Crain's New York Business

ASKED & ANSWERED Creating welcoming spaces to welcome back workers PAGE 14

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LOOKING AHEAD Flushing window firm focuses on energy efficiency PAGE 3

APRIL 11, 2022

EMPLOYMENT

New York may be having a labor union renaissance

CHRIS SMALLS led the first successful Amazon union vote in the U.S.

Organizers see an opening after wins at Amazon and Starbucks

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ew York is a relative union stronghold, but in the past few weeks unions in the city have seen something of a renaissance—one that experts say is likely to fuel a growing labor movement across the five boroughs and the country.

On April 1 workers’ independent

union drive at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island culminated in the first U.S. union at the e-commerce giant. That same day employees at Starbucks’ flagship store in Chelsea voted to unionize. Four weeks earlier workers at the SoHo location for outdoor apparel retailer REI voted to create the only union at the company.

Among workers who already

have contracts, thousands of doormen and staff at luxury apartment buildings are now threatening to strike as their Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union seeks to negotiate higher wages and protect employees’ sick leave, vacation days and paid health care.

Labor leaders say treacherous

BLOOMBERG

BY CAROLINE SPIVACK

See UNIONS on page 19

FASHION’S SURVIVAL

Fashion industry has designs on the future After a pivot to mass producing PPE, local manufacturers return to crafting small-batch couture

BY BETH TREFFEISEN

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old, bright colors framed by black silhouettes, fitted button-down work shirts and flowy dresses made for any occasion enliven the glass windows at Emmelle Boutique on Madison Avenue. Behind each outfit on display are the Garment District–based workers and designers who sketched, engineered and stitched together the final products.

Mi Jong Lee first opened her retail store in 1982.

THE VALUE Partly so she could create of the fashion and showcase her own industry in New designs, Lee launched York City, with wholesale sales Emmelle Boutique’s accounting for wholesale collection in $72 billion 2007 and soon moved her entire business to the Garment District.

A chaotic production floor filled with

BUCK ENNIS

$98B

LEE (left) with two of her Emmelle Boutique staffers

See FASHION on page 16

NEWSPAPER

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REAL ESTATE CHECKUP

NYCHA chief’s plans to rehab units PAGE 2 Manhattan’s recordbreaking Q1 home sales PAGE 4

Legal Aid stops taking Queens eviction cases PAGE 7

New charter school set for the Bronx PAGE 12 4/8/22 5:03 PM

CRAIN’S POWER BREAKFAST

NYCHA chief has a plan for fixing ‘distressed’ apartments

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ew York City Housing Authority Chair and CEO Gregory Russ laid bare the huge capital shortfall the public housing agency faces, placing special emphasis on a Housing Preservation Trust bill under consideration in Albany.

With more than 177,000 apartments, 400,000 residents and 13,000 employees, NYCHA is the largest public housing operation in the country. Some have described it as a city unto itself. But many of the units were built in the 1930s and 1940s and have rarely been improved over the years. Today the authority faces more than $40 billion in capital needs.

“NYCHA has some of the roughest conditions I’ve seen in 25 years, there’s no question,” Russ said at a Crain’s Power Breakfast event at the New York Athletic Club last week.

“We’ve missed literally four cycles of capital investment. That’s one of the reasons conditions are so bad.

The institution was never designed for these conditions.”

The event was attended by business and nonprofit executives and city leaders including Jessica Katz, Mayor Eric Adams’ chief housing officer.

The Adams administration proposed spending $3.2 billion of city funds for NYCHA in the next four years in the January preliminary

budget—an amount lower than the $1.5 billion annual investment requested by housing advocates. Together with the failure of President Joe Biden’s $2.1 trillion Build Back Better Bill, the lower funding total proposed by the city has reinforced Russ’ aim of acquiring new capital through Albany.

Public-private partnership The bill proposed by Manhattan Sen. Brian Kavanagh and Brooklyn Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz would create a new public housing entity within NYCHA that would act as a trust and trigger additional federal subsidies that could allow the authority to bond out the costs of new capital repairs.

Russ took out a copy of the bill waved it to the audience.

“This is the future,” he said, imploring Democrats in Albany to pass the bill. “We have an opportunity to create a sister entity to bookend, into perpetuity, public housing funded by the Section 8 program. So this is a chance. We’re not going to get too many more.”

Under Section 8, some NYCHA units can remain in public ownership but fall under private management. The Housing Preservation Trust bill would change appropriation lines for public housing units included in the trust. It would allow for $650 per unit in additional operating subsidies from the federal government to flow each month

into as many as 25,000 individual units currently covered under Section 8, Russ explained.

“To access the additional subsidy, you have to move the subsidy platform,” Russ said. “That additional income allows an enormous amount of money to be raised when you make that transition.”

It’s not only on the capital side that NYCHA is desperate for money. The authority’s operating budget is in a precarious state due to thousands of tenants falling behind on their rent. Russ acknowledged that “right now, we are struggling with rent collection,” and that authority’s residents are some $300 million in arrears.

The state’s rent-relief program is unlikely to be able to help deal with this debt, as the statute says that public housing tenants should be the last priority for receiving funds, Daniel Tietz, commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Administration, said in February.

These late rent payments have affected NYCHA’s ability to pay its monthly bills.

“Most folks don’t understand that money comes in that month and is spent that month, so the capacity to hire people is constricted by the amount of operating money we have,” he said. “It’s not insurmountable, but it does present a challenge as we try to manage our day-to-day operations.

Russ added the following points:

BUCK ENNIS

BY BRIAN PASCUS

RUSS has had a long career managing public housing.

● The authority currently has a vacancy rate between 1.2% and 2%. ● They’ve recently inspected 130,000 apartments for the presence of lead but have relaunched inspections after the city changed certain lead standards. ● The authority has a new chief procurement officer. ● NYCHA is reorganizing its capital department, which handles construction, under a public-private project management-based model.

“It’s about making that practice of managing the capital jobs look more like, ‘Do the public mission but adopt the best elements of the private sector process,’ ” Russ said. ● Tenants at the NYCHA Chelsea-Elliott Houses in Manhattan formed a resident review and advisory committee to consider development teams for a Section 8 conversion.

The approach of incorporating resident feedback may become a model. ● Russ said public housing

shouldn’t mean institutional-looking; units should be livable. He noted that for 50 years public-housing contractors wouldn't install backsplashes. “How difficult is it to put some tile or tile work there to make the kitchen look like something that’s of its time?” he asked.

More than anything, Russ stressed he wanted to see the authority fall into stable financial footing so that the living conditions of residents could improve and positively affect the outcome of their own lives. He noted there is an entire generation of working families and high school students and children in New York City who deserve an opportunity to grow up under a better roof.

“If we can put the capital into these neighborhoods, you release the family from having to worry about their environment and the living conditions, and you release the potential of the person,” Russ said. ■

POLITICS

Hochul and Albany Democrats come to $220 billion budget agreement

BY BRIAN PASCUS

JOIN US

THURSDAY, MAY 5 CRAIN’S HEALTH EQUITY FORUM How can New Yorkers get the care they need? How can the health care system be more equitable? Join Crain’s for a breakfast discussion of these topics and more with stakeholders from hospitals and community health clinics, public policy experts and advocates.

NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB 180 Central Park South, 9th Floor Time: 8:30 to 10 a.m.

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emocrats in Albany have agreed on a record-breaking $220 billion budget for the fiscal year that began April 1. A vote is expected soon.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie came to the agreement after a bitter negotiation. Disputes dragged on over amendments to the 2019 bail reform law and investing public money in a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills.

The budget for the fiscal year that stretches from this month to March 2023 is 24% higher than the $177 billion former Gov. Andrew Cuomo negotiated just two years ago. The budget is reflective not only of billions of dollars in emergency funding provided by the federal government during the pandemic but of the state’s desire to spend more on

social services and capital needs as New York emerges from Covid-19.

Bills and bail Democrats were able to agree on several big-ticket spending items, including Hochul’s desire to invest $10 billion in the state’s health care workforce and roughly $1 billion in tax cuts, grants and spending to benefit small businesses. Democrats, notably progressives, were able to secure a victory on expanded early child care, gaining up to $3 billion for a new state program that will not be universal.

Hochul pushed through at least $600 million for a new stadium for the Buffalo Bills, which many downstate Democrats had seized upon as wasteful.

Possibly the most consequential pieces to the 2023 budget agreement are the amendments to the bail reform law, which eliminated cash bail for most misdemeanor

and nonviolent felony charges, and allowed judges to consider an individual’s ability to pay.

After the city and others across the state saw a rise in shootings and violent crimes in 2020 and 2021, opinion shifted against the legislation. Mayor Eric Adams and Hochul criticized some parts of the law and asked for changes.

Under the new amendments, it will be easier for judges to hold and set bail for repeat offenders and those who threaten people or property, and they will be able to consider whether the charges caused serious harm to an individual or group when considering terms, a source close to the negotiations said.

Judges also will be able to set bail for additional gun and weapons possession crimes that had previously been excluded.

Other items include a suspension of the gas tax from June 1 until the end of the year that will save New Yorkers 16 cents per gallon and language to legalize alcohol-to-go for restaurants, a measure the liquor store lobby has opposed.

One item that doesn’t appear to be in the agreement: Progressive advocates wanted $3 billion for a new Excluded Workers Fund to provide cash to undocumented workers who didn’t qualify for unemployment benefits during the pandemic. ■

CORRECTIONS ■ New York City’s 2021 population was estimated to be 8,823,559. The number was incorrect in “Under Hochul’s plan, Buffalo will have a field day while downstate loses,” published April 4.

■ The CEO of LivePerson is Robert LoCascio. His name was misspelled in “Your hybrid office will see you now,” published April 4.

Vol. 38, No. 14, April 11, 2022—Crain’s New York Business (ISSN 8756-789X) is published weekly, except for no issue on 1/3/22, 7/4/22, 7/18/22, 8/1/22, 8/15/22, 8/29/22, 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.

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2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | APRIL 11, 2022

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BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

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CHEN says the right windows can have a rejuvenating effect.

Windows of opportunity Despite recent market challenges, Crystal Window & Door Systems, one of the city’s largest minority-owned companies, pushes energy-efficient innovations

BY BETH TREFFEISEN

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hipping around moving carts filled with plastic-wrapped windows, Steven Chen, 43, last month trotted from one production line to the next at the Crystal Window & Door Systems factory in Flushing, Queens.

He pointed out how a hydraulic machine combines the plastic frames and how gas is infused into the glass to make it energy efficient.

In the background, workers were busy hammering the frames to the windows, separating large pieces of glass into customized sizes and wrapping the finished windows in plastic to prepare them for shipping to construction sites across the nation.

Founded in 1990, Crystal Window & Door Systems is one of the largest minority-owned firms in New York City. On the most recent edition of Crain’s Top Minority-Owned Businesses list, Crystal ranked ninth, with $119 million in 2020 revenue. Chen took over the

company's operations from his father, Thomas Chen, about five years ago. Under his tenure, the younger Chen has maneuvered the company through the Covid-19 pandemic, supply-chain issues and now rising energy prices stemming from the war in Ukraine.

Despite the challenges, the company works to innovate as New York City and other municipalities implement strict energy-efficien-

ality; the glass itself gives it personality too.

Besides aesthetic appeal, there’s definitely a human connection to having natural sunlight coming in.”

New roadblocks In 2019 all the factories were “humming,” Chen recalled. When Covid-19 began storming through the country the next year, the company's five factories closed down temporarily. Soon after building construction was deemed an essential industry, and the company’s operations continued.

But challenges emerged in bringing workers back to the production line, Chen said. For example, partitions went up in the cafeteria, but making sure workers were safely distanced in the factory posed problems.

On top of workplace concerns, the number of Asian hate crimes had begun to grow in the city. The staff, 98% of whom are part of a minority group, included a number of workers

“YOU LOOK AT A BUILDING, THE WINDOWS AND GLASS GIVE IT PERSONALITY” cy policies that affect building construction and the industry’s suppliers.

Even through the recent tangles, the company’s main business—making windows— remains a passion for Chen.

“You know how our eyes are our window to our soul?” he asked. “You look at a building, the windows themselves give it person-

See WINDOWS on page 22

FOCAL POINTS COMPANY NAME Crystal Window & Door Systems FOUNDED In 1982 Thomas Chen emigrated from Taiwan to New York and began working as a manufacturer installing windows. In 1990 he founded the family-run company.

PRESIDENT Steven Chen NUMBER OF FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES 750 nationwide NUMBER OF FACTORIES Headquartered in Flushing, Queens, the company has additional plants in Chicago; Riverside, California; Union, Missouri; and one near Scranton, Pennsylvania.

2020 REVENUE $119 million, ranking the firm No. 9 on Crain’s last Top Minority-Owned Businesses list.

CERTIFICATIONS The company is certified as a minority business enterprise by several government agencies, including the city Department of Small Business Services.

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RESIDENTIAL SPOTLIGHT

‘Sex and the City’ actress unloads her NoHo pad Cynthia Nixon and her wife are trading the four-bedroom, three-bathroom co-op for a townhouse in Kips Bay

BY C.J. HUGHES

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ynthia Nixon, the actress who luxuriates in a wellto-do home on the Upper East Side in the HBO historical drama The Gilded Age, has sold her home in downtown NoHo. Unit No. 3F, a four-bedroom, three-bath co-op at 10 Bleecker St., closed for about $3.6 million on March 23, city records show.

The deal appears to have benefited from the energized sales market of the past few months. The unit was listed in October 2021 at the same price for which it traded, listings show. Nixon shared the apartment with her wife, Christina Marinoni, an LGBTQ activist; their son; and two children from a previous

$3.6M

LISTING PRICE for No. 3F at 10 Bleecker St. primary suite with a large walk-in closet. An executive with investment bank JPMorgan Chase is the buyer, records suggest. Emma Kerins, the Brown Harris Stevens agent who listed the unit, declined to comment.

Miranda moves Although Nixon ran for New York governor in 2018, she is perhaps best known for playing the character Miranda Hobbes on the smash hit TV series Sex and the City. She reprised the role last year in And Just Like That …, another HBO series.

Even if the actress has packed her bags on Bleecker, Nixon, who was born and raised in Manhattan, is not bowing out of New York. She and Marinoni have snapped up a four-level, four-fireplace townhouse at 218 E. 32nd St. for $4.4 million in a deal that closed during the summer.

Whether her Gilded Age high-society character Ada Brook would look down her nose at the townhouse’s Kips Bay address is unclear. ■

relationship. The actress paid $3.3 million for the apartment in 2012.

At the time, Nixon’s home was a three-bedroom co-op on West 78th Street, which she sold for $1.6 million.

The NoHo spread, in a 19th-century military-tent factory that became a co-op in the 1980s, features a living room with views of Elizabeth Street, an open kitchen with stainless-steel appliances, and a

EASYSTREET.COM

THE ACTRESS PAID $3.3 MILLION FOR THE APARTMENT IN 2012

10 BLEEKER ST. NO. 3F, a NoHo co-op, features an open kitchen and a primary suite with a sizable walk-in closet.

REAL ESTATE CHECKUP

Manhattan’s first-quarter home sales break 33-year record

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anhattan’s real estate sales market is continuing its record-breaking streak, reporting the highest number of units ever sold during the first quarter of any year since at least 1989, according to a new report from Douglas Elliman.

“Even with rising interest rates, there is remaining optimism for fairly robust quarters ahead,” said the report’s author, Jonathan Miller.

Despite falling to 39% in the first quarter of 2021, its lowest level since 2014, the share of homes sold to cash buyers has now risen to the market’s usual rate of 47%, he added.

“If you think about how much of the market is not dependent on mortgage rates and the number of sales for higher-end properties which are also not mortgage-dependent, you start to see why the market is so strong,” Miller said.

Sales volume The number of contracts signed during the first quarter increased 46%, to 3,585, from the 2,457 signed

during the same period in 2021, the data showed.

That number is also 0.7% higher than the previous quarter, which recorded 3,559 deals.

One-bedroom apartments took the largest piece of the market, representing 36% of all first-quarter sales; two-bedrooms took 29%, followed by three-bedrooms at 15% and studios with 13.7%.

Listing inventory Although the number of available units on the market has dropped significantly during the course of the pandemic, the number of listings rose 11% since the fourth quarter of 2021, to 6,906 units. That number is still 4.4% lower than inventory levels recorded a year ago.

In the luxury market—which has been the most active sector during the pandemic—listing inventory is down more than 10% from the previous quarter and more than 23% lower than year-ago levels, according to the report.

Sales prices Strong demand continued to

BLOOMBERG

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

push up prices. The average sale price for a Manhattan unit has climbed 19.3%, to just over $2 million, since the first quarter of 2021, and nearly 5% since the previous quarter.

The average price in the luxury market grew 24%, to just over $8

million, compared to the first quarter of 2021.

Overall, the data shows the highest price growth in apartments with four or more bedrooms, which have become 30% more expensive compared to year-ago levels and 16% pricier than the fourth quarter of

2021.

Sellers continued to discount their apartments, with an average price cut of 4.7% during the first quarter, though that number is down from the 5.9% average discount offered during the fourth quarter. ■

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Unmistakable Energy and Collaboration for Top TAMI Talent.

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IN THE MARKETS

JPMorgan Chase’s Dimon expects only half his employees will return to the workplace full time

But the chief executive did not provide a timeline for when those staffers will come back to the office

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DIMON BLOOMBERG

fter nudging staffers back the delta variant hit. “We are getting for nearly a year, JPMor- blowback about coming back intergan Chase CEO Jamie nally, but that’s life.”

Dimon acknowledged last Monday that he expects that Remote-work dangers only about half his workforce will Last Monday he took a more return to the office full time. measured tone, saying he expects “It’s clear that working from approximately 50% of JPMorgan home will become more perma- workers will be required to work in nent in American business,” he said offices full time. He didn’t provide a timeline for when those in his annual letter to workers will return to the shareholders Monday. office. He said around Dimon’s remarks carry 10% of workers could weight because not only work remotely full time is he the most admired and the rest would come banker in the business, in a few days a week. but JPMorgan is also New “We do hope to provide York’s largest private-secthese types of [hybrid] artor employer, with more than 20,000 workers in rangements where they the five boroughs. It is are appropriate and for AARON ELSTEIN those also the city’s largest who want them,” he commercial tenant, rentsaid.

He warned that continued reliing more than 9 million square feet of space. During the spring of 2021, ance on remote work could damage Dimon began calling on staff mem- JPMorgan, which last year generatbers to put on their leather shoes ed $48.3 billion in net earnings, 23% more than Facebook owner Meta and return to the office by July.

“People don’t like commuting, Platforms. It has been harder for the but so what,” he said in May before bank to train the more than 80,000

staffers hired since the onset of Covid-19 and to cultivate work relationships between supervisors and the supervised. Zoom slows decision-making because there is less immediate follow-up, Dimon said.

“The negative effects of the weaknesses outlined above are cumula-

tive—they weren’t as obvious earlier in the pandemic—and they get worse over time,” he warned.

‘Leaders must lead’ Nationally, 40% of all office workers have returned, according to figures from Kastle Systems. In Janu-

ary 38% of employers surveyed by the Partnership for New York City said they expected daily office attendance to exceed 50% before March 31. But the latest data from Kastle showed only 36% had returned by March 23.

To make office environments more appealing, Dimon said, the bank plans to move to more open seating arrangements and in the future would need approximately 60 to 75 seats for every 100 employees.

Conference, private office and amenity space will see an “appropriate increase.”

He added that the bank’s new headquarters tower rising over Park Avenue will house between 12,000 and 14,000 workers, twice as many as the old building on the same site.

“Our leaders must lead,” Dimon wrote in the annual letter. “They have to walk the floors, they must see clients, they need to be visible, they need to teach and educate, and they need to be able to conduct impromptu meetings. They cannot lead from behind a desk or in front of a screen.” ■

ON POLITICS

How the mayor can solve the street homelessness crisis

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t’s that time of year again—a hattan, it was uncommon for much New York City mayor wants to of the 20th century to see large clear a homeless encampment. numbers of people sleeping in subBill de Blasio, a self-identi- way cars or on park benches. fied progressive, cracked down on It wasn’t that there was any shorthis share. And now his successor, age of destitute or mentally ill New avowed moderate Eric Adams, is Yorkers. Crime rose in the late doing the same. In 12 days in March, 1960s and 1970s as an economic his staff shut down 239 encamp- downturn, driven largely by the ments, although only five people at flight of large manufacturers, erodthose sites chose to go to a shelter. ed the city’s tax base. Postwar New York was a foreboding Most will head elsewhere, to other outdoor parts of place. But finding a cheap the city as the weather bed to spend the night, warms. the week, the month or What else is really new? even an indefinite Tragically, New York has amount of time wasn’t been managing, not solvparticularly hard. Large parts of the outer boring, its homelessness crisis for 30 years. Among big oughs and even Manhatcities, it is not alone in this tan had low-cost apartments. Most important, regard.

Homelessness ROSS BARKAN though, plagues Los Angeles, San the truly desperFrancisco and Seattle too. ate could head to a sinThe common theme, of course, is gle-room-occupancy hotel. affordability, as well as a severe lack The SROs were relative godsends of housing and drug and mental for the young, the disabled and the health issues that have gone unad- deeply poor, especially if they were single and had few friends or family dressed.

New York isn’t building enough members to rely on. From the Great housing. Long ago the city also dec- Depression onward, virtually anyimated the sort of housing stock one living in the city could rent a that could be getting people off the very cheap and private room. Bathstreet tomorrow. Although we rooms were often shared. Unlike imagine the homeless have been a traditional apartments, no longfeature of the streetscape since in- term leases were required, and no dustrialization first came for Man- questions were asked when you

showed up. If you had a bit of cash in your pocket, you weren’t going to freeze on a street corner.

Around 1950, the number of SRO beds in New York peaked at roughly 200,000. This was a crucial 200,000: the lowest strata of a society that would otherwise be sleeping outside. The hotels were not overly profitable for operators and were often vilified in newspapers as dens of sin and violence. Many SROs did have significant challenges—the living conditions could be substandard, and some hotels were plagued with drug use—and they soon became the target of both liberal reformers and conservatives who wanted the housing model ended altogether.

City law began to restrict the construction of new SROs, and with the fiscal crisis in full swing, tax breaks were offered to landlords to demolish the buildings or convert them into almost anything else, including tourist hotels and condominiums.

Real estate prices had crashed, and few politicians believed the city should keep prioritizing housing for the poor. To make matters worse, large psychiatric institutions were shutting their doors—part of a broader deinstitutionalization movement—and sending thousands of mentally ill people who had nowhere else to live into the five

boroughs.

By the 1980s the SRO stock had been eroded, and the street homeless population, predictably, began to climb.

The shelter industry stepped in to offer a solution that would forever be temporary and always deeply expensive for the city and state. To this day many homeless people would rather avoid shelters because they carry strict curfews and don’t offer privacy.

If Adams wants to conquer the homelessness crisis for good, he should pursue a full-scale revival of SROs, converting existing hotels and building micro-unit housing, which the Bloomberg administration briefly pursued. No New Yorker should struggle to find a safe, cheap and private bed—not with the abundant resources sloshing through this city.

Breaking up encampments will only lead to new encampments. Adams has a chance to make history and do what de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani could not. He can decide to treat homelessness as what it is: a housing problem. And there’s no reason the modern SROs can’t be cleaner, more humane and safer than their predecessors. All it will take is some money and political will.

AP PHOTO

Adams should rebuild single-room-occupancy hotel capacity and treat the issue as what it is: a housing problem

Adams can be the housing mayor if he chooses to be.

Quick takes ● A late state budget isn’t something New Yorkers should fret over. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo obsessed over on-time budgets, even when they were often shoddy and failed to deliver on significant fronts. ● It’s time state lawmakers stand up to the liquor store lobby and legalize to-go cocktails. ● Gov. Kathy Hochul’s plan to shovel nearly a billion dollars in taxpayer money into a new Buffalo Bills stadium is the sort of welfare for the super rich that sets another terrible precedent. ■

Ross Barkan is an author and journalist in New York City.

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REAL ESTATE CHECKUP

Legal Aid to stop taking new eviction cases this month in Queens, citing ‘overwhelming demand’

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ultiple legal groups have announced they will not be able to take on new eviction cases in Queens for the month of April, due to overwhelming demand. They are calling on the state to slow down its scheduling of such cases to ensure that all tenants have lawyers.

The Legal Aid Society and the

provide clients with the representation they need and deserve,” New York Legal Assistance Group President Beth Goldman said.

New York’s right to counsel law passed in 2017 and was meant to ensure that all low-income tenants facing eviction would have legal representation. The city sped up the timeline for implementing the law throughout the five boroughs during the pandemic, making it effective everywhere as of June 1 last year.

Right to counsel providers including Legal Aid are now at capacity and cite the Office of Court Administration’s unwillingness to put a cap on the number of cases scheduled as hindering their ability to give their clients competent representation.

“Before the moratorium was up, the court was calendaring cases in a way that was manageable for the legal services group to represent everyone,” said Judith Goldiner, attorney in charge of the Legal Aid Society’s civil law reform unit. “And now they’ve decided to go back to

“IT’S REALLY IN EVERYONE’S BEST INTERESTS FOR TENANTS TO HAVE LAWYERS” New York Legal Assistance Group have stopped taking on new Queens eviction cases as of April 5, the groups said. Legal Services NYC similarly announced that it will be limited to taking just 60 cases in Queens for the month of April, and the group had to reduce its caseload in the Bronx last month, as well.

“The current overwhelming demand for attorneys to represent clients facing eviction in housing court far exceeds our capacity to

the cattle call of housing court, which makes it impossible for us to handle all the cases."

Not a tsunami New York ended its eviction moratorium Jan. 15, almost two years after it had first been instated with the onset of the pandemic. So far the feared tsunami of eviction cases has not materialized, with the city seeing 21,269 cases filed in the five boroughs through March, split between 7,148 in the Bronx, 5,125 in Brooklyn, 4,231 in Manhattan, 4,246 in Queens and 519 on Staten Island.

This is much less than the 55,935 eviction cases filed through March in 2019, but providers say they are still stretched thin, and the city also has a massive backlog of around 220,000 eviction cases.

The Office of Court Administration does not plan to slow down its calendaring of eviction cases, according to spokesman Lucian Chalfen. He noted that Legal Services NYC declined more than 475 cases in the Bronx in March, and those were sent to resolution for the landlords and tenants to start negotiating settlements.

BLOOMBERG

BY EDDIE SMALL

“We have repeatedly maintained that the inability of right to counsel providers, such as LSNYC and Legal Aid, to meet their contractual obligations and to be able to manage their operations will not adversely affect the functioning of housing court,” he said.

The city's rent-relief program, which many have pointed to as the best way to handle these eviction cases, has essentially been out of money since November. The state has asked for more funding from

the federal government multiple times but has consistently received much less than it requested.

Goldiner stressed that having an attorney for tenants facing eviction is helpful not just for the tenant but for the landlord, as well.

“It’s really in everyone’s best interests for tenants to have lawyers, and I think that gets a little lost in all of this,” she said. “For a landlord, if a tenant has a lawyer, the lawyer is going to help the tenant get resources to pay back rent.” ■

WE ARE PLEASED TO ADD ANOTHER DISTINGUISHED FIRM TO AN EXCEPTIONAL ROSTER OF TENANTS.

38TH - 42ND FLOORS

77,000 SF special thanks to michael cohen, howard kaplowitz, and john brasier

FOR LEASING INQUIRIES Thomas Bow 212.257.6610 TBow@durst.org

Rocco Romeo 212.257.6630 RRomeo@durst.org

Tanya Grimaldo 212.257.6515 TGrimaldo@durst.org

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

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

Local companies must double down on employee engagement and support pandemic that put many workers at risk of illness, along with a swell of job openings, have empowered employees to demand more of corporate America.

“The top priority is to achieve what we deserve for being essential workers during the past two years and going forward,” said Manny Pastreich, secretary treasurer at 32BJ SEIU, which is seeking to negotiate higher wages and protect sick leave, vacation days and paid health care for the doormen and staff at luxury apartment buildings among its ranks.

Some city business leaders worry, and justifiably so, that the recent labor wins will give companies pause in coming to the city. “Workers should have the right to organize. That said, I think we have to be thoughtful about the big picture and the perception of New York, especially as we try to recover from the pandemic and attract new investment,” said Randy Peers, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

New York has long been a labor

SMART COMPANIES ARE LISTENING CLOSELY TO THEIR EMPLOYEES warehouse worker to doorman have deemed this the perfect time to organize and speak up for more of a say in the future of work.

As Crain’s reporter Caroline Spivack notes in this week’s cover story, local labor leaders say working conditions during the

EDITORIAL editor-in-chief Cory Schouten,

cory.schouten@crainsnewyork.com managing editor Telisha Bryan assistant managing editor Anne Michaud data editor Amanda Glodowski digital editor Taylor Nakagawa audience engagement editor Jennifer Samuels art director Carolyn McClain photographer Buck Ennis senior reporters Cara Eisenpress,

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

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s New York continues to tally up the myriad lessons learned during the pandemic, one thing has become abundantly clear: How we do business will never be the same again.

Employers are focusing on the changes they need to make to lure staff back to the workplace, but they must remember that employees themselves have changed. The past two years have given workers across collar shades ample time to think about what exactly they want from a company: from benefits to hours to conditions. So it’s no wonder that employees in roles ranging from Starbucks barista to Amazon

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

town, with a unionization rate (22.4%) more than double the U.S. average of 10.6% between 2020 and 2021, according to the CUNY Center for Labor and Urban Studies. Those numbers historically haven’t scared away employers drawn by the vitality and talent of New York’s labor pool. The city’s slow economic recovery presents a wild card, however, and plenty of companies that would like to

invest in New York may think twice if they view the city as a more expensive place to do business.

Smart companies are listening closely to their employees and partners to meet the moment, addressing evolving staff needs, offering more flexibility and better pay and benefits, and updating the usual ways of doing business. ■

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

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OP-ED

senior manager of events Michelle Cast,

Defining transportation projects need an overarching plan to link them together

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

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

Simone Pryce

BY CHRISTOPHER WARD

T

wo huge municipal projects will define the future of Manhattan and the region.

Penn Station is one; the Port Authority Bus Terminal is the other.

These two projects are without question the most important city transportation initiatives in almost 100 years. Servicing more than a half-million commuters per day, these projects raise serious questions about the city itself and the future of mobility, office work and the entire West Side of Manhattan.

The previous governor tended to the needlessly monumental in his efforts: the expensive and poorly placed great hall at LaGuardia Airport, the even more convoluted Airtrain project and the soulless Moynihan Train Hall. To her credit, Gov. Kathy Hochul has reversed this focus and has put transit riders and the community first. That is the critical first step as these projects move forward. Unfortunately,

the city has a long way to go before these projects fully reflect this new approach.

A massive real estate play Though the existing Penn Station is universally reviled, the new redevelopment vision remains a massive real estate play in search of a transit project. The unspecified and murky financing of the project through the construction of 10 large towers raises the question of what exactly is driving this plan.

What are the real transit priorities? Do we need this amount of density to even fund the project?

What is the financial tax structure and potential risk of such a massive venture? Where will office demand be in the post-Covid economy? And, finally, is this the city we will want to live in?

Many elected and community officials have begun to raise these important questions. It is time to begin answering them. Otherwise,

we might well repeat the mistakes of the original Penn Station and replace it with a canyon of bleak office towers. The city pulled back from an equally misplaced plan for Times Square years ago. We need to do it again.

But to fully realize this historic opportunity, consideration must be given to the replacement of the bus terminal. It’s four blocks north of Penn Station, and it services more daily bus commuters than rail passengers. These two projects should be inextricably linked to create a new urban vision for the West Side that’s built on transit-oriented community development.

Unfortunately, each project is proceeding as if the other does not exist. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is seeking public comments on the new terminal while the Metropolitan Transportation Authority appears to be hoping simple inertia will carry the day for the redevelop-

ment of Penn Station.

media services manager Nicole Spell

Reimagine the city’s future

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It is time for Mayor Eric Adams and Hochul to forge a new partnership and take this opportunity to demonstrate that collectively we can envision a place where people live, work and commute, a place where infrastructure is the foundation of the community, not the other way around.

Now is the time for optimism and ambition: the alchemy that built the city. Let’s not once again grind through meaningless public hearings; instead, let’s step back and embrace the soaring opportunity to reimagine the city’s future.

If we don’t, we will only rebuild the same mistakes, and that’s a dreary prospect indeed. ■

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Christopher Ward, an infrastructure consultant, is past executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

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8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | APRIL 11, 2022

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OP-ED

We need a long-term, holistic approach to health

H

ospitals across the country and in the New York area have been shuttering for decades. On top of that, there is a documented physician shortage. But can we really fix our fractured health care system by simply keeping hospitals open and training more doctors? History says no.

Despite the fact that we spend the most money on health care, the health and well-being of Americans is worse than that of residents of other high-income countries.

Across the board, health outcomes are grim. In New York City one-quarter of residents are obese,

It doesn’t have to be this way.

City leaders have the power to change the trajectory for residents.

So, what should be done?

Leaders should commit to the long game to improve health and well-being, acknowledging that it will take years to achieve better health. Progress must be measured and assessed through meaningful reductions in conditions like obesity, depression, and asthma rates, rather than people served or beds used. Importantly, efforts must be designed to address health inequities, prioritizing solutions that changes the very systems that have historically failed communities of color, contributing to far worse health outcomes.

We also need to recognize the importance of reducing our reliance on urgent services, such as emergency rooms, by investing in vital conditions, like humane housing, belonging, a healthy environment, food security, meaningful work, reliable transportation and more. After all, 80 percent of a person’s health is determined by the presence of these vital conditions, not by the care they re-

LEADERS SHOULD COMMIT TO THE LONG GAME TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING almost 30 percent are hypertensive, and life expectancy in marginalized low-income neighborhoods, where most residents are people of color, is about 10 years shorter than in higher income areas, a stark reminder of the health inequities resulting from system failures for communities of color.

ceive in a clinical setting.

Cities should look for new approaches to improving vital conditions that require agencies to work collaboratively alongside residents. Agencies in charge of parks, transportation, housing, economic development and more all play a role in determining if residents can thrive or not.

Transforming systems to improve vital conditions for wellbeing should be based on learnings from people working on the ground in communities. These stewards best understand the barriers that exist in specific neighborhoods and how to improve them.

Community-based network Particularly now, we have a network of trusted, hyper-local community-based groups who have been leading COVID-19 education and vaccination outreach work. Local governments should share power and allow these organizations to lead us in setting priorities for health and well-being planning, execution and evaluation.

GETTY IMAGES

BY BECKY PAYNE

There are plenty of examples of city-government initiatives that have aimed to improve health outcomes by addressing conditions outside the health care system. But these, like preventing smoking in public housing, developing community gardens, building bike paths and more, lack the holistic approach we need to achieve real gains in health and wellbeing. As long as

traditional programs happen in isolation from one another, without a long-term strategy to address all vital conditions for all people, we’ll only succeed at the margins. ■ Becky Payne is executive vice president of The Rippel Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on reimaging health and wellbeing.

OP-ED

BY LISA SORIN

T

he green economy is the economy of the future: Transitioning to a greener economy is projected to create 24 million jobs globally by 2030, the International Labour Organization says.

As New York works to recover from Covid-19’s economic devastation, however, we need to start thinking about the green economy of today—with massive potential to create stable, good-paying jobs right now in communities such as the Bronx and others that were hit hardest by unemployment.

In fact, jobs in renewable energy increased in 2020—even amid the

Community Protection Act and set a goal for a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040 and economywide carbon neutrality.

Achievable goal Clean Path New York is how we make that goal a reality—an $11 billion, all-New York investment to build new, state-of-the-art wind and solar infrastructure upstate and a 175-mile transmission line to bring reliable, clean power downstate where it’s needed most.

Crucially, the project will create 8,300 jobs in engineering, construction, operations, maintenance and elsewhere—all paying well, all for New York and all in a sector that is poised for dynamic growth. Clean Path New York has committed to working with skilled union labor and pursuing local hiring to ensure that working New Yorkers have meaningful opportunities to bring this first-in-the-nation project to life in our state.

When it is completed, Clean Path New York will enable the delivery of more than 7.5 million megawatt-hours of emissions-free clean energy into New York every year and reduce fossil fuel emissions from

CLEAN PATH NEW YORK HAS COMMITTED $270 MILLION TO THIS EFFORT pandemic’s economic disruption.

All the data points to the need to urgently invest in clean energy solutions now—not only as a climate strategy but an economic one.

New York is leading the way on both fronts. In 2019 the state enacted the Climate Leadership and

the electric sector by 22% on average per year— that’s 49 million tons of avoided CO2. With Clean Path New York, we’ll be well on our way toward New York’s goal of 70% renewable energy generation by 2030.

The Clean Path New York project recognizes that the transition to a green economy must be just and swift. For too long, communities on the front lines of climate change, especially neighborhoods in the Bronx, have borne the public health burdens of living near and working in New York’s fossil fuel infrastructure—paying the price in higher risks of illness with little economic gain.

Investing in green We must ensure that these New Yorkers are not only part of the new green economy, but the drivers of it. That means investing in green job training, union apprenticeships, workforce development and education to create real, long-term career pathways to the renewable

GETTY IMAGES

This is what the green economy of today looks like—family-sustaining, inclusive and accessible

energy sector.

Clean Path New York has committed $270 million to this effort, to be steered by New Yorkers, including those in affected communities.

This investment will help expand New York’s green economy to be more representative of the full breadth of New York’s diverse and skilled workforce.

This is what the green economy of today looks like—family-sustain-

ing, inclusive, and accessible to anyone who wants to be part of New York’s recovery and our state’s transition to a sustainable, renewable energy future. Clean Path New York meets the moment head on—a win for the Bronx, a win for our economy, a win for our climate and a win for our future. ■ Lisa Sorin is president of the New Bronx Chamber of Commerce.

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.

April 11, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

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INSTANT EXPERT

What to know about the proposed $3.1B streets master plan

BY CAROLINE SPIVACK

T

he City Council is urging Mayor Eric Adams to beef up spending on a plan to build out street infrastructure across the five boroughs.

The 51-member body has called on the mayor to invest $3.1 billion in the city’s streets master plan—a legislative road map passed in 2019 to reimagine the streetscape with new bike paths, bus lanes and pedestrian space—in its response to the mayor’s proposed $98.5 billion budget. The funding would reshape local streets with a far more ambitious version of the City Council’s original plan by requiring the city to add hundreds more bus and bike lanes.

“To secure an equitable recovery for our city and improve public safety, we must focus on robust investments that strengthen our communities and deliver opportunities for all New Yorkers,” said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

Here's what you need to know.

AS REQUIRED BY the City Council’s streets plan law, the Department of Transportation unveiled its NYC Streets Plan in December with targets for transit infrastructure. The proposal requires the city to build 250 miles of protected bike paths and 150 miles of bus lanes by 2026, along with 1 million square feet of new pedestrian space by the end of 2023.

But the DOT openly acknowledges that it lacks the funds necessary to implement it. “Meeting these benchmarks—and the other key parts of this plan—will require increased staffing, funding, facility space and new implementation strategies,” the plan said. At a budget hearing last month, transportation officials recognized that the city could fail to meet the proposal’s goals.

BUCK ENNIS

WHAT IS THE NYC STREETS PLAN?

14TH STREET

JONAH ALLON, the mayor’s deputy press secretary, said Adams would consider the proposal, and he emphasized the mayor’s campaign promise to build 150 miles of bus lanes within his first term.

“Mayor Adams has put forward an aggressive plan to improve street safety and provide greater access citywide to reliable transportation options, including an unprecedented effort to add 150 additional miles of bus lanes in the next four years,” Allon said in a statement. “We are reviewing the council’s proposal and look forward to engaging with them through the budget process to identify the proper level of funding for our shared transit goals.”

ALLON AND ADAMS

THE PROPOSAL INCLUDES THE ENTIRELY NEW GOAL OF 40 MILES OF CARFREE BUSWAYS

BUCK ENNIS

WHAT’S NEXT?

THE COUNCIL’S PROPOSAL THE CITY COUNCIL’s latest proposal would set aside funds for at least 500 miles of new bus lanes, 500 miles of protected bike lanes and 38 million square feet of pedestrian space. It includes the entirely new goal of 40 miles of car-free busways.

The car-free roads would ban privately owned vehicles along certain thoroughfares, which have already improved bus speeds along 14th Street in Manhattan, Jamaica Avenue in Queens and Jay Street in Brooklyn.

TWITTER

TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES Executive Director Danny Harris touted the proposal, which shares goals promoted in the group’s NYC 25x25 campaign.

“Investing in these projects will particularly support under-resourced communities that for too long have been left behind when it comes to building safe, accessible and healthy streets,” Harris said in a statement. “For the sake of our climate and so much more, New Yorkers need the benefits of the Streets Plan to have reliable and affordable options that allow them to shift their trips currently completed in cars.”

HARRIS

TRANSPORTATION ALTERNATIVES/FACEBOOK

THE GOALS: BUILD COMMUNITY, PROTECT CLIMATE

10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | April 11, 2022

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REAL ESTATE CHECKUP

KIPP NYC charter school network moves forward with plans for $117 million South Bronx location

BY EDDIE SMALL

resented the tenant. The landlord was represented in-house by Tom Bow, Rocco Romeo and Tanya Grimaldo.

ISTOCK

O

ne of the city’s most prominent charter school networks is opening a new location, in Mott Haven.

KIPP NYC has filed plans with the Department of Buildings for a school at 75 Canal St. W., spanning 150,000 square feet. The building will stand 7 stories and 70 feet tall. Perkins Eastman is the architect of record.

The total estimated job cost is $117 million, according to the filing.

The project will be a high school ideally open for the fall of 2024, and it is part of the organization's overall growth plan in the Bronx, according to KIPP. KIPP NYC purchased the South Bronx property in May for $21.7 million. The site is currently home to a 1-story transportation and utility building, city records show.

This will be at least the 19th school for KIPP in the city and the 10th school for the organization in the Bronx. The organization currently has four elementary schools, four middle schools and one high school in the borough, along with locations in Upper Manhattan and Crown Heights.

The organization is not the only major charter school network looking to expand in the South Bronx.

Success Academy recently purchased 580 River Ave. near Yankee Stadium from Jorge Madruga’s Maddd Equities for $105 million, where it plans to open a new K-12 school.

Developers have long predicted that Mott Haven will be New York’s next booming neighborhood, and the incoming KIPP school is located close to several major planned residential projects. It is about a half-mile away from Brookfield’s massive Bankside development

and from RXR’s 200-unit development planned for 2413 Third Ave. NOTABLE DEALS LEASES ■ Software firm takes Midtown rooftop pavilion Address: 1155 Sixth Ave., Manhattan Landlord: Durst Organization Tenant: Global Relay USA Lease size: 77,000 square feet Lease term: 15 years Asset type: Office Brokers: Howard Kaplowitz, Michael Cohen and John Brasier rep-

■ Social-networking firm inks SoHo lease Address: 176 Grand St., Manhattan Landlord: Split Rail Holdings LLC Tenant: SpotMap Inc. Lease size: 7,147 square feet Asset type: Office Brokers: Lee & Associates’ Dennis Someck and Justin Myers represented the tenant. Janet Liff of Liff & Co. represented the landlord.

■ Signature Bank expands for second time this year Address: 1400 Broadway, Manhattan Landlord: Empire State Realty Trust Tenant: Signature Bank Lease size: 32,927 square feet Asset type: Office Brokers: Michael Cohen, Andrew Roos and Howard Kaplowitz of Colliers represented the tenant. Scott Klau, Erik Harris and Neil Rubin of Newmark and Ryan Kass of ESRT represented the landlord.

SALES ■ Park Slope church trades hands Addresses: 205 14th St. and 228 13th St., Brooklyn Seller: The Church of the Holy Family in the City of Brooklyn Buyer: 205 14th Street LLC Sales price: Approx. $11.3 million Asset type: Religious structure ■ The New School purchases building near Stuyvesant Town Address: 318 E. 15th St., Manhattan Seller: Bhatia Development Buyer: The New School Sales price: Approx. $125 million Asset type: Commercial ■ Denali Management buys Elmhurst apartment building Address: 86-22 Dongan Ave., Queens Seller: E.B. Management Associates Buyer: Denali Management Sales price: $14.5 million Asset type: Multifamily

Natalie Sachmechi contributed to this deals report.

2022

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12 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | APRIL 11, 2022

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POLITICS

City Council demands the mayor restore spending for agencies where he had sought to make cuts

M

ayor Eric Adams has fashioned himself an austerity executive since taking office in January, but the City Council appears determined to make him spend more money than he initially planned.

The City Council’s preliminary budget for the fiscal year that begins in July was released to the public April 2 and calls for a spending increase of $4.3 billion in 2023. The council demanded that the mayor not only restore millions of dollars in proposed cuts to city agencies such as the Department of Sanitation, but that he also spend $4 billion on affordable housing production within the New York City Housing Authority and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and pony up $250

The spending increases are a sharp departure from Adams’ vision of a leaner, more efficient city operation. Adams unveiled his own preliminary budget on Feb. 16; it would reduce city spending by $2.3 billion, place more than $6 billion in reserve funds and shave the city workforce by more than 10,000 employees during the next two years.

“New York City’s recovery requires real and meaningful investments. We cannot cut our way to prosperity,” said City Council member Justin Brannan, who chairs the finance committee. “If you want to know what someone cares about, look at what they spend money on.

Our city budget is no different.”

Homeless outreach One of the council’s main priorities is to restore the mayor’s proposed cuts to mental health and homeless outreach. The council’s preliminary budget called for the city to spend $114 million to fund nearly 2,400 safe-haven beds for homeless New Yorkers. Adams’ recently announced his intention to create 500 safe-haven and stabilization beds through his Subway Safety Plan. These beds provide temporary shelter and treatment services for New Yorkers living on the street or dealing with mental health issues.

Adams’ budget suggested reductions of $615 million in homeless services. He wants to reduce social services spending from $11.3 billion to $10.7 billion.

On affordable housing, council members asked Adams to honor a campaign promise. The mayor had pledged during the 2021 campaign that he would spend $4 billion per year on affordable housing production, but his preliminary budget allocated only $1.7 billion in city funds on these capital projects. The City Council announced it would “also hold the mayor accountable” and requested that he fund the Housing Preservation Department with $2.5 billion and New York City Housing Authority with $1.5 billion.

The housing constructed by NYCHA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, rather than the temporary shelter provided by the safe-haven beds, could help the city battle its homelessness crisis by providing permanent options to low-income New Yorkers.

“Dedicating an annual $4 billion for the preservation and construction of affordable housing is a moral imperative for city leaders,” said City Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez, who chairs the committee on housing and buildings and represents parts of the Bronx. “These are the safest and most humane responses to our city’s housing and homelessness crises.”

Additional spending increases sought by the council include $250

THE SPENDING INCREASES ARE A DEPARTURE FROM ADAMS’ LEANER VISION million on Parks and Recreation Department capital funding.

The City Council is banking on projected tax revenues of $1.6 billion this year and $2.8 billion in 2023 to cover most of its proposed expenses.

“They’re projecting greater spending by agencies, but they’re also projecting there’s going to be more tax revenue,” said Elizabeth Brown, communications director at the Independent Budget Office.

“We also projected that the city would collect more tax revenue in 2023, but the council’s projections are higher.”

The City Council expects the commercial real estate tax to bring in “strong,” but unspecified, portions of this projected revenue.

“Collections from the sales tax and the two real estate transaction taxes will still be strong though less sensational than the previous year,” the City Council noted in its management report. “The Finance Division expects final bursts of pent-up real estate demand to materialize through the end of the fiscal year.”

The total market value for all property in the city was appraised at $1.4 trillion in January, the city’s Department of Finance said. Assessments of commercial properties increased by 11.7% in the past year, although their value is still 7.7% lower than prepandemic levels.

The council proposed a $101.1 billion budget for fiscal 2023, while Adams’ opening salvo was $98.5 billion, according to figures from the Independent Budget Office. The City Council’s overall spending increase of $4.3 billion includes $1.3 billion in new spending, with $3 billion going into reserves, said Breeana Mulligan, press secretary for the New York City Council.

ment of Sanitation from roughly $1.9 billion to about $1.8 billion in the next fiscal year.

June deadline

BRANNAN says the city’s rebound “requires real and meaningful investments.”

GETTY IMAGES

BY BRIAN PASCUS

million to fund the Parks Department’s bathrooms and comfort stations capital project across the five boroughs and $52 million for parks maintenance and cleanup operations—notably, former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s City Cleanup Corps.

Adams proposed reducing Parks Department spending by $81 million in the next fiscal year.

Council members also proposed restoring spending to the Department of Sanitation. They want the mayor to restore $47.8 million in proposed operating cuts, including $3.6 million to electronic-waste collection units and $3.4 million to a task force focused on illegal dumping. Adams had proposed lowering funding for the Depart-

Although they appear far apart on many fronts, the council and the mayor have until the end of June to come to an agreement on the upcoming budget.

“The council’s priorities reflect the holistic needs of New Yorkers who face increasingly tough challenges,” Speaker Adrienne Adams said. “I look forward to continuing the budget process with my colleagues, Mayor Adams and the many stakeholders from across our city to craft a strong budget that delivers for all New Yorkers.”

Adams’ office defended his austere budgeting approach.

“The mayor’s preliminary budget cuts spending, makes government run more efficiently, invests in public safety, increases reserves to record levels and provides much-needed help to working families across our city,” said Jonah Allon, deputy press secretary to the mayor. ■

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ASKED & ANSWERED Company You Keep Hospitality INTERVIEW BY CARA EISENPRESS

T

he return of office workers to corporate spaces is on the minds of executives, economic development leaders and elected officials eager for New York City’s full recovery. Graceanne Jordan is a few steps ahead of them. For the past five years, she has been working to create welcoming spaces in buildings owned by Milstein Properties. That includes a $150 million project to turn 1.1 million square feet of office space at 335 Madison Ave. into what she calls an “innovation community” that employees genuinely want to work in, even if they have the option of staying home. Her tool for that is hospitality, and she has conceived, helped design and managed the spaces from the lobby to the on-site bar—Bergamo’s—coffee shop and handful of ground-floor retailers to be as on-brand and welcoming as possible.

How can a company make a workplace more welcoming?

The goal is to create a neighborhood within the building. Here, I work with the building’s operations team and train them on hospitality and interactions. We took away the security desk and have an ambassador team who is hospitality-trained. They read people. You

Yes. It’s having a really oasis-type environment where you feel comfortable. It’s checking a lot of boxes for people—having attractive spaces for people to work in [plus] the community of people you feel are like you who are all grinding and working toward something.

WHO SHE IS President of hospitality at Company, an office-service venture owned by Milstein Properties; founder of Company You Keep Hospitality AGE 51 GREW UP Sanborn, Niagara County RESIDES Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Aside from fun additions like having a bar on site for employees, what other perks can a hospitality focus bring to real estate?

EDUCATION Bachelor’s in psychology and management, University at Buffalo FAMILIAR TERMS One of Jordan’s favorite parts of living in her neighborhood is the familiar shorthand she can use for her favorite haunts.

When she heads out for a cup of coffee or a sandwich in her community, “if I say to my husband, ‘I’m going to the deli,’ he knows where I’m going,” she said. “I don’t have to say the name of the deli, Mr. Mango.”

This is really transferable to any space. You learn about the tenancy, look around the neighborhood, see what is in arm’s reach.

Is it a food desert? Does it need a great coffee shop? In residential buildings, you can figure out how to make tenants happier with common areas too.

Without doing a huge overhaul, what are some small things a business leader can do to make a space more enticing for employees?

SURPRISES EVERYWHERE Jordan loves cycling around the city and spotting new things. “Even after all this time, the city still surprises me,” she said.

Show up. Progress happens when the room is filled with decision makers and facilitators. Your presence means more than the free snacks. A space should be intentional and reflect where we are now: Is there easy access to bike storage? Do you allow dogs?

Are there intentional places to gather that are welcoming? We have been following mandates for years now. Messaging can deliver the rules and still be fun. It’s not what you say; it’s how you are saying it. ■

NEAR BUT FAR When Jordan couldn’t get on a plane during the pandemic, she liked to visit Sahadi’s, an international food store in Brooklyn, as “a way for me to travel when we couldn’t travel,” she said.

can tell when someone knows where they are going or when they need help. If you have luggage, they’ll check the luggage. They’ll say, “Do you need to stop in the restroom before your meeting?”

BUCK ENNIS

GRACEANNE JORDAN

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

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

ACCOUNTING

CONSTRUCTION

CONSULTING ENGINEERING

FINANCE

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Aprio

Shawmut Design and Construction

Arup

TriState Capital Bank

Orion Innovation

Arup, a leading global built environment consultancy, appointed Fiona Cousins as its new Americas Region Chair. Having joined Arup in 1985, Fiona recently led the climate services and sustainability teams, and served as a key leader in building engineering and digital strategies for the firm. She is a mechanical engineer by profession and, as a renowned sustainability and resilience consultant, has worked on a range of projects to establish clear, decisive direction for equitable outcomes.

Devron Robinson has joined TriState Capital Bank as senior vice president, relationship manager of the Commercial Banking team. In this role, Robinson is responsible for new business development and market growth in the middle market space in New Jersey and the surrounding areas. Robinson collaborates with a team of specialists to deliver a suite of services while providing strategic advice and solutions to companies in support of managing their balance sheet and improving their cash flow.

Ranjan Kalia joins Orion Innovation as the Chief Financial Officer. He brings more than 25 years of technology and financial leadership experience to Orion, including leading financial operations at several high-growth multinational firms.

Prior to Orion, he served as CFO at Curaleaf Holdings. Before that, he was the EVP and CFO of Virtusa Corp. Kalia will work closely with the Company’s leadership team to capitalize on the strong demand for Orion’s digital transformation solutions.

Dana Zukofsky, CPA has joined Aprio as Director and Practice Leader of the Restaurant, Franchise and Hospitality group, based out of Aprio’s NYC office.

Dana brings 20+ years of experience to Aprio’s clients from both the private and public accounting sectors.

She specializes in creating solutions that drive profitability and sustainability in a rapidly changing world. A respected thought leader, Dana frequently leads networking and educational sessions for aspiring and experienced restauranteurs.

ACCOUNTING

Prager Metis CPAs Prager Metis, a leading international advisory and accounting firm appoints Jerry Eitel as Chief Metaverse Officer (CMVO) to oversee the firm’s Metaverse strategy and operations. In his role as the CMVO, Eitel manages Prager Metis’ Metaverse-related projects and the firm’s office in Decentraland. As CMVO, Eitel oversees the expansion and planning for Prager Metis’ Metaverse clients. He serves as the liaison between companies connected to metaverse-related projects, collaborations, and more.

Derek Dandurand brings more than a decade of experience in the cultural and historic field to his new position as director of historic preservation at Shawmut. His years of handson restoration, rehabilitation, and project management experience have laid the foundation for this new role as a strong advocate for quality preservation work.

Dandurand has held various roles throughout the region, including at the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission and NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.

CONSTRUCTION

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Shawmut Design and Construction

Republic Bank

Wayne Lawrence joins Shawmut as healthcare project executive, leveraging his 15 years of experience to build on the firm’s growing market presence. Lawrence has overseen more than $300M in projects and holds a breadth of experience—ranging from developing program standards for temporary healthcare facilities to the execution of master programs to research laboratories. He is an active member of ASHE, AGC, USGBC, and HESGNY and has held previous positions at Holt Construction and Structure Tone.

CONSULTING ENGINEERING

Arup Arup appointed Nigel Nicholls as its new Chief Operating Officer in the Americas. Nigel joined the firm in 1989 and has spent the last 10 years as Managing Director of Arup’s New York office, the firm’s largest in the Americas Region.

He is a mechanical engineer by profession and has spent time living and working in many parts of the world including the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe and Botswana before moving to the USA 20 years ago.

CONSTRUCTION ACCOUNTING

Withum Withum welcomes Lynn MucenskiKeck to the Firm’s National Tax Services Group as a Principal, specializing in tax planning for businesses.

With over 20 years of experience, Lynn is a regular Forbes contributor and has industry expertise in healthcare, hospitality, real estate and MD&L. She focuses on federal tax planning and policy, working with the National Tax Services Group to ensure clients’ understanding of complex tax concepts and help maximize their cash impacts.

Shawmut Design and Construction Bradley Todd joins Shawmut as life sciences project executive, bringing more than 30 years of experience completing numerous projects for the world’s most elite pharmaceutical companies.

As a construction operations leader with specialized life sciences expertise, Todd brings both technical direction and guidance to the engineering, procurement, and construction management process necessary to effectively build within the sector. Previously, Todd held positions at DPR and L.R. Costanzo Co. Inc.

CONSULTING ENGINEERING

NONPROFIT

Republic Bank announced the hiring of two New York Citybased executives.

Jeffrey Wall will serve as Senior Vice Wall President, Relationship Manager Commercial Real Estate and John Barrett joins as Vice President, Relationship Manager. Wall has over 30 years of experience Barrett originating, underwriting and administering business and real estate loans. He began his career as a commercial loan officer in 1990 before working in various leadership positions at banks across New York.

Barrett has more than 24 years of proven contributions in new business development, sales management and staff development. He spent the last two decades working at several reputable financial institutions throughout New York leading client relations and wealth management.

Arup Arup appointed Brian Swett as its new East Leader in the Americas, one of four new Geography Leaders meant to drive Arup’s location-focused operations and client services.

Brian is an internationally recognized leader in climate change and sustainability, with 20-plus years of experience working with municipal and federal governments, private sector real estate development, and nonprofits. He previously served as Arup’s Director of Sustainable Cities and Real Estate and Boston Group Leader.

Safe Horizon Safe Horizon, the nation’s largest victim services agency, appointed Jeff Brodsky as its new board chair. Brodsky, Senior Advisor at Morgan Stanley, has served on Safe Horizon’s board for a decade.

During his tenure, he has provided important guidance and strong fundraising support to the organization. As board chair, he will continue lending his expertise to Safe Horizon’s advocacy efforts, including their initiative to increase pay across the sector.

REAL ESTATE

BWE

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

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

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Kristian Molloy has joined BWE’s Philadelphia team in the company’s New York City office, expanding its presence in the northeast market. Molloy specializes in the production of multifamily debt financing for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conventional and small balance programs.

He also closed the first-ever transaction through Freddie Mac’s cooperative multifamily property early rate-lock program in 2012. Prior to joining BWE, Molloy served as vice president at Lument.

April 11, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 15

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PHOTOS: BUCK ENNIS

FASHION’S SURVIVAL

THERE ARE MANY STAGES in creating a garment: measuring and marking patterns, then cataloging, followed by selecting the proper fabric. Hand-sewn and then steamed, all Emmelle Boutique garments are produced and

FASHION FROM PAGE 1

scraps of fabric and lined with samples on metal hangers serves as the backdrop for Lee’s daily creations, and these days it’s looking a lot more like it did before Covid-19. Instead of making hospital garments, her sewers have returned to their machines to create clothes meant to be seen in public for fashionistas who are venturing out again to social events.

As consumer preferences turn away from mass-produced fashion, manufacturers are partnering and

collaborating with designers who sell directly to customers online and investing in on-demand technology.

Beginning in 2019, consumers began to lose trust in fast-fashion online retailers due to several data breaches, according to a report by McKinsey & Co. Customers also began to question the quality of their products.

The report found consumers shifting to looking beyond price tags to issues including fair labor, sustainable resourcing and the environment. Close to 70% of consumers are willing to pay more for a product if it uses sustainable practices, the

report said.

Now local manufacturers are capitalizing on this consumer focus.

And creating small batches of clothing is seen by designers as a way to avoid markdowns and waste.

Companies such as Lee’s are marketing their wares as “made in the U.S.A.” Manufacturing locally is key for designers looking to make samples for fashion shows or their showrooms and avoid importing goods via costly container ships. By having the facilities all in one place, it gives a designer a one-stop shop for everything from zippers to embroidery.

Fashion is a $98 billion industry for New York, with $72 billion in wholesale sales, $18 billion in retail sales and $8 billion in manufacturing, industry boosters say. More than 900 fashion businesses are headquartered in the city, supporting 180,000 jobs.

Saving grace Surviving in New York’s world of fashion manufacturing was tough long before Covid, but the pandemic helped foster a sense of community that may show a way forward. Manufacturers that were once competitors partnered to keep the entire

ecosystem afloat and respond to the pandemic by producing bulk quantities of masks, gowns and the like.

Lee, herself, helped orchestrate such collaboration.

The fashion industry was “imploding” even before Covid, Lee said. So when factories were forced to shut down, Lee secured funds to produce personal protective equipment not only for her company but for others, turning competitors into collaborators. Companies continue to work together to get orders out, sharing equipment or lending their expertise.

During the pandemic, 14 fashion

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LEE’ 16 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | APRIL 11, 2022

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finished on site. manufacturers switched over to helping the city produce PPE, said Sonia Park, the creative director for the industry incentives team at the city Economic Development Corp.

The industry expects some PPE production, in smaller quantities, will continue to be a part of its business. One company that has grown by securing federal grants to produce U.S.-made protective gear is New York Embroidery Studio.

In partnership with the city, New York Embroidery Studio plans to move into an 80,000-square-foot location at the Brooklyn Army Terminal to expand its PPE production.

The move, announced in March, is expected to create more than 500 jobs, yielding $73 million in economic output.

The PPE was a safety net for the company to keep employees and even hire new ones, said Michael Saxon, director of operations.

For most companies, however, “the PPE was a period of time,” said Samanta Cortes, an international consultant at Samanta’s Platform and the former executive director of Save the Garment District. It wound down in July, Cortes said, around the time that the organization reached its goal of stopping a rezoning that it argued would have pushed companies to Brooklyn.

Survival of the chic The fashion manufacturing in-

dustry is going to continue “as long as they make money doing it,” said Andrew Ward, an adjunct professor on fashion merchandising management at the Fashion Institute of Technology.

“There can’t be a fashion capital without a manufacturing component,” he added.

Tokyo, Paris and Milan are all fashion meccas because they have manufacturing facilities, Ward said.

Everyone thought Amsterdam would be the next big city, he said, but it never took off because that city doesn’t handle manufacturing. Designers, he explained, need to be able to make a sample right away.

New York City is critical to fashion manufacturing, Park said. The factories allow small and emerging designers to develop their ideas, make their products with low minimums, check the quality and create solutions with partners all in one spot, she said.

“They are able to walk down 36th Street, get their zippers, go to 35th Street and get their pattern and marker-check, and then head to their factory to get their products made,” Park said.

The collaborative culture Lee helped foster needs to continue for the industry to survive, she said. If companies keep undercutting one another, there is no way the city can

$74K

compete with the overtor. The average wage of a seas locations larger cut-and-sew manufacturbrands are moving to, she ing worker in the spring AVERAGE WAGE of 2021 was $74,340, the said. of a cut-and-sew “Everyone looks for big Bureau of Labor Statistics manufacturing brands and big compafound. worker in spring Another problem facnies, but those are arter2021 ies, and the capillaries ing the industry is the [the midsize manufacturlack of new technology ers] have to succeed to form the ar- that offshore manufacturers have teries,” Lee said. “Otherwise, the come to rely upon but local manuwhole thing starts shivering in.” facturers have failed to keep up with, said Kinda Younes, executive Challenges persist director of the NYC Industrial TechAlthough high shipping costs and nology Assistance Corp., a manuuncertainty in the textile supply facturing-technology consultancy. chain have driven some production The organization helps owners for free, she said, through a grant provided by the Garment District Alliance.

Younes, who works closely with the small and medium businesses that make up the city’s fashion manufacturing industry, said many owners are so steeped back to the United States, a lack of in their day-to-day work that they skilled workers willing to do inten- sometimes fail to see the larger picsive, hands-on work has been a ture. problem, Ward said.

For example, as more consumers Many factories in the city told buy clothes via social media plathim that taking on additional busi- forms while still valuing sustainabilness would overwhelm their em- ity, designers turn to manufacturers ployees. to produce small-batch clothing, The average age of a sewer in a which they, in turn, sell directly to New York City factory is 55, Ward consumers. To reach direct-to-consaid. When the pandemic struck, sumer designers, who can operate many left the industry. A lack of new anywhere in the country, New York blood has created a hole in the sec- City manufacturers need to have a

“THERE CAN’T BE A FASHION CAPITAL WITHOUT A MANUFACTURING CAPITAL”

web presence, but many haven’t had one until recently, Younes said.

“The whole system of looking for clients walking down the street isn’t how they do business anymore,” Ward said. “[Manufacturers] have to open up their eyes to the broader picture of where retail is occurring.”

Issues such as high rent, finding space to work and a lack of skilled workers, which persisted before the pandemic, remain today, said Lisa Kesselman, a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology and a former owner of a manufacturing company.

But Kesselman, who has been in the industry for close to four decades, said the Garment District can continue to grow with enough support from subsidies from the local government and incentives for landlords to keep manufacturers in the area.

“I don’t think [the industry is] going anywhere,” she said. “It’ll be here long after we’re gone—or at least long after I’m gone.”

Looking out across her factory floor, Lee said she has seen a recovery in the fashion industry. Her business, based on eveningwear for women, is picking up speed as events resume.

“There will always be fashion,” Lee said. The question, she said, is “can we produce and manufacture in a way that can sustain an industry in New York City?” ■

LEE’S CREATIONS can include every color in the rainbow.

April 11, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 17

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HEALTH CARE

BY MAYA KAUFMAN

Aegis Ventures, that uses artificial intelligence to identify expectant mothers at greater risk of preeclampsia.

N

orthwell Health recently announced the launch of its Center for Maternal Health to address the disproportionate rate of pregnancy-related health risks and maternal mortality among Black women.

Northwell’s new center is not a physical facility but rather a suite of prenatal and postpartum programs throughout the city to support high-risk women in and out of the hospital and to train clinicians on best practices. Its initiatives will unite members of Northwell’s obstetrics and gynecology department, population health division and the Katz Institute for Women's Health.

To reach those most in need, the

Far-reaching impact The center will even extend outside Northwell’s doors. Its Maternal Outcomes Navigation program, which began as a 20-month pilot, will provide support to high-risk women between prenatal appointments and postpartum.

Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling said the system was willing to pay whatever price necessary to achieve its long-term goal of reducing Black maternal mortality rates. Black women in New York are three to 12 times more likely to die of childbirth-related causes than white women, according to city data. He said the team was in the process of defining the center’s shortterm metrics of success.

Of the 30,500 patients who deliver at a Northwell facility in a year, Dowling said, an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 need a higher level of care because of their risk profile.

“We’ll do whatever it takes,” he said. “I’m not putting a specific budget out there. I’m saying, ‘This is a major focus.’ ” Northwell operates 22 hospitals and 830 outpatient facilities and boasts more than 16,600 affiliated physicians. It reported a $103 million surplus on $10.7 billion in op-

“WE’LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES. THIS IS A MAJOR FOCUS” center will work with community-based organizations to connect women in medically underserved communities to Northwell services.

It will use data-driven measures to proactively identify obstetric patients who face an increased risk of experiencing complications and connect them to an appropriate provider, instead of waiting for a referral.

One example is an algorithm, which Northwell is developing with

UNIONS

Dr. Kulleni Gebreyes, U.S. chief health equity officer and consulting health care sector leader for Deloitte, applauded the new programs but said that hospitals and health systems need to involve the women they intend to serve in their planning and decision-making processes. Otherwise, she said, programs could fall victim to leadership’s blind spots.

“Despite all these good intentions, a lot of these programs still don’t achieve the aspirational goals and aims they set for themselves,” Gebreyes said. “If we executives decide what problems we're solving for and how we're solving for [them]

without bringing in the voice of our customer, we've already failed to address probably the most crucial things to them.”

Gebreyes said executives need to consider such issues as availability of public transportation, the cost of parking, hours of operation and the cultural competence of their providers, from the language they speak to the way they greet patients.

Programs have to be affordable to achieve their goals, Gebreyes said.

A report released by the Commonwealth Fund ties the United States’ poor maternal outcomes to high medical costs. Nearly half of U.S. women of reproductive age have skipped or delayed needed medical care because of the cost, more than in any other high-in-

come country, the report found.

More than half said they had at least one problem paying a medical bill in the past year. The Upper East Side–based foundation’s analysis, which draws from a 2020 survey, looked at women ages 18 to 49 living in 11 high-income countries.

Dowling acknowledged that patients might not know about Northwell’s financial assistance programs and policies, which are applicable to patients whose family income is at or below 500% of the federal poverty line. The CEO said the system would work with community-based organizations and faith leaders to promote more awareness.

“It will not become an obstacle for the receipt of services,” he said. ■ boroughs were union members, the report found.

It’s that union density that helps make the city a breeding ground for organizing, said Rebecca Givan, an associate professor at Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations.

president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “That said, I think we have to be thoughtful about the big picture and the perception of New York, especially as we try to recover from the pandemic and attract new investment.

“It’s never an all-or-nothing kind of discussion,” Peers added, “but the cost of doing business really does matter when we're competing, both regionally and nationally, for economic opportunity.”

Historically, union membership losses have been disproportionately clustered in the private sector. But there are signs that may be chang-

ing. The union boom has spread to digital media companies (including at Condé Nast and for the New York Times tech workers); museums (the Brooklyn Museum and Whitney Museum are two recent additions); and at tech companies (as of last year, more than 600 Google employees and contractors had unionized).

This is “the most exciting moment in many decades for organizing, not just in New York but around the country,” said Ellen Dichner, a labor lawyer and a distinguished lecturer at the City University of New York’s School of Labor and Urban Studies.

“I think you're getting a generation of younger workers who entered the job market and had expectations about what’s available, and then they find out what’s available is low-wage, super exploitative jobs,” Dichner said. “I’m sure that movement of unionizing inspired some of the Amazon workers, the media workers—it’s brought us to this moment.”

New York ranks first in union density among the country’s largest states, with a unionization rate (22.4%) more than double the U.S. average (10.6%) between 2020 and 2021, according to the CUNY Center for Labor and Urban Studies’ annual “state of the unions” report. More than a fifth ( 20.6%) of all wage and salary workers who live in the five

The cost of care

BUILDING WORKERS are threatening to strike as negotiations drag on

GETTY IMAGES

FROM PAGE 1

working conditions amid the pandemic, along with a swell of job openings, have empowered many employees to demand more of corporate America. “The top priority is to achieve what we deserve for being essential workers during the past two years and going forward,” said Manny Pastreich, the secretary treasurer of Local 32BJ. Despite four bargaining sessions with property managers, he said, the sides are “very far apart.”

Five more sessions are scheduled before the union contract expires on April 20. A failure to reach an agreement could trigger a strike for the more than 30,000 building workers covered under the contract.

“I'm a strong believer that you get what you have the power to take,” Pastreich said.

Howard Rothschild, the president of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, which represents building managers and owners in the negotiations, said in a statement the group “will continue to work towards reaching a fair contract for both sides by April 20.”

Starbucks, similarly, has said it is “listening and learning” from em-

erating revenue during the first nine months of 2021, according to its most recently reported financial results.

Northwell’s center is one of several new hospital-based initiatives to address maternal health. St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, Queens, recently announced the launch of its women’s health center, which will provide such services as OB-GYN care and maternal-fetal medicine. The hospital funded its construction with a $3.1 million state grant.

“The need for the Margaret O. Carpenter Women’s Health Center is evident in the fact that the Rockaways sees a higher rate of pregnant women who seek late or no prenatal care when compared to the overall New York City rate,” CEO Jerry Walsh said.

ployees’ organizing push.

Amazon to contest the union Amazon has reacted in a less conciliatory way, saying in a statement: “We’re disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees.”

The company is expected to contest the union.

Some city business leaders worry that the recent labor wins will give companies pause in coming to New York. “Workers should have the right to organize,” said Randy Peers,

ISTOCK

Exclusive: Northwell launches center to combat maternal mortality in the Black community

Might be contagious “When people have a family or household member in a union, and they know what it actually means to be represented collectively, they're not just going to buy management's line,” Givan said. “Successful organizing drives lead to more organizing drives.”

That’s not to say that anti-union messaging from employers isn’t still powerfully intimidating, Givan said. But in the eyes of labor leaders, she said, this is a moment of great potential for the city, state and country, and companies should expect workers to call them out if their actions don’t align with their worker-forward messaging.

“They should expect to be held accountable to their rhetoric,” Givan continued. “[A lot of companies] try to have this very progressive brand. But if they're going to say that they care about their workers and that being a good place to work is a priority, workers are going to ask for some follow-through and start to demand a voice on the job.” ■

APRIL 11, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 19

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Notice of Qualification of CALIBRANT RENEWABLE HOLDINGS, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/28/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/23/21.

Princ. office of LLC: 125 W. 55th St., NY, NY 10019. 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 of DE, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of FINCHLEY ROAD MEDIA LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/24/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/30/21. Princ. office of LLC: 740 4th St. North, Ste. 176, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. 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.

Notice of Qualification of CHARTED LABS LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/28/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/27/22.

Princ. office of LLC: 18 10th St., Apt. 928, San Francisco, CA 94103. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, Attn: Jayendra Jog at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., P.O. Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of GB EquipmentCo LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/17/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/02/19.

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. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 820 N. French St., 4th Fl., Wilmington, DE 19801.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 1898 HEALTH, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/28/22. Princ. office of LLC: 6205-B Peachtree Dunwoody Rd., Atlanta, GA 30328. 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: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Corps. Div., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Health care sales.

Notice of Formation of CLAREMONT HOMEOWNERSHIP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/22.

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 development.

Notice of Qualification of 263 W 34TH STREET LENDER, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/09/21. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Marathon Asset Management L.P., One Bryant Park., 38th Fl., NY, NY 10036. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

PBTEX PR LLC filed w/ SSNY on 2/4/22. Office: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: c/o Smith & Shapiro, 116 E. 27th St., 3rd Fl, NY, NY 10016. Purpose: any lawful.

Notice of Qualification of BOW STREET SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES GP XVIII, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/15/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/26/18. Princ. office of LLC: 595 Madison Ave., 29th Fl., NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, State of DE, Dept. of State, Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of PANTS VIEW 3, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/11/22.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 200 Park Ave. South, 8th Fl., NY, NY 10003. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Qualification of PEARL NETWORK LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/16/22. Princ. office of LLC: 520 Broadway, 4th Fl., NY, NY 10012.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 46TH STREET CALLAGY FAMILY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/17/22. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 72 Glendale Rd., Rye, NY 10580.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of PEARL PRIMARY CARE NETWORK LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/16/22. Princ. office of LLC: 520 Broadway, 4th Fl., NY, NY 10012.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of 30W 85TH STREET LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/17/2021. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to Registered Agents Inc., 90 State St, Ste 700, Office 40, Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of CAESAR, NAPOLI & SPIVAK PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/09/22. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of PLLC: 233 Broadway, Ste. 2348, NY, NY 10279. SSNY designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the PLLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Practice of law.

Notice of Qualification of CANNON HILL CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/16/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/24/22. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 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, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Formation of EAST 89 NYC LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/26/2022. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail process to Christopher Shaari, 19 Country Club Way, Demarest, NJ 07627.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGAL NOTICE Application for Authority of Torchia Entertainment, LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) 2/3/2022. Formed in PA 1/1/2022. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The principal business loc. and address SSNY shall mail copy of process is c/o Michael J. Torchia, 610 White Ash Dr., Langhorne, PA 19047.

Cert. of Organization filed with the Secy. of the Commonwealth of PA, 401 North St., 206 N. Office Bldg., Harrisburg, PA 17120. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of NEUMANN BROOME ST. LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/22/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Jeffrey Neumann, 971 Huron Rd., Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417.

Purpose: Any lawful activity

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Kelsey Dunn Mental Health Counseling, PLLC. Arts of Org filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/16/2022. Office loc: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. Address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the PLLC served upon him/her is 119 W. 72 St #102 New York, NY 10023. Principal business address of the PLLC is the same. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

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WINDOWS

THE COMPANY manufactures some of its offerings in Flushing.

of Asian descent whose safety was now on the line. Chen said many were afraid to commute on mass transit or even take a ride-sharing service. In response, he said, the company set up staff carpools and reimbursed workers for mileage.

Cash flow became difficult when customers ordered windows but were then unable to pay. Chen and his father dipped into their personal funds to make Crystal’s ends meet.

In another setback, the chain of supplies needed to make the windows went into “shambles,” said Chen. As a workaround, the company has diversified its suppliers but now waits months instead of weeks for certain products.

Recently, the war in Ukraine has caused oil and gas prices to skyrocket and become unpredictable.

So not only is shipping the windows more expensive, Chen said, but many of the company’s main products are also dependent on energy-heavy products such as aluminum and PVC, a petroleum-based plastic used in framing.

Energy-efficient focus Despite the issues, the demand for windows remains high, with the largest growth seen in residential construction, Chen said. According to a survey conducted by national trade publication Door and

BUCK ENNIS

FROM PAGE 3

Window Market magazine, members of the industry experienced an increase in sales of at least 10% between 2020 and 2021, and 72% of respondents expect to see sales grow in 2022.

Around 15 or 16 years ago, it was typical for an architect to give Crystal a blueprint, and the company

would fit the windows to the design after the fact, said senior project manager Sabrina Leung. But now Crystal meets with the consultants early on and works the windows into the building’s layout because they play a major role in how the property emits energy.

The importance of using tech-

nology to help its offerings meet energy-efficiency demands is one of the firm’s top priorities. Chen believes the demand for energy-efficient windows will continue to increase.

The company strives to meet New York City’s ever-changing environmental codes and go above those

guidelines, Leung said. Now Crystal is looking to Europe for trends in meeting environmental standards, she said.

For example, there are special coatings that reduce the amount of heat that leaves window panels and cool the sunlight coming into an office space or apartment. Other windows have multi-chambered frames, so air pockets act like a puffy down jacket. In the works is a new technology that allows windows to automatically tint.

At the end of the day, Chen said, windows will always be an essential part of the home and office experience.

“When you wake up in the morning, just think: When you have that sun sitting on your body, your skin, it just rejuvenates you,” said Chen.

“If there were no windows, we would just be sitting in some concrete block. How dreary would that be?” ■

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22 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | APRIL 11, 2022

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REAL ESTATE: THE CLOSER

Prolific Ripco broker’s 36-year career centers on his passion—not his height, clothes or appearance Gene Spiegelman says he’s not the best-dressed or most-handsome broker, but his no-frills approach is his secret weapon

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ene Spiegelman has been spinning retail deals in New York for 36 years. He’s worked on transactions for Crate & Barrel and Gucci and won the Real Estate Board of This is the third New York’s Retail edition of Crain’s Deal of the Year new series, in award twice. which reporter As a vice chairNatalie Sachmechi man at Ripco Real speaks to city Estate, he oversees brokers about what a particularly chalmakes them tick. lenging task: He’s in charge of leasing two spaces that used to be occupied by defunct department store chain Century 21.

With all of its stores now shuttered following a February 2021 bankruptcy, he’s trying to fill the former Bay Ridge location and the one in Lincoln Square with new tenants in a dismal retail market.

Here, Spiegelman dishes on his strategies for winning clients and NATALIE how he spent his first SACHMECHI commission check.

BUCK ENNIS

SPIEGELMAN

What’s your secret sauce for getting clients?

Knicks tickets?

I am definitely not the schmoozer type. I engage new clients by building their confidence in my skills, experience, knowledge and trust. I know it’s boring and old school, but it works for me. I sometimes believe I have lost business to the schmoozers, but that’s just not me.

Why do your clients choose you?

They don’t like me because I’m the best dressed or the most handsome or the tallest.

That’s not me.

I truly love what I do, and that shines through. They know me as a highly competent professional who gets the job done.

I will tell you, I was in the business for two years, and at the time I was leasing office space, and I walked into a man’s office on Long Island to canvass them for a building I was leasing. I sit down and start talking to him for 20 minutes. The guy says, “I like the cut of your jib.” I didn’t quite know what he was saying to me, but I’ve come to understand he liked my demeanor and he wanted to give me a chance. I didn’t try to sell him on anything. I just told him whatever facts I knew at the time, which weren’t many.

A client is about to walk out the door. What’s your Hail Mary to keep the deal intact?

Understand the objections. Study the problem. Prepare solutions and communicate them. It works more often than not!

I had a closing on a deal late last year where an estate had owed money to the IRS. In order to get the deal closed at the yearend, we were up against the IRS bureaucracy that [indicated] we needed a payoff letter.

Dealing with a government agency during Covid at the end of the calendar year, you might as well throw snowballs into the fire.

As a broker on the deal, you’re the person who has to make every phone call. In this case, I was able to explain to each party very clearly the pros and cons of closing or waiting to close in 2022.

The day before we close, the payoff letter shows up. There was no guarantee that they were going to get this IRS letter. But what it took was those basic skills—you’ve got to understand the problem yourself.

gotiate with Vornado to get a lease extension, and the tenant had to do a lot of due diligence on renting the space, which is in a 100-year-old building. It was one of those deals that wasn’t expected.

How did you celebrate your first big deal?

My first big deal was representing Prada in its lease at 724 Fifth Ave. in 1997. It was my first Manhattan “flagship” transaction. With the commission I earned, I purchased an engagement ring for my wife. It was her idea for me to call Prada!

The tenant at the time was B. Dalton Bookseller, and we knew its lease was expiring. So I made a cold call to Prada, and the rest is history!

“STUDY THE PROBLEM. PREPARE SOLUTIONS. IT WORKS MORE OFTEN THAN NOT”

What’s the most complicated deal you’ve worked on recently?

Putting together the Wegmans’ lease at the former Kmart store at Astor Place. They had to buy out Kmart’s lease, then they had to ne-

What’s one thing you wish you’d known when you first started working in real estate?

I wish I knew what a mentor was. It was not a consideration at that time. I was simply put into a sink-or-swim circumstance with little to no guidance other than “Go canvass. This is your job.”

What has been the most challenging part of filling the former Century 21 sites?

It’s taking spaces that were built for retail and figuring out how to position them for a very different group of occupiers. When the Lincoln Square project was conceived in the early 1990s, that’s when the big-box retailers were expanding into Manhattan. Barnes & Noble was there for 15 years, and when its lease expired, we put Century 21 in. In 2019 Century 21 extended its lease for 10 more years. They obviously didn’t make it.

Will Century 21 come back?

They did buy back their intellectual property during the bankruptcy, but they’re looking at whether it’s going to be brick-and-mortar or e-commerce. The Manhattan market has not been strong enough to relaunch it yet, particularly downtown, where you don’t have office occupancy or tourism.

I think at some point they will relaunch, but the business isn’t there. That’s the biggest disappointment—that two years into [the pandemic], we’re not at a recovery level in Manhattan to sustain that business.

Did you give yourself a deadline to get these locations leased?

We believe that we will have the Lincoln Square building cash flowing sometime in 2023. Bay Ridge could be in 2023 or 2024 because of construction. This is, like, how do you put Humpty Dumpty back together? ■ April 11, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 23

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