Crain's New York Business

THE CLOSER Veteran broker Yawitz advises, “If it ain’t in writing, it ain’t so” PAGE 3

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MAY 23, 2022

TRANSPORTATION

730 THIRD AVE. got a $28 million loan for retrofits.

How the city’s next TLC chief might steer the taxi industry

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arren Schreiber, president of his Queens cooperative, often lies awake at night worrying about how the 1950s complex can afford to comply with the city’s green mandates. The property is made up of 200 middle-income households, and if it fails to comply, it could face hefty fines as soon as 2025.

Nearly 70% of the city’s carbon emissions come from buildings. Local Law 97, approved by the City Council in 2019, imposes emissions caps on most buildings larger than 25,000 square feet.

Building owners must comply with the caps beginning in 2024.

Officers at cooperatives and condominiums are discovering now, through energy consultants, just how expensive URBAN GREEN that could be. One preliminary report COUNCIL cost amounts to $9,100 per household just estimate to to upgrade the boilers. Some cooperaachieve 1st and tives say they need greater resources so 2nd compliance as not to push the expense on to resiperiods dents through maintenance fees.

“My concern,” Schreiber said, “is that some of them would actually be forced to leave and look for more afOF BUILDINGS fordable housing.” are out of Buildings’ compliance includes subcompliance with mitting a report to city officials in May 2024 limits and 2025, showing their emissions for the have work to do. previous calendar year. Buildings that exceed their limit will be on the hook for annual penalties of $268 per metric ton over the cap. The fines could quickly climb into the thousands or millions.

The goal is to cut building emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050, at which point the city aims to reach carbon neutrality.

The law applies to some 50,000 buildings, 59% of which are residential, according to the Urban Green Council. The total

See TAXI on page 30

RETROFITS ADD UP

$20B 24%

BUCK ENNIS/CRAIN’S COMPOSITE

DFHV

T

he former director of Washington, D.C.’s Department of For-Hire Vehicles, David Do, will be the next commissioner of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. The City Council voted to confirm Do to the role last Thursday. He succeeds Mayor Eric Adams’ initial pick to run the agency, former TLC Commissioner Aloysee Heredia-Jarmoszuk, who resigned in March.

Do joins the commission at a difficult time, with the taxi industry still reeling from the pandemic and as drivers continue to recover DO from the medallion debt crisis. Of the roughly 3,000 drivers who qualify for the city’s $65 million medallion relief programs, only 300 have received payouts.

During a confirmation hearing last Tuesday, Do said his first order of business would be to ramp up the TLC’s efforts to ensure more drivers can tap into the aid.

“My main goal will be to get drivers out from under this mountain of debt,” he said. “I will work expeditiously to ensure more lenders participate in these programs so that we can build a stronger foundation

NEWSPAPER

SEEING GREEN: CO-OPS, CONDOS FACE HIGH COSTS

BY CAROLINE SPIVACK

BY CAROLINE SPIVACK

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CLIMATE CHANGE

Building owners eye compliance with looming emissions caps, worry over dramatic rise in maintenance fees

The new commissioner plans to focus on driver debt, innovation

VOL. 38, NO. 20

RESI SPOTLIGHT A gem of a townhouse on the Upper East Side PAGE 4

© 2022 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC.

See CO-OPS on page 27

GOTHAM GIGS

THE LIST

PRESERVING WEST 30TH’S MUSICAL HERITAGE

Area’s largest minorityowned firms

PAGE 31

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5/20/22 5:14 PM

REAL ESTATE

BY EDDIE SMALL

T

he vacancy rate for the city’s most affordable apartments is the lowest it has been in 30 years, according to the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The agency last Tuesday released initial findings from its 2021 New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey. The vacancy rate for homes with a monthly rent listed below $1,500—the cheapest units in the city—was less than 1%. The citywide rental vacancy rate was about 4.5%, meaning New York is still considered to be in a housing emergency, which occurs when the vacancy rate drops below 5% and trig-

city’s overall median asking rent was $2,750; the overall annual median income in the city, $50,000, would need to more than double to make that rent affordable.

About half of renters still spend more than 30% of their income on rent, a level that has not changed since 2011 and qualifies them as rent-burdened. One-third of the city’s renters spend more than half their income on rent. The survey found that 13% of rental households reported missing a rent payment in the past year.

Postponed The deadline to finish the housing survey and determine New York City’s vacancy rate has been extended multiple times since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The first bill that Adams signed into law extended the deadline again, from April 1 to July 1.

The state Senate had voted to postpone the survey last spring, arguing the pandemic meant there were not enough workers to conduct it properly. Landlords said, however, that politicians were actually just nervous that the vacancy rate would be

“OUR CITY’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS IS AS DIRE AS EVER” gers the rent-stabilization law.

“The findings are clear: Our city’s affordable housing crisis is as dire as ever,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

The survey also found that the

too high—which could imperil their political goals by sparking the end of the rent-stabilization law.

If the vacancy rate surpasses 5%, the rent-stabilization law is voided, given the amount of available housing.

The vacancy rate in Manhattan skyrocketed past that point earlier in the pandemic, reaching as high as 11.6% in April 2021, according to reports from Douglas Elliman. However, those reports are for market-rate apartments, and the vacancy rate has since plummeted back to less than 2%, according to the latest report.

The city’s Rent Guidelines Board is considering raising rents for rent-stabilized apartments by 2.7% to 9% in the wake of data showing operating costs for landlords have gone up 4.2% in the past year. The board is expected to release its official recommendation this month and hold a final vote on the matter next month.

The board voted in 2020 to freeze rents on one- and two-year leases and voted last year to raise rents between 1.5% and 2.5% for rent-stabilized units.

GETTY IMAGES

City hangs ‘No vacancy’ sign, with less than 1% of most-affordable apartments available to rent

A 9% increase on two-year leases would be the highest since 1979, although landlords have criticized the board’s preliminary recommendations as too low.

‘No emergency’ Frank Ricci, executive vice president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents landlords, argued that a vacancy rate around 4.5% did not constitute a

housing emergency for the city’s supply of rent-regulated apartments. The city should take a more targeted approach to dealing with that segment of its housing stock, he said.

“If we started just peeling off the units that don’t need to be regulated,” Ricci said, “then we could focus on the people who are rent-burdened and helping them to afford the apartments that they need.” ■

ECONOMY

Report paints a bleak picture of Asian American small-business owners’ pandemic recovery

BY BRIAN PASCUS

EVENTS CALLOUT

THURSDAY, JUNE 16 2022 EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION Join Crain’s on June 16 from noon to 2 p.m. for a luncheon celebrating Diversity & Inclusion Lifetime Achievement Award winner Cheryl McKissack Daniel, a trailblazing construction and real estate executive.

Four D&I category winners will also be revealed. This event is an opportunity to celebrate and network with the professionals making the workplace more representative.

MANHATTAN MANOR 201 W. 52nd St. CrainsNewYork.com/ 2022D&I

A

sian American small-business owners in New York City have yet to recover from the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

That is the conclusion made by the Asian American Federation in a new report that measured the pandemic’s impact on Asian American

The survey was taken last year between July 6 and Aug. 31.

“The economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic were catastrophic for Asian-owned businesses and Asian workers across the metro area,” the report said.

The report’s findings reinforce a July analysis from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, which found areas with high concentrations of Asian-owned businesses in New York City suffered a disproportionate loss in consumer spending between 2019 and 2020 when compared to the rest of the city. Spending in Chinatown fell by nearly 85%, while citywide consumer spending fell 65%, according to the Mastercard analysis.

Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director of the Asian American Federation,

SOME BLAME RACISM AND INADEQUATE GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS small businesses across the five boroughs. About 55% of the 400plus Asian-owned firms surveyed suffered a revenue loss of 75% or more. And 26% reported revenue losses between 50% and 75%.

CORRECTION

blamed racism and xenophobia surrounding the coronavirus’ origin and inadequate government assistance programs for the decline in revenues for Asian American small businesses.

“Once the pandemic hit and brought increased anti-Asian hatred with it, our community and businesses did not have the supports in place that we needed to bear the weight of such xenophobic narratives and behaviors,” Yoo said.

Before the pandemic, New York’s Asian American community was thriving. Asian Americans owned about 23% of all businesses with employees in the city, according to 2017 Census Bureau data.

Between 2012 and 2017, Asianowned firms had the second-highest rate of growth among major racial groups in the five boroughs, and they generated almost $121 billion in economic activity for the metropolitan area, according to the Asian American Federation report.

■ Loren Riegelhaupt is the principal and president of New York public affairs at SKDK. His

Limited access

previous jobs were incorrect in Notable Leaders in Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, published May 16.

The report also blamed the small-business downturn on the

inability of Asian Americans to access federal funding through initiatives including the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans.

An April 2021 study from the Local Initiatives Support Corp. found that 40% of minority-owned businesses did not receive PPP assistance.

The Asian American Federation report suggested that including translations in more languages on government documents could improve the number of assistance applications filed by Asian American business owners.

The report also noted that many Asian businesses rely on cash-andpaper bookkeeping and that “restrictive requirements” for showing net profit excluded some from receiving government assistance during the pandemic.

“Now more than ever,” Yoo said, “our government leaders must recognize the economic stimulation our community can offer and implement the support Asian American–owned businesses need to get back on their feet.” ■

Vol. 38, No. 20, May 23, 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 | MAY 23, 2022

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5/20/22 4:56 PM

REAL ESTATE: THE CLOSER

‘If it ain’t in writing, it ain’t so’: Prolific broker outlines the essentials of securing billions in sales Marcia Yawitz of Marcus & Millichap has been spinning deals for more than 50 years and has no plans to retire

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f you’re looking for Marcia Yawitz at the end of the week, you won’t find her in the office. There’s a good chance she’s on a golf course.

“Someone asked me if I’m religious, but I said, ‘Normally, I’m playing golf,’ ” she said.

After more than 50 years spinning real estate deals in New York, you might say she’s earned the right to take it easy.

Yawitz golfs on Fridays, rather than going to the office. She said she uses the time on the course as an opportunity to mentor the young brokers she NATALIE works alongside at SACHMECHI Marcus & Millichap.

Yawitz, who has closed more than $3 billion in sales during her prolific career, said she has no plans to retire.

“For me, [working] is the best thing,” she said. “I don’t know what I would do if I retired and couldn’t get out of the house.”

You were hired at Marcus & Millichap in 2018.

How did you get there?

I had been at Eastern Consolidated for 18 years, then they closed in 2018. Eric Anton at Marcus & Millichap called me in August of that year and said, “When are you joining me?”

I said, “Eric, it’s August and I’m playing golf.” But he asked me to come up to the office. I told them that I didn’t have a résumé.

The heads of the company said, “We know who you are.”

The thing that I enjoy most is working with

BUCK ENNIS

How did you get started in real estate?

My husband was on a business trip, and I had two young kids. We lived in a two-bedroom apartment, and it was snowing. I couldn’t take the kids out, and they were tearing up my living room. I said, “I have to get out of here.” I called people who managed my mother’s properties, and I asked if they had job openings. They said, “When can you start?”

I hired someone to watch the kids, and when my husband came back from his trip on Friday, I said I was thinking about going back to work and that I was starting on Monday morning. It was the best thing I ever did.

It was a management company, and I said that we were giving deals to other brokers instead of doing it ourselves. We set up a brokers division.

I was very ambitious at that time. Nothing would stop me. I hired salespeople and was doing very well for someone who had no experience.

YAWITZ

the younger brokers and training them. I was doing that at Eastern. It’s very satisfying for me. I’ve been around the industry in every aspect. I still luckily remember almost everything I’ve done.

What’s your secret for getting clients?

I’m not a big schmoozer, but I call the people I know who might be interested in a property.

I rarely call people I don’t know—it’s a frustration for me.

I never call and say, “I have someone interested in your property,” because that’s baloney.

My policy is: If you’re going to cold-call, tell them what’s happening in the neighborhood and know everything you possibly can about the neighborhood.

looked at me like I was a little girl who needed to be taken care of. I can take care of myself.

I think women are treated well now. When I worked for Debrah Charatan [who was married to murderer Robert Durst], it was an all-woman firm. I’ve never found any discrimination or felt patronized. I’ve earned respect.

How has the real estate industry changed?

There used to be a lot of handshake deals. It’s harder now— people are more sophisticated and just different. I have one motto in the business: If it ain’t in writing, it ain’t so.

Remember, I’m from a generation before computers. We walked the streets. I can tell you in pretty much every borough except Staten Island what the sections are like, what the trends are and what businesses there are.

It was an entirely different world. We took the subways and walked. Now I take the subways and call an Uber.

“I’VE NEVER FOUND ANY DISCRIMINATION. I’VE EARNED RESPECT”

How has being a woman in commercial real estate changed in your five decades?

I never had problems as a woman—which is great. Sometimes some of my clients would ask if I was getting my commissions. They

How did you celebrate your first big real estate deal?

I was with the people who were buying the property in our offices at JH Taylor. Their chauffeur dropped me off at the supermarket because I had to shop for dinner.

My husband should have made me dinner, but he’s a Jewish husband, so he didn’t.

A potential client is about to walk out the door.

What’s your Hail Mary pass to keep the deal intact?

I had two customers vying for the same deal.

One said he was going to walk; the other side was also upset that there was another buyer.

I said, “You’re both sitting here, and I want you to put in your final offers. Whomever comes with the best offer gets the deal.” I gave their offers to the president of the company to open, and they were willing to go with that.

One outbid the other by something like $3 million. We sold it for $165 million. It was a portfolio of nine buildings in Washington Heights. ■ Know a New York City broker who should be featured in Crain’s? Contact Natalie Sachmechi at natalie.sachmechi@ CrainsNewYork.com.

May 23, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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RESIDENTIAL SPOTLIGHT

Accessories exec hopes buyers find UES home a gem Reed Krakoff, former creative director at Tiffany & Co., looks to sell his mansion at 54 E. 64th St. for $42 million

BY C. J. HUGHES

R

eed Krakoff, a former creative director at Tiffany & Co., has listed a gem of a mansion on the Upper East Side.

It’s the latest bid by the executive to score a huge profit from the sale of an uptown townhouse, though it comes amid signs that the 5-story red-brick property, which once housed the New York Observer, may be yesterday’s news.

The house, at 54 E. 64th St., is a 25-foot-wide offering with six bedrooms, six full baths and five halfbaths, plus a landscaped roof. It first hit the market in September at $48 million, though buyers didn’t

$42M

LISTING PRICE for 54 E. 64th St. sion of his seemingly preferred type of New York real estate, for $17 million. That house traded in 2014 for $51 million.

Krakoff has been less lucky of late at his day job. Last year, after French luxury conglomerate LVMH acquired Tiffany, Krakoff left the jewelry company following a five-year stint as chief artistic officer, a newly created role. He listed No. 54 soon after. Neither Serena Boardman of Sotheby’s nor Paula Del Nunzio of Brown Harris Stevens, who have a co-exclusive on the property, had a comment. Krakoff also had no comment.

Sporting a living room with a herringbone-patterned hardwood floor, a kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and a gym, No. 54 mixes the antique and contemporary. Most walls are white.

The overall effect is airy, a far cry from its look from 1987 to 2004, when the Observer was there. Writers filed stories about New York’s elite from desks crammed in halls at the time, and a continually flushing toilet became an inside joke.

But that journalism chapter can seem like ancient history. Russian socialite Janna Bullock snapped up the property in 2004 from Observer publisher Arthur Carter, paying $9.5 million, according to tax records. Two years later Bullock flipped it for $19 million. ■

bite. The brokers recently slashed its price to $42 million, a 13% discount.

Still, if the house, located near Park Avenue, gets that number, it would be a windfall for Krakoff, who bought it in 2014 for $28 million—although he has known much greater profit margins.

In 2007 Krakoff, who rocketed to fame as the creative director of leather-goods company Coach, sold a similar townhouse at 157 E. 61st St. to Pink Floyd bass player Roger Waters for about $15 million after purchasing it in 2001 for about $4 million. Afterward, Krakoff bought 113 E. 70th St., a 7-story ver-

SOTHEBYS REALTY

THE BROKERS SLASHED ITS PRICE FROM $48 MILLION, A 13% DISCOUNT

54 E. 64TH ST., a 25-foot-wide home, features six bedrooms, six bathrooms, five half-baths and a landscaped roof.

RETAIL

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

T

he Century 21 retail chain, which closed all its stores and went through bankruptcy proceedings in 2020, is reopening its Cortlandt Street flagship location, the company announced last ­Tuesday.

The Gindi family, which owned the string of Century 21 discount

The store will open its doors next year, and the company will relaunch its website at the same time, Women’s Wear Daily first reported.

The brand reportedly will incorporate “NYC” into its name.

“Century 21 is, and always will be, a New York City brand,” said Raymond Gindi, co-chief executive. “Our flagship store has been a longtime symbol of this city’s resilience and unwavering spirit.”

The Gindis, who also own the real estate that the store is located on through its investment company, ASG Equities, had been marketing the building for lease.

The reopened Cortlandt Street location will span the four main floors of the original downtown space and will offer men’s, wom-

THE PROPERTY HAS BEEN IN THE GINDI FAMILY FOR NEARLY THREE DECADES department stores, purchased its intellectual property during the bankruptcy proceedings for $9 million and announced in February 2021 its intentions to relaunch in some capacity.

en’s and children’s designer apparel, footwear, outerwear, handbags, accessories and fragrances, the company said.

The property has been in the family for nearly three decades. The Gindis originally leased space at 22 Cortlandt St. to anchor the department store in the city, then they purchased it and expanded to 25 Church St. in 1993.

The family temporarily closed the flagship to repair damage caused by the 9/11 terror attacks. It reopened in 2002.

Several walls at 22 Cortlandt St. were torn down to connect its department store to several floors of the adjacent 25 Church St. Last year the company planned to put those walls back up to separate the two properties, said Steven Soutendijk, a broker at Cushman & Wakefield who was representing ASG. The landlords also own what was

BLOOMBERG

Century 21 reopening its Financial District flagship

the first Century 21 store, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn—which opened in 1962. The family is now developing

that store and several adjacent parcels it owns into a massive shopping center. ■

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5/20/22 4:23 PM

FINANCE

Signature Bank gets caught in the crypto collapse

BY AARON ELSTEIN

S

ignature Bank, a top player in the cryptocurrency realm, tried to stop the nearly 50% plunge in its stock price this year by assuring investors last Monday that all is well.

The assurance didn’t work. Signature shares shed 7% last Monday, continuing the drop that began when the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rolled over.

Normally a specialist in the steady business of lending to New York apartment landlords and small-business owners, Signature made a big commitment to serving the crypto space in recent years and

of the crypto world called stablecoins.

A stablecoin endeavors to be worth one dollar at all times and is intended to provide a safe space for speculators to park money between crypto trades. But recently the dollar pegs of popular stablecoins Tether and TerraUSD snapped, sending tremors throughout the financial world.

‘Less than feared’ Signature tried to calm investors by releasing a statement Monday morning. It said that although total deposits have fallen by $1.4 billion in the past six weeks, balances have not been “meaningfully affected” by the sell-off in crypto.

The bank had more than $20 billion in deposits from crypto customers at the end of last year, according to its annual report, or about a fifth of the total. Signature holds a single $100 million loan secured by Bitcoin, a sliver of its $122 billion in total assets.

In its statement Monday, Signature also said it does not provide banking services to stablecoins unless fully secured by dollars or Trea-

has accepted volatile Bitcoin as collateral for at least one loan. Its share price soared from $75 a share to nearly $375 in a bit more than a year before tumbling in recent months.

In addition to accepting Bitcoin as collateral, Signature serves a part

LINKEDIN

THE BANK HOLDS A SINGLE $100 MILLION LOAN SECURED BY BITCOIN

sury bonds. That seemed intended to assure investors that the bank is doing business with stablecoins that are genuinely stable. TerraUSD, a leading algorithm-backed stablecoin, invested some reserves in Bitcoin, and its value has fallen from $1 to 10 cents, according to

Coinmarketcap.

Supporters came to Signature’s defense after its statement.

Wedbush Securities analyst David Chiaverini said that even if the value of all cryptocurrencies falls to zero, Signature Bank’s earnings power would decline by no more

than 20%.

“Deposit outflows are less than feared,” Chiaverini said in a client report.

Still, he lowered his estimate for Signature earnings because of slower deposit growth than initially forecast. ■

MAY 23, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 5

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5/20/22 4:17 PM

POLITICS

Adams’ red-tape inquisition sparks updates to 118 rules in order to make doing business easier

BY CARA EISENPRESS

F

our months after he promised to make it easier to do business in the city, Mayor Eric Adams has announced a set of regulations he will relax or repeal in an attempt to make government less of an obstacle.

The city will repeal, reduce penalties for or add a first-time warning step to 118 regulations by the end of the year, the mayor said.

“No one wanted to do business here,” Adams said during a news conference announcing the results of a citywide review. “No one wanted to go through the bureaucracy.”

He said the changes will create “a

‘First step’

Violation overhaul To change the violation structure or end a rule, the city will have to amend, variously, its own rules, certain state laws and parts of the city’s administrative code.

Some regulations are being fully repealed, Adams said. For example, a Department of Buildings rule that fines firms for not conspicuously posting a permit while electrical work is in progress will soon sunset completely, he said, as will two Department of Sanitation rules concerning compostable straws—one that mandates bins to dispose of them and another that makes

“THE MAYOR IS GIVING ALL SMALL BUSINESSES A LEG UP AND A BETTER SHOT” city culture of yes.”

In early January, just after taking office, Adams signed an executive order that required six city agencies to review commonly violated rules that applied to businesses. The idea

posed to end or modify. They included several regarding fines for selling tobacco products to people younger than 21.

The mayor estimated that the rule reductions will result in the elimination of $8.9 million in fines.

was to examine rules that were burdensome in terms of compliance but not very important in terms of preserving public health or safety.

Both of Adams’ predecessors had programs to try to cut red tape, but the idea that businesses were spending too much time and money on city regulations became a central part of candidate Adams’ campaign.

restaurants charge for non-compostable straws. Those were both deemed too hard to enforce.

Other rules are staying in place, but first-time violators now will be issued a warning or an extended period during which a business can fix the problem, the mayor said. Violators of a Sanitation Department rule requiring businesses to recycle organic materials, for example, will get only a warning the first time, rather than face a $250 fine.

Some of the fees that accompany violations are being reduced, Adams said. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will reduce the maximum fine, from $600 to $500, for violations having to do with temperatures during food preparation, he said. Food-service firms will now have 60 days, up from 30 days, to comply with grease interceptor violations.

Adams rejected some of the suggestions for rules that agencies pro-

Companies and their representatives praised the red-tape cuts.

“By reducing fines and penalties, the mayor is giving all small businesses a leg up and a better shot at thriving,” said John Jiang, president of the New York Laundromat Business Association.

But some also said that changing a relative handful of rules is not the end of the story.

“Today’s announcement to reduce fines and allow for cure periods is a welcomed first step from the administration,” wrote Andrew Rigie of the New York City Hospitality Alliance. “We look forward to continuing to work with Mayor Adams to find ways to reduce fines, streamline the permitting and licensing process, cut red tape and champion our city to ensure New York is a place where all our small businesses thrive.” ■

2022

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NOMINATE NOW! Deadline is July 1 Nominate at CrainsNewYork.com/NotableHCLeaders 6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | MAY 23, 2022

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5/20/22 4:04 PM

IN THE MARKETS

Dissident shareholder at NYC REIT ‘makes a case for change,’ secures a key ally in boardroom war

This could be the first time since Covid hit that a Manhattan office landlord is forced to seat an unwanted director

A

9 TIMES SQUARE

CBRE

dissident shareholder called the decision “very disapwon a crucial battle in its pointing” and insisted that lead infight for boardroom rep- dependent director Elizabeth Tupresentation at New York peny is a better choice.

Tuppeny is CEO of Domus, a City REIT. Institutional Shareholder Ser- public relations agency whose clivices recommended late last Tues- ents include Comcast, Pfizer and day that investors vote their shares Verizon, according to its website. in favor of the nominee put forward She has served on NYC REIT’s

by Comrit Investments, which board for seven years.

“ISS failed to recognize wants to shake up NYC [Tuppeny’s] many outREIT after a subpar performance. standing qualities and inIf the candidate is electstead has chosen to back ed at NYC REIT’s annual an inexperienced director meeting this month, it candidate for election to the board who was handwould be the first time since Covid-19 hit that a picked by an activist Manhattan office landhedge fund,” he said.

Other activists haven’t lord has been forced to gotten far in their bids for seat an unwanted direcAARON ELSTEIN board seats or even outtor.

“The dissident has right control at Manhatmade a case for change,” said ISS, a tan commercial landlords.

Investor Jonathan Litt last month consulting firm whose recommendations in board elections are wide- withdrew his slate of board nomily followed. Voting real estate exec- nees at Midtown-based LXP Indusutive Sharon Stern onto the board trial Trust, formerly known as Lex“appears to be a good first step,” ISS ington Realty Trust. Paramount Group has twice turned down unsaid.

NYC REIT CEO Michael Weil solicited takeover offers since the

pandemic began.

NYC REIT owns 1.2 million square feet spread over eight Manhattan properties, including 9 Times Square and 1140 Sixth Ave. Its occupancy rate is 82%, down from 89% before the pandemic.

ISS noted that NYC REIT shares have lost 32% of their value since listing on the New York Stock Exchange two years ago, while peers show a median gain of 32%. ISS agreed with Comrit’s assertion that the four-member board isn’t suffi-

ciently independent from management.

ISS’s support for Comrit’s nominee sets off a furious battle for the hearts and minds of NYC REIT shareholders before the annual meeting on May 31. Under company bylaws only one director is up for election this year. Most investors are individuals instead of institutions.

NYC REIT argues that its stock price has outperformed since January 2021 and its nominee, Tuppeny, has ample experience on the board of NYC REIT and two other real estate companies while Stern has “minimal experience” in U.S. commercial real estate.

“Electing her to replace a director with the track record and qualifications of Ms. Tuppeny would disrupt NYC’s significant momentum,” Weil said.

ISS disagreed, saying Stern “appears to have relevant experience” because she is president of two companies focused on real estate in Montreal. Stern also sits on the board of Long Island–based Cedar Realty Trust. ■

ON POLITICS

Abortion issue might help elect New York Democrats

T

he looming repeal of Roe v. moderate and right-leaning voters Wade is a potential disaster don’t want abortions banned or for the nation but some- health care clinics shuttered. For thing of a boon to New York decades relatively few voters beDemocrats. They won’t quite say lieved Roe was imminently threatthis part out loud, though they know ened, and Democrats had a hard it’s true: An otherwise listtime centering a woman’s right to an abortion in less election season, with competitive campaigns.

Republicans on the offenIf the court’s conservasive, has now been granted a single, clarifying tive majority strikes down Roe, the repeal will no issue for the many voters Democrats court. longer be hypothetical, It would be a mistake to and individual states will say abortion rights will decide who can have an outright trump breadabortion and when. In and-butter issues such as New York, abortion acROSS BARKAN cess the economy and inflais unlikely to be tion. The cost of gasoline threatened, in part beis skyrocketing, and even a tax holi- cause Democrats codified Roe v. day in New York, set for June, won’t Wade into the state constitution in suddenly return prices to where 2019, following their takeover of the state Senate. Hochul just anthey were a year ago.

For Gov. Kathy Hochul and New nounced $35 million in state fundYork Democrats facing tough ing to abortion providers in anticire-elections this year, however, the pation of the Supreme Court’s U.S. Supreme Court’s potential decision, a draft of which leaked to overreach probably will boost their the public this month. prospects.

So why would abortion access Abortion rights are overwhelm- still be an issue for New York Demingly popular in New York. Even ocrats in a post-Roe world?

Wouldn’t the 2019 codification take such an issue off the table? Realistically, yes. Democrats will not lose control of both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion—they hold supermajorities in the Assembly and Senate— which is the only way the codification could be repealed. New York is nothing like Mississippi, let alone Michigan, where Republicans control the legislature and an anti­ abortion GOP governor might be elected in the fall.

Still, the threat of a Republican governor getting elected in New York to undercut abortion access might be enough, on the margins at least, to motivate Democrats to vote in what otherwise will be a dismal midterm environment. Assuming she wins the primary, Hochul’s most likely opponent in the fall is Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Republican from Long Island who has been a fierce supporter of Donald Trump. Zeldin has promised to appoint a health commissioner who is opposed to abortion.

Since the draft leak, Zeldin has tried, to some extent, to massage

JASON DECROW/AP

The Supreme Court’s potential overreach probably will boost the prospects of Gov. Kathy Hochul and others facing re-election

his views for the state’s left-leaning electorate.

“The reality is, the law right now in New York is the law in New York,” Zeldin told reporters recently. “So, the day before the Supreme Court issues its decision, the morning that we all wake up and they deliver their decision, and the morning after they issue their decision—if the draft statement actually became the decision—did you know that the law in New York doesn’t change at all?”

True, if the Supreme Court strikes down Roe, the law in New York doesn’t change. But a Republican governor can try to change the state law. He certainly can fight to cut funding to abortion clinics and women’s health services. He can block Democrats in the Legislature.

Hochul knows that if she gets Zeldin as an opponent, she can make voters fearful of what his election might mean. And Democrats down the ballot can go to their dis-

trict and tell residents a vote for a Democrat is a vote for a bulwark against the reactionary right.

Republicans become fearmongers to win elections. Democrats might have to do the same, and they just might be successful at it.

Quick takes ● Cronyism stings. Ydanis Rodriguez, a top ally of Mayor Eric Adams who became transportation commissioner, is bungling a strengthening of the speed-camera program in New York, according to the Daily News. ● Is Adams thinking about running for president? Those close to him say it’s on his mind. He has a lot to fix in New York first. ● Will the City Council begin to assert itself? It’s been a quiet start under the new speaker, Adrienne Adams (no relation to Eric). ■

Ross Barkan is an author and journalist in New York.

May 23, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 7

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

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

Under new TLC commissioner, taxi industry could start heading in the right direction innovation and technology committee, as a thoughtful policymaker whose willingness to embrace new technologies has helped the DFHV innovate.

Innovation is exactly what the taxi industry needs.

Greening the city’s fleet and broadening accessibility will be top priorities for Do’s TLC. He plans to review what worked with the city’s electric-vehicle taxi pilot and work with DO the MTA to expand Access-a-Ride.

Another focus will be managing Uber’s partnership with drivers on the street. yellow cabs—which is set to Do is joining the commission at integrate the a difficult time, with taxi drivers software of the still trying to recover from the city’s taxi apps medallion debt crisis. Of the with Uber’s. It roughly 3,000 drivers who qualify would allow for the city’s $65 million relief customers to hail programs, only 300 have received yellow cabs on the payouts. Do has said his initial Uber app, a efforts will include ensuring more measure some in the industry are drivers can access the aid. skeptical of, saying the move “My main goal will be to get would compound the amount of

THE 34-YEAR-OLD IS JOINING THE COMMISSION AT A DIFFICULT TIME who also serves on the International Association of Transportation Regulators as chairman of its

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,

Brian Pascus, Natalie Sachmechi, Caroline Spivack op-ed editor Jan Parr,

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

editors@crainsnewyork.com www.crainsnewyork.com/staff DAVID DO VIA YOUTUBE

W

hen people think of New York City, a few familiar sights immediately spring to mind: the skyline, the billboards in Times Square, hot dog carts and yellow cabs. Most movies that take place here include at least one scene in which a character frantically hails a taxi. Even with ridership numbers at a low level, cabs remain a ubiquitous part of the city’s landscape.

That’s why it’s so promising that the City Council has confirmed David Do, the former director of Washington, D.C.’s Department of For-Hire Vehicles, as the next commissioner of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. As Crain’s Caroline Spivack reported in her coverage of the confirmation, industry insiders describe the 34-year-old,

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

drivers out from under this mountain of debt,” he said. “I will work expeditiously to ensure more lenders participate in these programs so that we can build a stronger foundation for the taxi industry moving forward.”

Yellow cabs are an essential part of the city experience, and with Do’s confirmation, there’s hope that steps will be taken to get them heading in the right direction. ■

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

ashley.maahs@crain.com EVENTS

www.crainsnewyork.com/events manager of conferences & events

Ana Jimenez, ajimenez@crainsnewyork.com

OP-ED

senior manager of events Michelle Cast,

To mitigate the threat of cyberattacks, New York City must invest in 5G

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 DIANE RINALDO

A

s technology has advanced during the past decade, so has the frequency of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.

Last summer, for instance, much of America was rocked by skyrocketing gas prices as criminal hackers forced the Colonial Pipeline system—which supplies roughly 45% of fuel to the East Coast—to temporarily cease operation.

Years earlier, an Iranian cyberattack compromised control of a small dam 25 miles north of New York City. And in March, cybersecurity firm Mandiant said hackers allegedly connected to the Chinese government breached at least six state government networks.

New York in crosshairs With instability growing across the globe and a new cyberwarfare front opened between Ukraine and Russia, the risks are growing

every day, and no city is more in the crosshairs than New York. Our leaders have already taken strong steps to shore up our cyberdefenses—but now they must embrace the next generation of high-security technology infrastructure: 5G wireless broadband.

As the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted, broadband is a modern-day necessity. Recent studies have shown that many Americans, including one in three young adults, are getting their internet “smartphone-only”—using only wireless broadband connections to access the internet, without a wired connection at home.

Coupled with the massive increase of telehealth and telework during the pandemic, it means more and more sensitive information is traveling on broadband networks.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams should be applauded for activating a Joint Security Operations Center to bolster existing

cybersecurity infrastructure. But to truly mitigate the threat of cyberattacks, New York City must invest in 5G.

No silver bullet An essential part of the 5G network evolution is the rapid implementation of radio-access-network technology. Open RAN, which involves the standardization or “opening” of interfaces, is leading to a shift in mobile network architecture, allowing operators to build upon the security enhancements already enabled by 5G. It provides the ability to monitor for, detect and respond to attacks faster. The technology also allows for “zero trust” networking, a standard under which any device that connects to a network is treated as inherently untrustworthy unless it can be verified—often through multiple layers of cloud-based security.

There is no silver bullet that will solve the cybersecurity challenges

our cities, states and nation are facing. But given our ever-evolving enemy, we must arm our defenders with every tool possible.

With more and more Americans turning to wireless broadband as their main method to connect to the internet, we must ensure our mobile networks are up to snuff.

One way to do that is to continue to support policies that remove barriers to 5G deployment.

We need to support global development of open and interoperable wireless technologies and signal government support for open and interoperable solutions.

That means our leaders in New York and across the country must embrace 5G’s faster speeds, more efficient monitoring and stronger security standards. It very well could stop the next hack from happening. ■

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

Diane Rinaldo is executive director of the Open RAN Policy Coalition.

8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | MAY 23, 2022

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OP-ED

Here’s what’s wrong with the pied-à-terre tax

A

lthough New York’s pied-àterre tax is described as a way to tax billionaires owning expensive second homes in the city, the tax would not fall only on billionaires but would impact all homeowners. The tax would apply to owners even if they have lived in their home for years but decide to spend six months each year elsewhere. It would be levied on retirees whose homes have appreciated in value, hitting them particularly hard.

The tax also would have the unintended consequence of burdening

cooperative to pass along the tax to the one shareholder using the apartment as a pied-à-terre. All costs are based on relative shares.

An entire new bureaucracy Effectuating the tax would require the city Department of Finance to create a new valuation system for single-family houses, coops and condos based on their market value in order to determine whether the home is subject to the tax.

No thought has been given to the cost to homeowners for the review of the appraised value, determining the fair market value and then challenging the valuation and appealing the process.

The cost would be high, though, and would fall on the homeowner.

Moreover, my understanding is that, if the measure is enacted, New York City would appraise every co-op, condo and single-family house to create a database of those residences worth more than $4 million. The city then would use the database when determining homeowners’ primary

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT TAXING BILLIONAIRES; THE MARKET WILL SUFFER the owner of every apartment who lives in a cooperative where even one apartment is subject to it, including those owned by full-time residents. This is due to the fact that the tax cannot be placed on a single co-op; there is no method for the

GETTY IMAGES

BY STUART SAFT

residences. The Finance Department would have an incentive to give high appraisals to every home.

And because the tax would be payable annually, an entire new bureaucracy would have to be established to monitor homeowners.

The proposed tax would impact the housing market. Fewer buyers would be seeking a pied-à-terre.

And what about people seeking a full-time residence who might possibly want to use the home as a pied-à-terre in the future? In either event there would be a reduction of potential buyers.

With New York’s population loss greater than any other state’s during the Covid-19 pandemic, the focus should be on how to keep people here and to entice residents of other

states to move here. New York has to stop producing residents for Arizona, Florida and Texas.

The primary reason New York has to constantly raise taxes is due to the exodus of taxpaying New Yorkers. ■ Stuart Saft is a partner and the real estate practice group leader at law firm Holland & Knight.

OP-ED

BY MICHAEL GIBERSON AND JAMES HANLEY

C

hazy Hardware had only one electric generator in stock when a 1998 ice storm left much of northern New York state without power for days. The store’s owners found more in Vermont and resold them for a premium to cover its extra costs, little knowing they might run afoul of the law.

New York’s price gouging law, which prohibits “unconscionably excessive” price increases kicked in. But just how much of an increase is “unconscionably excessive” and thereby illegal?

State Attorney General Letitia James launched a rulemaking process in March that might clarify the matter. Although the law itself creates problems, providing more clarity would be an improvement.

Prices play a key role in distrib-

supplies.

The law’s problems are exacerbated by its vagueness. It comes into effect during “abnormal disruptions of the market.” The law’s undefined terms are subject to the attorney general’s discretion.

Because retailers cannot tell if a price increase would be allowed, meeting consumers’ emergency needs can put them in the state’s regulatory cross-hairs.

Chazy Hardware guessed wrongly. The courts commended the store for its community service but agreed with prosecutors that it had charged too much. The state imposed a fine and required refunds.

Only by leaving prices unchanged, which would have given them less incentive to find more generators, could Chazy have known it was safe. Thus, the law creates a perverse situation whereby stores are safer not resupplying than doing so at higher costs.

It would be best to get rid of New York’s price gouging law altogether.

Let consumers choose whether prices are too high. After all, consumers are better served by an option to buy at a higher price than by empty shelves.

But given that New York is unlikely to give up its law, how can the state minimize the burdens?

IF PRICE INCREASES ARE PROHIBITED, FEWER PEOPLE WILL GET NEEDED SUPPLIES uting goods, including during crises. Higher prices discourage hoarding of needed goods and encourage suppliers to provide more to meet demand. If price increases are prohibited, fewer people will get needed emergency

ISTOCK

What constitutes price gouging? It’s complicated

Adding clarity is a big step. It will make it easier for businesses to avoid violating the law and for the state to spot violations when they happen.

Spell out limits Several states with price gouging laws impose a specific limit on allowed increases. California has a 10% limit, and Pennsylvania 20%.

In most states, price gouging laws are triggered by official emergency declarations rather than the attorney general’s view of the abnormal-

ity of market disruptions.

Similar limits in New York’s law would improve clarity. With such a firm rule, Chazy could have determined whether it was worth the cost of bringing in more generators from Vermont.

Making progress on price gouging laws is certain to prove difficult. Policies appearing to clamp down on greedy businesses are difficult for politicians to resist. But the point of rulemaking processes such as this one is to think through the emotions and find good public policy.

Attorney General James should be congratulated for acknowledging the problems raised by New York’s current price gouging law. If the result of her investigation is a law that is clearer, easier to comply with and less harmful to consumers, she will deserve to be congratulated again. ■ Michael Giberson is a retired professor of business economics.

James Hanley is a senior policy analyst at the Empire Center for Public Policy in Albany.

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.

May 23, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

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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

CONSTRUCTION

CONSULTING ENGINEERING

LAW

Clune Construction

Jaros, Baum & Bolles

Latham & Watkins LLP

Clune Construction has promoted Sean Clune to Managing Director, New York Operations. With 20-years of industry experience, Sean is known for his ability to establish strong relationships with clients and subcontractors. He has played a key role in Clune’s growth in the region, and is able to manage the many personalities on the NY Team. Sean is actively involved in One Sandwich at a Time, which provides homemade sandwiches to NYC’s homeless population. He has a degree from Tulane University.

Mahmoud Shouman has joined Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B) as the new Division Lead of the firm’s Building Intelligence (BI) division. In this role, he will work throughout the industry’s major verticals, applying his expertise across BI platforms as well as integrations with building systems and end-user technologies. Mr. Shouman’s selection for this role was grounded on his vast level of experience and industry-wide recognition for his work on award-winning and high-profile designs and projects.

Eli Curi has joined the New York office of Latham & Watkins as a partner in the Corporate Department and as a member of the Emerging Companies Practice. Curi represents emerging growth technology companies and their investors at all stages of a company’s growth cycle, including venture financings, M&A transactions, strategic partnerships, and public offerings in a variety of industries including fintech, adtech, blockchain, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and life sciences.

INDUSTRY ACHIEVERS ADVANCING THEIR CAREERS Recognize them in Crain’s

LAW CONSTRUCTION

ENVIRONMENTAL

Clune Construction

Modern Meadow

Clune Construction has promoted Eric Sugarman to Vice President, Senior Superintendent, Team Leader. He joined Clune in 2016, with 32-years of construction experience.

Sugarman has a reputation for going above and beyond to ensure all tasks in the New York office are covered. He leaves a positive impact on everyone he works with. Sugarman routinely mentors team members just joining the industry. He is well respected for his experience and insight and prioritizes passing on his knowledge.

Modern Meadow, a purpose-driven biotechnology company positioned at the intersection of material science and biology with a mission to be a catalyst for real-world impact on people and the planet, announces new hire, Senior Director of Corporate Sustainability, Ann Lee-Jeffs.

Ann has spent the past 20 years transforming multinational companies including Teva and Johnson & Johnson in the life science sector to sustainability leaders.

FINANCIAL / TECHNOLOGY

Latham & Watkins LLP David Sherman has joined the New York office of Latham & Watkins as a partner in the Investment Funds and Private Equity Practices and member of the Corporate Department.

Sherman represents private equity clients on the full range of fund formation and related matters, including the formation, marketing, and management of private equity funds, launch of new business lines, and operational, legal, and regulatory issues at both the fund and sponsor level.

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

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/PEOPLEMOVES

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

nate CONSULTING

Accenture Laura Peterson has been promoted to office managing director for Accenture’s New York Metro business where she will oversee 7,000+ people, clients, and communityrelated efforts. She will continue to lead the Communications, Media and Technology business in the Northeast market unit. In 2021, Laura was integral as the executive lead for the design and build out of Accenture’s flagship innovation hub at One Manhattan West in Hudson Yards.

nate, the magic shopping app, announces Evan Pincus, its previous VP of Finance & Operations, as COO. Since joining in March of 2020, he has seen the product develop from the ground up and has led key strategic functions, including Finance, Business Intelligence, Payments & Risk, Customer Experience, People, and Legal. As its 9th employee, he’s enabled nate to scale operationally through 137 new hires, a $38M Series A funding, new offices, and a product depthening into the payments ecosystem.

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

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/COTM

10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | MAY 23, 2022

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5/18/22 11:11 AM

THE LIST NY AREA’S LARGEST MINORITY-OWNED COMPANIES Ranked by 2021 revenue

AMANDA.GLODOWSKI@CRAINSNEWYORK.COM

Minority-owned businesses see signs of pandemic recovery

A SMALL PIECE OF THE PIE Minority and women owned business enterprises share of Covid-19 related spending from March 2020-July 2021 Asian American

T

Black American 1%

Women 9% 5% BUCK ENNIS

his year’s largest minority-owned businesses list reflects 2021 revenue, capturing the first year of recovery as businesses started to recoup pandemic-related losses.

Topping the list again was Sigma Plastics Group, a packaging company headquartered in New Jersey and led by CEO Mark Teo. The company grew by 1% but still raked in $2.5 billion in revenue after shrinking just 5% during FY2020. Goya Foods, led by CEO Robert Unanue and also based in New Jersey, maintained a top slot as well.

Mindlance, an Asian-owned staffing and consulting firm in New Jersey that focuses on mindfulness and diversity, grew by 33% after growing 12% last year. Better.com, a UNANUE, Goya’s mainstay of the list, went public last year via a special-pur- CEO pose acquisition company.

On average, the firms on the list made $357 million in revenue last year, an increase of 13% from 2020. Across the list, the companies employ more than 2,200 workers in the New York area and at least 24,000 across the globe.

Half of the companies on the list are headquartered in Manhattan. Queens is home to the next highest percentage: 15%. Of the top 20 companies, 55% are majority Asian owned, while 35% are run by Hispanic/Latino owners. A full 40% of the companies on the list are in construction, architecture or engineering. The next highest share, 15%, is in the food and beverage industry.

—Amanda Glodowski

3.8%

OF CITY CONTRACTS are awarded to M/WBE businesses.

2%

OF THE TOP 50 businesses receiving the most city dollars are minority owned.

Non-M/WBE 84% Hispanic American 1%

$0

SPENT by the city on Native American owned firms registered as M/W

SOURCE: NYC Comptroller’s office

2021 REVENUE (MILLIONS)/ % CHANGE VS. 2020

2022 EMPLOYEES (FULL TIME) NY AREA/ TOTAL

MINORITY OWNERSHIP GROUPS (PRIMARY)

RANK

COMPANY

PHONE/WEBSITE

TOP EXECUTIVE(S)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Sigma Plastics Group 808 Page Ave. Lyndhurst, New York 07071

954-429-6100 sigmaplasticsgroup.com

Mark S. Teo President, chief executive

$2,500.0 +1.0%

Goya Foods Inc. 350 County Road Jersey City, New Jersey 07307

201-348-4900 goya.com

Robert Unanue President, chief executive

$2,000.0 1 +17.6%

Synechron Inc. 11 Times Square New York, New York 10036

212-619-5200 synechron.com

Faisal Husain Co-founder, chief executive

$800.0 2 +45.5%

Pride Global 420 Lexington Ave. New York, New York 10170

212-235-5300 prideglobal.com

Leo J. Russell Founder, chief executive

$407.7 3 +4.0%

n/d Hispanic/Latino n/d

Labor vendor management, payroll services and staffing

Deep Foods Inc. 1090 Springfield Road Union, New Jersey 07083

908-810-7500 deepfoods.com

Deepak A. Amin President, chief executive

$381.0 3 +20.0%

n/d Asian n/d

Manufacturer of Indian foods and restaurant operator

Mindlance 1095 Morris Avenue Union, New Jersey 07083

877-965-2623 mindlance.com

Vikram Kalra Co-founder, managing director

$300.0 +33.3%

Bartlett Dairy Inc. 90-04 161st St. Jamaica, New York 11432

718-658-2299 bartlettny.com

Thomas A. Malave President

$146.2 +1.1%

436 Hispanic/Latino 456

Dairy and food service

Crystal Window & Door Systems Ltd. 31-10 Whitestone Expressway Flushing, New York 11354

718-961-7300 crystalwindows.com

Steve Chen President Thomas Chen Chairman & Founder

$134.2 3 +12.7%

n/d Asian n/d

Manufacturer of windows, doors and fenestration systems

Direct Agents Inc. 149 5th Avenue New York, New York 10010

212-925-6558 directagents.com

Josh Boaz Dinesh Boaz Managing directors

$111.8 +13.5%

Ashnu International Inc. 58-09 28th Ave. Woodside, New York 11377

718-267-7590 ashnuinternational.com

Nayan Parikh President

Curtis Partition Corp 253 W. 35th St. New York, New York 10001

646-315-6700 curtisnyc.com

Ajay Narula President, chief executive

Cooperative Home Care Associates Inc. 400 E. Fordham Road New York, New York 10458

718-993-7104 chcany.org

Adria Powell President, chief executive

Cardoza Plumbing Corp 514 Grand Blvd.

Westbury, New York 11590

516-876-6900 cardozaplumbing.com

Savin Engineers 3 Campus Drive Pleasantville, New York 10570

Atane Consulting 4 40 Wall St. P011_P012_CN_20220523.indd 11 New York, New York 10005

$84.8 3 +1.2%

500 Asian 5,000 n/d Hispanic/Latino n/d n/d Asian 13,000 2

360 Asian 5,000

68 Asian 88

TYPE OF BUSINESS Flexible packaging

Food manufacturing, packaging and distribution Technology consultancy for the financial services industry

Staffing and consulting

Digital marketing

n/d Asian n/d

General construction

190 Asian 190

Carpentry, drywall, ceiling, and specialty contractor

$66.0 3 +7.9%

n/d Black/African American; n/d Hispanic/Latino

Paraprofessional home care

Raymond Cardoza President Marie Cardoza Vice president

$55.0 -3.5%

170 Hispanic/Latino 170

Plumbing

914-769-3200 savinengineers.com

Rengachari Srinivasaraghavan President

$53.0 +4.5%

130 Asian Consulting, engineering and 160 construction management May 23, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 11

212-747-1997 ataneconsulting.com

Quaiser Hashmi President and CEO

$40.0 0.0%

80 Asian 200

$70.0 +16.7%

Architectural, engineering, and construction consulting services

5/19/22 5:23 PM

9 10 THE 11 LIST NY AREA’S LARGEST MINORITY-OWNED COMPANIES 12 13 114 215 316 417 18 5 619 720 8 9 10 11 12 13 Celebrate the Champions 14 of Diversity & Inclusion.

15 THURSDAY, JUNE 16 | 12-2 PM 16 MANHATTAN MANOR 17 18 19 crainsnewyork.com/2022D&I 20 RANK

Direct Agents Inc. 149 5th Avenue New York, New York 10010

212-925-6558 directagents.com

Josh Boaz Dinesh Boaz Managing directors

$111.8 +13.5%

Ashnu International Inc. 58-09 28th Ave. Woodside, New York 11377

718-267-7590 ashnuinternational.com

Nayan Parikh President

Curtis Partition Corp 253 W. 35th St. New York, New York 10001

646-315-6700 curtisnyc.com

Ajay Narula President, chief executive

Cooperative Home Care Associates Inc. 400 E. Fordham Road New York, New York 10458

718-993-7104 chcany.org

Adria Powell President, chief executive

Cardoza Plumbing Corp 514 Grand Blvd.

Westbury, New York 11590 COMPANY

516-876-6900 cardozaplumbing.com PHONE/WEBSITE

Raymond Cardoza President Marie Cardoza TOP EXECUTIVE(S) Vice president

Savin SigmaEngineers Plastics Group 3 Campus Drive 808 Page Ave. Pleasantville, New 10570 Lyndhurst, New YorkYork 07071

914-769-3200 954-429-6100 savinengineers.com sigmaplasticsgroup.com

Rengachari Mark S. Teo Srinivasaraghavan President chief executive President,

$53.0 $2,500.0 +4.5% +1.0%

Atane Consulting Goya Foods Inc. 4 40 Wall St. Road 350 County New York, 10005 Jersey City,New NewYork Jersey 07307

212-747-1997 201-348-4900 ataneconsulting.com goya.com

Quaiser Hashmi Robert Unanue President and President, chiefCEO executive

$40.0 1 $2,000.0 0.0% +17.6%

80 Hispanic/Latino Asian n/d 200 n/d

LargaVista Inc. Cos. Synechron 275Times Madison Ave. 11 Square New York, New York 10016 10036

646-612-7350 212-619-5200 largavista.com synechron.com

Marcello Porcelli Faisal Husain President chief executive Co-founder,

$37.0 2 $800.0 +12.1% +45.5%

35 Asian Hispanic/Latino n/d 35 2 13,000

Velez Organization Pride Global 110 Lexington William St.Ave. 420 New York, New York 10038 10170

212-684-5500 212-235-5300 velezorg.com prideglobal.com

Elizabeth Velez Leo J. Russell Presidentchief executive Founder,

$32.0 3 $407.7 +33.3% +4.0%

68 Hispanic/Latino n/d 68 n/d

Construction Labor vendor services management, payroll services and staffing

EIA Electric Deep Foods Inc Inc. 31-00Springfield 47th Ave Road 1090 Long Island City, New York 11101 Union, New Jersey 07083

646-827-1233 908-810-7500 eia.us deepfoods.com

Yolanda A. DelAmin Prado Deepak President chief executive President,

$29.8 3 $381.0 -17.6% +20.0%

155 Native Hawaiian/Pacific n/d Asian 155 n/d Islander

Engineering, technology and and Manufacturer of Indian foods construction restaurant operator

Admerasia Mindlance 159 25th Avenue Street 1095W.Morris New York, York07083 10001 Union, NewNew Jersey

212-686-3333 877-965-2623 admerasia.com mindlance.com

Zan Ng Kalra Vikram President Co-founder, managing director Tommy Ng Managing director Thomas A. Malave Ricardo PresidentR Rivera President

$28.5 $300.0 +35.7% +33.3%

$84.8 3 +1.2%

$70.0 +16.7%

$66.0 3 +7.9%

$55.0 2021 REVENUE -3.5% (MILLIONS)/ % CHANGE VS. 2020

68 Asian 88

Digital marketing

n/d Asian n/d

General construction

190 Asian 190

Carpentry, drywall, ceiling, and specialty contractor

n/d Black/African American; n/d Hispanic/Latino

Paraprofessional home care

2022 EMPLOYEES 170 Hispanic/Latino (FULL TIME) 170 NY AREA/ MINORITY OWNERSHIP TOTAL GROUPS (PRIMARY) 130 500 Asian 160 5,000

39 Asian 360 39 5,000

Plumbing TYPE OF BUSINESS Consulting, engineering and Flexible packaging construction management Architectural, engineering, and Food manufacturing, packaging construction consulting services and distribution Real estate,consultancy gasoline stations Technology for the and convenience financial services stores industry

Advertising Staffing and consulting

Bartlett Dairy Inc. 718-658-2299 $146.2 436 Hispanic/Latino Dairy and food service Ideal 212-262-7005 $23.0 15 Hispanic/Latino General contractor and 90-04Interiors 161st St.Group bartlettny.com +1.1% 456 450 7th Avenue ideal-interiors.com +27.8% 15 construction manager Jamaica, New York 11432 New York, New York 10123 Crystal Window & Door 718-961-7300 Steve Chen $134.2 3 n/d Asian Manufacturer of windows, doors Systems Ltd. crystalwindows.com President +12.7% n/d and fenestration systems 31-10 Whitestone Expressway Chen New York area includes New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties inThomas New York, and Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties in New Jersey. To qualify, a company must be headquartered in the New York area and estimated NewbyYork 11354 Chairman Founder surveys and the most current references available to produce its lists, but given the confidential nature of privately held companies, it is to be at leastFlushing, 50% owned a racial minority group. Crain's New York Business uses staff research,&extensive

not possible to identify and include every qualified company. 1--Figure reported in NJ.com. 2--From company website. 3--Crain's estimate. 4--Formerly HAKS.

Direct Agents Inc. 149 5th Avenue New York, New York 10010

212-925-6558 directagents.com

Josh Boaz Dinesh Boaz Managing directors

Ashnu International Inc. 58-09 28th Ave. Woodside, New York 11377

718-267-7590 ashnuinternational.com

Nayan Parikh President

Curtis Partition Corp 253 W. 35th St. New York, New York 10001

646-315-6700 curtisnyc.com

Ajay Narula President, chief executive

Cooperative Home Care Associates Inc. 400 E. Fordham Road New York, New York 10458

718-993-7104 chcany.org

Adria Powell President, chief executive

Cardoza Plumbing Corp 514 Grand Blvd.

Westbury, New York 11590

516-876-6900 cardozaplumbing.com

Savin Engineers 3 Campus Drive Pleasantville, New York 10570

914-769-3200 savinengineers.com

$111.8 +13.5%

$84.8 3 +1.2%

68 Asian 88

Digital marketing

n/d Asian n/d

General construction

190 Asian 190

Carpentry, drywall, ceiling, and specialty contractor

$66.0 3 +7.9%

n/d Black/African American; n/d Hispanic/Latino

Paraprofessional home care

Raymond Cardoza President Marie Cardoza Vice president

$55.0 -3.5%

170 Hispanic/Latino 170

Plumbing

Rengachari Srinivasaraghavan President

$53.0 +4.5%

130 Asian 160

Consulting, engineering and construction management

$40.0 0.0%

80 Asian 200

Architectural, engineering, and construction consulting services

4 LUNCHEON & LIVE UNVEILING OF THE 2022 D&I AWARD WINNERS 212-747-1997 Quaiser Hashmi Atane Consulting

$70.0 +16.7%

40 Wall St. New York, New York 10005

ataneconsulting.com

President and CEO

LargaVista Cos. 275 Madison Ave. New York, New York 10016

646-612-7350 largavista.com

Marcello Porcelli President

$37.0 +12.1%

35 Hispanic/Latino 35

Real estate, gasoline stations and convenience stores

Velez Organization

212-684-5500

Elizabeth Velez

$32.0 +33.3%

68 Hispanic/Latino 68

Construction services

Crain’s Annual Excellence invelezorg.com Diversity and InclusionPresident 110 William St. New York, New York 10038 Awards toasts New York City individuals and

businesses by example and holding EIA Electric Inc that are leading 646-827-1233 Yolanda Del Prado 31-00 47th Ave and others accountable eia.us themselves for diversity President

$29.8 -17.6%

155 Native Hawaiian/Pacific 155 Islander

Engineering, technology and construction

Long Island City, New York 11101

and inclusion initiatives.

Admerasia 159 W. 25th Street New York, New York 10001

212-686-3333 admerasia.com

Zan Ng President Tommy Ng Managing director

$28.5 +35.7%

39 Asian 39

Advertising

Ideal Interiors Group 450 7th Avenue New York, New York 10123

212-262-7005 ideal-interiors.com

Ricardo R Rivera President

$23.0 +27.8%

15 Hispanic/Latino 15

General contractor and construction manager

RESERVE YOUR SPOT

New York area includes New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties in New York, and Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties in New Jersey. To qualify, a company must be headquartered in the New York area and estimated to be at least 50% owned by a racial minority group. Crain's New York Business uses staff research, extensive surveys and the most current references available to produce its lists, but given the confidential nature of privately held companies, it is not possible to identify and include every qualified company. 1--Figure reported in NJ.com. 2--From company website. 3--Crain's estimate. 4--Formerly HAKS.

12 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | May 23, 2022

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5/19/22 5:23 PM

SPOTLIGHT ON

WESTCHESTER

25 North Lexington, White Plains – Cappelli’s LRC Construction is serving as C.M. for this Greystar project that recently broke ground.

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elcome to your new home in Westchester County—a place that truly fits every need and desire. Westchester is strategically located just outside of New York City, but life here isn’t just about our big neighbor to the south. Our County is a wonderful place to visit and an even better place to live, with more than one million people who collectively call Westchester home. We are both a picturesque, green County, boasting beautiful views, parks and landscapes, and a vibrant County with bustling downtowns and business districts.

We are home to a distinct and diverse corporate roster, which has allowed us to preserve our strong economy. From IBM, the first great multinational corporation, to financial services companies like Mastercard, to consumer products from PepsiCo, to the biotech and health care boom fostered by companies like Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Acorda Therapeutics. Westchester has it all.

We have faced the most challenging of times throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and still managed to come out on top, relying on our fiercely talented workforce to bring us back to solid ground. The pandemic has motivated us to look for new ways to improve life for our residents and our business community. We strive to be flexible, to grow and change with the times, and help our startups and small and mid-sized companies succeed.

Our office of Economic Development has introduced a host of new programs to help our businesses thrive, and we are constantly working to coordinate better between our chambers of commerce in all the municipalities throughout Westchester, so they can learn from each other and ultimately share one larger spotlight.

Our economy has no doubt been shaken, but we are resilient and we are finally turning the corner on the pandemic. As we continue to navigate through, I hope you’ll come explore and experience all that Westchester has to offer. We’re glad you’re here.

George Latimer Westchester County Executive

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SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

Westchester is thinking small (businesses) and building back big as it reopens

New Rochelle Skyline at Sunset - Photo by Jorge Ventura

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estchester is “bouncing back” from the pandemic, County Executive George Latimer says.

“We’re excited that businesses are reopening and the business community is meeting in person again,” say Bridget Gibbons, director of economic development and executive director of the county’s Industrial Development Agency. “There’s nothing like the collaboration that comes from in-person being together, and everybody feels energized about that.”

While hospitality and tourism, among other areas, were badly hurt by the pandemic, Westchester County benefited from the exodus of young families from New York City two years ago.

“We have a well-educated and highly motivated population,” Latimer says.

New York City has “an energy and excitement you can’t replicate anyplace else,” and if that’s important to an individual’s lifestyle or business, then “Westchester is arguably the best commute,” the county executive says.

“The people who came here looked at Long Island, New Jersey and Connecticut, but saw the lifestyle advantages here,” Latimer says.

Now the challenge for the county is focusing on economic development—attracting new companies and connecting them with an ideal workforce. Just before the pandemic, biotech had been a major focus for the county, which had set aside 60 acres in Valhalla for a biotech center.

Progress is still on the horizon, Latimer says, but the county is adapting to the new reality.

“Decisions that companies made got put on hold until the economy stabilizes, but we’re putting things back on track,” the county executive says. New York Medical College, Regeneron and Westchester Medical Center Tertiary Care deepened their commitment in the past two years, which was crucial, he says.

“Now in the short term we may have to be dealing with small entrepreneurial entities in the biotech field,” Latimer says of the planned growth. “We’re still feeling our way through things, but we have to be practical—things are going to take longer than we thought and be harder than we thought. But we are still moving in the direction we identified.”

Latimer says “small is the new big” is an approach Westchester is taking across all fields, pointing to the Launch 1000 program.

Launch 1000, as befits a pandemic project, is a fully remote program that matches entrepreneurs with coaches and mentors, Gibbons says.

Last year 218 people coming out of the program launched businesses. An additional 500 people signed up for a new round,

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including 80 who signed on for a new dual language cohort with bilingual coaches to encourage participation from Spanishlanguage speakers.

“This program has been really impactful,” the economic development director says.

The county also offers small grants from $20,000 to $40,000 and helps people seeking federal grant money and other federal support, but it also strives to connect people in the county, Latimer says. The money is not meant to be a game-changer, he explains.

“It’s not, ‘We’re going to give you the working capital you need to launch,’ but [rather] ‘We are going to give you things you need to make a go of it,’” he says. “Help someone create a business, then maybe hire a person and then five more.”

While businesses are being slowed by supply-chain disruptions in the county and the nation, Gibbons says, the bigger issue has nothing to do with materials.

“Every business is having trouble hiring people, from hospitality to professional services to advanced manufacturing,” she says. “If you’re a restaurant and you don’t have enough people serving and busing and dishwashing, it affects your ability to execute, and we’re seeing that in every corner of the business community. There are 9,000 open positions in health care and hospitals here.”

While Gibbons can grant extension to projects, she’s helpless when it comes to a global issue such as the supply chain. But the county is mobilizing on the hiring front to help both employers and employees. It’s brought in the Westchester County Association to build a workforce development training program to nurture a health care talent pipeline. It’s training 100 workers to become nursing assistants, medical assistants and medical administrative assistants.

“We’re really optimistic about this as a starting point,” the economic development director says.

The county has partnered with Westchester Community College on an entry-level certificate program for advanced manufacturing.

Upon completion, participants will be certified production technicians.

“Those skills are also transferable to any number of businesses, so they are credentials that will get people launched into a wellpaying career,” Gibbons says.

With people coming together again, Gibbons says, the county has found success by going old school: setting up job fairs for health care, the hospitality sector, transportation, and advanced manufacturing.

“Bring your résumé and get interviewed on the spot,” she says, explaining that each fair has brought in from 20 to 30 employers

and hundreds of job seekers. One company at a construction career fair, she notes, hired 25 people in one day.

“People are ready to re-engage,” she says. “We just have to find the right opportunities for them.”

Since Latimer has taken office, the county has made helping minority- and women- owned business enterprises a priority, Gibbons says, adding Westchester recently held a job fair and panel to boost MWBEs in construction and development.

Next up, Gibbons says, will be a focus on technology, with a technology accelerator program for startups.

“We will help them fine-tune their business, so at the end of the training period they are investable,” she says. “At the end we’ll have a pitch day with a community of investors.”

Gibbons is researching how Westchester can find its place in New York state’s $500 million investment in clean energy, specifically off-shore wind turbines.

That’s a reminder that when it comes to investing in Westchester, as Latimer says, the county “is a player, [but] not the dominant one—we need the state and federal government.”

Now more than ever, the county executive see positive signs in that area.

“The good news is that the state just authorized money for a major sewer fix for Mount Vernon, and that’s essential for the people living there but also for future economic growth,” he says.

“And the infrastructure commitment from the federal government is something we’ve never seen before in my lifetime. That’s a great asset for us, to be able to fix things and grow in way that could be pivotal to attracting businesses in the future.”

All of this is about laying groundwork for projects that may not be finished until Latimer is out of office, but he says he doesn’t mind.

“It will take awhile for all these things to come to fruition, but we are setting out on the right path,” the county executive says.

In towns that don’t need a boost, county government should regulate but stay out of the way, while in struggling towns, it should continue to try to help, he says.

Meanwhile, positive developments abound in the county, from the new Lionsgate Studios Yonkers to the likelihood that MGM will be granted a full casino license by the state for the Empire City Casino to the building boom near transit hubs.

“There are cranes all over White Plains, New Rochelle and Yonkers and even some of the smaller communities, and it’s all happening near train stations,” Latimer says. “There is a lot of good news like this out there, and it’s important to recognize that.”

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SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

One man’s vision and gumption transform Westchester’s skyline rough decades.

“The city was having issues,” the builder says.

The City Center, with two apartment and condo towers, combined with 600,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space, triggered a spark there, the way New Roc City had down the road.

With a renaissance underway, Cappelli followed up with his top-of-the-line project, the RitzCarlton condominium and hotel next door.

“It was a $750 million project and the largest one we ever took on ourselves with no partners,” Cappelli says.

(The hotel was closed by the pandemic, and these days it’s being rebranded as part of Marriott’s luxury Autograph Collection, but the other half is still operating as the Ritz-Carlton. It’s where the Cappelli Organization has its offices.)

After all that work, Cappelli, whose company has also been extremely active on the big stage in New York City and Stamford, Connecticut, was ready to see both cities reach for the sky.

“We were trying to create a city in the downtowns,” he recalls, “and New Rochelle especially had a 1 Clinton Park, New Rochelle – Cappelli’s LRC Construction team recently completed the first grand vision.” phase of this two-tower project for RXR Realty.

But then the Great Recession arrived and everything changed. In recent years, however, the longor four decades, Louis Cappelli has probably done more than awaited transformation has finally taken off, in large part, Cappelli any single individual to develop New Rochelle and White says, to New Rochelle’s approach.

Plains.

“The city is a sophisticated partner when it comes to building,” He could just rest on his laurels, but from a resting position, he says. the 71-year-old builder might not be able to see the manifestation He notes that the city’s master plan created pre-established rules of his long-standing dream: “an actual skyline” rising up in and regulations for thousands of units that allowed the city to Westchester County. shrink its approval process dramatically, reducing it from a year to Cappelli, born in the Bronx and raised there and in Yonkers, 90 days, which is, of course, every developer’s and builder’s dream. followed in his father’s footsteps, then carved out his niche. Luca Combined with the city’s opportunity zones, he says, New Cappelli started in appliance repair, then created his own electrical contracting business. Louis, who graduated from Notre Dame with Rochelle has changed the game.

“There’s no stop sign,” Cappelli says, explaining that unlike an engineering degree, worked for his father, then decided that the decades ago, the idea of adding all these new buildings—requiring real fun—and potential for wealth and power—was in real estate. infrastructure and resources—no longer scares the city’s leaders, Starting off with assets from his father’s company, Cappelli who instead embrace it with open arms. decided to develop a property in Valhalla. The establishment “It’s a great place to work, a great place to build,” he says in scoffed, saying no one wanted 102 acres there and the $500,000 praise of New Rochelle. investment was just the beginning of a major folly.

All of that activity has attracted numerous deep-pocketed But Cappelli was undeterred, a trait that has served him well in and equally ambitious companies from The Related Cos. to RXR the 40 years since then. He started building a 1.3 million-squareRealty to L&M Development Partners. It has also provided more foot office complex that would eventually cost a reported $130 partners for the Cappelli Organization. For example, the company million, become a financial success and earn a major architectural developed two buildings on Huguenot Street, owned by Related, award. and two others on South Division Street, called Clinton Place, for Beyond being the founder of the Cappelli Organization, RXR. Cappelli is the chairman and CEO of two subsidiaries: LRC “There’s tremendous momentum now for the city,” Cappelli says Construction and the Fuller Development Company. Looking back on his career, he sees three other “transformative” projects for both of New Rochelle. “It has complete credibility as a place to live and a place to work, just 25 minutes to Manhattan.” the Cappelli Organization and Westchester County.

Those new buildings—and others, such as the Standard, which The first came in the mid-1990s when he took over New Roc Cappelli developed without partners—have provided coherence.

City, the first big step in revitalizing New Rochelle’s downtown.

“New Rochelle now looks like a city, not just a place with The site was a shuttered mall that had left a gaping void in the city. sporadic buildings going up,” he says. “There’s an actual skyline Cappelli’s $190 million development of the 1.2 million-square-foot coming over the course of the next two years. I’ve never seen space brought style and panache to New Rochelle and showed the anything like this before in a Westchester city.” city’s potential.

Cappelli says White Plains could soon follow suit, explaining “It was one of the bigger risks we ever took on a project,” he that as New Rochelle successfully fills out, developers will see says, “but it was very successful.”

Early in the new century, Cappelli set his sights on White Plains, White Plains and Yonkers as the natural next hot spots.

(Of course everything Cappelli says about these cities is offered which was also in need of a downtown refurbishment after a few

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with a strong caveat, given inflation and supply-chain shortages that have created extraordinary price uncertainties. With the Fed having raised interest rates to try to tame inflation, he says, he remains concerned about the possibility of a recession. “I’m scared of that,” he says, “and if it happens, then everything I’ve said is just bunk.”)

White Plains has not completed a master plan like New Rochelle’s, so the approval process—taking from 12 to 18 months—is a bit arduous for his liking. But despite that situation, the developer says, things are about to explode there.

“White Plains is going to come into a building boom that could be like no other, given the amount of money” there, he says.

White Plains, like New Rochelle and other cities in the county, is striving to avoid sprawl by focusing on transit-oriented development. Metro-North Railroad just completed a $95 million renovation of the station there, further amplifying the downtown feel.

“People want to live near train stations, and they will even more [so] when Manhattan comes roaring back,” Cappelli says.

One such example of the appeal of transit-oriented development in White Plains was the groundbreaking in March of 25 North Lex, a two-tower development that will feature 500 luxury rental residences, nearly 60,000 square feet of amenities and 19,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

It marked the first residential development project in New York by Greystar Real Estate Partners LLC, a sign of Westchester’s growing appeal. The two towers, 16 and 25 stories tall, will be built

by Cappelli’s construction affiliate, LRC Construction, and are expected to be completed in 2024.

In addition, Cappelli is working on two other projects in White Plains, one bringing new life to another old mall.

“We’re spending a billion dollars on three jobs there,” Cappelli says. “The face-lift of the skyline is going to be absolutely incredible.”

More than 15 years ago, the county executive at the time, Andrew Spano, said he saw a dividing line in Westchester’s development, one that measured the impact of one man on the county. He thought of it as a “Westchester B.C.—before Cappelli— and [a] Westchester now.”

With Cappelli’s fingerprints all over the most important projects in two of Westchester’s biggest cities, the observation appears even more perceptive today.

333 Huguenot Street, New Rochelle – Cappelli Development is nearing completion of the first phase of a two-tower development.

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SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

From film studios to new schools, Yonkers is building its future

Y

onkers has been undergoing a growth spurt.

“We are on a roll,” Mayor Mike Spano says, explaining that the boom has brought new residents, new schools, new housing, new businesses and new jobs. During the mayor’s administration, Yonkers has witnessed more than $4 billion in private investment in new projects leading to more than 9,000 multifamily units planned, completed, under construction or approved for development. “There’s a positive vibe here and it’s contagious.”

The first big splash came in 2019 when MGM spent more than $800 million to buy Empire City Casino. Spano says many people, including those in state politics, said sarcastically, “Yeah, right,” at the idea of the deal even happening.

“But that [purchase] was a recognition of Yonkers as a place to do business,” Spano says.

Now, the odds are looking good that Empire City Casino, already the city’s largest taxpayer and employer, will ascend to another level. New York State has decided to grant three full casino licenses to downstate businesses. MGM, which has already been flourishing as just a racino and racetrack to date, seems to be a favorite for one of those licenses. The site has one of the largest gaming floors already and 97 acres of land, leaving MGM and Empire City Casino plenty of room to expand by adding more gambling opportunities but also hotel space and entertainment venues.

“It will transform Empire City Casino and Yonkers into a true destination,” Spano says.

Upping the ante has been the construction of the new Lionsgate Studios Yonkers, built near a former Otis Elevator site downtown.

The site is near the train station for easy commutes to New York city. The campus, built by Great Point Studios and aided by tax incentives from the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency, has already generated thousands of jobs through its first phase.

The space, which launched this year with the filming of the series Run This World, features three soundstages, two of 20,000 square feet and one of 10,000 square feet; suites for actors; writers rooms; and a carpentry shop.

Mayor Mike Spano at Lionsgate studio.

Plans call for an expansion that will allow for a back lot enabling filmmakers to shoot outdoor scenes, screening rooms, postproduction areas and a grand total of eleven soundstages. Great Point is also moving toward purchase of another plot of land in Yonkers allowing them to build even more, moving closer to Spano’s dream of creating “Hollywood on the Hudson.”

210,000 residents, passed Rochester in the last census to become the state’s third-largest city.

Spano notes that with all the newcomers, the city still has the lowest unemployment rate of large cities in the region and crime rate has dropped by 45% since 2011, making it the safest city in its size category. Still, given national trends, he recently added 10 police officers to the police force, the first time the city has done that since 2001. For good measure, the city can boast of a 90% high school graduation rate, the highest of the state’s largest cities, Spano says.

The city is confident that more people will want to live in this burgeoning hot spot. Yonkers is in the midst of a building boom that includes adding 4,000 units at market rate, Spano says. One highlight will be Hudson Piers, which just had a groundbreaking in May and is being handled by Extell Development Company; the $585 million project will become one of the region’s largest mixed-use communities featuring 1,400 apartments (luxury and affordable), retail and a riverfront esplanade and a small public park. It will be developed over six years in three phases. (Other amenities will include everything from putting greens to bocce courts and a swimming pool as well as gyms, playrooms and basketball courts.)

In a nod to the emphasis on transit-oriented development, which Spano says “is a very important part of what we’ve been able to do in Yonkers,” there will be shuttle services to and from the Yonkers Metro-North train station.

The waterfront development is on old brownfield sites so this is not gentrification pushing out old-timers, the mayor says. He promises the city will not forget its humble roots.

Yonkers now has an ordinance that requires 10% of new units to be affordable housing. “But we don’t stop there,” Spano says, explaining that he has worked with the city’s IDA to offer tax incentives to boost the numbers, so that 22% of all new housing has been affordable. The city has tallied 1,500 affordable units since 2013.

Once the center of a national controversy for its racist policies in public housing, Yonkers is trying to make things right in those aging buildings that often date back more than half a century.

“They’d never been updated, but we put in new kitchens with microwaves and dishwashers, new windows and rooftop amenities to provide river views,” Spano says. “We don’t want people who make their lives here in Yonkers to feel they don’t have a place here too.”

Challenges remain, but Spano says the city is keeping those in their sights: The school system was “in dire need of repairs and upgrades,” Spano says, as well as more space. Spano says the city is currently 4,500 students over its ideal capacity before the new schools began being built. Traffic is a concern as growth continues and Spano says they will continue addressing infrastructure needs, particularly to improve travel along east-west corridors, which in Westchester is often more problematic than north-south travel.

“Every day we put one foot in front of the other,” the mayor says, “to make our lives just a little better.”

“Lionsgate is big news for Yonkers ... We are seeing a cluster of things starting to happen there.”

-George Latimer

“Lionsgate is big news for Yonkers,” County Executive George Latimer says. “We are seeing a cluster of things starting to happen there.”

Another part of that cluster, Spano says, comes from Great Point Studios—it’s partnering with the city to build a school on the site that will focus on film.

In addition, the city is building a $56 million elementary school named for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Those schools are needed because the city, with more than

Mayor Spano (left) and Robert Halmi, CEO of Great Point Studios (right).

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5/17/22 11:00 AM

SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

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With the pandemic receding, Westchester welcomes back the world

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ith the pandemic finally fading into a new normal, people are eager to get out and enjoy life to the fullest. Westchester County, with 24,000 acres of parkland, is confident that its diverse array of attractions has something for everyone.

“For mindful trips, spending time in the great outdoors and then going for a wonderful meal, come to Westchester,” says Natasha Caputo, the county’s director of film and tourism. “There’s easy access—you can get to us by car or train. And then we have waterfronts and rolling vistas—you can bike and hike and sail and canoe. And also great culinary treats.”

Need evidence? Look no further than to chefs Dale Talde of Goosefeather in Tarrytown and Eric Gao of O Mandarin in Hartsdale. Both were nominated as best chefs in New York state in this year’s competition for the James Beard Award.

Restaurants from Archie Grand in White Plains to Basso56 in Chappaqua continue to open in the county.

The pandemic did, of course, do lasting damage, closing some major hotels, but Caputo notes that new hotels and upscale inns are replacing them.

The former Ritz-Carlton in White Plains is now the Opus Westchester, which has a 42nd-floor restaurant, the highest vantage point between New York City and Boston. The former Crowne Plaza in White Plains has been reflagged as Sonesta White Plains; the Westchester Marriott in Greenburgh was recently sold, and its new owners plan a multimillion-dollar renovation. Peekskill’s the Abbey Inn ranked No. 3 on the USA Today list of the 10 best new hotels in the country.

People are now looking to get away on weekends and are booking weddings, Caputo says, and both the getaway urge and the

desire to marry are a boon for Westchester’s hotel business.

Hotels are important to the county’s business community, she explains, as companies seek to bring people together once again for meetings and conferences. With their ease of access and nearby attractions, she says, Westchester’s hotels have become increasingly desirable.

One of the county’s most popular attractions, the Rockefeller estate known as Kykuit, was closed in the pandemic. But it’s back on track. It reopened in May for tours that show off the estate’s art collection, architecture and gardens.

The summer especially provides numerous events that draw visitors. These events include the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at the Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown (which now allows spectators again), the Westchester Pride 2022 event, the summer concert season at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Westchester Magazine‘s annual Wine & Food Festival and the Pleasantville Music Festival.

“There’s always more to be done, of course,” Caputo says, adding that the county doesn’t act alone in drawing people to the region. “We’re part of the Hudson Valley region and we want the whole valley to be successful. Promoting the whole region as interconnected is a way to bring more national and international visitors.”

Westchester draws 45% of all visitor spending in the region.

One more factor boosts the county’s tourism: its film industry.

“We’re the biggest county in the state for production outside of New York City, and we opened during Covid as soon as possible with the proper guidelines and protocol,” Caputo says. “Now there’s a new boom in ‘screen tourism,’ where people come to see the sites where shows and movies were filmed.”

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Lyndhurst’s popularity jumped after HBO’s The Gilded Age filmed there. Other sites, such as the Belvedere Estate in Tarrytown and the Glenview Historic Home in Yonkers, have also earned screen time.

It’s not just the luxury lifestyle that draws filmmakers and then visitors. Caputo points out that the Groton Gorge Dam and Harvest Moon Farm and Orchard were both recently featured on one of TV’s longest-running programs: Sesame Street.

So any day now a parade of toddlers may lead their parents to Westchester for a weekend getaway.

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For those seeking a refreshing getaway this summer, look no further than Westchester County. Come immerse yourself in nature, sample fine regional cuisine, and make memories you won’t soon forget. Start planning your getaway at VisitWestchesterNY.com

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Tarrytown Waterfront | Photo by Sam Freidman

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quick scan of most lists that rank the nation’s best golf courses reveals an unparalleled cluster in the New York City neighboring communities of Westchester and Long Island.

“The history of golf runs very deep in Westchester County,” says Natasha Caputo, the county’s director of film and tourism. The St. Andrew’s Golf Club in Hastings-On-Hudson was the site of the first round of golf played in America, she points out.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer notes that the most famous courses draw people to the county to play or watch tournaments. The courses, he says, are part of Westchester’s appeal to business executives who play and schmooze simultaneously. The clubs are frequently used for films and TV shows, further raising their profile and enhancing their appeal to tourists, Caputo adds.

But Latimer emphasizes the county also offers six public golf courses. “And they are nice,” he says emphatically. “They’re not open cow pastures where you whack a ball around on a flat piece of land—I have seen places like that.”

Those six public courses in Westchester, Latimer refers to are: Dunwoodie in Yonkers, Hudson Hills in Ossining, Maple Moor in White Plains, Mohansic in Yorktown Heights, Saxon Woods in Scarsdale and Sprain Lake in Yonkers. Visit www. visitwestchesterny.com/things-to-do/sports/golf/.

Here’s a brief tour of the county’s four most famous clubs.

Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck The club’s two renowned courses were designed by architect A.W. Tillinghast, with a recent restoration by architect Gil Hanse.

Winged Foot club has hosted numerous major tournaments, most notably a PGA Championship and six U.S. Opens—only two other clubs in the nation have been home to more U.S. Opens.

Members have also reportedly voted against holding more U.S. Opens there in recent years, preferring to keep tee times for themselves. The most recent Open there, won by Bryson DeChambau in 2020, came nearly a century after Bobby Jones’ 1929 triumph.

Jack Nicklaus was once asked to rate the West Course’s difficulty on a scale of 1 to 10, and he gave it a 12.

It’s such a challenge that Hale Irwin’s 1974 U.S. Open win there, at 7 over par, was dubbed “Massacre at Winged Foot.”

The club is extremely desirable. Despite a reported $150,000 initiation fee and annual dues topping $15,000, the waiting list for membership—which is by invitation only—is supposedly more than a decade long.

The most famous (fictional) caddy, Danny Noonan, was played in Caddyshack by actor and Larchmont native Michael O’Keefe, who actually caddied for two years at Winged Foot.

Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Scarsdale This course, also designed by Tillinghast, was also restored by Hanse, who removed numerous trees and altered everything from bunkers to greens, some of which had shrunk but he expanded to their original dimensions.

It may not be as famous as it’s Mamaroneck neighbor, but when told that Winged Foot was considered by some to be the world’s best course, Nicklaus replied, “That may be, but there is quite a golf course down the street.”

He was talking about Quaker Ridge.

Sleepy Hollow Country Club, Sleepy Hollow The club, which features majestic views of the Hudson River from

Hudson Hills Golf Course 1. the course, was founded by a group that included an Astor and a Vanderbilt. More recent members have ranged from Rockefellers to Bill Murray.

The original course had 11 holes designed by C.B. Macdonald.

Tillinghast added seven holes, but in the past decade, it was redesigned to follow Macdonald’s original style for the entire course.

It’s a star of the screen, having shown up in The Good Wife, Madam Secretary, 30 Rock, The Blacklist and Ray Donovan.

Westchester Country Club, Harrison In 1963, when the Thunderbird Classic came to Westchester, it featured some of the sport’s biggest stars, with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus winning it in two of the first three years. In 1967 the tournament, a key U.S. Open tuneup, was renamed the Westchester Classic. Although that tournament ended 15 years ago, the club has since hosted the Senior Players Championship and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

The club’s member roster through the decades has featured boxer Gene Tunney, Shirley Temple, Howard Hughes and television stars Jackie Gleason, Ed Sullivan, Carol Burnett and Johnny Carson.

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Beyond approach.

With majestic Hudson River views, abundant greenery and rich history, Westchester County is the perfect backdrop to exceptional golf. Visit one of our beautifully manicured public courses and explore everything else Westchester has to offer. Plan your visit at VisitWestchesterNY.com today.

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In Westchester, the Golf Courses are well above par... in a good way.

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SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

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Pound Ridge Golf Club

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May 23, 2022 5/12/22S912:04 PM 5/19/22 12:33 PM

SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

MGM Resorts betting big on new downstate gambling license

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ow seems like a good time to bet big on Empire City Casino.

MGM Resort’s Yonkers property is perhaps the leading candidate for one of the three forthcoming downstate licenses the state will award for full-fledged casinos.

With good reason.

While it functions only as a racetrack racino built around slot machines, it draws 9 million people annually, President and Chief Financial Officer Ed Domingo says.

It gets more visitors than the Statue of Liberty, Domingo notes.

For his enterprise, it’s been frustrating to watch New Yorkers travel to Connecticut’s tribal casinos and Atlantic City’s gaming houses.

“Our games are too limited, so we’re not on equal footing,” Domingo says. “We are thrilled New York state is doing [the licensing]. We think we compete well against anyone in this space.”

The CFO has high hopes. “If we get approved,” he adds, “we’ll repatriate a significant amount of revenue and tax dollars back to New York, then pull in business from places like Bergen County [New Jersey] and Greenwich [Connecticut] as this becomes a regional entertainment facility. We want to reverse the flow.”

Westchester County Executive George Latimer joins Domingo in his excitement over this potential opportunity.

S “They are sitting on an incredible market filled with people who want to gamble,” the county executive says.

MGM Resorts has already transformed the casino since defying skeptics and investing more than $800 million to buy it in 2019.

The construction of an employee dining room was among the initial changes.

“We ask our employees to work all hours,” Domingo says, “so the least we can do is provide them a free hot meal every shift, which wasn’t the model when we got here.”

Next, MGM Resorts approved new labor contracts, significantly raising wages for nearly every employee and, Domingo says, in some cases, doubling them.

“For our guests to be taken care of, our team members must feel like they’ve been taken care of,” he says.

After that, MGM Resorts turned to more traditional improvements. It installed a VIP slot area and lounge, and it invested in the racetrack, with LED lighting, new surfacing and a track regrading that hadn’t been done in nearly 20 years.

indirect and induced jobs, along with a billion dollars in potential economic activity, statistics that he says are borne out by what happened in Detroit and Springfield, Massachusetts, where casinos helped lift entire regions.

Spano says that when the “world-class entertainment,” for which he says MGM Resorts is known, and a hotel and casino come on board, he’s optimistic about the boost in jobs and revenue it will offer Yonkers. But the mayor is also excited about the “spillover” effect, meaning that he expects restaurants, bars and other businesses to open in the vicinity of Empire City to capitalize on its presence.

“We expect ancillary development to follow,” says Latimer, the county executive.

Domingo agrees. “Our goal is to be part of a bigger story like that. We try to design our facilities to ensure they lift communities and are not just insulated boxes,” he says.

“The impact,” the CFO promises, “will be felt in Yonkers and Westchester as a whole.”

“We are thrilled New York state is doing [the licensing]. We think we compete well against anyone in this space.”

-Ed Domingo Empire City is already Yonkers’ largest taxpayer and largest employer, Mayor Mike Spano says.

“We have gone all in on the market, the property and Yonkers,” Domingo explains.

The president and CFO is eager to take Empire City to the next level. It has one of the nation’s biggest gaming floors; it sits on 97 acres—much of it devoted to parking; and it’s near New York City.

“There’s a huge canvas for us to develop on,” he says. “We do a lot of things well—gaming, but also entertainment, which this property has lacked, and hotels.”

Domingo says the transformation could yield 10,000 direct,

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SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

New Rochelle’s revamped process fuels a building boom

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huck Strome knows a thing or two about New Rochelle because the city manager has seen more than a thing or two in his three decades in the local government.

“I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening now,” says Strome, who’s retiring at year’s end. “I was coming over the Throggs Neck Bridge on Saturday and I couldn’t believe the skyline—I was here when there was no skyline.”

Nothing was developed in New Rochelle in the first 20 years of his career, the city manager says.

But today’s a different story.

“Despite Covid, despite the other stuff going on with the economy,” Strome says, “we have 11 buildings under construction, 10 completed and leasing, and another 10 that are approved.”

The goal, Development Commissioner Adam Salgado says, is to create a “15-minute city” downtown, “where everything one needs to live, work, recreate and shop is within 15 minutes of home. That’s the driving force, and we want to overlay that with sustainable development practices, looking at things like heat islands and planting green infrastructure, planning for green infrastructure.”

Strome and Salgado point to their rezoning in 2015, which was amended last year, as the catalyst for change.

They say the new zoning rules provide specificity, and they take elected officials out of the final approval process, vastly speeding up matters.

“We removed significant hurdles,” Strome says.

But New Rochelle did not simply hand over the keys to the city to developers.

“In our amended zoning we’ve added lessons learned from the first wave of development,” Salgado says. “There’s a renewed

commitment to climate justice, social equity and affordable housing that we’ve made by tweaking the zoning code. We’ve increased the level of requirements for developers to have the privilege of building here.”

The development commissioner notes that grants from the state and federal government have allowed the city to develop a linear park connecting the downtown to the Lincoln Avenue corridor, a historically disenfranchised, mostly African American community. “[The grants] allow us to add amenities, open space and pedestrian connections between neighborhoods affected by previous development practices, to incorporate people physically and psychologically into the fold,” Salgado says.

The city also now requires developers to award a percentage of all work to minority and women owned business or local hires.

New Rochelle also created a fund to help boost minority and women owned businesses seeking to respond to that requirement.

The city also has added requirements for developers in terms of attaining financing that requires 15% of the total cost of the job has to be awarded to minority and women owned businesses and or local hires, while adding a fund to stimulate that the capacity of the community of the minority owned businesses to respond to the need that is created by all this development.

Developers have embraced the rules, Salgado says, because they provide certainty and clarity.

“We gave them a road map and very specific guidelines for compliance,” he says, “which made it easy to plan for and easy to implement.”

Strome , the city manager, notes that what might have once been traditional (and underused) retail spaces now may be filled

New Mural by Artist Dragon76 (Theme NewRo Strong); photo by Lisa Davis.

with day care centers or gyms. One developer, he notes, recently included in its plans a black box theater—generally, a performance space of four walls, a floor and a ceiling, all painted black.

Salgado says developers who add to the cultural infrastructure are eligible for a “community benefit bonus”—incentives or bonuses given to a developer in exchange for certain benefits or amenities for the community. In New Rochelle, the city will help on projects such as the black box theater to make them a reality.

While Strome is a believer in market forces, he knows the city needs to meet its new, younger residents where they live.

“We’re starting a virtual program where we want to give people the opportunity to tell us what they’d like to see downtown,” the city manager says. “We don’t want people to live here and go elsewhere for everything else.”

Salgado says he won’t lose sight of the city’s longtime, lessadvantaged residents.

“We want to make sure they experience the benefits of this revitalization,” the development commissioner says. “We’re very careful to make sure that we’re as inclusive as possible when making investments so that all boats rise in the harbor.”

NEW ROCHELLE: CREATING A MODEL FOR INCLUSIVE, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH ideallynewrochelle.com

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SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

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One of the county’s best kept secrets is attracting attention

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ere’s a sure sign a town is flourishing.

In response to the pandemic, retail stores around the nation went under as online shopping became the go-to move for people stuck at home, but Cortlandt actually posted its largest sales-tax collection.

“Our retail stores are rocking and rolling,” says Richard Becker, who became the town’s supervisor this year after having worked on the Town Board for 14 years. The town administration is

Cortlandt station.

remarkably stable, he adds, with its 12 department heads staying in their positions.

George Oros, an economic adviser to the town and a former county legislator, notes that the town’s two major malls, Cortlandt Town Center and Cortlandt Crossing, both have about an 85% occupancy rate. When a shoe store closed recently in one mall, he adds, a restaurant replaced it. The town has a new coffee shop, he says, as well as new art galleries in an old school in the hamlet of Verplanck.

Oros says what when he takes commercial brokers and developers from New York City or south of Interstate 287 on a driving tour of Cortlandt, they marvel at the business opportunities the town has to offer.

“You’ve got to see it to believe it,” Oros says.

More and more people are seeing this secret gem and believing in it.

“The word has gone out about Cortlandt,” Becker says. For homeowners and businesses, he notes, the town is much more affordable than lower Westchester County. “You can get twice the space for half the cost for retail, and we have an educated and diverse workforce.”

The pandemic brought Cortlandt, like much of Westchester, a burst of newcomers, mostly people who left New York City.

“We have a lot of new young families that came to town,” Becker says. “It was a dramatic change. Our average income keeps rising, and what used to be a rural community 30 years ago now has a sophisticated and educated population.”

But while change is in the air, the town offers stability. The town administration is remarkably stable, Becker notes, with its 12 department heads staying in their positions. Despite the pandemic,

the town has maintained continuity. It is operating fully in-person, he notes, but it continues to have hybrid board meetings so people can follow municipal business from their living rooms.

While much of Westchester has been emphasizing building housing near train stations, Becker says Cortlandt is “still a carbased population.” Plans are in the works, however, to develop the area near the Metro-North Railroad station, he notes.

Beyond transit-oriented development, Becker says, Cortlandt is focused on medical-oriented development. The idea is to allow residents to stay in the town as they age by offering both independent and assisted-living facilities, with pharmacies and a medical building, anchored by New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Even the biggest local challenge—the closing of the Indian Point nuclear power plant in the village of Buchanan—has not really affected the town and its residents.

“The town itself is very healthy,” Becker explains, “because we never received that much revenue from Indian Point. The school district was affected, but they’ve raised some property taxes to offset that.” He adds that the state and federal government provided funding to assist during the transition to buffer the loss.

“Those taxes used to be lower than those throughout Westchester,” the supervisor says, “so now they’re just more consistent with the surrounding towns.”

Beyond the town’s affordable prices, Becker says, newcomers are attracted to its green space.

Cortlandt is one of the few river towns—most have train tracks—with unobstructed river access. Plans are underway for a 120-acre park in an old quarry contiguous with Indian Point that will feature beaches, tennis courts, art galleries, and food and drink options.

“We are very careful with our zoning to maintain our open space,” the supervisor says.

The town’s Blue Mountain Preserve is the highest point in Westchester, and it’s close to Bear Mountain, which also brings visitors to the community.

“We’re even working with the state to have some hiking trails originate in the town,” Becker adds optimistically.

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Four Strategic Areas for Growth In all, there are four strategic areas of potential economic growth,based on Cortlandt’s award winning Sustainable Master Plan.

The Master plan focuses on trends for the future of employment, such as work from home options and co-work spaces in order to reduce commute times, reduce negative impacts on the environment and attract a new talented workforce.

THE TOWN OF CORTLANDT IS WHERE LIFE WORKS AT HOME, WORK AND PLAY...

AND IT IS PRIME FOR INVESTMENT! Commercial space is often available with twice the space at half the cost, along with access to a highly educated and diverse workforce as well as a location near major transportation. Cortlandt is committed to aiding investors and entrepreneurs through a streamlined approval process.

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Orange County

Putnam County

Rockland County

TOWN OF CORTLANDT

Westchester County

Long Island Manhattan

WHAT WORKS FOR YOU? For more information on how the Town of Cortlandt can help bring your business and investment here contact: George Oros, Town of Cortlandt, Economic Development Coordinator at goros@townofcortlandt.com

“

If you are looking to locate, expand or relocate your business, Cortlandt is the smart choice.

Cortlandt is where life works… for your employees, your customers and your business.”

- Supervisor Dr. Richard Becker

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SPOTLIGHT on WESTCHESTER

In Westchester, an innovative way to inspire innovation

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t ShelterZoom, founders Chao Cheng-Shorland and Allen Alishahi have spent the past six years using blockchain technology to birth what Alishahi calls “truly a new species” of documents for negotiations and contracts and digital preservation.

“From Mesopotamia when people would write on clay tablets, through papyrus and paper and PDFs, there were no innovations in the document, which is fundamental for humans,” Alishahi says.

“The surface area changed, but it never developed intelligence.

We created a new type of contract for the entire journey from kitchen table to closing table, an intelligent document that can be interconnected, trackable transferable, and traceable. With our document GPS, you have total control over attachments and documents. You can send something and take it back.”

Impressed by their product, Luiz Aragon asked the New York Citybased residents to come to Westchester County and share it for free.

This was more appealing than it might have sounded: Aragon is the project manager for the Westchester Innovation Network, a Business Council of Westchester program.

“We’re always about taking the next step in terms of growth and economic development for our community,” says Marsha Gordon, the business council’s president, “so we began asking what the county of the future will look like. We want to develop a culture of innovation and brand Westchester as a place where innovation thrives. And we decided to be innovative ourselves and focus on innovation in a new way.”

Heidi Davidson, who chairs the business council’s board, said the council wanted a program to incubate new business ideas and decided to match local companies that were interested in innovation with startups or scaleups with commercially viable products ready to test.

“It’s about finding the right synergy,” she says.

Aragon says that “adding innovation to the county DNA” has meant reaching beyond Westchester’s borders to welcome fresh ideas from all industries, all over the world. WIN began in

December, he says, and it’s already working with 12 innovators and 11 companies.

“They would not have come across each other otherwise and are now exchanging ideas and adapting their businesses based on the feedback,” the project manager says.

Business council members stopped going to events and trade shows when the pandemic struck, Davidson says, but WIN brings new ideas “to their doorstep and maybe they become customers or investors.”

Meanwhile, the program gives the county a chance to demonstrate its appeal—the proximity to New York, the open spaces, the educated workforce—in the hopes that some of the innovators may want to stay after the program ends or set up a U.S. headquarters in Westchester, Davidson says.

and Alishahi are benefiting from working hand in hand with the lawyers, getting feedback on how specifically to improve their product for law firms.

“It’s a win-win situation,” she says. “We want to educate people so the business world is familiar with the concept of what we are doing, and there’s PR value in building a client base, but we’re also getting that feedback. Everyone is benefiting.”

Alishahi says the WIN program could have a tremendous impact on Westchester County in the long term.

“It’s like they’re building a smart city,” he says, “not in the literal sense but in the way they are attracting innovative and smart companies to the area.”

We like having this relationship with a county that is an innovation hub, and the small and midmarket businesses are a good fit for us.”

-Heidi Davidson “It’s not required that they move here,” she says, “but it doesn’t hurt that they’ll see how fantastic Westchester is as a place to grow their business. “ Growing WIN is the goal, Davidson says, but the program accepts only innovators who are good match.

“We want both sides to be learning,” she says.

Cheng-Shorland says that’s what appealed to ShelterZoom.

“We like having this relationship with a county that is an innovation hub, and the small and midmarket businesses are a good fit for us,” she says. “And we like the community spirit and helping people looking for innovation.”

Cheng-Shorland and Alishahi are showing two law firms how their platform can elevate the firms’ practices. Cheng-Shorland says she has found that beyond that “sense of achievement,” she

Iona MV BCW officials: L to R—Andrea Haynes, Mount Vernon Director of Economic Development; Christoph Winkler, Director of the Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation; Seamus Carey, President of Iona College; Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson Howard; BCW President Marsha Gordon; Rob Kissner, Designer-in-Residence at the Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. The officials gathered at Iona College on May 2, 2022, to hear student presentations related to the Westchester Innovation Network’s community collaboration between Iona College and the City of Mount Vernon.

Nicholas & Lence Communications highly commends the Business Council of Westchester on their pioneering WIN program

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We salute all participants, especially: Chao Cheng-Shorland and Allen Alishahi THE

Co-Founders of ShelterZoom 'ZERTS BAR

Cristyne L. Nicholas CEO

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FOOD & BEVERAGE

Local airport meals could soon eat up less of your money

BY CARA EISENPRESS

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hat airport meal might soon take a smaller bite out of your wallet.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees LaGuardia Airport, JFK International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport, announced recently that the captive audiences at local airports will no longer pay so much for food and drinks.

A new policy has added detailed

rightly expect that policies which limit the pricing of food and beverages at concessions will be followed and enforced,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole. “Nobody should have to fork over such an exorbitant amount for a beer.”

‘Totally indefensible’ The beers O’Toole mentioned are the source of the new policy. In July 2021 the independent Office of the Inspector General investigated a social media post in which a traveler complained about a beer that cost $27 at LaGuardia Airport. Records showed that this traveler wasn’t alone: 24 other customers paid that same vendor between $23 and $27 for their brews.

The investigation revealed that the beers’ prices were being inflated before the 10% surplus was added, making the amount charged “totally indefensible,” according to the Port Authority. All 25 customers received full refunds on their beers by the original seller.

New details around how to set pricing include firm comparisons between in-airport and off-airport locations. A “street price” means the price that the company would

instructions for vendors to calculate product prices and steps to monitor compliance of a policy already in place to combat preflight price gauging. That policy sets concession prices at a maximum of 10% above the cost that is charged outside the airport, and vendors can tack on that 10% only if they comply with a rule that forces them to offer some lower-priced options.

“All airport customers should

charge elsewhere in the metro area, and there are calculations to estimate this amount if a vendor doesn’t have any out-of-airport lo-

cations nearby. In addition, every quarter airport concessionaires will have to share pricing on its top 40 items and a report on

ISTOCK

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sales, based on its point-of-sale data. ■

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26 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | MAY 23, 2022

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CO-OPS FROM PAGE 1

111 WALL ST. consulted with the city and is refinancing for retrofits.

cost for buildings to reach emissions limits for the first and second compliance periods, UGC estimates, is $20 billion. To meet the initial 2024 cap, the UGC has estimated a cost of $2.2 billion.

Roughly 24% of affected buildings are not in compliance with 2024 limits and have work to do, according to the Citizens Budget Commission. The road to compliance is complex. Some rules to implement the law are still being worked out by the city, and owners have less than 20 months to comply with the initial limit or face fines.

Co-op and condo operators are feeling the pressure to figure out financially feasible paths. Schreiber says his Bay Terrace Cooperative Section I in northeast Queens would fall into what the Citizens Budget Commission says are the 25% of specifically residential properties that are above the 2024 limits and the 76% that exceed 2030 restrictions.

If no changes are made at the property, the cooperative’s shareholders could face an annual penalty of $45,000 starting in 2024, plus fines of up to $194,000 in 2030, Schreiber said.

One particularly labor-intensive upgrade, according to preliminary figures from contractors, would be to swap out equipment in the property’s six boiler rooms for electric heat pumps, along with replacing electrical equipment in individual units to accommodate the upgrade.

It would cost roughly $2 million to $2.5 million.

That’s money Bay Terrace simply does not have, said Schreiber, and if that has to be passed on to shareholders in the form of maintenance increases, it could spike fees (which tend to start at $550 to $700 per month) by 15% to 25%.

“Does it make more sense to do the upgrades, go into really substantial debt, impose big maintenance increases on our shareholders?” Schreiber asked. “Or do we pay the penalties—which is counter-productive to what Local Law 97 is supposed to accomplish?”

Robert Friedrich, board president of Glen Oaks Village, another

BUCK ENNIS

Building concerns

director of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums, said the city needs to explore “all the incentives humanly possible” for co-op and condo buildings to minimize shifting costs directly onto residents.

“There’s no other place than your shareholders or unit owners if there aren’t better incentives,” she said.

Rothman, who is on two of six working groups submitting feedback to an advisory board of stakeholders offering recommendations to the city about Local Law 97, is sympathetic to how overwhelming the process can feel to owners. She says the focus should be to make the law more encouraging and less punishing.

Getting started Emissions-reducing retrofits undoubtedly can be expensive, time-intensive undertakings for property owners. Add to the mix the recent spike in building material costs, supply-chain challenges, labor shortages and rising interest rates and you have what Jimmy Carchietta calls “a kick in the ass as a building owner.”

Carchietta, chief executive of The Cotocon Group, a sustainability consulting business, said, “2024 is around the corner. It’s not that far away. And there’s a lot to do.” He works with property owners to assess how buildings are releasing greenhouse gases and provides cost-effective recommendations.

“The bottom line is: The sooner buildings act, the better chance they have of surviving,” he said.

The Department of Buildings encourages co-op and condo owners concerned with bringing their buildings into compliance to con-

“THE 1958 OCCUPANCY AGREEMENT DIDN’T INCLUDE 2022 CHALLENGES” middle-income cooperative in Queens, said he and his fellow board members are agonizing about how Glen Oaks will eventually finance more efficient equipment in the 47 boiler rooms that heat the complex’s 134 2-story buildings. Estimates from an energy consultant working with Glen Oaks put the price tag at about $24 million, which could turn into a roughly $9,100 cost per household.

If that and other changes are not made, the cooperative says, it could face more than $1 million in annual fines by 2030.

Mary Ann Rothman, executive

nect with the city’s NYC Accelerator program as soon as possible for free, personalized guidance on near- and long-term retrofit projects, along with information on financing options and incentives.

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration last month launched the Building Action NYC campaign to raise awareness about the Accelerator.

One resource Accelerator staff can direct owners to is the Property Assessed Clean Energy program, or PACE. The program can fund up to 100% of a building’s retrofits through a long-term loan paid back in premiums added to property tax bills. To date, the tool has been used only twice: an $89 million refinancing at 111 Wall St. and a $28 million loan for 730 Third Ave., both office buildings.

For those just getting started, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Flexible Technical Assistance program shares the costs of an energy study to develop a road map for emissions-reducing changes at multifamily buildings.

In a statement, Rohit Aggarwala, the city’s chief climate officer and commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, said the city is committed to mobilizing additional resources to help buildings reduce their carbon footprint, “including robust public engagement, additional funding opportunities and technical assistance.”

Fine-tuning the law The Department of Buildings said it will release rules and more guidance to comply with Local Law 97 “soon.” The agency said it expects recommendations from the Local Law 97 Advisory Board that will inform rulemaking before its law-imposed deadline of Jan. 1.

At a City Council hearing in April, Aggarwala said property owners who face particularly

daunting challenges to comply with the law could potentially have their emissions caps adjusted or fines lightened if they can show they are doing all they can to meet the law’s goals.

Penalties that owners do pay are to go into the city’s general fund.

Local Law 97 allows building owners to purchase renewable energy credits from green projects— giving them another road to compliance aside from upgrades. But Aggarwala said the Adams administration intends to carefully limit the use of energy credits to ensure compliance.

Carbon trading, which would have enabled buildings to buy credits from those with fewer emissions, is one option Aggarwala said is off the table.

“We have no intention of giving anyone a free pass or letting anyone off the hook,” he said during the hearing. “But we also see no benefit to the environment in punishing someone who is actually doing everything possible.”

Esther Toporovsky, president of sustainability solutions at the New York City Housing Partnership, said buildings on a finite budget should start with “the low-hanging fruit”—less expensive retrofits— and build up from there.

“The best thing to do is to sit back and kind of peel back where they are today,” Toporovsky said, “where their reserves are, where their capital repair budget is.”

Carving out a path In the South Bronx, that is the approach board members at the Sherman Terrace Co-op set out to embrace. Derek Jones, now its president, joined the board in 2019 looking to mobilize the 66-unit, working-class cooperative to shrink its emissions.

That began with a refinancing of the mortgage at a lower interest

rate, allowing the board to create a $665,000 fund to tap for retrofits, also from relentlessly chasing grants from NYSERDA and incentives from utility companies including Con Edison.

“You have to take advantage of the mortgage opportunities that are available to you, though now it’s terrible because the interest rates are going up—but what are you going to do?” Jones said. “Making a payment of a controlled amount is a much better choice than escalating violation costs.”

Then came the work: The cooperative installed roughly 600 LED bulbs, added equipment to allow the boiler to run on natural gas and set up 318 solar panels, which now generate 30% of its electricity. In the panels’ first year of full operation, they chopped $28,000 off the cooperative’s electric bill.

The board also embraced electric submeters, a controversial move that took away the perk of residents not paying an individual electric bill.

Persuading shareholders, Jones said, was the hardest part of the process, requiring frequent newsletters, meetings and outreach. But it paid off. Sherman Terrace’s Energy Star score, a snapshot of the building’s performance, jumped from 58 out of 100 in 2017 to 94 in 2021, and the cooperative will not exceed Local Law 97 emission caps in 2024 or 2030, according to Jones.

“We really had to figure out ways to save money that make the shareholders more responsible for this cooperative living experience,” he said. “People would say: ‘Why do I have to pay for electricity? I’m losing all my benefits.’ And you have to help people realize that when the occupancy agreement was created in 1958, they weren’t taking into account 2022 challenges. You just have to work with people until finally you break through.” ■

MAY 23, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 27

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Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/13/22. Princ. office of LLC: 41 Madison Ave., 40th Fl., NY, NY 10010. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Investing.

Notice of Qualification of BEACON SOFTWARE PARTNERS I B, L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/28/22.

Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/22/22. Princ. office of LP: 233 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 800, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 1 CENTRAL PARK WEST 38B LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/15/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to M. Nader Ahari, 200 Park Ave. South, Ste. 1608, NY, NY 10003.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

44505_Maltz Notice of Formation of Crain’s NY Business 250 EAST 21 STREET 3F LLC 1.75” x nec” Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) 05.18.2022 on 04/27/22.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 19 Half Moon Ln., Sands Point, NY 11050. 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: To purchase, own and sell real estate in New York

PLAIN VANILLA NY LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/22/22. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 101 East 2nd Street, Unit 4D, New York, NY 10009.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of CAROUSEL (NEW YORK) HOLDINGS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/29/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/05/21. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 599 Broadway, 8th Fl. East, NY, NY 10012. DE addr. of LLC: 3500 S. Dupont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901.

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Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation of NORWALK NORTH PRESERVATION, L.P. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/04/22. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LP: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. Latest date on which the LP may dissolve is 12/31/2121. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of NORTHCREST GARDENS PRESERVATION, L.P. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/04/22. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LP: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. Latest date on which the LP may dissolve is 12/31/2121. SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

670 THURSTON ROAD LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/27/20. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 1221 Fteley Avenue, Bronx, NY 10472.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

COHN GROWTH, LLC filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect'y of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/18/2022. Office: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Greenberg Traurig, LLP, 54 State St., 6th Fl., Albany, NY, 12207. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of EC Pietanza Consulting, LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/21/2022.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served. The address SSNY shall mail process to Elizabeth Pietanza, 454 W 54th St., Unit 3F, NY, NY 10019.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 200E79TH9C HOLDING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/09/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to M. Nader Ahari, 200 Park Ave. South, Ste. 1608, NY, NY 10003.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of LAME FILMS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/19/22.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 225 Cherry St., Apt. 12A, NY, NY 10002. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Evan Patterson at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of BEACON SOFTWARE PARTNERS GP, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/28/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/22/22. Princ. office of LLC: 233 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 800, Santa Monica, CA 90401. 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 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of MBY WOOSTER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/26/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served.

Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation of QTD SYSTEMS 1 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/15/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Scott Markowitz, Esq., Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP, 1350 Broadway, NY, NY 10018.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of GREEN MOUNTAIN PARTNERS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/21/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to David S. Blatteis, Norris McLaughlin, P.A., 400 Crossing Blvd., 8th Fl., Bridgewater, NJ 08807.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 10X DIVERSITY CARRY VEHICLE I, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/04/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/24/22. Princ. office of LLC: 1 World Trade Center, 85th Fl., NY, NY 10007. 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: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State - State of DE, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 274 WEST 71ST STREET LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/11/22.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 260 W. 71st St., NY, NY 10023. 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: To purchase, own and sell real estate in New York.

Notice of Formation of PJ HOUSING ACQUISITION, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/20/22.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of SONNY PRODUCTIONS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/19/22.

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, 146 Central Park West, 10D, NY, NY 10023.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of THE FORT UES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/22/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 44 DIGITAL ENTERPRISES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/07/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 180 REMSEN LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/05/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/08/22. Princ. office of LLC: 909 Third Ave., #686, NY, NY 10150.

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: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

28 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | MAY 23, 2022

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FROM PAGE 1

for the taxi industry moving forward.”

Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, welcomed Do’s commitment to a swift rollout of medallion relief efforts.

In November the city finalized an agreement that would slash the principal balance of outstanding medallion loans per owner to no more than $170,000. If a driver defaults on a loan, the city has guaranteed that it would be on the hook to

cle taxi pilot and working with the MTA to expand Access-a-Ride.

An early test for Do’s TLC will be considering the first fare hike to metered yellow cabs since 2012, along with increases for e-hail companies Lyft and Uber. Commission officials have planned public hearings on the increases for May 23 and 24.

Desai says raising metered fares could help bring yellow cab drivers—whose numbers have recently dwindled, battered by the pandemic and e-hail competition—back to the road.

Another top agenda item will be managing Uber’s industry-disrupting partnership with yellow cabs— which is set to integrate the software of the city’s taxi apps, Arro and Curb, with Uber’s. The plan would allow customers to hail yellow cabs on the Uber app.

Some for-hire driver advocates are skeptical.

“Our biggest concern is that there’s X amount of rides that exist in the city, and if the current drivers aren’t getting enough rides, adding more to that pot is going to create a problem,” said Brendan Sexton, executive director of the Independent Drivers Guild. “So we need to figure out how we can stabilize the workforce so there’s enough rides for everyone to earn a living.”

Transit experts say meeting the

TAXI DRIVERS continue to struggle paying medallion loans.

“WE NEED TO STABILIZE THE WORKFORCE SO THERE’S ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE” pay the balance.

“What the city needs to do is finalize the legality and structure of the guarantee,” Desai said. “Hopefully the TLC having a more permanent chairperson is going to make the difference to get this across the finish line.”

Top priorities Greening the city’s taxi fleet and broadening accessibility will also be top priorities for Do’s TLC, he said. That includes reviewing what worked with the city’s electric-vehi-

needs of the commuter van industry will also be crucial to the city’s recovery. Hector Ricketts, president of the Commuter Van Association of New York, endorsed Do after a recent meeting with him.

“In the past, commuter vans were not embraced as, say, the yellows. And [Do] has committed that he’s willing to work with us on that, and the technology that is lacking in our industry,” Ricketts said.

“Uber and Lyft have their apps. The bus system has an app. So we have

to, if we’re going to be in the game, be looking in that direction.”

Ricketts said he hopes Do also will advocate for solutions for commuter van drivers who have been crippled by skyrocketing insurance rates, though he acknowledges that a resolution to the problem is out of the TLC’s purview and in the hands of state regulators.

Transit deserts Councilwoman Selvena BrooksPowers of Queens, chair of the

BLOOMBERG

TAXI

transportation and infrastructure committee, emphasized Ricketts’ points on commuter vans and said she hopes Do leverages the industry to fill gaps in the city’s transit deserts.

“For me, it’s, how does he move this industry forward?” said Brooks-Powers. “How do we support the drivers and also ensure that New Yorkers have access to safe, quality, affordable and interconnected transportation? That’s what it really comes down to.” ■

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GOTHAM GIGS

BUCK ENNIS

MARSHALL (front right) playing the bass during a studio session

STEVE MARSHALL BORN Manhattan LIVES Midtown EDUCATION One semester at Miami-Dade Junior College. “I was working full-time, probably at a gas station. That was tough.”

ICONS’ ELECTRICIAN Marshall says he was Bette Midler’s electrician for 16 years, and Mick Jagger was a client.

Representatives for the artists didn’t reply to requests for comment.

MUSIC HUB The Ramones rehearsed in his studio, and drummer Tommy Ramone lived in the building. West 30th Street became a music hub after Harry Belafonte set up shop in the 1950s.

NO TICKET TO RIDE Marshall had to cut back on performing after suffering some injuries, including a broken leg after falling off a horse at a funeral.

“To be clear, I was told not to ride the horse,” he said.

Beating the drum for preservation

A musician strives to protect West 30th Street’s recording studio heritage

BY AARON ELSTEIN

O

n West 30th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, a slice of vanished New York endures. Merchants selling fur coats and hats hang on across from the 140-year-old church anchoring the block. An Irish bar clings to the corner because the publican owns the building.

The scene has changed little since the early 1980s, when Madonna Ciccone entered a building in the middle of the block’s north side, rode the elevator eight floors up and walked into the apartment of Steve Marshall, a musician and electrician who has a recording studio. The notyet-famous singer looked out the window at Madison Square Garden while the microphones and lights were adjusted by Marshall, who doesn’t recall what Madonna recorded but remembers one musician was unimpressed.

“He told her, ‘Don’t quit your day job,’” Marshall said. “Six months later she released Like a Virgin.”

Not so long ago, West 30th Street was one of Manhattan’s musical hot spots, thanks to about 100 recording studios filling its industrial buildings. Marshall’s studio is one of two left, and it may soon vanish because his side of the street is targeted by developers wanting to build office towers. Their desires align with those of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is banking on the property tax revenue to pay for rebuilding Penn Station.

Marshall moved into his apartment in 1975 and installed his own plumbing. He played in burlesque clubs for many years, and his band’s shows typically ended with whipped cream squirted on the audience.

“I never made it big, but I had a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m a scrabbler and knew how to get the crowds to come in.”

Now he’s applying his crowd-gathering skills in his new role as neigh-

borhood activist. Marshall agrees Penn Station needs to be rebuilt, but he says West 30th Street’s musical heritage is worth protecting. His protester’s sign is strategically situated next to his apartment door.

A host of friends wrote to the state development authority to support his cause, including Simon Kirk from Bad Company and Bernard Fowler, a backup vocalist with the Rolling Stones.

Marshall has opened his studio to musicians practicing before fundraisers for state Assembly candidate Layla Law-Gisiko, who opposes Hochul’s Penn Station plan. He’s been rehearsing with a group of musicians who live in the area. As the Penn Station redevelopment evolves, he plans to contact Madonna, whom Crain’s couldn’t reach through a representative. He reckons she recorded six times at his studio or in others along the street.

“This block must mean something to her,” he said. ■

“I NEVER MADE IT BIG, BUT I HAD A LOT OF FUN. I’M A SCRABBLER”

MAY 23, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 31

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