Crain's New York Business

GETTING THE GOAHEAD Car-sharing startups prepare for a local rollout

ASKED & ANSWERED Why Colas thinks the stock market will stay strong in ’22 PAGE 6

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JANUARY 17, 2022

POLITICS

The ‘stunning’ hurdles facing Adams’ team

THE NEW mayor has assembled a top-level team of people, many working together for the first time.

New chiefs at City Hall come with contrasting bios and face a staggering list of problems

BY BRIAN PASCUS

W

BUCK ENNIS

hen Eric Adams took the oath of office on New Year’s Day as New York’s 110th mayor, he reminded the city of two principles that could serve to guide his administration’s response through an intractable series of crises.

“Despite Covid-19 and its persistence, New York is not closed,” Adams said that morning from City Hall. “And second, New York can and should be the center of the universe again.”

Adams’ tone is optimistic, but his problems are INSIDE great: a long-running pandemic, depressed business Ethics experts slam activity, a bloated budget and rising crime. two Adams “The challenges are stunning,” said William C. appointments Thompson, former city comptroller and the DemoPAGE 16 cratic nominee for mayor in 2009. “The challenges may be higher than [at] any other time or [that] have faced any incoming mayor.”

In a conscious contrast to his predecessor, Adams has extended multiple olive branches to the business community since winning the general election in November. He filled his transition team with a who’s who of CEOs and executives from private firms and nonprofits, such as Stephen Scherr of Goldman Sachs, Charles Phillips of Infor and Darren Walker of the Ford Foundation. He has also See ADAMS on page 18

REAL ESTATE

As eviction freeze expires, advocates eye systemic reform

BY EDDIE SMALL AND NATALIE SACHMECHI

G

ov. Kathy Hochul was expected to let the state’s eviction moratorium expire Saturday, Jan. 15, after a series of extensions, and implored legislators to get to work on more permanent solutions to a familiar dilemma.

“We talked about giving people a little

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more breathing room, giving them a little more relief on a short-term basis,” Hochul said. “And what we want to do is let people know that that is concluding very shortly. I’m having conversations with the Legislature on what to do on this issue.”

Now lawmakers and tenant advocates are shifting their focus to longer-term solutions, such as the rent-relief program and getting a “good cause” eviction bill passed.

© 2022 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.

“That will provide a minimum of protections to tenants,” said Cea Weaver, campaign coordinator with Housing Justice for All. “Moratoriums eventually expire. That’s inherent in the name.”

New York first announced a 90-day moratorium on evictions when the pandemic hit in March 2020, but the state has extended it several times since then, to the consternation of landlords. The latest push came in early

TECH SPOTLIGHT

Chelsea smart intercom firm opens new doors PAGE 23

September, when the state passed a law moving the end of the moratorium to Jan. 15.

But there was little talk of extending the moratorium this time around. And Hochul drew criticism during her State of the State speech for failing to even mention it. Tenant advocates meantime have regrouped around what they characterize as more systemic See EVICTIONS on page 7

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE INTERBOROUGH EXPRESS PAGE 10

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HOSPITALS

Exclusive: Hospital data indicates available beds— but health care workers say that’s not the case

H

ospitals across New York City report thousands of available beds, but health care workers on the front lines say they struggle to find ones for a rising tide of patients.

More than 12,000 total patients are hospitalized in the city, according to state data posted last week.

About 6,400 have Covid—a number not seen since May 2020—including roughly 760 in intensive care units. Still, about 20% of the city’s hospital beds are available, accord-

idated and the time of day hospitals choose to capture their numbers, which is not standardized. The result, workers say, is that the state gets a rosier picture than reality.

Benny Mathew, an emergency room nurse at Montefiore Medical Center’s Moses campus in the north central Bronx and a board member of the New York State Nurses Association, said some patients wait as long as two days to be admitted.

“It is so crowded, to get from one bed to the next we have to move the stretchers,” Mathew said.

The ER had 32 patients waiting for beds on the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 5, Mathew said, and two patients waiting for an ICU bed. The conditions were corroborated by two other ER nurses, who spoke to Crain’s on the condition of anonymity. In addition, there were two written complaints sent to Montefiore management the last week of December and obtained by Crain’s.

Yet Montefiore’s self-reported data suggests no such issue. It publicly reported that the Moses campus was at 75% capacity that Wednesday, with more than 200 open beds.

In response to a list of questions and findings, a Montefiore spokeswoman said in a statement: “Like other health care systems across the state battling this pandemic, we submit accurate information to the Hospital Emergency Response System daily. Relying on anecdotal information and hearsay in reporting on the state of our hospitals during

“IT IS SO CROWDED, TO GET AROUND WE HAVE TO MOVE THE STRETCHERS” ing to self-reported data from hospitals that the state publishes online.

Some health care workers say the public data is at odds with their reality—and, at least in some cases, does not match hospitals’ internal dashboards that track capacity in real time.

The dissonance appears to stem from how the public data is consol-

CONFERENCE CALLOUT

this critical moment is both misleading and irresponsible.”

The spokeswoman did not answer any follow-up questions.

High stakes The stakes are high for hospitals to keep numbers down. If their average occupancy rate reaches 90%, the state may order them to pause nonessential, elective procedures—a primary source of revenue. The state Department of Health relies on hospitals’ self-reported data to make those determinations. As of Jan. 11, the department had not ordered any city hospitals to pause elective procedures.

Hospitals have until 1 p.m. each day to submit data, but they can tally their numbers at any time of day—a flexibility that workers said can be exploited. The public dataset also appears to combine adult and children’s hospitals and does not specify availability by bed type, even though workers said beds are not always interchangeable.

Workers who spoke to Crain’s compared the public data to the numbers on their hospitals’ internal dashboards and pointed out inconsistencies.

New York-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital in Washington Heights reported it had an 86% occupancy rate on Jan. 5, but midday, its occupancy rate, excluding the children’s hospital, was roughly 92% according to data from the hospital’s internal dashboard. The public data listed 20 available ICU beds, while the internal dashboard reported six adult ICU beds.

One worker there, who asked to remain unnamed, said a supervisor

ISTOCK

BY MAYA KAUFMAN

said a patient could not be moved to the ICU because open beds were being conserved. The worker’s employment was independently verified by Crain’s.

In response to a list of questions and findings, a spokeswoman for the system said only, “We have sufficient ICU bed capacity at this time.”

NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in Kips Bay publicly reported that it had 12 open ICU beds on Wednesday, Jan. 5, but a health care worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said there were just two that morning. The worker said the ER is struggling to find beds for patients who need to be admitted, even though Bellevue publicly reported having 93 open beds that Wednesday.

Health + Hospitals said it complies with the state’s reporting requirements and is redeploying workers to understaffed facilities and units as needed.

“To manage the increased demand for our hospital services, we continue to rely on time-tested strategies, including level-loading

across our system, surging beds and onboarding additional nursing and clinical staff to ensure all New Yorkers have access to comprehensive health care,” a Health + Hospitals spokeswoman said.

A perfect storm Workers said the capacity issues are intertwined with dire staffing shortages, all while the omicron surge sickens New Yorkers and the health care workers caring for them—a vicious circle.

Mathew said ICU nurses typically have no more than one or two patients at once because of the intensive nature of the work. On Jan. 5, he had five.

As the city’s Covid cases skyrocket, experts say the situation has yet to peak, because hospitalizations lag cases by about two weeks.

Though all the workers interviewed by Crain's agreed that today’s Covid patients are less sick than in previous waves, they said the rising hospitalizations and workforce shortages are creating a perfect storm. ■

REAL ESTATE

MOST POWERFUL WOMEN IN NEW YORK LUNCHEON Join Crain’s for an in-person lunch to celebrate the 2021 Most Powerful Women honorees. Katherine Farley of Lincoln Center, restaurateur Melba Wilson of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, Nancy Hagans of the New York State Nurses Association, Kimberly Godwin of ABC News and MaryAnne Gilmartin of MAG Partners will all take part in discussions during the event.

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CORRECTION ■ Isabelle Kenyon is the founder and CEO of Calibrate. Her name was misspelled in the 2022 Economic Outlook, published Jan. 10.

Battery Park City Authority, developer agree to keep 70 affordable units in luxury tower

BY EDDIE SMALL

U

nits in a 42-story apartment tower in Battery Park City will stay affordable for almost 50 more years at least.

The Battery Park City Authority has reached an agreement with Rockrose Development, run by the Elghanayan family, to preserve the 70 affordable housing units in Tribeca Pointe, at 41 River Terrace, through mid-2069. Before the agreement, the apartments had been set to lose that designation by 2029.

The units are meant for households earning below 40% or 50% of the area median income, which is below $47,720 or $59,650 for a fam-

ily of four.

“This agreement reflects our commitment to preserving affordable housing in Battery Park City while advancing our sustainability goals,” said Battery Park City Authority President and CEO B.J. Jones. “It is an important step in our continued efforts to sustain a vibrant and inclusive community.”

Paul Januszewski, vice president of Rockrose, also expressed his happiness with the deal.

Ground rent Battery Park City buildings are privately owned and operated, but they are on land owned by the Battery Park City Authority. Property owners pay the organization an an-

nual ground rent to use the land.

The agreement between the Battery Park City Authority and Rockrose also sets a schedule of predictable ground rent increases over time, linked to how the building is performing and changes in Battery Park City property values. It ensures that the building will receive ongoing capital investments as well.

Rockrose finished work on Tribeca Pointe in 1999, and the building includes 340 units overall.

TRIBECA POINTE IN BATTERY PARK CITY

JACOB SNAVELY

MARCH 3

Rents at recently leased market-rate apartments have ranged from $3,400 per month for a 630-square-foot studio to $8,100 per month for a 1,215-square-foot two-bedroom, according to StreetEasy. ■

Vol. 38, No. 2, January 17, 2022—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 2022 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JANUARY 17, 2022

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TECHNOLOGY

BUCK ENNIS, BLOOMBERG

PATRICK NOTTI is a VP at Getaround, which will allow private car owners to share their vehicles

Airbnb-style car-share startups get the green light A change in state law opens a lucrative market for residents to rent out personal vehicles

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

P

eer-to-peer car-sharing services—sometimes described as Airbnb for vehicles—are revving up for expansion in New York, as a change in state law will soon allow more people to offer their personal car as a rental.

Startups such as Turo and Getaround facilitate daily rentals of privately owned vehicles online as an alternative to rental companies such as Hertz and Enterprise. Though the startups, both based in San Francisco, have been operating in the United States for more than a decade, their core business has been restricted by New York’s insurance laws limiting the commercial use of privately owned vehicles.

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law shortly before the new year that allows peer-to-peer car-share companies to purchase group insurance covering the use of vehicles on a platform. Proponents of the measure hope that peer-to-peer car-sharing will create a new transportation option for both residents and tourists.

The law change will open up a potentially lucrative market, especially in New York City, which has the lowest rate of private car ownership among U.S. cities (although that rate has ticked up slightly since Covid-19 arrived in 2020).

“THEY MAKE A CAR SOMETHING YOU ACCESS ON OCCASION INSTEAD OF HAVING TO OWN” “You take the number of folks living in the city, compounded by the number of people who need cars, and this is a really exciting market for us,” said Patrick Notti, vice president of marketplace and operations at Getaround.

Turo and Getaround have been boosted by shortages and price increases in the traditional car-rental market, which some call the “car-rental apocalypse.”

New Yorkers “have been saddled with the worst traditional car-rental experience in the country,” Turo CEO Andre Haddad said in a statement praising the governor’s signing of the bill.

Neither startup owns the vehicles it rents, acting instead as a marketplace. Vehicle owners sign up through each firm’s app or website; deals are facilitated through a contactless process in which cars are automatically unlocked for renters through their phone. Like with traditional car rentals, customers must have a license and be 18 or older; younger than 25, they may incur an insurance surcharge.

Turo and Getaround already have some cars active in the city and elsewhere in New York, but they are required to be operated by commercial rental companies or carry a commercial insurance plan.

State regulators will complete some rules around the business in the coming months, including how the rentals will be taxed. Turo hopes to be up and running by the summer, a See STARTUPS on page 22 JANUARY 17, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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WHO OWNS THE BLOCK 626 FIRST AVE.

Flashy $850M sale of 2 rental towers shines a spotlight on low-key Murray Hill As homes and hospitals move in, undeveloped plots remain

BY C. J. HUGHES

A

325 E. 38TH ST. 685 FIRST AVE.

This 1930s brick building with secured windows and a fluttering red-and-white flag is Indonesia’s “mission” to the nearby United Nations, a sort of local embassy.

It previously housed the nursing school of upstate Skidmore College, in one of many examples of the neighborhood’s deep ties to the medical industry. Skidmore began holding nursing classes there in 1969, then purchased the building a few years later. After announcing that the school would close, Skidmore sold the 44,000-squarefoot structure to the government of Indonesia for $6 million in 1984, records show. The building is now worth $8.3 million, according to a city assessment. As with similar properties in the area, Indonesia’s mission, as a government property, is exempt from local property taxes.

This gleaming black 42-story apartment building is a rental-and-condo combo from Solow Building Company.

It packs in 408 rental units. There are also 140 condos, which technically have the address of 695 First Ave. and are in a section named One United Nations Park. The building opened in 2019; Sheldon Solow, the billionaire founder of the eponymous firm, died in 2020. Today his son Stefan Soloviev leads the firm--now called the Soloviev Goup--which may be the area’s largest private landowner. But large tracts, such as a barren three-block site across the street that once housed Con Edison’s Waterside power plant, remain barren. Solow sold a site at East 35th Street to the city for about $33 million in 2010.

Public School 281, the River School, stands there today.

330 E. 38TH ST. 660 FIRST AVE.

Opening on this site in 1988 was the Corinthian, a 55-story, 840-unit condo tower whose facades are rippled with bay windows. Its developers included Bernard Spitzer, the father of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who after resigning in the wake of a prostitution scandal, assumed control of the family business, Spitzer Enterprises. Among Eliot Spitzer’s first moves was to sell 144 unsold apartments at the Corinthian for $147 million to help fund new development projects. Previously on the site, from 1954 to the mid-1980s, was the East Side Airlines Terminal, a bus terminal serving New York’s airports where passengers could check their bags. The Corinthian’s nonrippled base, home to commercial condos owned by medical practices, is a remnant of the old bus terminal. Although it’s a condo, the Corinthian is packed with investor-owned rentals; rental studios start around $3,000 a month.

This seven-story building from 1895, with its green-tinted rooftop cupola, served in the early 20th century as the home of the Kips Bay Brewing Company, according to the AIA Guide to New York City. Today it’s traded suds for scrubs and contains medical offices for NYU Langone, which takes X-rays there. The hospital district along First Avenue in the East 30s has pushed north in recent years. NYU Langone also has space next door, at the similarly cupola-topped 650 First Ave. CARE, the world hunger-battling group, previously owned No. 660. The group sold it to New York University for $5 million in 1994; NYU transferred it to NYU Langone in 1998.

630 FIRST AVE. Among the first major residential plays in this East River-adjacent part of Murray Hill, which was once heavily industrial, was this 37-story, 485-unit condo tower named Manhattan Place. The high-rise, developed in 1984 by the Glick Organization, went up on the site of a former Texaco gas station and warehouse. Glick had wanted the angled tower to face northeast, but city officials prevailed on the firm to angle it to the southwest instead, to create more of a unified landscaping plan with St. Vartan Park, across the street, according to news reports. Manhattan Place, which features a waterfall in the lobby and a pool and running tracks on its top floors, today offers one-bedrooms starting around $800,000, StreetEasy said.

ST. VARTAN PARK This multiple-parcel green space, originally St. Gabriel Park, shrunk a bit in 1940 with the construction of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Further changes came in 1978, when Mayor Ed Koch renamed it for St. Vartan, a fourth-century Armenian war hero. The Saint Vartan Cathedral, a major outpost of the Armenian church, has been around the corner at 630 Second Ave. since 1968. In the 1980s, in a move foreshadowing the numerous private conservation efforts in parks today, the developer the Glick Organization chipped in $900,000 to renovate the park. At the time Glick was also planning a high-rise condo across the street.

626 FIRST AVE. This L-shaped site, once the location of a Con Edison power plant, now contains the American Copper Buildings, a two-towered, 760-unit complex with studios to three-bedrooms. Scattered throughout the towers, which are bent like drinking straws and are adorned with more than 4 million tons of copper, are 160 units designated as affordable housing, meaning they’re leased at below-market prices. Black Spruce Management, which sold a stake in a Hell’s Kitchen apartment portfolio in 2021, bought American Copper from the JDS Development Group and Baupost Group, a Boston-based hedge fund, for $850 million, according to reports. The JDS-led team bought the property from Solow Building Company, a luxury developer that controls much of the immediate area, for $172 million in2013. JDS scored $660 million in financing to develop American Copper, including a $500 million loan from the insurance giant AIG. Solow paid Con Edison $91 million for the property in 2005, according to a deed.

BUCK ENNIS, GOOGLE MAPS

mong all the big-ticket trades of the pandemic (and that’s not a huge number) perhaps the most surprising was the sale of Manhattan’s American Copper Buildings, a 760-unit rental complex that sold for about $850 million, or about $1.1 million per apartment.

Unlike some of the other pricey acquisitions from the past two years, the two-towered, five-year-old development does not sit in an established uptown enclave or a trendy downtown neighborhood.

Indeed, it hugs the busy FDR Drive in low-key Murray Hill, nestled amid an expanding hospital district and windswept post-industrial sites.

Buyer Black Spruce Management, which had no comment, may have liked that the building is a rental in an area that has historically catered to those fresh from college. And Manhattan’s rental market seems to be improving quickly: November’s median rent, after concessions, was $3,369 a month, according to figures from the brokerage Douglas Elliman, up from $2,743 the previous year.

In comparison, American Copper’s 600 market-rate units start at $4,309 for a studio, according to StreetEasy.com, while the most-expensive apartment was a three-bedroom unit listed for $10,763 per month, a rate that takes into account a two-free-months’ bonus on a 16-month lease.

That the building has numerous amenities played a part too, said Doug Harmon, a chairman of Cushman & Wakefield involved in the deal, which has yet to close. Those perks include a climbing wall, a juice bar and a 75-foot pool, which are tucked into a three-story bridge connecting the two towers.

“It’s a new, beautiful waterfront building with generous apartments and views,” Harmon said. “How could we not get a high number?”

In nabbing such a number, American Copper has rarefied company. The largest deal since the pandemic arrived nearly two years ago, putting a damper on the investment-sales market, appears to be Google’s planned purchase of Manhattan’s St. John’s Terminal site for $2.1 billion.

Also on the office side was the bid by Cove Property Group, with Baupost-one of the sellers of American Copper-for 441 Ninth Ave., a renovated 1960s structure in Hudson Yards, for just over $1 billion.

On the residential front, large acquisitions have included Stonehenge Partners’ purchase of 920 Park Ave., a 76-unit postwar rental on the Upper East Side, for $135 million, or about $1.8 million per unit.

RXR Realty snapped up the 320-unit rental portion of 85 Jay St., a condo-and-rental development in Dumbo, Brooklyn, for $220 million, which works out to about $700,000 per apartment. ■

4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JANUARY 17, 2022

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HEALTH CARE

City’s mental health crisis response pilot now set to expand after a promising start

BY SHUAN SIM

T

he city’s pilot program to dispatch social workers to address mental health calls instead of the police is ready to expand following a promising launch, but hiring roadblocks could threaten further growth.

The Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division was launched in June 2021 as part of former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s attempts to mitigate police violence.

Establishing the initiative became a priority following Black Lives Matter protests in the city and nationwide over police brutality that led to the death of Eric Garner and George Floyd.

“Getting our program into five precincts within six months hasn’t been easy—these precincts are not small,” said Sean Redding, senior director of communications at the mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health, which runs the program.

The program is operated in partnership with NYC Health + Hospitals, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York Police Department and the Fire Department’s Emergency Medical

Services. It started in the 25th, 28th and 32nd precincts in central and north Harlem, and expanded to include the 26th and 30th precincts in west Harlem in November.

B-HEARD’s six-month report, published in December, showed promising progress. 911 operators routed 684 mental health calls, or 22% of total calls, to B-HEARD teams. Of those, B-HEARD was able to respond to 564, or 82%, of the calls.

The pilot demonstrated that team members felt safe responding to mental health calls without police intervention. Of all calls responded to, B-HEARD had to tap the police 34 times for assistance, mostly regarding transportation to a hospital, and just twice to address safety concerns.

“We knew we were turning on the faucet slowly. But after six months, everyone’s safe and [the] teams feel prepared to take on more,” Redding said.

Fewer people being sent to hospitals was seen as a sign the program was working well.

“Hospitals are not always the right place for people in mental health crises,” said Nadia Chait, di-

COMPARED TO TRADITIONAL POLICE RESPONSES, B-HEARD SAW FEWER HOSPITALIZATIONS AND MORE PEOPLE ACCEPTING HELP Breakdown of outcomes of mental health calls B-HEARD

Traditional NYPD Response

87% 46% 28% Transported to the hospita

0% Assisted onsite

19% 0% Transported to community-based care

8%

13%

Refused medical assistance

SOURCE: B-HEARD. Figures may not add to 100% due to rounding.

rector of policy and advocacy at the Coalition for Behavioral Health, which represents 100 mental health and substance-use disorder providers. “Just because one is experiencing a mental health or substance-abuse crisis does not mean one needs to be hospitalized.”

B-HEARD refers patients who require longer-term assistance to the East Harlem Support and Connection Center. B-HEARD referrals, which are 35% of its intake, tend to require longer stays than the five nights others might need, said Susan Dan, who is the vice president of programs at Hudson Square-

based Project Renewal, which operates the center.

Growing pains B-HEARD was launched with a $1.2 million budget in fiscal 2021, according to a City Council report. It was approved for $2.8 million in fiscal 2022. Though the latest budget also designated $92 million for citywide expansion, Mayor Eric Adams’ administration has yet to lay out specific plans, Redding said.

“We’ve been building our case for future growth. If there’re tweaks [from Adams’ office], we’re ready and willing to make them,” Redding

said.

Despite the program’s success, initial obstacles may surface again as it expands into new neighborhoods.

“Our first challenge then had been getting all the different agencies together to coordinate efforts.

The other was hiring enough social workers,” Redding said. B-HEARD’s original launch was pushed back from February 2021 because of difficulties hiring.

“Those hurdles continue to be top of mind as the initiative plans inroads into the Bronx next month,” Redding said, adding hiring is nearly complete for the next cohort.

In addition to providing coverage in the Bronx, B-HEARD plans to increase the proportion of routed calls to 50% from the current 22%.

It’s not clear if the East Harlem center can adequately handle a significant increase in referrals, given current staffing, however.

There’s fierce competition to hire peers–workers who have gone through similar mental health struggles–as well as social workers and nurses, especially given the Covid crisis, Dan said. “I don’t see that improving anytime soon.” ■

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ASKED & ANSWERED

INTERVIEW BY AARON ELSTEIN

N

ick Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, has worked on Wall Street for more than 30 years, and 700 institutional investors subscribe to his daily newsletter. He was one of the first financial analysts to take bitcoin seriously. Previously, he was a portfolio manager at New York Mets owner Steve Cohen’s hedge fund and an automotive analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston.

Even though the stock market has enjoyed three remarkable years, Colas predicts 2022 will be a strong one too.

Let’s hear the bull case.

The pandemic was bad in so many ways, but corporations are coming out of it with materially higher earnings power. The combined earnings of all S&P 500 companies was about $160 a share in 2019. It was $206 in 2021. Consensus forecasts say it will be $230 in 2022, and I think it’ll be higher. The tech sector earns 26 cents in profit for every dollar in revenue, double the market average, and more revenue is going to those companies.

You don’t think we’re nearing the end of a profit cycle?

One cycle ended with the pandemic recession, and a new one began last year. Analysts always have trouble forecasting earnings growth at the beginning of a cycle, but they underestimated earnings by 29% last year—

WHO HE IS Co-founder of DataTrek Research EDUCATION Bachelor’s in Near Eastern archeology, Haverford College; MBA, the University of Chicago BORN Upper West Side RESIDES Midtown ORIGIN STORY Colas grew up on West End Avenue and attended St. Hilda’s and St. Hugh’s from kindergarten through high school. His first Wall Street job was in a mutual fund’s mail room.

WHAT TO WATCH When it comes to TV shows, Colas says The Odd Couple best captures the New York of his youth. “Felix and Oscar talk all the time about whether the city is still livable,” Colas said. “They talk a lot about crime.” As for movies, Colas recommends The French Connection.

and the S&P rose by almost exactly that much. I’ve never seen analysts so badly misjudge things.

Maybe that means they don’t know what they’re doing.

In their defense, I’ve done this work before, and it is fiendishly hard.

What risks are in this bullish forecast?

Workforces are turning over so much. It

If inflation is so high, why is the 10-year bond yield still so low?

Think of the U.S. Treasury market like a New York City parking garage. If you want your money to be safe and there when you want it, U.S. treasuries are the best thing going, so people accept a 1.8% return. There’s a line of people to buy them, just like there are lines of cars to get into the best garages.

What about bitcoin?

I think of it this way: People have lost money when the price of bitcoin fell or their wallets were robbed, but the underlying blockchain has never been hacked—not once in 13 years. That’s a valuable system, and a $1 trillion valuation sounds like an OK number for it. Bitcoin is like Tesla: Both are call options on a very specific future.

Where are the best sectors for people to invest in this year?

Energy and finance. With the rise of ESG investing, we’re going to underinvest in energy production yet the world still uses 80 million barrels of crude a day. That means higher prices. Financial stocks are attractive because rising interest rates mean better margins for lenders.

Do you worry about the Biden administration breaking up Big Tech?

I don’t. Democrats and Republicans have different ideas about what to do. ■

BUCK ENNIS

NICK COLAS DataTrek Research

takes time to train new people, and I could see that depressing productivity, especially in New York, where so many high-paying jobs require specialized skills.

DOSSIER

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6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JANUARY 17, 2022

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IN THE MARKETS

Swimming in it: Bonuses at Jefferies average $443,000 as bankers cash in on record year

Tax proceeds from Wall Street’s good fortune have kept New York City afloat financially in the past two years

T

MORE THAN 43 CENTS OUT OF EVERY DOLLAR WENT TO COMPENSATING PEOPLE

HANDLER BLOOMBERG

he average banker at Jeffe- set steep declines in hotels and othries Financial Group re- er tourism-related businesses. The ceived a $443,000 bonus securities industry accounts for for last year’s work, under- only 5% of the city’s private-sector scoring the stratospheric heights of workforce but generates 20% of all Wall Street pay even as the pan- wages, the New York state comptroller’s office said last year. The Indemic grinds on. dependent Budget Office Almost every investprojects 2021 as Wall ment-banking firm enStreet’s most profitable joyed a bountiful 2021, year ever except 2009, thanks to soaring stock when taxpayers bailed markets and ultra-low inout the industry. terest rates. At Jefferies, annual revenue rose by Printing money more than a third while pretax earnings doubled.

Bonuses across Wall “What a year!” longtime Street are expected to avChief Executive Richard erage a record $210,000 AARON ELSTEIN for Handler said in a letter to 2021. Average payouts shareholders last at Jefferies, a midsize firm, Wednesday, about a month after he were more than twice that amount. was awarded a $25 million special Compensation and benefits costs bonus described as a “leadership in the firm’s investment-banking continuity grant.” division rose by a fifth last year, to $3.3 billion, and analysts estimate bonuses account for 60% of the expense.

That suggests the average bonus for a Jefferies banker was about $443,000. Total pay, including Wall Street’s good fortune has salaries, averaged nearly $640,000 kept New York afloat financially in for each of the firm’s nearly 5,600 the past two years, generating a employees. More than 43 cents out flood of tax revenue that helped off- of every dollar in revenue went to

compensating people.

Jefferies emphasized the good that can be achieved and said it donated $16 million to more than 400 worthy causes last year.

“There is much more to do, and we will strive to lead by example,” Handler said in his shareholder letter.

The Biden administration is taking steps to tighten Wall Street reg-

in a recent report.

ulations, and analysts believe lavish pay will again become a contentious topic because so many other Americans are struggling.

“We expect increased scrutiny from politicians on executive pay, given the recent flurry of holiday packages that many Wall Street C-suite executives have been awarded at year-end 2021,” Evercore ISI analyst Glenn Schorr said

Very special In addition to the retention bonuses awarded to Jefferies officials, last month JPMorgan granted its co-president a $25 million “special award.”

JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs were scheduled to report 2021 earnings and bonus data last Friday. ■

EVICTIONS

“HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN NEW YORK ARE STILL BEHIND ON RENT”

FROM PAGE 1

solutions for protecting tenants.

Good cause eviction is among the more high-profile issues advocates have already started to focus on. With few exceptions, the bill would ban landlords from denying lease renewals to tenants unless they have a good reason.

The state Senate held a Jan. 7 hearing on the proposal. Under the bill, tenants could be evicted only if the landlord wants to use the space as his or her primary residence or if tenants do not pay rent, cause a nuisance or use the property for illegal activity. Rent increases would also be limited to either 3% or 1.5% of the consumer price index.

“I know, in my district, some market-rate tenants who don’t have protections don’t complain for fear of losing their lease when it expires,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal. “That is what the good cause bill and effort is about, and that would protect tenants against frivolous evictions.”

Legal Aid supports good cause eviction as well and is also pushing to create a housing access voucher plan that would essentially create a state Section 8 program giving people subsidies to stay in their homes,

BLOOMBERG

A good cause

said Judith Goldiner, the attorney in charge of the Legal Aid Society’s civil law reform unit.

Providing relief Advocates and legislators are also redoubling their focus on shoring up the state’s rent-relief portal, which resumed accepting applications at 10 p.m. last Tuesday following a court order.

“Hundreds of thousands of households in New York state are still behind on rent,” Weaver said.

“To avoid a mass eviction crisis, Gov. Hochul must take clear steps to keep New Yorkers housed.”

Tenants who apply for funding from the emergency rental assistance program are protected from eviction while their application is pending. But state officials say they

have obligated all $2.4 billion of the program’s initial funding, and the additional $27.2 million approved by the federal government will not even be enough to cover the current backlog of applications.

“Reopening the application portal without additional funding to support the backlog of existing and future applications runs the risk of giving struggling New Yorkers false

hope for critical financial relief that—without federal intervention—simply doesn’t exist,” spokesman Justin Mason of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which runs the program, said in a statement.

“We have to make sure that money gets allocated and helps tenants that need it,” said state Assemblyman Harvey Epstein, “so there are solutions in the pipeline, and the goal is to not have people evicted because they couldn’t pay their rent during the pandemic.”

Inadequate affordable housing is a serious problem with growing implications. New York City will need to build 560,000 housing units by 2030 to keep up with its expected population and job growth, according to a report commissioned by the Real Estate Board of New York, but that same report found that there are just 79,500 housing units currently in the city’s development pipeline, or about 14% of the total projected need.■

JANUARY 17, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 7

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

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

Time to add accountability to firms’ big talk about diversity and inclusion

N

managing editor Telisha Bryan assistant managing editor Anne Michaud

HEARING BRIEFINGS IS NOT THE SAME AS ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY

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

Retirees, a group of 130,000 former union and management workers who rallied shareholders after learning last year that Black and Hispanic employees made up just 17.6% of senior management but 30.7% of associates.

In conversations with company officials, the group learned the board “regularly receives briefings from the CEO on initiatives to strengthen our company culture and encourage employee engagement.”

Hearing briefings is not the same as accepting responsibility,

ADVERTISING

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

Laura Warren

the retirees argued. And Verizon agreed to do just that, heading off a potential shareholder vote.

“For the company to finally consider all its employees under the board’s HR oversight function, and not just the elite few in the senior executive compensation pool, is not only equitable but is the morally right conclu-

sion,” said BellTel Chairman Tommy Steed, 73, a former line worker.

If company officials don’t follow through? You can bet the retirees will be watching: They’ve won investor support for three board initiatives so far, and Verizon has enacted nine others without a shareholder vote. ■

people on the move manager Debora Stein,

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

Ana Jimenez, ajimenez@crainsnewyork.com

To future-proof our city, we must see the mobility issues facing us as interrelated ew York City has some of the most complex mobility issues in the world. Luckily, we also have the brightest minds thinking about these issues.

The op-ed writers in Crain’s New York Business have envisioned a more harmoniously choreographed future among buildings, delivery, congestion and public streets. Other thought leaders interested in technology, transportation, urban design and the public realm have called for a similar focus for the new city administration.

Transportation advocates have called for 25% of New York streets to be redistributed back to public uses outside of the automobile.

Technology researchers want to accommodate the increase in personal mobility vehicles by converting bike lanes into an expansive network of new mobility lanes. Regionally focused groups have out-

editor-in-chief Cory Schouten,

cory.schouten@crainsnewyork.com

data editor Amanda Glodowski

OP-ED

BY ERICH ARCEMENT

EDITORIAL

ISTOCK

T

he human resources committees of corporate boards are best known for cooking up and approving pay and benefits packages for top executives, often with eye-popping details.

But that’s changing at New York–based telecommunications giant Verizon, which has agreed under pressure to expand its board responsibilities to include matters concerning employee equity, diversity and inclusion, as Aaron Elstein reported last week for CrainsNewYork.com.

It’s a sound move that other companies and organizations should follow—injecting an element of accountability to the feel-good promises, often unmet, that leaders make around cultivating a diverse and equitable workplace.

Broadening the boardroom remit beyond catering to shareholders and setting executive pay also correctly recognizes that— particularly in a tight labor market where employees have more options and are more than willing to walk—culture indeed matters to the bottom line.

In the case of Verizon, the impetus for boardroom change was the Association of BellTel

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

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

Simone Pryce

lined an ambitious, 425-mile connected network of protected bikeways throughout the city. Civic groups have called for the creation of a position, director of the public realm, to bring agency oversight and clear jurisdictional silos.

A holistic view Mayor Eric Adams has called for 300 miles of protected bike lanes.

City Council members have brought forward legislation that addresses freight movements, curb loading and delivery obstructions, all of which hinder urban mobility. Some of that legislation has already passed, and one of the sponsors, Ydanis Rodriguez, has just started his tenure as commissioner of the city Department of Transportation. The DOT just published its first comprehensive NYC Streets Plan, which will be updated every five years and cover all users and uses of the street.

These critical intersections of public policy, physical space,

buildings, private-property owners and city agency jurisdictions are all parts of the sum concept of urban mobility. Bringing all these minds together is critical to not only solving mobility issues but to future-proofing New York.

The ever-increasing pace at which our mobility options change, the choices made by new generations of commuters and workers, the pandemic, the infrastructure law and myriad other factors place our city at a crossroads. The last piece of the puzzle that seemingly fell under the table is keeping us from seeing the completed masterpiece.

That piece is a holistic view to urban mobility policy.

At a crossroads There is a tendency to parse out issues such as commuter traffic, freight delivery, transit deserts, inadequate curb availability, sidewalk congestion and the like as standalone issues. But seemingly

unrelated issues are all related to urban mobility. These issues include equitable distributions of public space, uprooted work and employment patterns, digital- and internet-enabled disruption technologies, changing attitudes toward sustainability and climate resiliency as well as inclusive and accessible infrastructure for all New Yorkers.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to these policies and concepts, and they cannot be solved individually. It is necessary for future thinkers, policymakers and agency partners, among others, to work together and see these issues as interwoven.

We are at a crossroads as a city and as a society. It is critical that the mobility issues facing our city be seen as interrelated, not in silos.

Such an approach will set the stage for a future-proofed New York. ■

media services manager Nicole Spell SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE

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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]

Erich Arcement is CEO of Erich Arcement Creative Consulting.

8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JANUARY 17, 2022

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OP-ED

BY GARY LABARBERA

T

his year is starting off on a high note for New York’s middle class.

Effective Jan. 1, New York’s prevailing wage law was expanded to cover private construction projects of $5 million or more that receive at least 30% of project costs in public dollars to prevent state benefits from being used to undermine its workforce.

Since the 19th century, prevailing wage laws have ensured that New York’s working people earn the wages and benefits that they deserve—lifting our neighbors out of poverty, giving workers a voice, promoting quality work and building the middle class.

opers who received state subsidies, to get away with paying substandard wages to vulnerable and sometimes desperate workers, undermining the very spirit of the law.

Fortunately, hardworking New Yorkers now have an added layer of protection, thanks to this expanded law now in effect.

Win-win Bad corporate actors erroneously and disingenuously claim that prevailing wage laws serve to drain taxpayer dollars and drive investment out of the state, but these criticisms couldn’t be further from the truth.

Prevailing wage standards are demonstrable key drivers in growing the middle class; they lift tens of thousands of New Yorkers out of poverty and away from government assistance. Study after study finds that prevailing wage rates raise the average income of construction workers, help them save more for retirement, and provide them with the long-term benefits needed to keep themselves and their families healthy and financially secure.

These laws help close the racial wealth gap too. A study by the Illi-

A PUBLIC SUBSIDY BOARD NEEDS TO BE CREATED TO PROTECT THE STATUTE Historically, these laws have governed projects that were built by or for the state—the principle being that state funds should not be used to undercut workers’ wages. Courts, however, have previously allowed some projects, led by private devel-

nois Economic Policy Institute found that states instituting prevailing wage laws reduce the income gap between Black and white construction workers by as much as 7%. By expanding the prevailing wage law in New York, that impact will only be greater for minority construction workers statewide.

While critics argue that an expanded prevailing wage law will push private development outside of state borders and limit investment in our communities, in reality the law will keep the state’s construction industry accountable and help ensure that only firms that value and respect the dignity of workers lead our most consequential development projects.

The expanded prevailing wage law will attract a skilled and effective workforce—one that will assure projects are of the highest quality and worthy of New York, completed on time and within budget.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has demonstrated a clear effectiveness in getting the job done on behalf of middle-class New Yorkers, and as the expanded prevailing wage law goes

BLOOMBERG

Expanded prevailing wage law will promote equity, drive middle-class growth, attract labor

into effect, she has yet another opportunity to do right by working people with the proper implementation of this law.

As implementation of this law ramps up, it is critical that the governor appoint a public subsidy board that recognizes the dignity of hardworking New Yorkers and sees that this statute is respected and protected.

Paying people an honorable wage shouldn’t be a crazy notion.

The cost of labor shouldn’t be a race to the bottom, and it shouldn’t be seen as a project-killing expenditure. Investing in New York’s working people is an investment in New York itself—in its families, communities and future. ■ Gary LaBarbera is president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council.

OP-ED

BY ERIC BENAIM

W

hat incoming Mayor Eric Adams can do to bring people back to the office isn’t all that hard. All he has to do is look back to 2001-02 after Sept. 11.

After the deadly attacks on New York, downtown Manhattan was said to be dead. No one would come back. It was over. Too dangerous.

But the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., a commission that was established to oversee the World Trade Center development, wanted incentives to put some life

signed a two-year lease.

I had just started out as a real estate agent back then, and I decided to use the program as a way to get new clients to work with me. It was a great program, and it worked. In December 2001 vacancy rates in rental apartments below Chambers Street, four blocks north of the World Trade Center complex, had soared to more than 25%. In February, when the incentives were announced, thousands applied for them, and by August the apartment vacancy rate downtown had fallen to 4%, according to figures from The Wall Street Journal.

So why not use that same thinking and apply it to offices today? The city can create an incentive for the major business districts—in Midtown and downtown—and perhaps offer employers a credit on the payroll tax if they are able to bring 80% of their employees back to the office for two years. The city could offer employees the same rebate it offered 20 years ago—$6,000 for one

AFTER SEPT. 11, RENTERS WERE OFFERED REBATES TO LIVE IN LOWER MANHATTAN back into downtown, so it introduced a rebate program for anyone who rented an apartment in Lower Manhattan. That program gave $6,000 a year to anyone who signed a one-year lease and $12,000 a year to anyone who

year and $12,000 for two years if they come and work in the office. The city could perhaps even throw in two years of unlimited MetroCard use to get people back on the subway.

If it took two years to get people used to working from home, we can get them used to working back in the office in that same time frame. The city would then be able to generate income from the sales tax and income taxes from the jobs that would be created around these areas in restaurants and retail.

In addition, getting people used to taking the subway again would generate more life in the city. If we were able to pay people and incentivize them to stay home, we can do the same to get them to return to work.

Focus on innovation Such a program would also help solve the problem of finding employees. Companies do much better when employees are in the of-

BLOOMBERG

To get workers back downtown, look no further than an incentive program that succeeded before

fice, collaborating with one another.

Interacting with other people on a daily basis means people are less lonely and happier.

At the same time, the new mayor should reverse vaccine mandates on businesses and companies. We shouldn’t be policing everyone; we

should be focusing on being innovative, creative and productive. It’s what makes New York City the business capital of the world. ■ Eric Benaim is CEO of Modern Spaces, a New York real estate brokerage.

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.

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INSTANT EXPERT

What you need to know about the Interborough Express

BY BRANDON SANCHEZ

THE PLAYERS

2

THE ISSUE

Hochul directed the MTA in her speech to begin an environmental review for the project. The agency is also tasked with determining whether to opt for heavy rail, light rail or bus rapid transit. In the near term, however, the MTA continues to face a financial crisis worsened by the pandemic. Officials in November forecast a $1.4 billion deficit in 2025, down from an estimated shortfall of $3.5 billion that it forecast in July.

1

In her State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul endorsed a long-simmering plan to connect Brooklyn and Queens with increased rail service. “Today I’m announcing a bold idea,” she said. “Take an old, unused, 14-mile-long rightof-way and create what we’re calling the Interborough Express.” The transit link would repurpose existing freight rail lines to connect the Long Island Rail Road and up to 17 subway lines, per the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, creating a streamlined corridor that would avoid diversions into Manhattan. (The original subway system was designed primarily to facilitate trips to and from Manhattan.)

The proposed line would run from Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights in 40 minutes or less. The Interborough Express would go through a corridor that is home to 900,000 residents and contains 260,000 jobs. The state says it could attract between 74,000 and 88,000 weekday riders and bring more than 2 million new annual trips to public transit. Given that 57% of Brooklyn and 36% of Queens households don’t own a car, the new transit option would be a valuable addition.

WHAT’S NEXT

5

The MTA will conduct reviews and meet with federal authorities. An environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act is expected to take less than two years.

After that, the MTA will make a capital plan. For now the state is touting potential benefits of the initiative. Beyond providing a faster commute, officials say, the connection would expand access to jobs and connect retail networks throughout the boroughs. The state says using an existing right-of-way will accelerate construction.

THE PROPOSED LINE WOULD RUN THROUGH A CORRIDOR THAT’S HOME TO 900,000 RESIDENTS

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?

3

The short answer: No one is saying yet.

The plan is still in the early stages, but it represents a significant infrastructure investment for Hochul, who last year tabled former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed LaGuardia AirTrain. In a 2016 brief, the Regional Plan Association estimated that a project such as the Interborough Express might cost between $1 billion and $2 billion. Those estimates, however, are several years old and likely to be low (in traditional New York City transportation fashion).

4

The Interborough Express is a rebrand of sorts. For years groups such as the Regional Plan Association have advocated for a triborough line that would link Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. Some insights about what the Interborough Express will seek to address might be gleaned from looking at previous proposals. According to a 2016 Regional Plan Association brief, there’s an urgent need for more reliable transportation in the outer boroughs. “Most routes in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx typically run two-five minutes late. The least reliable routes arrive on time only 50% of the day.”

GOVERNORKATHYHOCHUL/FLICKR, BLOOMBERG

SOME BACKSTORY

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HOSPITALITY

BY CARA EISENPRESS

A

new crop of hospitality, technology and consumer businesses will have a continued source of growth capital in Enlightened Hospitality Investments, the investment manager affiliated with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, which has raised a second fund.

Enlightened has raised $332 mil-

the first fund that have not simply endured the unprecedented challenges of the hospitality industry but have adapted and thrived,” said Meyer, who is also the co-founder and managing partner of Enlightened Hospitality Investments.

In 2017 Enlightened closed its first fund of $220 million, which went toward funding 14 firms, many of which are now household names. Several are headquartered in New York City.

The local firms that received investment from Enlightened’s first fund include: ● Tacombi, a group of taco restaurants. EHI put $27.5 million into the company in December that will go toward opening 75 restaurants nationwide in the next five years and to building out its packaged goods line, Vista Hermosa, which sells tortillas and tortilla chips. ● BentoBox, a platform that enables restaurants to build their own websites and manage their own marketing and e-commerce growth.

“WE ARE ESPECIALLY PROUD OF THE UNIQUE ECOSYSTEM WE HAVE CREATED” lion in capital commitments and plans to use the money to make investments of $10 million to $30 million in companies that are growing quickly and leading their category, with a focus on what it calls “fine casual” restaurants and tech firms that are working on hospitality solutions.

“We are inspired by the resilience of the community of businesses in

● Resy, a platform for making restaurant reservations through a personalized feed. ● Joe Coffee, a premium coffee spot with 21 locations in New York City. ● Goldbelly, an e-commerce platform for shipping perishable, sought-after foods all over the country. ● Dig, a fast-casual restaurant that focuses on locally sourced food. It served lunch to Mayor Eric Adams during his first week in office. ● Clear, the technology firm originally known for helping travelers speed through airport lines. It has become a central player in providing digital Covid-19 vaccine passes.

There have been several exits among portfolio firms. In 2019 American Express bought Resy.

Fiserv, a Wisconsin-based financial technology and services company, acquired BentoBox in October.

MEYER, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, with Clear Chairman and CEO Caryn Seidman-Becker

Clear went public in June.

Enlightened said it had set out to raise $300 million for its second fund but had so much interest from current partners and new investors that the total raise climbed to $332 million.

“In addition to our role as a strategic growth partner with operational experience and unparalleled

GETTYIMAGES

Enlightened Hospitality, Danny Meyer–founded investment firm, raises a new, $332 million fund

resources, we are especially proud of the unique ecosystem we have created among our community of companies and our strategic investor base,” said Mark Leavitt, co-founder and managing partner.

“EHI’s value extends far beyond our capital commitment, and our network is much more than the sum of its parts.” ■

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

PAID FOR BY DOUGLAS DURST

JANUARY 17, 2022 | 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

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

BDO USA, LLP

BDO USA, LLP

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BDO USA, LLP has named Pavlo Ageyev a Partner in the firm’s Assurance practice.

Ageyev focuses on serving middlemarket clients and SEC reporting companies in various industries.

His experience includes financial statement and Sarbanes-Oxley internal control audits, public offerings and due diligence projects. Ageyev is also a member of the firm’s Technology and Retail & Consumer Products industry groups.

BDO USA, LLP has named Esayas Messele a Partner in the firm’s Tax practice. Messele focuses on tax consulting, financial statement reporting and corporate tax compliance. He serves companies in the entertainment software, business-to-business and business-to-consumer technology, professional services, medical equipment, consumer products, and manufacturing industries.

BDO USA, LLP has named Jonathan Roberts a Partner in the firm’s Advisory Practice. Roberts is a member of the Transaction Advisory Services practice and is a Financial Services sector leader. He has advised private equity firms and corporations on a range of strategic transactions, including distressed, earlystage and growth mergers and acquisitions, carve-outs, capital raises, turnarounds and disposals.

BDO USA, LLP has named Lydia Vercelli a Partner in the firm’s Tax practice.

Vercelli works with high-net-worth families and individuals and has experience with tax and financial matters affecting entrepreneurs, executives and wealthy individuals. Her primary practice areas are federal and state tax consulting and compliance for individuals, partnerships, fiduciaries, estates and charitable organizations, as well as family wealth transfer and succession planning.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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BDO USA, LLP has named Carla DeMartini a Partner in the firm’s Assurance practice. DeMartini provides technical knowledge to nonprofit and healthcare organizations, as part of the Professional Practice. She also authors articles on recent accounting and auditing pronouncements; prepares and reviews financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and other regulatory requirements; and reviews systems for compliance with various governmental agencies.

BDO USA, LLP has named Johnny Montoya a Partner in the firm’s Advisory Practice. Montoya leads the firm’s Northeast Transaction Advisory Services Tax team and consults with corporate and private equity clients on all aspects of tax due diligence, structuring and post-deal tax planning in the areas of taxable and non-taxable business combinations for public and private businesses. He is fluent in Spanish and regularly supports the execution of transactions across Europe, Asia and Latin America.

BDO USA, LLP has named Richard Rossell a Partner in the firm’s Assurance practice. Rossell is a member of BDO’s Asset Management practice. He advises clients in formation stage to multibillion-dollar fund complexes on a variety of audit-related issues, including valuation and disclosure requirements. Rossell has experience in the financial services industry and manages a range of clients including hedge funds, private equity funds, registered funds, broker dealers and investment advisors.

BDO USA, LLP has named Pei-Li Wong a Partner in the firm’s Advisory Practice. Wong leads the firm’s Asia Forensic Desk and is a member of BDO’s Global Forensics leadership team. She has substantial international experience conducting forensic investigations, due diligence, risk assessments, compliance reviews and monitorships.

Wong’s experience includes internal investigations involving allegations of employee and corporate misconduct, such as export controls, corruption and fraud allegations.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

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BDO USA, LLP has named Ryan McLaughlin a Partner in the firm’s Assurance practice. McLaughlin serves both private and publicly held companies in a variety of industries, including retail and consumer products, manufacturing and distribution, software and technology, pharmaceutical and professional services. He participates in all client service phases, including Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements work, business advisory consulting and agreedupon procedures engagements.

BDO USA, LLP has named Matthew Pascual a Partner in the firm’s Specialized Tax Services practice.

Pascual is the national market leader for the Expatriate Tax Services practice. His experience is in global mobility, expatriate tax compliance, policy review, business development and client relationship management. Pascual’s client service experience involves tax consulting for growth businesses and companies in industries such as financial services, oil and gas, retail, distribution, and energy.

BDO USA, LLP has named Jonathan Spiegel a Partner in the firm’s Specialized Tax Services practice.

Spiegel provides clients across a multitude of industries with advisory services in tax process, data management and technology.

He also leads the firm’s efforts developing standard processes, workpapers and solutions for the delivery of co-sourced and outsourced tax engagements.

INDUSTRY ACHIEVERS ADVANCING THEIR CAREERS Recognize them in Crain’s

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12 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JANUARY 17, 2022

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FINANCE

BY AARON ELSTEIN

A

s JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and other big banks prepare to report extraordinary profits this month, the Biden administration is taking steps to quiet the lavish party in 2022.

“The pendulum is swinging from the easing of regulatory rules under the Trump administration toward trying to apply more regulation and scrutiny under Biden,” said analyst Peter Winter of Wedbush Securities.

in part because a White House proposal to raise taxes on the wealthiest and impose a 1% tax on stock buybacks stalled in Congress. Cherished tax breaks were untouched, including the carried-interest loophole for hedge-fund managers and 1031 swaps for landlords.

A contentious issue The revival in regulatory fervor could make bankers’ pay a contentious issue for the first time since the financial crisis. Wall Street bonuses are expected to average $210,000 per person for 2021, even as unemployment in New York remains at 8% and the pandemic trudges on. Last month JPMorgan co-President Daniel Pinto was granted a $25 million “special award.”

“We expect increased scrutiny from politicians on executive pay given the recent flurry of holiday packages that many Wall Street C-suite executives have been awarded at year-end 2021,” Evercore ISI analyst Glenn Schorr

WALL STREET BONUSES ARE EXPECTED TO AVERAGE $210,000 FOR 2021 The 2021 earnings for Wall Street firms are expected to reach $59 billion, the Independent Budget Office forecast recently. The all-time record of $61 billion was set in 2009, thanks in part to taxpayer-funded bailouts. (Adjusted for inflation, the 2009 haul would be $82 billion.)

Last year was so good for banks

said in a recent report.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is preparing changes that will affect banks’ bottom lines.

Three of the Fed’s seven board seats are up for nomination, and President Joe Biden is expected to name Sarah Bloom Raskin, an Obama-era veteran, as the central bank’s chief of banking supervision. She is expected to require the largest banks to hold more capital to cushion against losses, which would at least partially mitigate gains that banks derive from lending having become more profitable, thanks to rising interest rates.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley would be most affected by stiffer capital rules, CreditSights analysts say.

Mergers, always a popular way for banks to grow, could get harder

BLOOMBERG

Regulations, scrutiny from Biden administration could put a damper on record Wall Street profits

to strike. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said it would take a closer look before approving deals after the agency’s President Donald Trump–appointed chair resigned.

The Justice Department’s antitrust division said just before Christmas that it would seek additional public comments on how bank mergers could affect competition.

After last year’s collapse of Archegos Capital Management, the Securities and Exchange Commis-

sion is looking to toughen rules for banks that trade with hedge funds.

Chairman Gary Gensler has raised questions about payment for order flow, which involves popular brokers such as Robinhood selling customers’ information data to big Wall Street trading houses.

“There’s no question that the regulatory backdrop is less conducive than in the past,” CreditSights analyst Jesse Rosenthal said in a report recently. ■

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OPINION

Reporter’s notebook: Why open schools aren’t enough. Families like mine need normal

Senior reporter Cara Eisenpress relays her experience as a working parent during the third Covid school year

ISTOCK

N

othing is certain but death and taxes, but when I moved to a New York City suburb for its well-regarded schools, I believed the existence of public education was not in doubt.

By the time my kid boarded the bus for her first day of kindergarten, that conviction had vanished.

As a parent of two fantastic children—one in school, the CARA EISENPRESS other still too young to enroll—my husband and I have plenty of family-related occupations. In addition to my job as a Crain’s reporter, I manage schedules, activities, playdates and bedtimes, and I oversee the constant provisioning of our table with homemade waffles.

The truth is, schools in New York state are not back to normal, and a third disrupted school year is taking a toll on kids and families.

Many families in the area are satisfied that restrictions such as those governing masks and vaccines appear to have allowed schools’ doors to remain mostly open, and I notice that local friends treat disrupted routines as a worthwhile sacrifice.

But journalistic curiosity has led me to track policies and daily life at school districts outside our region, where I have discovered that 2019-style schooling and social life have resumed without any Covid 19-related mitigations. More than one-third of the top 500 school districts do not have a mask mandate, according to Burbio Calendar, which tracks school policies and closures. Two-thirds do not require vaccines for staff. Many have also made quarantining optional, in recognition of the mildness of Covid-19 for most children and vaccinated working-age adults.

These policies have dismantled the culture of fear around school.

It’s now accepted that school closures have been disastrous for learning. When the 2020-21 school year ended, K-12 students were on average five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading, according to a report published during the summer

by McKinsey & Co. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in December that children face a mental health crisis fueled by pandemic restrictions. Nationally, employment for mothers of kids younger than 13 was down 4% in August, even as employment rates rose for all other groups of parents, according to an analysis of the Census Bureau’s current population survey by Jed Kolko, chief economist at Indeed. Many city compa-

nies provide flexibility and even emergency child care stipends for Covid, but most of the time parents have to figure out contingencies on their own.

Being a working parent is already hard. It can be intimidating to ask for leave for a kid’s doctor appointment or school art show; taking off successive 10-day periods to supervise remote school is out of the question for most office workers, who often experience major burnout as they try to manage jobs and children at once.

A dreadful call, and tears In November I got a dreadful call.

I was told to pick up my healthy 5-year-old from the nurse’s office on a Wednesday morning, after she had supposedly been “exposed” the previous Friday. Though she had gone to school as usual that Monday and Tuesday, on Wednesday, after the results of the other kids’ test were in, administrators considered her so dangerous that they led her straight to the nurse’s office from the bus.

As soon as she saw me in the courtyard, she started crying. I bought her an overpriced nail salon kit and endured a bad at-home pedicure.

But first I sent messages to my editors to tell them I’d have to take the day off. They understood. Still, a deadline is a deadline. Late in the afternoon, I put Octonauts on Net-

flix while I attended to the editing of a story going into print. Pandemic restrictions that lead to unexpected quarantines make a joke of parents’ ability to plan, and to parent. Not every employee has an approachable boss, much less a job that can be done from home. Not every mom has a ready answer for a kindergartner devastated to miss two days of school or who is told there is no end in sight to masking. Not every family has the phone numbers of several on-call babysitters—or the extra cash to pay them.

School closure is not as simple as open or shut. Though New York City schools have been “open” all school

guishing, noting data and anecdotes that tie the labor shortage to employees’ lack of child care or school, and the empty office buildings to the fact that it’s hard to require parents to be at their Manhattan desks when their children can’t be at school.

The list of reasons why a kid would get quarantined or a whole classroom shut is long. Though each school purports to follow the state, which follows advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, policies are idiosyncratic. It might be lunch eaten inside within 6 feet of a child with a positive test. It might be a bus ride spent near a sick kid at a time when mask wearing is unsupervised. It could be learning in a small group with a teacher who is masked but sitting in physical proximity. City teachers who were fired if unvaccinated may now return to work after five days of isolation, but with nearly 4,000 testing positive Jan. 4, labor shortages are also an issue.

Some parents even keep their kids home out of fear.

UNEXPECTED QUARANTINES MAKE A JOKE OF PARENTS’ ABILITY TO PLAN year, there have been around 5,200 classroom closures and an additional 21,000 partial classrooms closed in the past three months, according to Department of Education figures. If Gov. Kathy Hochul were to try a mandate for two vaccine doses, 80% of 5- to 11-year-olds and 35% of 12- to 17-year-olds would effectively be locked out statewide—as they already are from extracurriculars and cultural institutions in New York City.

At work, I have covered how the city’s economic recovery is lan-

Instability and anxiety I have been lucky, or maybe strategic, and the pedicure episode was our first go-round with a quarantine. It was enough to stoke well-founded anxiety that it could happen anytime, especially now that so many people in the area are testing positive. In September,

when cases were low, I spoke to a number of battle-weary city parents who were terrified that their schools would close. It was the first week of school, and then-Mayor Bill de Blasio was promising no shutdowns, just as Mayor Eric Adams is now. Principals and teachers were working hard to follow myriad and conflicting rules and still create relatively welcoming environments in which kids could learn.

Even on the first day of school, those parents had a premonition that New York City’s school year would be tortured, that “open” did not really mean open. “Every time we get an email, my heart sinks,” one told me. She has since decided to spend the spring near family in a state without school restrictions.

“If I did have a job,” said another, who had been laid off in March 2020 but was starting her own company, “I wouldn’t be able to manage it.”

A third told me about her older child, a student at a competitive performing arts high school, who twice attempted suicide during the 2020 closures.

Before that first week ended, several of my interview subjects had their gut instincts validated: An Upper West Side second-grade classroom had closed after a teacher tested positive for the coronavirus.

Then, just as now, the scramble— to help children thrive, to hold on to jobs we have worked hard for, to keep living here—began again. ■

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POLITICS

Ethics experts slam two Adams appointments

E

thics watchdogs and the former chair of the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board are raising questions about two recent appointments by Mayor Eric Adams, saying they may run afoul of the city’s nepotism laws.

Nepotism is a tricky charge when it comes to big city politics, with many office holders defending the practice of hiring family and friends.

To this point, Chicago’s former Mayor Richard J. Daley once asked, “Who should I help? My enemies?”

Adams has defended the recent announcement that he’d appointed his brother, Bernard Adams, a retired New York Police Department sergeant, as a deputy commissioner of the NYPD. Adams has also received criticism for carving out the position of deputy mayor of public safety for Philip Banks III, a former NYPD chief who has been a subject of a federal corruption investigation and is brother to Adams’ schools chancellor, David C. Banks.

However, in the wake of the criticism, city officials announced last Wednesday that Adams is offering his brother a different title within the Police Department, executive director of mayoral security, which comes with a lesser salary.

Adams also justified the selection of Philip Banks and called him “a partner in government who knows how to make New Yorkers safe.”

Sizable payday Ethics experts, on the other hand, see a worrisome trend emerging in these early appointments from the new mayor.

“It’s stunning nepotism,” said John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a good-government watchdog. “It’s almost as if Adams is daring the powers that be who are supposed to regulate ethical behavior to do something.”

Kaehny noted that because Bernard Adams would be taking a civilian job, he would be able to double-dip into the pension system for city police officers—one pension for each position. If appointed, Bernard Adams would be able to collect his sergeant’s pension at the same time he receives a $210,000 city salary. The deputy commissioner job would have paid $240,000.

Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School and the chair of the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board from 2014 to 2020, said Bernard Adams’ selection by new NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell raises questions.

“On the face of it, it looks like there’s an issue here,” Briffault said.

“The mayor, at the very least, played some role in getting that as an appointment, whether directly or indirectly, directing the new police commissioner to do it. It’s a problem.”

The Conflicts of Interest Board is tasked with determining whether appointments violate Chapter 68 of the city charter, which prohibits

“IT’S ALMOST AS IF ADAMS IS DARING THE POWERS THAT BE TO DO SOMETHING” Bernard Adams’ appointment will require the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board to render a decision on whether it constitutes nepotism.

Banks will likely need to undergo a background check by the Department of Investigation as a City Hall appointee.

“Let me be clear on this: My brother is qualified for the position,” Adams said during a Jan. 9 interview with CNN. “He will be in charge of my security, which is extremely important to me.”

BERNARD ADAMS will head his brother’s security detail if confirmed.

AP PHOTO

PHILIP BANKS III retired when the FBI was investigating NYPD bribes.

AP PHOTO

BY BRIAN PASCUS

public officials from using their office to obtain financial gain or privilege for themselves or their relatives. But the board has been known to be generous in granting waivers, especially for the mayor, said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, an ethics and accountability group.

The board declined an interview, saying it could not comment about Chapter 68 of the city charter, as it applies in individual cases. The Adams administration did not respond to a request for comment on the two appointments but confirmed it has requested a waiver approval for Bernard Adams from the Conflicts of Interest Board.

Adams defenders such as Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn pointed to a long history in both New York and American politics of chief executives hiring family members for important positions. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg hired his daughter and his sister to serve in his administration, in unpaid positions. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio asked his wife, Chirlaine McCray, to lead multiple initiatives from City Hall, albeit also unpaid.

“As mayor, you pick people you trust, and you pick people you know,” said Mitchell Moss, urban policy professor at New York University, who advised Bloomberg.

Adams inherits a sprawling city bureaucracy of more than 325,000 civil servants, most of whom were brought in under previous administrations and hired by agency managers. The mayor is able to appoint heads to more than 50 departments and agencies, and he chooses a team of deputy mayors at City Hall.

“The mayor should be given ev-

STRATEGY SWITCH

ery opportunity to pick possible tax fraud, The the people he needs, beCity has reported. cause most of the people Federal prosecutors who work for him are civil determined that Banks servants who are outside received gifts, cash, interhis direct line of sight,” national trips and luxury Moss said. sports tickets from two SALARY Bernard Adams could He praised Adams for businessmen, Jeremy Remake on top of hiring New Yorkers rather ichberg and Jona Rechhis pension as than people from other nitz, who sought to bribe executive director cities and states. high-level Police Departof mayoral security “We’ve had a long hisment members. Rechnitz tory of mayors picking pleaded guilty to bribery people they don’t know charges and served five but have had great rémonths in jail. Reichberg sumés,” Moss said. “The was convicted of bribery AMOUNT he big failures have been and released on a mediwould have made as an when we’ve given out-ofcal furlough after two NYPD deputy towners the big job and years in prison. commissioner they’re not ready for it.”

Banks’ role in the scanMoss cited former dal was brushed aside by Mayor John Lindsay’s desome, who noted that he cision to appoint Howard Leary, was never charged. previously a police chief in Phila“I don’t understand [the word] delphia, as New York police com- unindicted. What does that mean?” missioner in 1969. Moss also criti- said Bichotte-Hermelyn, who cized de Blasio’s choice of Richard chairs the Brooklyn Democratic A. Carranza, formerly of the Hous- Party. “You’re either indicted or ton and San Francisco school sys- you’re not, so you have to create a tems, as the Department of Educa- title to connect him to something tion chancellor in 2018. he was not involved in.”

Banks has publicly declared he Continued scrutiny did nothing wrong, and Adams has Adams’ selection of Banks will pointed out that Banks was not likely continue to draw scrutiny, charged in connection with the even after the Department of Inves- case.

Even so, watchdogs worry that as tigation completes his background check. Banks abruptly resigned Adams adds an increasing number from the NYPD in 2014 as its high- of longtime friends, and now famiest-ranking uniformed member ly, into the upper echelons of Graand said he chose to retire because cie Mansion, he risks entering he did not see eye to eye with Bill shaky ethical territory.

“The word corruption is broad, Bratton, then the police commisbut [the appointments] are irresioner.

But Banks was named an unin- sponsible and an abuse of power,” dicted co-conspirator in a Federal Kaehny said. “Right now his apBureau of Investigation corruption pointments suggest that he’s more probe while being investigated by into looking after his friends than the Internal Revenue Service for the public interest.” ■

$210K

$240K

16 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JANUARY 17, 2022

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FROM PAGE 1

declared his opposition to lockdowns and school closings, going so far as to say, “We cannot feed into hysteria.”

But a mayor’s words require support by a team of capable professionals. His selections to date reveal an executive who prizes contrasting sets of characteristics in his appointees. On one hand are former nonprofit CEOs such as Sheena Wright and Anne Williams-Isom, who have a mandate to cut city spending. On the other are longtime bureaucrats such as Meera Joshi and Maria Torres-Springer, who are tasked with using the budgets they oversee to jump-start a sagging economy.

Moreover, Adams’ old Brooklyn Borough Hall team—Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Stefan Ringel and Ryan Lynch—will join new faces at City Hall who have yet to work with Adams, such as Brendan McGuire, chief counsel to the mayor, and Republican Jimmy Oddo, chief of staff to the deputy mayor of operations.

“A mayor can only focus on a couple of things himself. He gets distracted, he goes to events, he talks to you, he talks to me. He’s got to pick two or three things that are his, but the fact is, he can’t run 40plus departments,” said Stephen Berger, former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Some of the new mayor’s staffing selections have drawn criticism: his brother, Bernard Adams, as a deputy commissioner of the city Police Department, and Philip Banks III as the deputy mayor for public safety.

be a threat left firmly in the city’s rearview mirror by Inauguration Day. But that was before both the delta and omicron variants ravaged the nation, placing New York’s economic recovery in doubt and bringing exasperated residents into the third year of a global pandemic.

Perhaps most challenging for policymakers is the omicron variant’s fast spread. Despite 93.2% of adults having received at least one vaccination dose, New York City experienced more than 36,000 cases per day during Adams’ first week in office, although hospitalizations are far below their April 2020 peak.

Adams hired Lorraine Grillo, who coordinated the city’s Covid-19 recovery under Mayor Bill de Blasio last year. As Adams’ first deputy mayor, Grillo will oversee his administration’s pandemic response.

Adams also decided to maintain a sense of continuity in the city’s Health Department by keeping Dr. Dave Chokshi as the health commissioner until March 15, when he will be replaced by Dr. Ashwin Vasan, who ran a nonprofit devoted to mental health.

“You can’t completely switch folks midstream, right in the middle of the winter surge,” said Dr. Bruce Y. Lee, professor of health policy and management at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Public Health. “You don’t want to be in the midst of a transition and no one is paying attention to what’s happening from a day-today viewpoint. It takes time to transfer the plan and strategy.”

The Adams administration has already ramped up testing capabilities and invested more money into combating the omicron surge.

Nearly $145 million was allocated on Jan. 6 to help the city’s Health Department increase staffing, with $33 million going into the Covid-19 Hospital Loan Fund, which serves vulnerable New Yorkers outside of the NYC Health + Hospitals system.

Furthermore, the city has nearly tripled its testing capacity in the past month, according to NYC Test & Trace Corps data, and it is averaging almost 50,000 tests per day in January. The city now has more than 200 testing sites available across the five boroughs, including more than 100 mobile ones, with an additional 20 expected to open this month.

“This will be our New Year’s resolution: We will not be controlled by crisis,” Adams said on Inauguration Day. “Getting vaccinated is not letting the crisis control you.”

“THE CHALLENGES MAY BE HIGHER THAN HAVE FACED ANY INCOMING MAYOR” John Kaenhy, executive director of Reinvent Albany, a good-government group, called Adams’ choice of his brother “stunning nepotism” and raised questions about Banks’ role in an FBI corruption investigation that led to the incarceration of two businessmen and named Banks as an unindicted co-conspirator.

In the wake of the criticism, the mayor gave his brother a different title within the NYPD, with less pay than a deputy commissioner (see “Ethics experts slam two Adams appointments,” page 16).

Adams is still filling jobs in city government, which has more than 50 departments and 325,000 employees.

“The crucial thing is, will he be able to find people for each of the major operations who he can basically trust via backup but not be in front of?” Berger said. “That will be the biggest and hardest test for the mayor.”

Here are the four tallest mountains the Adams administration must climb, and the key people the mayor has put in place to handle them.

Covid-19 and omicron variant When Adams won the Democratic Party primary in July, it seemed as though Covid-19 would

Growing bureaucracy Adams took office at a time when New York City has both its highest budget—$102 billion in fiscal 2021—and its largest workforce ever. To this end, he’s assembled a team of experienced managers with decades of experience across multiple mayoral administrations and the highest reaches of the private sector.

Maria Torres-Springer is Adams’ deputy mayor of economic and workforce development. In this position she will be the administration’s point person on small business, housing and workforce-

development initiatives.

Torres-Springer, a former vice president of the Ford Foundation, the second largest private foundation in the world with an endowment of $16 billion, served in city government as commissioner of both the Department of Small Business Services and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development under de Blasio. She also spent nearly two years as CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corp.

“She knows these issues inside out,” said James Patchett, former chief of staff to de Blasio and former president and CEO of the Economic Development Corp. “I’m confident anyone working for her will be well positioned to succeed.”

Adams’ other deputy mayors—Joshi, Wright and WilliamsIsom—have decades of experience in the public sector and leading nonprofits. Joshi oversaw the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission for five years and worked in the Biden administration. Wright headed up the Abyssinian Development Corp., one of the largest property owners in Harlem, and grew its portfolio from $6 million to $172 million. Williams-Isom is a nonprofit CEO who previously spent 13 years at the city’s Department of Children’s Services, where she rose to deputy commissioner.

Each deputy mayor will be tasked with finding ways to meet Adams’ desire to cut spending. Adams intends to institute a 3% to 5% agencywide program to eliminate the budget gap. He also plans to close impending fiscal deficits. The state comptroller’s office anticipates the budget deficit to hit $4 billion by 2023 and grow even larger when billions in federal aid expire in 2025.

Public safety If Adams owes his election victory to a single issue, it is public safety. The former New York Police Department captain made lowering crime rates the central theme of his campaign and often cites public safety as “the prerequisite to prosperity.” But the situation Adams confronts as mayor is increasingly concerning, simply based on the data.

New York’s 485 murders in 2021 were the highest total in 10 years, and the number of citywide shooting victims rose from 1,869 to 1,877 in the past year, a slight leap that followed a 97% increase in shooting incidents between 2019 and 2020, according to city Police Department data. Nearly 14,000 robberies and 23,000 felony assaults occurred across the five boroughs last year, the department said.

“We’re having shootings and murders all over the city, which needs to be a concern for all businesses,” said Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission. “We may have capped the rise, but we haven’t reversed it.

That’s the challenge: getting those numbers back down to prepandemic levels.”

Adams made good on a campaign promise by selecting Keechant Sewell as the Police Department’s first female commissioner. Sewell, who has 25 years of experience as a police officer, had been the Nassau County chief of

COLOSSAL TASK

Top-level members of the new Adams administration enter at a time when the city is coping with problems on many fronts: the pandemic, struggling businesses, homelessness and crime

PHILIP BANKS III

LORRAINE GRILLO

MEERA JOSHI

KEVIN KIM

KEECHANT SEWELL

MARIA TORRESSPRINGER

ANNE WILLIAMS-ISOM

SHEENA WRIGHT

DR. ASHWIN VASAN

detectives since 2020. But the 350-person contingent that Sewell handled on Long Island is small compared with the 35,000 uniformed police officers and 18,000 civilians she now leads in the Big Apple.

Aborn called Sewell “the highest-profile mayoral appointment in the city,” adding that “the symbolic nature of her selection, coupled with her substantive experience and skill,” should pair well with Adams’ decades of Police Department experience to help ease her transition between counties.

“My sense is that the cops themselves are very open to Adams, and that’s a big advantage,” Aborn said.

“He doesn’t have to prove himself to the cops. That will make the job of the new police commissioners easier.”

Fragile economy Adams begins his term as New York City’s economy remains in a holding pattern. The local unemployment rate is 8%, almost double the national average. Employees have yet to return to office buildings—an October 2021 survey by the Partnership for New York City found only 28% of Manhattan office workers are back in their offices on a given day, and only 8% return to the office five days per week.

“Omicron put the kibosh on that,” said Jessica Walker, president and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. “A lot of people thought it would be after Labor Day and that got pushed to Jan. 1, and omicron pushed companies back yet again.”

Adams did what he could to spark commerce in his first week.

AP PHOTO, NYCMAYORSOFFICE/FLICKR, BUCK ENNIS, FACEBOOK, NEWSCOM

ADAMS

He named Kevin Kim, a former commissioner of the State Liquor Authority, to lead the Department of Small Business Services, and he signed an executive order aimed at reforming multiple agency regulations of small businesses and ensuring owners face fewer fines and less onerous penalties.

“We’re cutting the red tape and bringing real relief to the entrepreneurs who have made their dreams a reality and keep our local economy strong,” Adams said.

The tech sphere is another place where Adams hopes to affect the city’s economy. Aside from championing cryptocurrencies and Web 3, the new mayor consolidated the chief technology officer role with the commissioner of the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Matt Frazer, who previously handled information technology for the Police Department, takes over as Adams’ tech czar.

“The DOITT commissioner has 90% of the tech portfolio, and a more efficient structure is better for New York City and easier for businesses,” Patchett said. “[The city] is already the No. 2 tech hub in the world, so it’s obviously a great platform to build on.”

But above all, Adams will need his new staff of bureaucrats to take the wheel from him from time to time.

“Just the sheer volume of things that occur and have to be dealt with … it’s just system overload,” said Peter Madonia, chief of staff to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“The fact is, everybody’s watching you.” ■

18 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JANUARY 17, 2022

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LEGAL NOTICE

AUCTION BANKRUPTCY AUCTION SALE

LEGAL NOTICE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK MID ISLAND LP d/b/a/ MADISON MANAGEMENT OF QUEENS and CARNEGIE PARK ASSOCIATES, L.P., on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, -againstHESS CORPORATION, Defendant.

Index No. 650911/2013 (Schecter, J.)

Notice of Settlement of Class Action and Fairness Hearing There is a proposed settlement of $3,400,000 of the above-captioned class action (the “Action”), and the Court has scheduled a hearing to determine the fairness of the settlement and an award of attorney’s fees and expenses to counsel for Plaintiffs and the Class Members.

By Order dated, December 2, 2021, the Court preliminarily approved the settlement and scheduled the fairness hearing.

Description of the Action 1.

Plaintiffs have alleged that between March 2009 and March 2013, Defendant breached its warranties to thousands of Defendant’s heating-oil customers who ordered, and paid for Hess No. 4 or Hess No. 6 fuel oil, but instead third-party carriers, unrelated to Hess, delivered a product adulterated with non-Hess used or waste oil. Defendant has denied and continues to deny Plaintiffs’ allegations that it has committed any violations of law or engaged in any of the wrongful acts alleged in the December 16, 2013, First Amended Complaint (the “First Amended Complaint”), and has maintained that it has meritorious defenses to Plaintiffs’ claims.

The Class 2.

By Order dated February 17, 2021, the Court certified the Action under CPLR §§ 901 and 902 as a class action “on behalf of all persons or entities in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island who, between March 2009 to March 2013 (the Class Period), purchased Hess No. 4 fuel oil or Hess No. 6 fuel oil and received and paid for an adulterated product containing non-Hess used and/or waste oil.”

3.

The purpose of this Notice is to inform you of the terms of the proposed Settlement, and of a hearing to be held by the Court to consider the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of the Settlement, the proposed Plan of Distribution, and the motion by Lead Plaintiffs’ counsel for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses (the “Settlement Hearing”). See below for details about the Settlement Hearing, including the date and time of the hearing.

4.

The issuance of this Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court concerning the merits of any claim in the Action, and the Court still has to decide whether to approve the Settlement. If the Court approves the Settlement and the proposed Plan of Distribution, then payments to Class Members will be made after any appeals are resolved.

The Settlement 5.

Subject to Court approval, Plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and the Class have agreed to settle the Action in exchange for $3,400,000 cash (the “Settlement Fund”). The Settlement Fund minus costs of Notice to the Class Members, administrative expenses and any attorney’s fees and/or expenses as awarded by the Court, and any other expenses, including but not limited to any taxes that would be deducted from the Settlement Fund (the “Net Settlement Fund”) will be distributed to Class Members in accordance with Paragraph 7-9, below. Defendant will not be liable for any payments in connection with the Settlement other than payment of the $3,400,000 to the Settlement Fund.

6.

Plaintiffs and Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel for the Class negotiated the Settlement being fully informed of all factual and legal issues concerning the claims and defenses involved in the Action and were aware of the potential risks and uncertainties of a favorable determination after trial and further appeals. It is the considered judgment of Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel that the Settlement is fair and reasonable to Plaintiffs and the Class Members.

Plan for Distribution of the Settlement Fund 7.

After deducting from the Settlement Fund attorneys’ fees to Lead Plaintiffs’ counsel and/or reimbursement expenses as awarded by the Court, and any other expenses, including but not limited to any taxes that would be deducted from the Settlement Fund, the Net Settlement Fund will be distributed directly to “Class Members,” defined as Hess customers who, between March 2009 and March 2013 received a delivery of Hess No. 4 or Hess No. 6 heating fuel which was allegedly blended with what the First Amended Complaint in the Action has characterized as “waste oil.” Class Members will not be required to submit claims in order to recover a share of the Net Settlement Fund. Class Members will be identified by JND Legal Administration (the “Claims Administrator”), which is a third-party claims administrator with extensive experience in class-action administrative processes and

Hotel Development / Redevelopment Site 232 Seigel Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206

whose retention has been authorized by the Court. The identification of Class Members will be based, among other things, on documents of Defendant and other documents produced in discovery in the Action.

8.

The calculation of each Class Member’s share will be performed by the Claims Administrator. For each Class Member for whom a current mailing address has been ascertained by the Claims Administrator (each an “Eligible Class Member”) a determination will be made of the number of gallons of waste oil it allegedly received which was included in a delivery of Hess No. 4 or Hess No. 6 fuel oil. The aggregate number of gallons of waste oil allegedly received with a delivery of Hess No. 4 fuel oil by that Eligible Class Member will then be multiplied by $2.61, and the aggregate number of gallons of waste oil allegedly received with a delivery of Hess No. 6 fuel oil by that Eligible Class Member will then be multiplied by $2.46, which are approximate averages of the purchase price per gallon of Hess No. 4 and Hess. No. 6 heating oil during the Class Period (the “Claim Amount”).

Each Eligible Class Member will receive a pro rata share of the Net Settlement Fund to be determined as follows: Eligible Class Member’s Claim Amount x

Aggregate of all Eligible Class Members’ Claim Amounts

Net Settlement Fund

= Eligible Class Member’s Share of Net Settlement Fund 9.

Checks will be mailed directly to Eligible Class Members via Federal Express with signature required. The checks will expire within sixty (60) days of the date sent by the Claims Administrator.

Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel’s Application for an Award of Attorneys’ Fees and Reimbursement of Expenses 10. Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel have litigated this case for over eight years on a strictly contingent basis, meaning that they have not been paid any money for their services on behalf of Plaintiffs and Class Members. Additionally, expenses in excess of $500,000 have been advanced and incurred in furtherance of prosecuting the claims for the benefit of Plaintiffs and the Class Members and to obtain Class certification. The case has been vigorously litigated by Plaintiffs and Defendant and Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel have spent in excess of 3,000 hours prosecuting the Action. Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel will apply for an award of attorneys’ fees in an amount not to exceed one-third of the Settlement Fund in addition to reimbursement of expenses in excess of $500,000. Any fees and expenses awarded by the Court will be paid from the Settlement Fund. Class Members are not and will not be liable for any such fees or expenses.

TODAY

In re: 232 Seigel Development LLC, et al.

Case No.: 20-22844 (RDD) Howard P. Magaliff, Chapter 7 Trustee

ADDRESS 232 Seigel Street, Brooklyn, NY 11206

NEIGHBORHOOD East Williamsburg

AUCTION DETAILS

PROPERTY DETAILS

CONTACT

to be another nine parking spaces on the ground floor, bringing the project’s total to 23. This property also presents a redevelopment opportunity for multilevel industrial warehousing which is currently at a premium in Brooklyn, NY.

Former development site of The AUCTION: Thurs, February 3, 2022 @ 11:00 a.m. Bushwick Hotel, a 10-story, 144-key hotel located in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY. to be conducted via Zoom online meeting platform Approved plans for a 97,345-square-foot building that was to have a restaurant and lobby on the ground floor followed REGISTRATION DEADLINE: by 18 rooms each on floors 2-9. Below Tues, February 1, 2022 @ 5:00 p.m. ground, the cellar floors will hold bike Opening Bid: 8,000,000 storage, 14 parking spots, a gym and the Qualifying Deposit: $800,000 hotel’s kitchen and laundry. There was

Please contact MYC for Terms & Condition of Sale, approved hotel development plan, survey and other pertinent information.

PHONE SITE

(347) 273-1258 www.myccorp.com

REAL ESTATE 18,000 sf warehouse space avail in Woodside. Immed access to BQE and all major HWYS feeding tri-state area. Drive in ramp for loading, 14 ft ceiling height, Hvy power, sprinklered, central HVAC, LED Lighting throughout. Call 718-440-8609.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES

The Settlement Hearing 11. The Court has scheduled the Settlement Hearing for April 7, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. The hearing will be conducted virtually on Microsoft Teams. Any party, objector, or member of the public who does not receive an invitation to the hearing on Teams may, no earlier than March 16, 2022, email the court (mrand@nycourts.gov) to request an invitation (which will also have a telephone dial-in option) so they may observe and/or participate in the hearing.

12. Class Members are not required to attend the Hearing or submit any papers in order to receive a share of the Net Settlement Fund, as described above. Any Class Member may request to speak at the Settlement Hearing or submit objections to the Settlement or application of Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel for an award of fees or reimbursement of expenses, provided that, on or before March 15, 2022, a Notice of Intention to Appear and papers supporting an objection is filed with the Court and served upon Plaintiffs and Defendant through their respective counsel, as follows:

Lead Plaintiffs’ Counsel

Defendant’s Counsel

GROSSMAN LLP Stanley M. Grossman, Esq. Judd B. Grossman, Esq. Lindsay E. Hogan, Esq. 745 Fifth Avenue, 5th Floor New York, New York 10151 (646) 770-7445

WHITE & CASE LLP Heather K. McDevitt, Esq. David G. Hille, Esq. Kimberly A. Havlin, Esq. 1221 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020 (212) 819-8200

Further Information About the Settlement A website has been established posting documents relevant to the Settlement Hearing: www.HessFuelOilSettlement.com. Further information about the Settlement may also be obtained by contacting Lindsay E. Hogan, Esq. at lhogan@grossmanllp.com and 646-770-7445. Please do not call the Court or the Court Clerk’s office for information.

www.HessFuelOilSettlement.com

SUBMIT YOUR BUSINESS CLASSIFIEDS

Auction: Thursday, February 3, 2022

CLASSIFIEDS Contact Claudia Hippel at 312-659-0076 or email: claudia.hippel@crain.com

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.

Notice of Formation of 136 WINCHESTER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/06/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 98 Anderson Rd., Kent, CT 06757. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, Attn: Lewis Hart at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: To purchase, own and sell real estate in New York.

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.

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CLASSIFIEDS CLASSIFIEDS

Advertising Section Advertising Section

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

INVITATION TO BID

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES

Invitation to Prequalify and to Bid

Rehabilitation and Flood Mitigation of the New York Aquarium, Brooklyn, NY: Turner Construction Company, an EEO Employer, is currently soliciting bids for the Rehabilitation and Flood Mitigation of the New York Aquarium from subcontractors and vendors for the following bid packages: BP #055 – Cleaning/Laborer (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #048 – Misc. Metal & Railing (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #043 –Carpentry (Including Temp Shed & HMW) (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #064 – Spray on Fireproofing (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #046 – Paint (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #054 – Pre-Construction Surveying (Report/Pictures) (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #056 – Surveying (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #045 – Masonry (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) Only bids responsive to the entire scope of work will be considered and, to be successful, bidders must be prequalified by Turner. Certified M/WBE and Small Business (13 CFR part 121) companies are encouraged to submit.

In order to receive the bid packages, potential bidders either (1) must initiate the prequalification process by submitting a Subcontractor/Vendor Prequalification Statement to Turner, or (2) must be prequalified based on a prior submission to Turner. (Note: Prior prequalification submissions that remain current will be considered as previously submitted or may be updated at this time.) All bidders must be prequalified by the bid deadline: February 7th, 2022 and initial submission of a prequalification statement not later than February 7th, 2022 is strongly encouraged. All bidders must have an acceptable EMR, and will be subject to government regulations such as 44 CFR and Federal Executive Order 11246. Successful bidders will be required to use LCP Tracker compliance verification software. Note that while this is a New York City prevailing wage project, union affiliation is not required for BP #055, #048, #043, #064, #046, #054, #056 and #045. For BP#055 – Union 79 labor force is required.

A Webcast about the above Bid Package/s will be held on January 13, 2021. Attendance is optional for all; the Webcast is designed to assist potential M/WBE subcontractors/vendors.

Link: Please join this meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/19%3ameeting_NWFmNDViZmQtNzNkZi00M2ZhLWIzYjAtMDdhMTM2ZDQ5YTMy%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2220e27 700-b670-4553-a27c-d8e2583b3289%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%2281be9e3a-0656-4e94-9245-fa214eb20ab2%22%7d To obtain further information about contracting opportunities and/or the prequalification package and bid solicitation package/s, please contact Dolores Wooden, DWooden@tcco.com 201-954-9092.

The date for the virtual public opening at the Turner Construction Company office located at 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York, is February 8th, 2022 1PM. Link: Please join this opening meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/19%3ameeting_YzUxYzI4YWEtMGYwYy00MGM1LTg5ZWEtNTkwZDUwNTQ4Yjhj%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2220e2770 0-b670-4553-a27c-d8e2583b3289%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22732a90ce-24b7-42eb-bf78-d638e2a629ac%22%7d

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES 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 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 ANNA WEISS, P.L.L.C. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/7/19. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process against PLLC to 200 Rector Pl 12B, NY, NY 10280.

Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of formation of Konisan (NY), LLC, file with SOS of NY on 12/13/21. Loc in NY County, designed as agent upon whom process may be served SSNY, shall mail process to 600 Mamaroneck Ave #400, Harrison, NY 10528. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Application for Authority of FLLC: Tinicum Venture Partners I GP LLC Application for Authority of FLLC filed with SSNY: 12/10/2021. The jurisdiction of the co. is DE, it was formed on 11/22/2021. Office location in NYS, NY County is 800 3rd Ave. 40th flr, NY, NY 10022. SSNY desig. as agent of the FLLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY can mail process to c/o Tin. Enter. Inc. 990 Stewart Ave, Ste 580, Garden City, NY 11530.

The address of the principal office of the Co. in DE is 1209 ORANGE STREET, WILMINGTON, DE 19801. Name & address of the auth. officer in DE where a copy of the Articles of Organization of the FLLC is filed at SOS JEFFREY W. BULLOCK, 401 FEDERAL STREET, STE 4 DOVER, DE 19901. Purpose of company is any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of CITY WINERY GRAND CENTRAL, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/13/21.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/08/21. Princ. office of LLC: 25 11th Ave., 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. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of CAPE GRAVITY, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/19/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Brian Orlando, 350 Bleecker St., Apt. 6X, NY, NY 10014, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of RADIO RESTAURANT, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/27/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/02/21.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Youngwoo & Associates, LLC, 545 W. 25th St., 8th Fl., NY, NY 10001. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Fulton RE Holdings LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/14/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/01/21. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Ilyse Dolgenas, Esq., Withers Bergman LLP, 430 Park Ave., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10022. Address to be maintained in DE: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts of Org. filed with the DE Secy. of State, Division of Corporations, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activities.

ESRT MV Swap Chesapeake Owner, L.L.C. Authority filed SSNY 11/29/21. Office: NY Co. LLC formed DE 9/28/21. Exists in DE: c/o Corporation Service Company, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. SSNY designated agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served & mail to: c/o Corporation Service Company, 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Cert of Formation Filed: Jeffrey W. Bullock, DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. General Purpose.

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 : 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.

ESRT Victory Owner, L.L.C. Authority filed SSNY 11/29/21.

Office: NY Co. LLC formed DE 9/28/21. Exists in DE: c/o Corporation Service Company, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. SSNY designated agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served & mail to: c/o Corporation Service Company, 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Cert of Formation Filed: Jeffrey W. Bullock, DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. General Purpose.

Notice of Qualification of KINOKO LOGISTICS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/02/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/04/14.

Princ. office of LLC: 100 Ave. of the Americas, 16th Fl., NY, NY 10013. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of J26 LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/02/21.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/26/20. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o.

Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 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.

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.

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Advertising Section Advertising Section

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 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.

Notice is hereby given that a license, number 1340105 for onpremise liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor, beer, wine & cider at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 37 W. 46 Street,1st Flr, N.Y. ,N.Y. 10036 for on premise consumption.

Ruaymak Inc t/a Mitr Thai

Off The Rip LLC Arts. of org. filed with NY Secy. of State (SSNY) on 9/16/20. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to:105 West 125th Street #1048 NY, NY 10027. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company name: Walker 5, LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 06/07/2017. Off. Loc.: Richmond Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, 209 Granite Ave Staten Island NY. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of YONKERS PORTFOLIO MEMBER LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/22/21. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/13/21. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E. 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. 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., Wilimington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Real estate owner.

Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company. Name: Nathan Galinsky Apartments Preservation LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on December 6, 2021. NY office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to Nathan Galinsky Apartments Preservation LLC, 641 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

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

Notice of Formation of 9 VANDAM LP JV LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/18/21.

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 Arch Companies, 15 West 27th St., 6th Fl., NY, NY 10001. Purpose: any lawful activities.

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 formation of Limited Liability Company. Name: Nathan Galinsky Apartments Preservation Management LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on December 6, 2021. NY office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to Nathan Galinsky Apartments Preservation Management LLC, 641 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022. Purpose/character of LLC is to engage in 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 Limited Liability Company name: Walker 89, LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 05/19/2016. Off. Loc.: Richmond Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, 209 Granite Ave Staten Island NY. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

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.

ESRT MV Swap Victory Owner, L.L.C. Authority filed SSNY 11/29/21. Office: NY Co. LLC formed DE 9/28/21. Exists in DE: c/o Corporation Service Company, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. SSNY designated agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served & mail to: c/o Corporation Service Company, 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Cert of Formation Filed: Jeffrey W. Bullock, DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. General Purpose.

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.

Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company. Name: Nathan Galinsky Apartments Development LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on December 6, 2021. NY office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to Nathan Galinsky Apartments Development LLC, 641 Lexington Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

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

Notice of Formation of CPG CSA PRESERVATION PARTNERS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/08/21.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E. 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207.

Purpose: Real estate.

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 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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FROM PAGE 3

spokesman said.

Turo first arrived in New York under the name RelayRides, but in 2014 it was ordered to cease operation and fined $200,000 by the state Department of Financial Services.

Regulators said the company ran afoul of insurance and advertising laws.

After raising $470 million from a list of investors that includes IAC and Kleiner Perkins, Turo filed for an initial public offering on Jan. 11 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Turo’s IPO filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission referenced the New York market soon becoming available. Getaround is backed by Softbank and has raised $570 million, according to Crunchbase’s figures.

The bill signed by Hochul was sponsored by state Sen. Neil Breslin, a Democrat representing parts of Albany, and former Harlem Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez, acting secretary of state.

Zipcar’s impact Separate from the Airbnb style of car-sharing, Zipcar offers shortterm car rentals. The city Department of Transportation recently expanded the city’s 300 designated parking spots for Zipcar, focusing on low- and moderate-income neighborhoods that had seen limited car-share options.

A report on the parking program, which launched in 2018, found that it increased the overall diversity among Zipcar users and decreased the number of vehicle miles traveled by about 7%.

The pay-per-trip model of car-sharing requires users to weigh the cost of each drive against other options, the report theorized, such as riding public transit or bicycling.

Transportation experts are hopeful the peer-to-peer companies will add another option for the last mile of travel in areas with limited public transit.

“Car-sharing is a proven way to reduce car ownership and vehicle miles traveled,” said Felicia Park-Rogers, director of regional infrastructure projects at the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “They make a car something you access on occasion instead of having to own.”

Raising awareness, and making sure the vehicles are available not just in the wealthiest and most densely populated areas, will be challenges for the programs, she added.

Getaround has a list of local car owners interested in signing up, Notti said, and will work with local garages in the coming weeks to install the equipment required for its contactless transactions.

“We’ve spent a lot of years figuring out how to do this right,” he said. “In many ways, we have just been waiting for the green light to expand.”■

REAL ESTATE

Roku to take a piece of massive office space EY left behind in Times Square

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

Frederick Fackelmayer of CBRE represented Roku in the lease.

T

he team at RXR Realty is breathing a sigh of relief now that television-streaming company Roku is taking over 240,000 square feet of prime office space at its 5 Times Square tower that had been left behind by longtime tenant EY. The accounting firm, which has occupied the entire 1 millionsquare-foot building since 2002, moved its offices to the newly-built 1 Manhattan West in July—a big vacancy for 5 Times Square’s landlord to fill in a tricky office market.

Roku, meanwhile, is more than tripling its Manhattan footprint from the 70,000-square-foot lease it currently holds at 114 W. 41st St. and will move into the top eight floors of the new space by year’s end.

A joint venture between RXR Realty and David Werner purchased the building in 2016 and began a $50 million repositioning to add amenities, including workspace

Asking rent falls Times Square, which is the country’s most visited attraction, reported just 60% of its prepandemic pedestrian traffic count last fall. Moreover, the area registered its lowest rent in more than a decade, according to a recent report from the Real Estate Board of New York. The average asking rent in Times Square fell below $1,000 per square foot, to $998, for the first time in more than a decade, the data shows.

But a long-awaited rise in international travel should help business pick up in areas like Times Square, Fifth Avenue and Lower Manhattan, REBNY noted in the report. And a return to offices will give office worker–dependent corridors such as Grand Central and Midtown East a boost. ■

5 TIMES SQUARE

BLOOMBERG

STARTUPS

lounges, podcast and recording rooms, a fitness center, a lecture hall, a restaurant, food and beverage offerings as well as modern elevators and access to the property through the Times Square–42nd Street subway station.

All of its retail space is currently empty.

RXR was represented by Dan Birney and Alexandra Budd in-house as well as CBRE’s Bob Alexander, Ryan Alexander, Mike Affronti, Alex Benisatto, Taylor Callaghan and Nicole Marshall. Sacha Zarba and

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TECH SPOTLIGHT

CAPTION

BUCK ENNIS

RUDENSTINE of ButterflyMX shows how the smart intercom can use a QR code to generate a virtual key.

FOCAL POINTS

Chelsea startup’s smart intercom opening doors

FOUNDED 2015 MANAGEMENT Aaron Rudenstine, chief executive officer; Cyrus Claffey, founder and executive chairman

As deliveries swamp buildings, ButterflyMX pitches its device to landlords as a competitive edge

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

I

n apartment buildings across the country, intercoms are being replaced by video systems allowing entry to visitors, couriers and dog walkers.

ButterflyMX, a startup based in Chelsea, is a leader in the market, with more than 6,500 residential buildings signed up for its tech-enabled intercoms, which allow residents to let people in through video calls and automated smartphone keys. In December the firm closed a $50 million investment round to continue its expansion.

“We are part of an entire ecosystem of companies that are bringing buildings from the analog world into the digital,” said Aaron Rudenstine, CEO of ButterflyMX. The company launched seven years ago, when founder Cyrus Claffey grew frustrated by missing package deliveries when he wasn’t home. He had moved into a newly built Brooklyn building that, like an estimated 70% of city apartment listings, didn’t have a doorman. If he weren’t home to let in a courier, the package often went undelivered—something that didn’t make sense in the smartphone era.

“He realized the technology existed to do that, but no one had created the product,” Rudenstine said.

In 2010 Rudenstine co-created Citymaps,

one of the first online sources for detailed local maps of businesses. TripAdvisor bought the startup for an undisclosed amount in 2016. He was introduced through a friend to ButterflyMX’s executive team shortly after the deal and in 2019 took over the chief executive role. Claffey is the company’s executive chairman.

Among ButterflyMX’s 6,500 properties are those managed by real estate firms Greystar, Lennar, Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities. In the city, Rudenstine said, ButterflyMX is present in about 3.5% of apartments. Boston and Denver are among its strongest markets, with its systems present in 9% and 10% of apartments, respectively.

Although the technology has its most clear value to buildings without doormen, Butterfly’s software and ability to organize access has proved valuable to buildings with frontdesk staff as well, Rudenstine said.

The touchscreen monitors that clients install at the door to their building start at just under $4,000, with varying monthly subscription costs after that.

Hot market Startups focused on property technology raised a record $32 billion in 2021, according to the Center for Real Estate Technology and Innovation. Latch, a competitor based on the West Side that makes smart-lock access systems, was taken public last spring in a $1.5

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES 200

billion deal with a special-purpose acquisition company created by Tishman Speyer.

Part of that is driven by the general strength of the private investment market as well as the way Covid-19 has created new priorities for residential landlords. But Suken Vakil, a general partner at JMI Equity, which led ButterflyMX’s latest funding round, said the interest in proptech predates the pandemic.

“What you’ve seen is the advancement of technology over the past five or so years to be value-effective and really drive innovation," Vakil said.

The rise of the tech-enabled apartment building, however, has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers, who fear bad landlords could abuse the data to harass tenants. The City Council in April approved the Tenant Data Privacy Act, which requires that tenants consent to the use of their data and limits what information can be stored. Tenants also have a right to a physical key to enter their building and individual unit. Rudenstine said ButterflyMX has adjusted its policies in line with the law and is working with landlords on ensuring compliance. The company is also governed by data privacy laws such as the California Consumer Privacy Act, he noted.

What’s next With the new investment, ButterflyMX plans to grow its staff by at least 100 in the

FUNDING ButterflyMX has raised $108.5 million from investors in six separate deals.

PRODUCT MIX The company provides software and hardware to apartment managers for a “unified property access solution,” including video intercoms, package rooms, elevator controls and smart locks.

GROWTH STRATEGY The startup will use its recent investment round to hire at least 100 additional employees and scale up its services by offering more features and marketing to both existing and newly built buildings.

WEBSITE butterflymx.com

next year. The company maintains its office in Chelsea, but most of its staff works remotely and is spread across the country.

Rudenstine said the firm sees opportunity not just in new housing stock but in converting existing buildings to the tech required to be competitive among today’s renters.

“The biggest demographic of renters today is the millennial generation, who grew up in the digital world,” Rudenstine said. “If your building is not built around the latest technology, you are at a disadvantage.” ■

JANUARY 17, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 23

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