is also a board member of Just the Beginning, a nonprofit dedicated to developing an interest in law among young people from underrepresented backgrounds.

Lisa Watts is a transactional tax practitioner who helps clients meet their business goals by navigating complex areas of tax law in the context of mergers, buyouts and initial public offerings. She recently received the New York Law Journal Dealmakers of the Year award for her work advising on the tax aspects of the newly popular special-purpose acquisition company transactions, an alternative to traditional IPOs. Latham advised companies on more SPAC M&A transactions than any other law firm in 2020. Watts recently took on a major new role in addition to her tax practice. In March she was elected vice chair of Latham—with 3,000 attorneys, it’s one of the largest law firms in the world. Watts will focus on the firm’s strategic direction and manage its global presence.

Olshan congratulates our partner and inspiring colleague Nina Roket on her recognition as a 2022 “Notable Women in Law” by Crain’s New York Business.

This is Ms. Roket’s fourth selection, a rare distinction of which we are very proud. We applaud her commitment to client service, public service advocacy, and advancement and empowerment of women in the legal profession.

OLSHAN FROME WOLOSKY LLP 1325 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019 WWW.OLSHANLAW.COM @OlshanLaw - twitter.com/OlshanLaw 40 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | December 20, 2021

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NOTABLE 2022 PHYLLIS WEISBERG

DIANA WIERBICKI

Partner and co-leader of the cooperative and condominium law practice area Armstrong Teasdale LLP

Partner and global head of art law Withersworldwide

Phyllis Weisberg has more than 40 years of experience, primarily representing boards of cooperative apartment buildings and condominiums.

As co-leader of Armstrong Teasdale’s cooperative and condominium law practice area, Weisberg handles governance issues, alterations, disputes between unit owners, issues with neighboring buildings, and construction and contract issues. In addition, Weisberg has made significant contributions to the broader industry in her role as former chair of the New York City Bar’s Committee on Cooperatives and Condominiums, where she issued a new contract of sale form for condominiums. Weisberg, who is quoted regularly by national media, lectures on cooperative and condominium law.

Art dealers, collectors and museums across the globe call on Diana Wierbicki as their trusted legal adviser. As a partner in Withersworldwide’s private client and tax group and head of its global art law practice, Wierbicki handles domestic and cross-border art law matters, ranging from sales and auction purchases to estate planning and tax investigations.

She reviews millions of dollars in art transactions and assists clients in navigating the web of legal issues that affect art transactions such as wealth transfer taxes, money laundering issues and cultural property concerns. Wierbicki also advises high-net-worth individuals and their families on tax, trust and estate planning matters. She is globally recognized by Chambers as one of the leading lawyers in art and cultural property law.

82% OF FEMALE ATTORNEYS SURVEYED SAID THEY HAVE AT SOME POINT BEEN MISTAKEN FOR A LOWERLEVEL EMPLOYEE BECAUSE OF THEIR GENDER, COMPARED WITH 0% OF MEN. SOURCE: AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

NANCY WOLFF

LISA ZEIDERMAN

Partner and co-chair of the litigation group Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP

Managing partner Miller Zeiderman LLP

Nancy Wolff is known for her command of intellectual property, copyright, trademark and digital media law. As a partner and co-chair of the litigation group at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, she offers full legal support to a wide range of traditional and digital media companies in all areas of digital media, art law, licensing and publishing. Wolff represents some of the worlds most recognized photographers and artists, and photo and footage libraries around the globe. In addition to litigation skills, her firm’s entertainment group seeks out her judgment and expertise in fair-use reviews of clients’ documentary films and podcasts.

As managing partner at Miller Zeiderman, a firm she co-founded in 2013, Lisa Zeiderman regularly handles complex financial and custody divorce matters for high-net-worth individuals. Her firm has offices in New York City and White Plains, and employs around 40 people, including attorneys and staff.

Zeiderman is a published author and thought leader, known for her vociferous support of the judiciary when New York state was letting go of its most experienced judges. She teaches continuing legal education on various issues related to matrimonial and family law, and she educates financial planners on the legal aspects of divorce finance.

ROPES & GRAY congratulates our partners Lisa Bebchick, Julie Jones and Amanda Persaud, and all the “Notable Women in Law” recognized by Crain’s New York Business as leaders in their respective fields, the profession and the New York legal community.

Lisa Bebchick

Julie Jones

Amanda Persaud

Litigation & Enforcement

Firm Chair

Asset Management

ropesgray.com Attorney Advertising © 2021 Ropes & Gray LLP.

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Invitation To Bid

/ŶǀŝƚĂƚŝŽŶ ƚŽ WƌĞƋƵĂůŝĨLJ ĂŶĚ ƚŽ ŝĚ

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ŚƚƚƉƐ͗ͬ​ͬƚĞĂŵƐ͘ŵŝĐƌŽƐŽĨƚ͘ĐŽŵͬůͬŵĞĞƚƵƉͲ ũŽŝŶͬϭϵйϯĂŵĞĞƚŝŶŐͺEt&ŵE sŝ ŵYƚEnjEŬ ŝϬϬDϮ Ś>t/njzũ ƚD ĚŚDdDϮ YϱzdDLJйϰϬƚŚƌĞĂĚ͘ǀϮͬϬ͍ĐŽŶƚĞdžƚсйϳďйϮϮdŝĚйϮ ϮйϯĂйϮϮϮϬĞϮϳϳϬϬͲďϲϳϬͲϰϱϱϯͲĂϮϳĐͲĚϴĞϮϱϴϯďϯϮϴϵйϮϮйϮĐйϮϮKŝĚйϮϮйϯĂйϮϮϴϭďĞϵĞϯĂͲϬϲϱϲͲϰĞϵϰͲϵϮϰϱͲ ĨĂϮϭϰĞďϮϬĂďϮйϮϮйϳĚ

dŽ ŽďƚĂŝŶ ĨƵƌƚŚĞƌ ŝŶĨŽƌŵĂƚŝŽŶ ĂďŽƵƚ ĐŽŶƚƌĂĐƚŝŶŐ ŽƉƉŽƌƚƵŶŝƚŝĞƐ ĂŶĚͬŽƌ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞƋƵĂůŝĨŝĐĂƚŝŽŶ ƉĂĐŬĂŐĞ ĂŶĚ ďŝĚ ƐŽůŝĐŝƚĂƚŝŽŶ ƉĂĐŬĂŐĞͬƐ͕ ƉůĞĂƐĞ ĐŽŶƚĂĐƚ ŽůŽƌĞƐ tŽŽĚĞŶ͕ tŽŽĚĞŶΛƚĐĐŽ͘ĐŽŵ ϮϬϭͲϵϱϰͲϵϬϵϮ͘ dŚĞ ĚĂƚĞ ĨŽƌ ƚŚĞ ǀŝƌƚƵĂů ƉƵďůŝĐ ŽƉĞŶŝŶŐ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ dƵƌŶĞƌ ŽŶƐƚƌƵĐƚŝŽŶ ŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŽĨĨŝĐĞ ůŽĐĂƚĞĚ Ăƚ ϯϳϱ ,ƵĚƐŽŶ ^ƚƌĞĞƚ͕ EĞǁ zŽƌŬ͕ EĞǁ zŽƌŬ͕ ŝƐ :ĂŶƵĂƌLJ ϭϭƚŚ͕ ϮϬϮϮ ϭWD >ŝŶŬ͗ WůĞĂƐĞ ũŽŝŶ ƚŚŝƐ ŽƉĞŶŝŶŐ ŵĞĞƚŝŶŐ ĨƌŽŵ LJŽƵƌ ĐŽŵƉƵƚĞƌ͕ ƚĂďůĞƚ Žƌ ƐŵĂƌƚƉŚŽŶĞ͘

ŚƚƚƉƐ͗ͬ​ͬƚĞĂŵƐ͘ŵŝĐƌŽƐŽĨƚ͘ĐŽŵͬůͬŵĞĞƚƵƉͲ ũŽŝŶͬϭϵйϯĂŵĞĞƚŝŶŐͺE &ŵEnjhϰEnjDƚE ŐǁEŝϬϬ dĚů>dŐϮ d ƚ ŵ:ŝ ũŚũEdůŚzd ũйϰϬƚŚƌĞĂĚ͘ǀϮͬϬ͍ĐŽŶƚĞdžƚсйϳďйϮϮdŝĚйϮϮйϯĂй ϮϮϮϬĞϮϳϳϬϬͲďϲϳϬͲϰϱϱϯͲĂϮϳĐͲĚϴĞϮϱϴϯďϯϮϴϵйϮϮйϮĐйϮϮKŝĚйϮϮйϯĂйϮϮϴϭďĞϵĞϯĂͲϬϲϱϲͲϰĞϵϰͲϵϮϰϱͲĨĂϮϭϰĞďϮϬĂďϮйϮϮйϳĚ

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Qualification of FBG ENTERPRISES OPCO, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/12/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/21/21. Princ. office of LLC: 205 Hudson St., 5th Fl., NY, NY 10013. 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, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF : Javier Jr Bike Shop 2 LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/06/2021 Office location: New York County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: 1774 Amsterdam Ave New York, NY 10031 The principal business address of the LLC is 1774 Amsterdam Ave New York, NY 10031. Dissolution date: N/A Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

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NOTICE OF FORMATION OF : Javier Jr Bike Shop LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/02/2020 Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is: 5025 Broadway New York, NY 10034. The principal business address of the LLC is 5025 Broadway New York, NY 10034. Dissolution date: N/A Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of FANATICS SPV, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/12/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 0 3/11/21. Princ. office of LLC: 205 Hudson St., 5th Fl., NY, NY 10013.

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, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of ORANGEBURG MANOR DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/19/21.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

• Public and Legal Notices Notice of Formation of 9 VANDAM LP GetFor your message inArts. of Org. filed with Secy.

• Request Proposals JV LLC. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/18/21.

Office location: NY County. SSNY • Job Openings front of New York’s infludesignated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be • Real Estate served. SSNY shall mail process to: Arch Companies, 15 West 27th • Business Opportunities c/o St., 6th Fl., NY, NY 10001. Purpose: any lawful activities.

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NOTICE OF FORMATION of GENEALLELE LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/03/2021. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to: GeneAllele LLC, 82 Nassau St #60941, New York, NY 10038.

Purpose: any lawful purpose.

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NOTICE OF FORMATION of NYCNCC SUB-CDE 15, LLC ( the “LLC”) filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on 07/ 16/2021. Office location: New York County. The principal business address of the LLC is: One Liberty Plaza, New York, New York 10006.

SSNY has been designated as the agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail service of process to c/o New York City Economic Development Corporation, One Liberty Plaza, New York, New York 10006, Attention: General Counsel. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

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Notice of Qualification of THUZIO, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/18/21.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/ 12/11. Princ. office of LLC: 114 W. 26th St., 5th Fl., NY, NY 10001.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

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

Request For Proposals • Job Openings

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

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

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Formation of Food & Courage, LLC. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/10/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1136 1st ave apt 5 NY, NY 10065.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Rachel R. Bieber at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of PAULA ZIRINSKY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/24/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 315 Riverside Dr., #9A, NY, NY 10025. 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 Jason Pang, DDS, PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/30/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: 501 5th Ave, #703, NY, NY 10017. Purpose: Dentistry.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of PrettySub Cosmetics LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/8/21. Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 35 W 31st St. Frnt 1. NY, NY 10001. R/A: US Corp Agents. Inc. 7014 13th Ave. #202, BK, NY 11228. Purpose: any lawful act.

Suki Ichiro Japanese LLC, Arts of Org filed with SSNY on 11/01/21.

Off Loc: New York County, SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: The LLC, 1694 Second Ave, New York, NY 10128. Purpose: to engage in any lawful act.

Notice of formation of PECUNIAM LLC, file with SOS of NY on 7/22/2021 Loc. in NYC, designed as agent upon whom process may be served SSNY, shall mail process to 2 Pinehurst Ave. Apt F7, NY, NY 10033. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of FJM INTERNATIONAL LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/09/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Franck Moison, 993 Park Ave., NY, NY 10028. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Greenstein Family Legacy LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/21/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 240 West 40th St., NY, NY 10018. Purpose: any lawful activities.

141 Development LLC, Art. of Org. filed with SSNY 10-28-21. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC for service of process. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to c/o the LLC, 6 W. 14th St., NY, NY 10011. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of Limited Liability Company (LLC). NAME: ArletteClaudine LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/02/2021.

Office Location: NEW YORK County.

SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. Address to which SSNY shall mail a copy of process is: United States Corporation Agents Inc, 7014 13th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11228, USA. Principal business address of the LLC is 33 Riverside Drive, Apt 7DA, New York, NY 10023. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF M-DESIGN BUILD, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/12/2021. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/ her is: MICHAEL MAHAL, 440 WEST END AVE., NEW YORK, NY 10024 Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of Goddard Real Estate Development LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/22/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o Goddard Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Ave., NY, NY 10024.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of formation of Manhattan Pain Medicine Provider, PLLC. Arts. of Org. filed w/ Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/02/2021. Off. loc.: New York Cnty. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 2 Fifth Ave., Ste 7 , New York, NY 10011. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of Four On The Floor LLC, file with SOS of NY on 8/27/2021. Loc. in NYC, designed as agent upon whom process may be served SSNY, shall mail process to 135 W. 24th St, Apt. 2D, NY, NY 10011. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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LOCATIONS FROM PAGE 3

open six to eight locations in the next four years.

Counterintuitively, Johnson jumped on two opportunities to grow during the Covid-19 pandemic, branching out last fall to Rockefeller Center and Jacx & Co., the food hall at a newly built Long Island City office complex.

It was at Rockefeller Center that the success felt like a vote of confidence in his concept, Johnson said.

“People eating culturally driven food at Rockefeller Center isn’t something you see,” Johnson said.

“You might see it in street food, but to see a brick-and-mortar location where folks from corporate America are walking in and eating your food that’s culturally driven, that

BUCK ENNIS

Pandemic growth

FIELDTRIP’S salmon, veggie and shrimp bowls (from left) were all designed by Johnson, the chef.

Unlike some fast-casual concepts, in which patrons customize their salads or sandwiches, at Fieldtrip, all the dishes are designed by the chef. There is a seafood gumbo, a dish with shrimp and green curry, one with fried chicken and barbecue sauce, and another with steamed salmon, pineapple black fried rice and piri piri sauce.

Johnson does not treat his main ingredient—rice—like a commodity. Instead, he sources the grain carefully, getting Carolina Gold from Anson Mills in South Carolina, and his brown rice from Texas.

“He’s an amazing chef,” said Nick Marsh, chief executive of Founders Table, which is the parent company of two other New York–grown fast-casual brands: Chop’t Creative

Salad Co. and Dos Toros Taqueria.

Johnson grew up in Pennsylvania, the son of two New York–raised parents. He worked throughout the city’s restaurant industry, most recently at two other well-received sit-down Harlem restaurants, the Cecil and Minton’s, as well as Henry at Life Hotel.

Once Fieldtrip proved out its culinary concept, Johnson said, he began to look for outside sources of capital.

He tried to work backward from success stories such as Chipotle.

“Who gave them access, money and knowledge?” he asked.

He began to think that he would be best served by an investor who could also be a sounding board on supply-chain optimization and add technical capabilities to help with planning and sourcing.

The two investors fit that bill, he said.

Because Founders Table has two

ademic study, noted Anna Tavis, a New York University professor of human capital management. The challenge is compounded by the rapid rise of remote work, which has managers navigating new ground in most facets of their jobs.

That said, she noted, there are ways to handle layoffs in a way that will be less painful to affected employees and those who remain. Layoffs around the holidays should absolutely be avoided, for one.

“Lead with empathy,” Tavis advised. “Help the other person land softly on the other side and see that it is about the business, not the person.”

posed to be on the Zoom call was there?

Garg was perhaps trying to empathize with his employees when he noted on the call that he cried the last time he had to lay off workers.

But the effect on the employees should be the focus.

“You think you have it tough, but they have it far tougher,” wrote David Ulevitch, a general partner at tech investment firm Andreessen Horowitz, in a guide for managing layoffs. “Your duty as a leader is to do everything in your power to give them as many resources as you can and offer them the most dignified exit possible.”

Hodge, of Cappfinity, noted that she had been laid off remotely when a previous employer downsized. In that case, she was told one-on-one, given time to process the news and then offered follow-up conversations with managers that clarified what would come next. She said that type of communication should be the expectation whenever employers conduct layoffs.

“Start with the acknowledgment and a thank-you for the time that a person gave, then be really structured in what happens after,” Hodge said. “That makes the news itself and the transition as manageable as possible.”

“I WANT TO CREATE A FOOTPRINT FOR FAST CASUAL LED BY BLACK FOUNDERS” also exists in Black and brown communities in urban markets …”

The restaurants were hitting sales goals in both a commercial district and an uptown residential one, he said.

“If it is working in both,” he said he thought to himself at the time, “then maybe I do have something special.”

LAYOFFS FROM PAGE 3

way that feels fair and thoughtful?

“Remote, hybrid work—whatever it is—you are still dealing with people,” said La Toya Hodge, head of marketing for the U.S. office of Cappfinity, a global provider of recruitment technology. “When you are hiring people, you are hiring the whole person. If business changes and you have to lay people off, you still need to go about it with the human consequences in mind.”

Bruce Kogut, professor of leadership and ethics at Columbia Business School, said the way companies handle layoffs matters for their future.

“Firms would like to appear as kind for reputational reasons if they want to hire again, and not scare their retained employees,” Kogut

One-on-one Beyond the timing, a major reason for the backlash was Better’s attempt to fire everyone at once.

Suzanne Lucas, a consultant and author of the “Evil HR Lady” blog, said that if Zoom is the only outlet available for layoffs, the meetings should be done individually or in as small a group as possible.

“Each of these 900-plus employees had a manager,” Lucas wrote in a column for Inc. “The manager should be the one to deliver the bad news. One on one. If the manager is also part of the group, it should be the manager’s manager.”

Individual interactions are also more precise, Lucas added. How could Better’s management even verify that everyone who was sup-

“YOUR DUTY AS A LEADER IS TO OFFER THEM THE MOST DIGNIFIED EXIT POSSIBLE” said in an email. “Zoom norms now might lean toward remote firing.

But then you would hope that there have been efforts by the firm to keep employees engaged and to see to their health and well-being."

Properly laying off employees is not something that is much covered in management training or even ac-

Corporate apology In the aftermath, Garg said in a public letter to employees that he is “deeply sorry” for how the layoffs took place. The startup posted Garg’s letter, addressed to the staff,

decades of experience in restaurant operations, including in digital assets, Johnson “can now focus his investment on building new restaurants, because we can help with the other parts of the business,” Marsh said. That would get the company to its next stage of growth—around a dozen stores—a perch from which it could plan its next steps.

Harlem strong Fieldtrip is not the only Harlem-based food brand to grow in recent years. When Whole Foods opened on West 125th Street in 2017, it featured dozens of packaged goods made by companies in the neighborhood, through a collaboration with business group Harlem Park to Park.

Charles Pan-Fried Chicken, known for its chicken and sides, announced in the spring that it was expanding to the Upper West Side

GARG OF BETTER.COM

on its website.

“I failed to show the appropriate amount of respect and appreciation for the individuals who were affected and for their contributions to Better,” Garg wrote. “I own the decision to do the layoffs, but in communicating it I blundered the execution. In doing so, I embarrassed you.”

The day after the Zoom call, Garg posted on the anonymous social network Blind to defend his actions, claiming that those he fired “were working an average of 2 hours a day while clocking 8 hours+ a day.” Garg

and a new Harlem spot, even as it closed its original Harlem location.

Melba’s has a line of sauces and a new gig running the concessions at Wollman Rink, among other ventures.

For Fieldtrip, the trick will be sustainable growth. Johnson said he plans to launch a line of packaged sauces early next year, followed by two more stores, likely near Columbia University and in Washington Heights.

He said he looked at the success of other fast-casual brands that were growing during the pandemic and realized he didn’t want to take a breather—he wanted to push forward.

“One thing I hope I bring to New York, or the world, is that young Black kids realize they can raise money too,” Johnson said. “I want to create a footprint for fast casual led by Black founders that will create more opportunity.” ■

confirmed to Fortune that the posts came from him.

“I realize that the way I communicated this news made a difficult situation worse,” Garg wrote in the letter to staff. “I am deeply sorry and am committed to learning from this situation and doing more to be the leader that you expect me to be.”

The layoffs came shortly before the company is expected to go public through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company. A revision of that deal provided Better with an influx of $750 million in new investment from Softbank, a longtime backer of the firm.

The fallout is still coming from the layoffs, which have attracted international news coverage. At least three executives have resigned from the company since the call, as Business Insider first reported, with an unnamed source citing frustrations with the company’s management as the reason.

Garg, meanwhile, will at least temporarily step away from the CEO role, Better employees were informed Dec. 10. ■

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GOTHAM GIGS

BUCK ENNIS

ATTIA stopped operating his own cart in 2018 and now works full time with the Street Vendor Project.

MOHAMED ATTIA AGE 33 BORN Alexandria, Egypt RESIDES Bensonhurst, Brooklyn EDUCATION Attia studied mathematics at Alexandria University but didn’t graduate.

A LITTLE HOMESICK “Egypt is a nice warm country,” he said.

“There are memories of family and friends that I definitely miss here in America.”

SPECIAL DISH Attia loves cooking negresco, a pasta with a creamy sauce and chicken. “My mom makes it best and taught me how to do it.”

BOOK SMART His favorite book is Leading While Muslim by Debbie Almontaser.

U.S. EXPERIENCE “I heard a lot about New York City and the American dream for immigrants,” he said. “I wanted to come over here and have a better life and live a different experience than other countries.”

Giving immigrant vendors a voice Director of a street cart worker advocacy group champions the little guy

BY BRIAN PASCUS

W

hen Mohamed Attia took a trip with his stepfather to the city from their native Egypt in 2008, he never imagined he would stay and become a community leader for immigrant workers.

The then-20-year-old had been studying math at Alexandria University and planned to spend only a few months in the U.S. on a tourist visa.

But the political situation in Egypt worsened during the 2008 and 2009 global recession, and Attia decided to overstay his visa and began working at a bodega in Harlem.

“You can imagine how difficult the transition was,” he said. “But I learned about New York City life, and soon after that, I met a street vendor I was buying halal food from, and he introduced me to vending.”

Attia began working at a food cart in Times Square, selling hot dogs and pretzels. After marrying his first

wife—whom he met while vending—Attia obtained his green card.

But he grew distressed by the way he experienced local law enforcement treating vendors and his perspective that city policy restricted their ability to legally expand.

After meeting with an outreach team at the Street Vendor Project, Attia knew he would join their ranks.

“Just hearing about the organization’s existence—that there is somebody out there that defends street vendor rights—was very inspiring to me,” he said.

A decade later, Attia has given up vending and now serves as director of the advocacy group, which represents 2,800 legal street vendors in the city. It has worked for changes in New York Police Department policy and laws passed by the City Council.

In June 2020 Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he would transition the Police Department away from enforcing vendor regulations. Critics have argued that the decision has

led to a proliferation of illegal vending, but Attia believes the new civilian enforcement unit is less extreme.

Attia’s biggest victory came in February, when the City Council passed a law to increase by 4,000 the number of city permits granted over 10 years. The law came after a seven-year campaign to lift the cap of 3,000 legal permits codified by the city in 1983.

Attia now sits on the city’s 15-member street vendor advisory board, where he is one of three who speak on behalf of vendor interests.

He recognizes that his position finally allows immigrant workers to feel represented in local matters.

“The government in general needs to improve so much when it comes to immigrant rights,” he said.

“I always see organizing as a privilege, and not everyone has the time and privilege to care and learn about the political system at work here. It’s a huge challenge for immigrant communities.” ■

“I ALWAYS SEE ORGANIZING AS A PRIVILEGE, AND NOT EVERYONE HAS THE TIME TO CARE AND LEARN ABOUT THE POLITICAL SYSTEM”

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