Crain's New York Business by crains-new-york-business

EXCLUSIVE Why Mayor Eric Adams says New Yorkers find him so exciting PAGE 3

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM

BYE, WOLVERINE Hugh Jackman puts his West Village triplex on the market PAGE 4

JUNE 20, 2022

Meet the Crain’s 20 in Their 20s class of 2022, featuring young leaders looking to create a more equitable, innovative and thriving city Page 23

REAL ESTATE

Tech turmoil spills into commercial real estate BY AARON ELSTEIN

hen tech-friendly real estate brokerage Compass last Tuesday said it would lay off 450 employees and wind down a software subsidiary, the company also disclosed a review of rent expenses “with a view to consolidating offices and reducing related costs.”

NEWSPAPER

VOL. 38, NO. 24

The news sent shivers up the spines of commercial landlords who have come to rely heavily on tech tenants to fill their buildings. Tech represented 22% of all office leasing last year, up from 17% in 2020, according to CBRE. In New York, high-tech jobs grew by 18% during 2019 and 2020, the highest rate in the country after Seattle, CBRE found. Now that the tide has reversed, tech leasing

Expansion on hold That could leave Manhattan office landlords high and dry. The sector accounts for 20% of tenants at Boston Properties and 17% at Empire State

Realty Trust, SL Green Realty and Vornado Realty Trust, respectively, according to BMO. That exposure explains the techlike losses in the landlords’ share prices. Boston Properties’ stock, down 32% from itshigh heading into last Wednesday, has See TECH on page 50

SPOTLIGHT

BUILDING A FASHION HOUSE PIECE BY PIECE PAGE 51

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is “headed for a significant slowdown,” John Kim of BMO Capital Markets said in a recent report.

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6/17/22 6:35 PM

POLITICS

BY BRIAN PASCUS

s only the third Republican governor of New York since 1923, George Pataki says he has a pretty good perspective on whether the GOP can win back the state this year. Pataki said the Republican Party’s chances haven’t been better to win the governorship than they are right now. “To win as a Republican in New York, you need to get over 1 million Democrats to say they want change and they’re willing to give you a chance,” he told Crain’s. “That doesn’t happen very often, but I think the opportunity is there this year.” Pataki pointed to high crime rates across the state and the failure of legislators in Albany to completely repeal the 2019 bail-reform law— which he blamed for sparking the surge in violence in cities including New York, Buffalo and Rochester. With Crain’s, he discussed more than just the shape of the state. He opined on the state of politics today, provided an update on his humanitarian work and offered an assessment on what contributed to Andrew Cuomo’s resignation from office last year. Pataki said that of the four candidates running in the Republican pri-

mary that concludes this month, he isn’t sure there’s a front-runner. “They all have different backgrounds and things they can emphasize, given that we have two weeks to go, but it’s unclear at this point,” he said. “I wouldn’t call anyone the likely winner.” He said Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island has institutional support and a clear legislative record, while businessman Harry Wilson can brag about a successful career in the private sector. Pataki pointed to former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino’s competitive campaign for governor in 2014 and Andrew Giuliani’s high name recognition. “I think primaries are almost impossible to predict,” he said, “because you don’t know what the turnout will be, and you don’t know who is going to vote.” Pataki served three terms as the state’s 53rd governor, from 1995 to 2006. In office he earned a reputation as a moderate Republican who negotiated deals across the political spectrum and cut taxes for corporations and individuals. He hasn’t run for office in more than seven years. Pataki, 76, was interrupted throughout the interview by his grandchildren, who requested that he eat ice cream with them. He reflected on how politics has changed

since his last campaign: a failed run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2015. “It’s become far less collegial and far more ideological,” he said. He blamed extremists on each end of the political spectrum—singling out the far left—for having “disproportionate influence” on elections and “disenfranchising the center.” He campaigned as a conservative during the 1994 Republican Revolution, but he governed as a centrist, according to Evan Stavisky, founder and president of The Parkside Group. Pataki endured the ignominy of watching the Legislature overturn more than 200 line-item vetoes in his final budget. His principles extended into the environment and tax policy. He poured more than $60 million into cleaning up the Bronx River, and he cut both corporate taxes and income taxes multiple times. But he spent money too: His budget deficits grew from $62 billion in 1995 to $114 billion in 2006. The state’s long-term debt hit $50 billion under his watch. Pataki lambasted Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $220 billion budget for the 2023 fiscal year, calling it “a failure.” But he had one good thing to say about her. “At least, today, we have a decent person in the governor’s office,” he said.

BLOOMBERG

Pataki sees no front-runner yet in GOP primary

Humanitarian abroad Pataki’s focus today involves providing humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians during their war with Russia. He has made two trips to Ukraine since Russia launched an unprovoked invasion in February, and he is expected to leave for a third trip to the war-torn country. He plans to work with nongovernmental organizations to build shelters for internal refugees to prepare them for the upcoming winter.

Leadership lessons Pataki also served as a mayor, assemblyman and state senator—and said the key was always establishing clear priorities.

“Most importantly: Don’t set priorities based on a political agenda. You have to make it clear to the public the impact your priorities will have on their life,” he said. He didn’t mince words when asked about the downfall of Cuomo, who campaigned against Pataki in 2002. “My understanding is that every significant decision had to be cleared by the governor’s office, and you can’t run a state that way.” He also criticized Cuomo’s reputation for creating a hostile work environment for lawmakers in Albany. “When you govern by intimidation, as opposed by collaboration, ultimately it will blow up in your face, and it did,” Pataki said. ■

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Dwindling ‘days on market’ reflects New Yorkers’ growing demand for apartments in the outer boroughs BY AMANDA GLODOWSKI

s the roller coaster that was the city’s rental market appears to stabilize, the outer boroughs are taking advantage of the opportunity to woo motion-sick New Yorkers.

Quick stats • Rents across the city have re-

turned to prepandemic levels. The average apartment costs nearly $3,500. • It’s more competitive to get an apartment in Brooklyn or Queens than in Manhattan. In Manhattan, an apartment stays on the market an average of 30 days, while units are filled in about 21 and 23 days in Brooklyn and Queens, respectively. • Rent prices in Manhattan have not fallen, as landlords would prefer to wait rather than rent a unit sooner at a lower price. Although rent prices might seem like the only part of the city that has rushed back to normal, apartments are also getting snapped up with speed. In the first quarter of the year, it was most competitive to snag an apartment in Brooklyn, with units staying on the market an average of 21 days, a 36% decrease

QUEENS AND BROOKLYN SHOW MOST STABILITY AS CITY MOVES THROUGH PANDEMIC Average number of days on market City average

Manhattan

Brooklyn

Queens

Bronx

70 60 50 40 30 20

2020

2021

2022 SOURCE: Rezi

from the same period last year, according to data from Rezi, a real estate tech platform that works with tenants and landlords on leasing apartments. Queens saw a similar shift, with units available for 23 days, a 26% decline from last year. “The story for 2022 is really a story about how Queens has become very desirable,” said Tom Smith, chief revenue officer at Rezi. “People don’t want to leave New York City, but they don’t have to be in the of-

fice five days a week.” Rezi noted that within its methodology, outliers are not removed from the “days on market,” and anecdotally, there are a significant number of units that have negative days on market, meaning that they are snapped up

before they are even listed. Manhattan’s rents are unsurprisingly highest, at an average of $4,226. The cost of a city unit leapt 33% since last year, so it’s no wonder landlords are holding out longer to make up for lost time. ■

CORRECTION

• The Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into effect by President Joe Biden in June 2021. This information was incorrect in “Here’s how city employers are observing Juneteenth this year,” published June 13.

Vol. 38, No. 24, June 20, 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. For subscriber service: call 877-824-9379; fax 313-446-6777. $140.00 per year. (GST No. 13676-0444-RT) ©Entire contents copyright 2022 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | June 20, 2022

POLITICS

Adams says New Yorkers see him as ‘a mayor who’s as exciting as this city’ BY BRIAN PASCUS

His political philosophy Adams has never been shy about his trust in the private sector. He said there has historically been “a real fear” among Democrats in bridging the gap between the private sector and government. He argued that the government is often “engaged in sustaining, not innovation” while the private sector excels at research and development. “If you sustain as a private business, you go out of business,” Adams said. “Government believes it has an endless flow of revenue from taxpayers. Instead of ‘How do we build a better mousetrap?’ [the government bureaucracy is] satisfied with the mousetrap.”

His moderate position The mayor said his biggest frustration is

IN HIS SIX MONTHS as mayor, Adams has made a point of getting out from behind his desk.

BUCK ENNIS

ayor Eric Adams says New Yorkers have a certain reputation, and they need to own it. During an exclusive interview with Crain’s New York Business, Adams insisted that New Yorkers underestimate the power of the nickname “The city that never sleeps” and the standing that comes with that. “That is our title,” he said. “People come here because they say, ‘When I’m home in my own little city somewhere, at 11 o’clock, everyone is always sleeping. Not in New York.’” The mayor has made it a point to be seen out at all hours to promote New York’s resurgence from the Covid-19 pandemic. He has made headlines for his fondness for Zero Bond and other nightclubs. During the interview, he smiled and said there’s a benefit to spending time socializing past midnight. “You enjoy people. You meet different people in the evening,” he said. “They see you. They see another side of the mayor. They don’t see this boring person—they see a mayor who’s as exciting as this city.” Not everyone views the city as an exciting place these days, however. Violent crime has remained high citywide compared to two years ago. A Sienna College/Spectrum News NY1 poll found that only 29% of the 1,000 voters surveyed between May 22 and June 1 thought Adams was doing a “good/excellent” job, while 64% graded him “fair/poor.” In a wide-ranging interview with Crain’s from his City Hall office, the mayor didn’t hold much back. He talked about his governing philosophy and his potential legacy, adding specifics such as the roots of capital process reform, a $101 billion budget agreement with the City Council, the Police Department’s relationship with the city and the threats posed to municipal cybersecurity. Throughout the conversation, he returned to his desire to work with the private sector to find solutions to many of the city’s economic problems and reiterated an innate belief that New Yorkers love their city, despite its challenges. But he also expressed concern that the five boroughs are culturally segregated, and our divisions have caused a rise in hate crimes against vulnerable populations in recent years. “This city is so diverse, but we’re so segregated,” Adams said. “We ride next to each other on the subway, we live next to each other from different ethnic and cultural groups, and we barely know each other’s name. We have to change that.”

jointly the far left and the far right. He called the two factors “co-conspirators.” “Moderate New Yorkers, middle New Yorkers, who are the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers, are caught between the crossfire of the two entities,” Adams said. “And it’s as though they are living in two different realities.” Adams chastised those who support a possible Supreme Court decision that would end New York state’s concealed-carry laws on guns. He also criticized those who say closing the Rikers Island jail complex will lead to a decrease in crime. “Those two groups are not dealing with the reality New Yorkers are experiencing,” he said.

sparked racial justice protests across the city and nation, Adams said he believes the relationship between New Yorkers and the NYPD is “improving every day.” “I have never attended a community meeting where people said, ‘I want less police.’ Never. Just the opposite. Everyone wants more police,” Adams said. He said his administration is committed to transparency and said it plans on recruiting a new, diverse group of officers. “I’m going to give the police the tools to do their jobs, and I’m going to hold them accountable,” he said. “But we’re also going to be very clear: We support the police in this administration.”

What worries him

Innovative legacy

The mayor often projects a sense of optimism and confidence during public appearances, but he acknowledged there are some things that keep him up at night. The city cannot count on Wall Street for higher-than-expected tax revenues, like it received this year, he said, especially in the face of a likely recession and economic downturn. “Not having the finances to run the city is a real concern,” he said. “There’s a major issue around our health-stabilization fund. The life of that fund could cost us $13 billion.” He described cybersecurity breaches as his second-biggest threat. He referenced the 2018 ransomware attack on Atlanta that partially crippled its government. The third area of concern he mentioned is the departure of high-income earners from the metropolitan area. He cited an oft-used statistic that 51% of New York’s income taxes are paid by 2% of New Yorkers. “So if they keep fleeing the city because of public safety, because of the lack of quality of life, that’s going to impact how many teachers we can hire, how many firefighters, how many police officers, how we keep our streets clean,” the mayor said.

When asked what he wants his legacy to be, the mayor answered by discussing his oft-touted but yet-to-be-released MyCity Card: an all-in-one tool to be held by New Yorkers and businesses that could centralize their data and allow city agencies to access information in a single place. Information on the card would include birth certificates, business registration forms and transit swipe data, he said. “It’s unbelievable that every time that we go to do something in this city, we have to fill out another form when all of that could be on one microchip,” Adams said. “That is the legacy I want to leave: centralizing and making government easily available to all New Yorkers.”

The NYPD and George Floyd Two years after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer

The $101 billion budget Adams praised the budget agreement he struck with the City Council June 10, nearly three weeks earlier than the June 30 deadline for the fiscal year, which begins July 1. “I’m really pleased because the issues the City Council pushed, they were on my wish list,” he said. “That’s why it was so easy. That’s why we had an early budget.”

Capital process reform Adams talked about the capital process reform committee spearheaded by First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo that examines how to

speed up the time frame of large capital projects. The projects include new school buildings and child care centers as well as renovated fire stations and streetscapes. After referencing flow charts related to the issue, Adams said he believes the problem is a lack of staffing at city agencies. “One of the areas where we didn’t have enough manpower, staffing, particularly during Covid, but even historically, [was] to just turn around those contracts,” he said. “Too many items are sitting on the desk for far too long.” The mayor wants to create incentives among city employees tasked with managing capital projects, and he wants to compare their progress in getting shovels in the ground. “There’s no gauge if employee A is taking two years or taking a year and employee B is doing it in six or seven months,” he said.

Breaking bread To close the gap of what he called the city’s “cultural segregation,” Adams wants to deliver a neighborhood dining program that he used as Brooklyn borough president. Working with the New York Peace Institute, Adams’ Breaking Bread, Building Bonds brought together 10 people from different backgrounds for dinners in Brooklyn throughout 2020. He envisions a citywide initiative with 1,000 dinners, where the 10 adults and children at each table will become “ambassadors of how we live together.” “Education must be more than just a classroom,” he said. “We’re going to encourage people and teachers to go out and explore the communities they live in.”

Nightlife guy Adams said part of his job as mayor is to attend restaurant openings, Broadway shows and other events, especially at night. “This is the city that never sleeps, and so my job is to promote that as though I promote during the day that this a city that’s business-friendly,” he said. “I am going to rest when my term is over. Until then, I’m going to live it up as mayor.” ■ JUNE 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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6/17/22 5:51 PM

RESIDENTIAL SPOTLIGHT

Hugh Jackman puts West Village triplex on market The five-bedroom, seven-bath home of the movie star at 173 Perry St. is in a complex popular with celebrities BY C. J. HUGHES

s Harold Hill leaving town? Hugh Jackman, who is currently crooning about 76 trombones in the hit Broadway revival The Music Man, has put his West Village triplex on the market for $38.9 million. The five-bedroom, seven-bath condo at 173 Perry St. cost the Australian actor $21 million in 2008. Home to Jackman, his wife (actress Deborra-Lee Furnes) and their two children, the apartment features panoramas of the Hudson River along with a spiral staircase, a living room with a gas fireplace and a sauna. Common charges for the unit run $43,372 per month, and monthly taxes are $18,754. The unit previously belonged to William Joy, co-founder of Sun Mi-

$38.9M

LISTING PRICE for No. 10S at 173 Perry St.

er," while 173 is "South Tower." Officially, Jackman's apartment is listed as being at 176 Perry St., though that address appears to be used as a catchall for the three Meier properties, which operate as a single condominium.

Famous residents The trio has housed a fair share of bold-faced names throughout the years. Aussie Nicole Kidman was a neighbor before relocating to Tribeca. Calvin Klein and Martha Stewart have called the condominium home as well. During the winter Ira Drukier, a co-founder of BD Hotels, the firm that developed all three properties, unloaded a two-bedroom unit in the North Tower that he appears to have owned since the development's completion. After hitting the market in the summer at $5 million, the unit sold for $4.5 million, records show. Jackman's real estate plans, meanwhile, are unclear. Deborah Grubman, the Corcoran agent who is listing his apartment, declined to comment. ■

crosystems, according to property records. It occupies the eighth, ninth and 10th floors of the building, which upon its 2002 opening ushered in the luxury makeover of the Far West Village. The minimalist, almost stark, design is from Richard Meier, who also was the architect behind white-toned sister buildings 165 and 176 Perry St.. The latter is referred to as "North Tow-

CORCORAN

AUSSIE NICOLE KIDMAN WAS A NEIGHBOR BEFORE RELOCATING TO TRIBECA

173 PERRY STREET., No. 10S, is a five-bedroom condo occupying the eighth, ninth and 10th floors of the West Village building

REAL ESTATE

Son sues ‘worst landlord’ mother over family real estate portfolio

illiam Koeppel is suing his mother, Roberta, and sister, Alexandra, to replace them as the trustees of a portfolio of 10 buildings in and around the city. He alleges in documents filed with the Surrogate Court of Manhattan that his mother’s mismanagement of the properties has left them in disrepair and with collectively more than 1,000 violations regarding their elevators, boilers and facades. Roberta Koeppel, 84, was listed as the 47th worst landlord in New York City by the public advocate’s office in 2020. There were on average 442 open Department of Housing Preservation and Development violations across two of her properties, according to the list. She was not listed last year. Although he’s been estranged from his family for 25 years, William Koeppel, 62, is set to inherit all but

two of the buildings when his mother dies, according to court papers; the remaining properties go to his sisters. But the buildings are losing value from the violations and mismanagement while his mother breaches her fiduciary duty and increases her income by saving on building repairs, he alleges in the complaint. In depositions filed with the court, Roberta Koeppel said she

denies. After his father died in 1996 and left his wife with the properties in a trust, Koeppel has not been in touch with his mother or his sister Alexandra, said his attorney, Christopher Alvarado.

Family feud The drama doesn’t stop there. The portfolio of buildings comes from his paternal grandparents, who upon their death passed it down to their children Robert (William’s father) and Nancy. Infighting between cousins, aunts and parents has been going on for years, as each has tried to compel the others to produce accounting documents to verify income produced by the estate and its properties and claim their share. In 2002 William Koeppel went to court to prove that his family incor-

THE SON SAYS THE BUILDINGS ARE LOSING VALUE DUE TO VIOLATIONS, MISMANAGEMENT visits the properties periodically, and when repairs need to be made or violations are filed, management company First Service Residential deals with them. Her son alleges that his mother instructed First Service to pay the violation fees without repairing the issues—which she

BLOOMBERG

BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

rectly accounted for the liabilities on the buildings so that they could inflate their earnings and dilute his share of the money, court papers show. They later settled. The bad blood between mother and son dates back to his childhood, according to an affidavit given by his mother’s cousin Harriet Charles. Charles testified that Roberta Koeppel abused her son as a child by locking him in closets or a dog crate when she did not want to deal with him. “As long as I have known Roberta, her entire world revolved around acquiring more money and wealth,

and most often at the expense of others,” Charles said. “In my opinion, my cousin Roberta would throw anyone under the bus to get her way when money is at issue.” Some of the properties in the family trust are 250 E. 73rd St., 141 E. 89th St. and 1594 Third Ave. in Manhattan, as well as 850 E. 31st St., 1925 Quentin Road, 6801 Bay Parkway, 201 Brighton First Road and 6925 Fourth Ave. in Brooklyn. Others are located on Long Island. Edward Campbell, the attorney representing the interests of the trustees, Roberta and Alexandra, declined to comment on the case. ■

4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | June 20, 2022

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6/17/22 3:26 PM

IN THE MARKETS

Office-return worries drive Vornado stock to a new low

The real estate giant’s CEO describes the pricing as “stupid cheap” could command rents of $100 per square foot, or 40% more than now. He described Vornado’s stock as “cheap by any measure.” “I think the phrase is ‘stupid cheap,’ ” Roth chimed in, adding he is “fairly confident” Manhattan offices will fill up again. A Citi analyst questioned if Vornado’s new buildings can really command top dollar when the market is saturated with supply and prospects for refilling older buildings aren’t promising. “How do we get comfortable owning the best house in what seems like not the best neighborhood?” the analyst said.

ROTH

BUCK ENNIS

ornado Realty Trust’s Morgan Stanley analyst Ronald stock price hit a pandem- Kamdem wrote, citing “continued weak fundamentals” at Vornado. ic-era low last Tuesday. Changing the narrative hinges on CEO Steven Roth’s real estate firm closed at $28.96 a share, Roth getting the green light to build several new office towers down from $29.24 the day around Penn Station, before, when it closed beKamdem suggested. Gov. low the previous panKathy Hochul is banking demic low of $29.66 on on the project’s tax reveMarch 20, 2020. The downward slide nue to pay for rebuilding underscores growing the dismal transportation concern on Wall Street hub. Recently, she said that, 27 months after reshe wants architects or builders to submit plans mote work became realiby the end of next month, ty, workers won’t return AARON ELSTEIN but formal state approval to New York offices in awaits. anything like their If the large development proprepandemic numbers. Vornado’s 23 million-square-foot portfolio is ceeds, Vornado President Michael mostly Manhattan office buildings. Industrywide, Manhattan office vacancy rates remain elevated at 15%, and headline gross rents for prime space are 10% below 2019 levels, Morgan Stanley said in a June 1 report. Costs are rising as interest rates increase, and it’s expensive to renovate offices to make them more inviting to tenants. Franco said at a March Citigroup “We expect lower pricing power,” conference that the new towers

Rising interest rates Another headwind for Vornado is rising interest rates. Nearly two-thirds of its $6 billion in mortgages are floating rate, according to regulatory filings, compared with 20% at rival SL Green Realty and 5% at Empire State Realty Trust. As inter-

CHANGING THE NARRATIVE HINGES ON THE FIRM’S PLANS FOR THE PENN STATION AREA

est rates rise, so do Vornado’s borrowing costs. The company is selling properties to raise cash. The firm recently agreed to sell a 498,000-square-foot office building in Long Island City, Queens, and plans to sell an additional $750 million in assets de-

scribed as non-core. But fast-rising rates have driven private-equity bidders to the sidelines, and buyers in a position to pay cash seem inclined to wait. “Buyer pools have thinned out,” Evercore ISI analyst Steve Sakwa said in a recent report. ■

ON POLITICS

Governor could move congestion pricing out of the slow lane with a little more political will Promptly answering “400 questions” from federal officials is possible with adequate effort and staff resources

hen Albany wants to probably not going to happen right act, Albany acts. Ear- now, because we cannot get the lier this year, in a mat- necessary approvals from the fedter of days, election eral government.” law was radically overhauled so “I’m committed to getting it Gov. Kathy Hochul’s rundone,” she added. Is she? Hochul is now ning mate, the indicted the second governor, afBrian Benjamin, could be dumped from the ballot. ter the disgraced Andrew There was little debate and Cuomo, to stall congeslittle forewarning. Hochul tion pricing since it made her ask, and the passed the Democrat-run Legislature delivered. Legislature in 2019. Elsewhere, on ambiWhen Cuomo was govertious policy that could nor, he blamed the change New York for the Trump administration ROSS BARKAN for better, the Democrats in dragging out an enviAlbany grind at their own ronmental review. Since pace. Joe Biden became president last Congestion pricing, sadly, has year, New York has friends at the been swallowed up in Albany’s federal Department of Transportamaw. Hochul declared last week tion, including Polly Trottenberg, a that tolling cars to enter Manhattan backer of congestion pricing who would not happen this year, foiling ran the city Transportation Departa yearslong effort to both cut down ment under Bill de Blasio. on congestion in the city’s business The delay is devastating on two corridors and fund mass transit. different fronts. The Metropolitan “We submitted our plans on time Transportation Authority had been to Washington in February, and by relying on expected revenues from March, the federal government tolls on vehicles entering south of came back with over 400 ques- 60th Street in Manhattan to fund its tions,” Hochul told reporters. “It’s 2020–2024 capital program to

maintain and expand the transit system. The signal technology in the subway tunnels is almost a century old and desperately needs to be updated. Without increased revenue—and reforms to how the MTA spends money—expansion of the network to account for population growth in the outer boroughs is probably not going to happen. Making more subway stations accessible to people with disabilities

ued to rise. Given the suite of mass transit options available for traveling into Manhattan’s business districts—a bevy of subway lines, buses and commuter rails from Long Island, New Jersey and Westchester County—there is no great need, for most people, to ever drive there. And if they do, they should pay for the privilege. Hochul didn’t say this out loud, but she’s probably leery of congestion pricing because of high gas prices and growing opposition from Democratic elected officials in New Jersey, who view the toll plan as a tax on their constituents. But high gas prices are not a reason to delay or scuttle tolling cars. Rather, it’s yet another opportunity to encourage people to take mass transit whenever possible. If Hochul truly cares about addressing climate change and weaning New York off fossil fuels, congestion pricing is a necessity. The good news is that congestion pricing will eventually happen. It’s a question of whether it will come

CONGESTION PRICING, SADLY, IS SWALLOWED UP IN ALBANY’S MAW won’t happen without an infusion of tolling dollars, particularly as federal funds eventually dry up. Congestion pricing is also vital for discouraging people from driving to Manhattan. Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, mass transit ridership has fallen off, as commuters either work from home or dodge the subway and drive to work. Automobile congestion and pedestrian fatalities have contin-

at the end of next year or sometime even later. Hochul should stop blaming the federal government, address whatever questions the feds might still have—with enough effort and staff resources, answering 400 questions is possible—and implement a plan that legislators approved years ago.

Quick takes ● One thing Kathy Hochul has going for her is campaign cash— with more than $18 million banked, she should easily win the Democratic primary in a few weeks over Jumaane Williams and Tom Suozzi ● Whither the New York City Council? It’s been a quiet year so far for the young and ideologically diverse body, with relatively few bills of note passed. ● Mayor Eric Adams staked his entire tenure on driving down crime. His approval ratings are now faltering because it’s an incredibly difficult promise for him to deliver on, with much of what impacted the crime rate beyond his control. ■

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

June 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 5

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ON REAL ESTATE

For the mayor’s housing plan to succeed, the city should focus on what it can actually control drew Cuomo. It is difficult to picture Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul getting in a bizarre feud that ultimately ends in the death of a deer, for instance.

Grain of salt But any goal laid out in Adams’ housing plan that would require action at the state level to succeed should still be taken with a huge grain of salt, as achieving it would be at least partially out of the city’s control. Advocating for policy changes at the state level is much less certain than making policy changes at the city level, and city housing officials would be wise to focus their efforts on aspects of the

ples of the lack of guarantees on this front. Adams did have some notable real estate successes, namely with the passage of the New York City Housing Authority Trust. Adams strenuously advocated for this, and it is prominently featured in his housing report as a way for NYCHA to access more government funds and speed up its renovation process. But the mayor was also a vocal supporter of Hochul’s proposed replacement for the 421-a tax break. He tweeted during budget negotiations that her plan would deliver housing and jobs for New York, and that if 421-a expires, “housing production—and the well-paying jobs that come with

ADVOCATING FOR POLICY CHANGES AT THE STATE LEVEL IS NOT CERTAIN housing plan that the city can handle on its own. The recent state budget and legislative session offered good exam-

2022

HOCHUL AND ADAMS

MARC A. HERMANN / MTA FLICKR

here’s plenty to like in the way to improve the housing crisis housing plan Mayor Eric and says the city is working with AlAdams released last Tues- bany to pass state legislation exday. Expanding a program panding its ability to finance affordproviding emergency grants to doable housing projects involving mestic violence survivors, increas- these trusts. And it says its effort so ing resources to combat source-of- far at making basement apartments safe and legal has proved income discrimination “that we cannot meet our and creating a permanent goals for basement con“zombie homes” unit to versions without statutoturn empty, dilapidated ry changes at the state houses where the owners level.” are behind on their mortA subheadline in the gage into opportunities report’s chapter on imfor affordable homeownproving the quality of ership are all extremely housing in the city reads worthwhile initiatives. “Make better use But there’s also a lot of EDDIE SMALL simply of state and federal something else in the plan funds,” while a subheadthat will be disappointing to anyone who hopes to see several line in the chapter on cutting red of its proposals implemented tape similarly reads “Advocate for quickly: reminders of how depen- changes to state and federal rules to dent City Hall will be on Albany to reform housing placements.” To be fair, prospects for successcarry out many of these reforms. The report derides the current al- ful city and state partnerships are lowances for homeless shelter resi- infinitely better now than they were dents as extremely inadequate, but during the roughly eight-year psyit also notes that those allowances chodrama that was the destructive are provided by the state. It pro- relationship between former Mayor motes community land trusts as a Bill de Blasio and former Gov. An-

it—would fall off a cliff.” Hochul’s plan was not included in the budget or passed during the legislative session, however, and the 421-a program expired last Wednesday. One of the best aspects of the domestic violence survivors grant, the source-of-income discrimination resources and the zombie homes unit is that they are all in the city’s power to enact and should not be stymied by the politics in Albany. The more the city focuses on those aspects of Adams’ plan, the more successful the plan will be. ■

2022

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HEALTH CARE

BY JACQUELINE NEBER

he City Council voted to pass its $101 billion 2023 budget last Monday night, including $2.3 billion allocated for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The figure is less than the $3.2 billion that was allocated in last year’s budget. The dip is due to a “gradual reduction of nonrecurring federal Covid-19 aid,” according to Ana Champeny, the Citizens Budget Commission’s vice president for research. “I would not consider these cuts,” Champeny said. She clarified that federal grants are recognized over the course of the year, so some might increase; additionally, much of the federal relief was designed to be short-term, and whatever the city doesn’t use from the 2022 budget will roll into 2023. The city’s appropriation for NYC Health + Hospitals is $1.1 billion, down from $2.7 billion last year because of decreasing federal funds. For the first time, a funding initiative, from council Speaker Adrienne Adams, awards $100,000 to each of

the 51 council members to spend on youth, housing support, mental health programs, victim support programs and more. “Speaker Adams’ Community Safety and Victim Services Initiative recognizes that we must invest in the holistic safety of communities and support crime victims if we want to build safer communities,” a council spokesperson said in a statement.

Ideas for spending Councilwoman Lynn Schulman, chair of the health committee, said she is figuring out how to use the funds in Queens’ District 29, which includes Rego Park, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill. The district is home to one of the city’s largest senior populations, a large Orthodox Jewish community and a large Asian American Pacific Islander community. “As the health chair, I always see opportunities. …There’s no limits on what we can do with the money,” she said. “We’re ironing out the nitty-gritty details.” Also included in the 2023 budget is almost $200 million for health

and mental health initiatives. Within this funding is a $60 million cost-of-living adjustment for human services workers, which should equal about a 4% increase in each worker’s salary. More than $19 million has been allocated to organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness to expand mental health support and outreach. Five million dollars will go toward a Mental Health Continuum, which helps students connect to mental health services in their schools.

Funding for moms, seniors Additionally, $3 million will fund NYC Health + Hospitals’ Maternal Medical Home and Obstetric Simulation, a simulation lab that helps physicians figure out how to fight life-threatening birth complications, particularly ones that more commonly arise for Black and brown mothers and babies. And more than $1 million will go toward a pilot program providing free eye care to New Yorkers with lower incomes. Many parts of the budget focus on funding senior care: $15 million

BUCK ENNIS

Here are the health initiatives the City Council is prioritizing in its $101 billion 2023 budget

MORE THAN $19 MILLION has been allocated to organizations that work with the homeless. The money will be used to expand access to mental health care. is going toward transitioning older adults from the Recovery Meals program to other meal delivery programs, because Recovery Meals ends June 30; Mayor Adams’ preliminary budget did not include any funding for the transition. The budget allocates $6.7 million toward literacy programs for adults, and $30 million has been allocated to the Emergency Food Assistance Program. Brianna Paden-Williams, a communications and policy associate at LiveOn NY, an organization rep-

resenting more than 100 senior service providers across the state, said LiveOn will continue pushing for more funding in the future as the city’s senior population grows. Schulman said the health committee identified that the city needs more primary care and preventive care options, more diabetes prevention programs in particular, a continuation of vaccination programs as federal funding has faded away and increased sanitation measures and park space, which are both related to health outcomes. ■

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president & ceo K.C. Crain group publisher Jim Kirk publisher/executive editor

EDITORIAL

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr.

Love it or hate it, but state shouldn’t kick the can on affordable-housing tax break 130% of the area median income—which is now $173,420 for a family of four. Although a comparable program might come along, there are no immediate prospects for a replacement to 421-a, which dates back to 1971, as Crain’s senior reporter Eddie Small explored in a recent article. That’s a shame, as there should be plenty of common ground to orchestrate a deal. Gov. Kathy Hochul has expressed support for continuing the tax break in some form. She had proposed making all affordable units permanently subject to rent stabilization, eliminating eligibility for higher earners and extending tax benefits for condos and co-ops. Mayor Eric Adams supported extending 421-a with modifications. City Comptroller Brad Lander, on the other hand, has been a strong critic, arguing for broader property tax reform that would eliminate the need for such tax breaks and give the city more authority to underwrite targeted tax incentives.

THERE’S NO QUESTION IT’S A COMPLEX, DIFFICULT CHALLENGE while opponents described 421-a as a giveaway to developers that did not produce enough affordable housing to make up for the lost tax revenue. Critics also quibbled with the criteria, which allowed developers to include units for families earning up to

editor-in-chief Cory Schouten,

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egislators in Albany were wrong to punt on the 421-a tax-abatement program, letting it expire June 15 without a replacement. Flawed as the program was, the city cannot afford to wait for a perfect solution to our ever-worsening affordable housing crisis. The controversial program, loved by developers and hated by housing activists, incentivized developers to set aside 30% of units in their buildings as “affordable” in exchange for a lucrative tax break. Developers argue that building affordable housing in the city doesn’t make economic sense for them without such a program,

EDITORIAL

Laura Warren people on the move manager Debora Stein,

dstein@crain.com CUSTOM CONTENT

There’s no question it’s a complex, difficult challenge: How can government deliver a smart and effective incentive program for affordable housing? But we expect our elected leaders to be able to tackle difficult issues. There is encouraging precedent here: The state allowed a previous

version of the tax break to expire in 2016, before Gov. Andrew Cuomo orchestrated a deal the following year to bring back an improved version (though housing activists found plenty to dislike about that version as well). Here’s hoping Hochul can accomplish something similar.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Readers weigh in on pharmacy carve-out, health care costs

recent state Health Department report highlights what advocates have long known: LGBTQI+ New Yorkers experience startling health disparities due to immense barriers in accessing the gender-affirming care that vastly improves outcomes for trans and gender-nonconforming people. Given its own recognition of this long-standing inequity, it is puzzling that the Health Department plans to proceed (“LGBTQ+ health report underscores need for gender-affirming health care,” June 9) with the proposed Medicaid pharmacy benefit carve-out, a Cuomo-era policy plan that would make it even harder to access gender-affirming and other life-saving health care. The carve-out would dramatically change how Medicaid recipients access their pharmacy benefit by pooling all beneficiaries under a single pharmacy benefit manager. Individuals receiving treatments such as hormone therapy would lose access to specialized pharmacists with expertise in HIV, mental

health and gender-affirming issues. The state argues that the proposed model, which was chaotically rolled out in California earlier this year, would save money. However, studies suggest it actually would cost taxpayers billions of dollars in the long run. After the carve-out was implemented in California, thousands went weeks without their medications. Providers faced authorization delays, making it harder to treat complex conditions. And call centers were overwhelmed. They lack experience in gender-affirming issues, leading to long wait times and delays in accessing treatment for trans people. California’s experience clearly demonstrates that the carve-out would cost New York more through treatment delays as well as higher emergency room and inpatient costs. Whatever minimal savings would be achieved by the carve-out would be vastly overshadowed by the pain and disruption it would create for vulnerable patients. Rather than

create more barriers to care for those facing grave health disparities, let’s make it easier to access live-saving gender-affirming care so all New Yorkers can live their healthiest, most authentic lives. PETER MEACHER Chief medical officer Callen-Lorde Community Health Center

Health care affordability Despite lawmakers’ attempts to increase health care affordability and access (“State lawmakers take aim at rising patient medical costs,” June 7), the state Legislature also passed a bill that could increase health care costs across the board and create a major payday for trial lawyers. The bill would radically expand the types of damages that can be paid out from wrongful-death lawsuits and dramatically increase the cost of insurance for doctors and hospitals. In New York, especially in the Bronx and on Long Island, insurance for medical professionals is already higher than almost anywhere else in the country. Alarmingly, if

enacted, the bill would increase medical professional liability insurance premiums by nearly 40%, according to research from actuarial firm Milliman. Increased operating costs deter physicians from opening their own offices or practicing here at all. Year after year, New York leads the nation in medical liability lawsuit payouts, which totaled more than $430 million last year. And the liability environment leaves the Empire State at the bottom of WalletHub’s annual ranking of the best and worst states for providers to practice. The bill would not just increase costs for doctors, nurses and hospitals but also for municipalities and everyday New Yorkers. Auto insurance and general liability premiums would increase by billions each year if the bill becomes law. It all translates to higher costs at a time when consumers are already facing record-high prices. Gov. Hochul, veto this bill. TOM STEBBINS Executive director Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York

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8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 20, 2022

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OP-ED

BY ANN KORCHAK AND JOANNA WONG

he housing crisis gripping New York City has been in the making for several years: accelerated deterioration of buildings, a lack of choices and an ever-present fear among the most vulnerable about their housing stability. Those are the failures of the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019. The HSTPA has proved itself to be an obstacle to tenant housing stability and the city’s recovery. The HSTPA was passed with the aim of protecting rent-stabilized-housing tenants. But what’s happened is that maintenance of the city’s aging housing stock and the quality of tenants’ apartments now falls almost entirely on Rent Guidelines Board increases, a highly political process. It is imperative that the RGB allow for an increase that is, at minimum, commensurate with pre2019 net operating income. If not, the city’s stabilized housing stock will continue to deteriorate, further housing will be lost, financing options for building improvements will plummet and many longtime

small housing providers will no longer be able to survive.

Policy missteps HSTPA has ultimately hurt tenants. Recently the Department of Housing Preservation and Development released its initial findings from the New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey. The findings illustrate our path in the HSTPA era. Prior to the passage of the HSTPA, the 2017 NYCHVS reported a historically low rate of dilapidated units citywide: 0.2%. Since 2017, there have been multiple years of rent freezes by the RGB and a wholesale elimination of other cost adjustment levers with the passage of the HSTPA. The recent report shows that habitability of units has been the sacrificial lamb and there is a higher prevalence of maintenance deficiencies. By removing the tools that enabled housing providers to invest in their rent-stabilized buildings, the HSTPA has caused units to deteriorate, further destabilizing the housing ecosystem. Unless a housing provider is backed by big capital, the HSTPA makes it prohibitive to improve the rent-stabilized stock. As a result, some spaces and even

entire buildings have become uninhabitable. Operating under shrinking margins, many providers have found it harder to preserve housing and keep up with preventative maintenance. Passage of the HSTPA broke the proverbial camel’s back. Add to that the turmoil caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the downward spiral of housing seems less like random happenstance and more like a series of poorly informed policy missteps. Tenant groups fear anything more than a rent freeze would bring an undue burden on those living in stabilized units. Inflation has hit New Yorkers hard, and effects of the pandemic—lost wages, unemployment and medical fallout including long-term health effects and debt— are sending ripples through people’s lives. Many small housing providers also have experienced the same, with the added fear of perpetual double-digit property tax increases and 18% late fees.

Ways to ensure housing There are effective ways to ensure tenants have housing. The city and state have expanded housing voucher access but could go further in broadening eligibility. Also, New

ALAMY

Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act isn’t working and has ultimately hurt renters

York should expand the statewide SCRIE/DRIE program, which provides rental assistance to lowincome senior and disabled renters. Albany should increase the income eligibility criteria as well as expand the program beyond only seniors and disabled persons to all low-income New Yorkers. Not only does the system that governs the current housing stock need to be fixed, but there also need to be more opportunities for

housing creation. There is an opportunity to correct course. Allowing the RGB to factor in the relevant data and appropriately increase rent would protect our housing stock so we can begin to climb out of the hole left by the HSTPA. ■ Ann Korchak is board president and Joanna Wong is a member of the Small Property Owners of New York.

OP-ED

New York is well positioned to become a leader in the exploding carbon-offset market

or governments struggling to deal with the long-term impacts of climate change, the cliché that “money doesn’t grow on trees” might be outdated. States and public authorities are finding innovative ways to generate revenue while helping the environment, with some selling credits to preserve existing forest land. Given New York’s vast portfolio of natural resources and cleanenergy investments, the Empire State is well positioned to become a leader in the exploding carbonoffset market. The carbon market allows investors to offset greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing credits through investments in projects that remove carbon from the air. The basic concept isn’t new, having served as the foundation for “cap and trade” regulatory policies since 1990. The twist, with the potential for exponential growth, is in the “voluntary” carbon market (voluntary because the credits are not tied to government mandates). A recent report by McKinsey & Co. estimated that demand in the vol-

untary market could grow by a factor of 15 or more by 2030 and by a factor of up to 100 by 2050.

Sustainable investing Demand in carbon credits is fueled by a thirst for socially responsible investing. Corporations and investment funds are increasingly prioritizing ESG (environmental, social and governance) goals that demonstrate a com mitment to sustainability and social consciousness. Some of the world’s largest companies, including Alphabet, Delta Airlines and Disney, are the leading purchasers of carbon offsets. Innovative policymakers across the country are moving to take advantage of the opportunity by certifying public projects for carbon capitalization. It’s a fairly straightforward process that involves working with an accredited NGO that can verify a given project meets a set of established standards. The criteria include ensuring that any emissions reductions are real and measurable, that they can’t be reversed, that they are additional beyond the status quo and that their impact can be

transparently and uniquely tracked. Once certified, the credits can be priced and sold like any other security. A number of states are already seeing a return on their investment. Connecticut established the nation’s first green bank in 2011, a model that has generated $2.14 billion in capital for clean-energy projects. California’s cap-and-trade program, launched in 2013, has generated $12.5 billion for climate investments. Oregon and Washington both have programs that sell credits to support sustainability initiatives. More recently, Michigan announced a plan to limit logging in state forests during the next four decades to create carbon offsets. ALAMY

BY ALFREDO QUINTERO

A wealth of opportunities There is nothing stopping New York from doing all of the above and more. Every day, the MTA serves more than 5 million commuters who would otherwise travel by car. New York City operates the largest municipal automobile fleet in the country, with 30,000 vehicles, and regulates more than 13,000 taxis. The State University of New York system serves more than

300,000 students who need housing. At 6 million acres, Adirondack Park is the largest state park in the lower 48 states. Each of these presents an opportunity to create carbon credits—including purchasing electric buses and cars, reducing energy consumption in dormitories and preserving trees. The voluntary carbon market is

poised for explosive growth. If Albany policymakers move quickly, the Empire State can take its rightful place as a leader in the new market. ■ Alfredo Quintero is a senior managing director in the municipal finance group at Ramirez & Co., a full-service securities firm.

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. June 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

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NYCMAYORSOFFICE/FLICKR

POLITICS

Seeking fewer ‘barriers,’ Adams plans to ask Hochul to veto cryptomining bill BY BRIAN PASCUS

ayor Eric Adams plans to ask Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a bill passed by the state Legislature that would place a two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining operations in the state. Adams, one of few elected officials to receive some of his paychecks in bitcoin, said he opposes the measure during a recent interview with Crain’s. He said he will do what he can to protect New York’s cryptocurrency industry, which he believes is in its early stages of development and is threatened by some lawmakers who view it unfavorably. “I’m going to ask the governor to consider vetoing the bill that is going to get in the way of cryptocurrency upstate,” Adams said. “When you look at the billions of dollars that are spent on cryptocurrency … New York is the leader. We can’t continue to put barriers in place.” The Senate and Assembly this month passed a first-in-the-nation moratorium on new and renewed permits at state power plants used by cryptocurrency firms to burn fossil fuels for cryptomining, an ener-

gy-intensive process. There are roughly 30 cryptomining plants currently in use, plus 29 more available for future permits, according to moratorium advocates. The moratorium bill instructs scientists at the state Department of Environmental Conservation to study the effects of cryptomining on the carbon emissions goals set by the state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Adams said he doesn’t believe the aims of cryptocurrency firms are in conflict with New York’s carbon-neutral emissions goals. “I also know this about innovation: Give deadlines. Tell cryptomining [firms] within the next five years, ‘We need to reduce energy costs,’” Adams said. “Give us a goal, not bans.” Assemblywoman Anna Kelles of Ithaca, who sponsored the moratorium bill in the Assembly, disagreed. “That law [the CLCPA] is passed and signed, so it’s our legal responsibility to reach those goals,” Kelles said. “It behooves the state to evaluate the impact of the industry to reach our climate goals.” The CLCPA requires power plants to reach net-zero carbon emissions

by 2040, and economywide greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 85% by 2050, compared with 1990 levels.

Messy process Many cryptocurrency firms have reopened previously shuttered power plants upstate to help them generate the energy needed to run the complex mathematical equations necessary to develop the blockchain, which resides at the heart of the crypto industry. Those “peaker” power plants burn fossil fuels to generate energy. Upstate plants that were previously used only seven to 12 hours per month prior to the advent of cryptocurrencies are now being used by cryptomining companies 24 hours per day, said Sen. Kevin Parker of Brooklyn, who sponsored the moratorium bill in the Senate. Parker said he wants a two-year halt to new permits or renewals. “Before we start using these plants, let’s do a moratorium, take a timeout and do a study on the impact of using these plants 365 days per year,” he said. “Even if you put 10 or 15 [new plants] into play, then it will be impossible for us to reach our

CLCPA goals in the next 18 years.” Environmental advocates say turning on the previously dismantled plants goes against the agenda set forth by the CLCPA. “If you’ve got power plants that are mothballed, then their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is no longer there, and it’s one less power plant that contributes to greenhouse gases,” said Eddie Bautista, executive director of the New York City Environmental Justice Alliance.

Doubting mayor The mayor argued that lawmakers and regulators should approach cryptocurrency mining the same way officials approached vehicles during the late 20th century. “We didn’t ban cars because of unleaded gas. We told vehicle manufacturers: ‘Within five years, you have to reach this,’” Adams said. “Give us goals. That is how we operate as human beings.” Adams noted that any ban on cryptocurrency operations might not happen in other states. “We’re going to lose our competitive edge” in billions of dollars’ worth of jobs and innovations, the

mayor said. Kelles and Parker said that those pushing for a veto of their two-year moratorium are misinformed about the effects their bill would have on the crypto industry. Kelles emphasized that the bill doesn’t prevent buying, selling, using or investing in cryptocurrency in New York. Parker insisted he’s “not anticrypto” and said he’s actually less concerned about cryptomining’s electricity use than he is by the large amounts of water required to generate power at the peaker plants. “This is only a study,” Kelles said. “For the state to evaluate an industry that has a likelihood of significantly increasing our total energy needs is just practical.” Hochul did not respond to a direct question June 7 on whether she’d veto the cryptomining legislation. “All the bills that have come out, nearly a thousand, [are] historic. We’re looking at all the bills very, very closely," she said. “We have a lot of work to do over the next six months.” The governor’s office did not respond to a request to elaborate on her stance regarding the cryptomining bill. ■

2022

HEALTH CARE LEADERS Crain’s New York Business’s 2022 Notable Health Care Leaders list recognizes individuals and their accomplishments in healthcare administration, clinical services, research, nursing and more.

NOMINATE NOW! Deadline is July 1 Nominate at CrainsNewYork.com/NotableHCLeaders 10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 20, 2022

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New York Forever:

A Celebration of Our City

WELCOME T

2022 Honorees

he immense challenges of the past two years have put all of us to the test. There are some who even doubted our city’s capacity to recover from the economic and societal impacts of the pandemic. But with every passing day, our collective efforts have proven that old refrain: “You can never bet against New York City.”

market indicators suggest even more incremental growth in our sector is ahead. Public transit ridership levels seem to hit new pandemic-era peaks every week and some commercial building owners are already seeing occupancy rates of more than 60% of pre-pandemic levels – showing that more momentum is building every day.

The real estate industry, as it always has during tough times, has been at the forefront of the City’s path to long-term recovery. Many of the world’s largest and most innovative companies have not only maintained their office presence in our central business districts, but further invested in their real estate footprint. Retail corridors are seeing renewed energy as more visitors return to the City from across the nation and world, and leading brands are again leasing space and filling out corridors next to many upstarts who jumped at the chance to enter the market over the last few years. Despite the exodus many predicted, New York remains a highly sought-after place to live as residential market has returned to prepandemic levels of demand and activity.

Of course, there is still much work to do to achieve full economic recovery for our city and its residents. Continued collaboration between the public and private sectors will play a critical role in getting us there – and we are optimistic about what the future holds.

This is good news for our industry but even better news for the broader economy, as real estate generates more than half of the City’s annual tax revenue that supports the basic government services that millions of New Yorkers rely on. Many other

Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams have both brought a much-needed focus to core issues – including public safety, quality of life, economic development and better deliver of government services – that will help move the City forward. We are proud to partner with State and City officials on addressing these important issues and will continue to do so moving forward.

It is with all of this in mind that REBNY has brought a renewed spirit to our iconic annual event. This year’s event carries a new name: “New York Forever: A Celebration of Our City” and a new and exciting format that features some of the City’s most renowned chefs and mixologists. We will continue our tradition of recognizing a group of incredible honorees who have left indelible impacts on New York City and our industry. But one other new element will be our greater emphasis on highlighting the work of the REBNY Foundation, REBNY’s charitable arm that will benefit from a portion of the proceeds generated at this year’s event.

Alongside partners in the public sector, we must also remain focused on addressing the long-term challenges our city continues to confront. Our housing supply crisis will continue to impact affordability and more must be done to increase production of much-needed rental

The growth of the REBNY Foundation in recent years is a prime example of how our industry has gone above and beyond our role as the City’s key economic engine to also make greater impacts to support vulnerable and underserved populations across the five boroughs while also bringing

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housing. We must get innovative and creative about creating more live-work-play communities in our central business districts to continue attracting major employers and supporting small businesses throughout key corridors. We must ensure that our infrastructure and transit systems have the support and resources they need to carry us forward into the next generation and far beyond.

a greater focus on equity. This is exemplified through the Foundation’s focus on three key areas: housing, workforce development and diversity and inclusion. Through Project Parachute, the Foundation has brought together the non-profit community and REBNY’s members to provide rental assistance and other support for thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers impacted by the pandemic. With the City University of New York and the non-profit Project Destined, the Foundation has provided paid internship opportunities to diverse CUNY undergraduate students to empower New York’s workforce with the skills they need to support the businesses growing in their own backyard. We have also partnered with Building Skills NY to connect underemployed New Yorkers with jobs and training to create new career pathways into the construction industry. In partnership with Coro New York, we launched the REBNY Follows Leadership Program in 2020 to bring in real estate professionals from diverse backgrounds for a six-month training program to help elevate their careers and prepare them for opportunities that increase their impact on the industry. The program continued this year with 14 amazing and impressive Fellows who just graduated this Spring.

Like the City, New Yorkers are resilient and headstrong to overcome great change. REBNY is dedicated to seeing New York through the pandemic and emerging even stronger and more equitable on the other side.

Douglas Durst, Chairman, Real Estate Board of New York

Jim Whelan, President, Real Estate Board of New York

June 20, 2022 S1 6/16/22 8:34 AM

Announcing Honorees of REBNY’s New York Forever: A Celebration of Our City

The John E. Zuccotti Public Service Award Recognizes a New Yorker who has displayed exceptional accomplishments and service in the public’s interest Hazel Dukes is a member of both the NAACP national board of directors and the NAACP executive committee, and she is an active member of NAACP board subcommittees. Dukes is a woman of great strength and courage. Her dedication to human rights and equality is exemplified in her work linking business, government and social causes. An active and dynamic leader, she is known for her unselfishness and her track record for improving the quality of life in New York state. Dukes is president of the Hazel N. Dukes & Associates consultancy firm, which specializes in public policy, health and diversity. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Adelphi University and completed her postgraduate work at Queens College. In 1990 she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the City University of New York Law School at Queens College. In 2009 she was conferred with an honorary doctor of humane letters from Medgar Evers College. She was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in 2012 from the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has received numerous awards for her leadership activities, including the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, the YWCA City of New York John La Farge Memorial Award for Interracial Justice and the Guy R. Brewer Humanitarian Award. In 2007 she was of one The Network Journal’s 25 Most Influential Black Women in Business.

HAZEL DUKES

President NAACP New York State Conference

Dukes was incorporated in 2007 as a Pi Eta Kappa Fellow, and her biography has been selected for publication in many journals and directories including Fisk University Library, Minority Women Contribution, American Biographical Institute Personalities of Northeast, Who’s Who Among American Women and Who’s Who Among Black Women.

REBNY FELLOWS: An initiative supported by the REBNY Foundation is the REBNY Fellows Leadership Program, which is made possible by a partnership with the non-profit Coro New York Leadership Center. This exciting program engages a talented group of early- and mid-career real estate professionals to help them take their careers to the next level through an immersive, six-month series of activity that includes connecting with top industry leaders on key issues affecting the industry and the city as a whole. REBNY recently celebrated the graduation of the second cohort of REBNY Fellows, which included a diverse array of men and women in the industry who are employed at REBNY member developers, property managers, brokerage firms and other organizations. The 2022 REBNY Fellows programming included Issue Days and Leadership Days that featured expert speakers covering issues such as land use and urban planning, environmental sustainability and strategies for accelerating the push for diversity and inclusion throughout the real estate industry. REBNY Fellows gain value from the program beyond the lessons learned in their training sessions. They become part of a growing network of likeminded professionals and industry mentors, which increases their ability to build their careers and seek out new responsibilities and higher level leadership roles at industry firms. This effort plays a critical role in REBNY’s overarching commitment to supporting the career advancement of men and women of color throughout the industry in order to create a more diverse and inclusive environment now and in the future. Demand for applications to the REBNY Fellows program is continuing to increase, with many industry professionals already seeking out opportunities to join the program in 2023.

The Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Leadership in Real Estate Award Recognizes REBNY members who have displayed exceptional service to the real estate industry and professional accomplishments over the course of distinguished careers Tom Elghanayan oversees a real estate portfolio of more than 8 million square feet throughout New York City and Washington, D.C. He is actively involved in supervising acquisitions, finance, planning, sales, residential marketing and management. He continues the Elghanayan family tradition of developing properties that will stand the test of time. TF Cornerstone has evolved into one of the most respected commercial and residential development firms in New York City. During Elghanayan’s five-decade career in the real estate industry, he has earned a reputation as a forward-thinking executive who has set the standard for building style and quality while paving the way into New York’s burgeoning new neighborhoods. Prior to TF Cornerstone, he and his three brothers created Rockrose Development in 1970. Born in Iran, Elghanayan moved to Queens with his family as a child. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Yale and an MBA at Harvard. In addition to being passionately involved with his company, he is an avid member of the real estate community. He is a member of the REBNY board of governors and executive committee, the Alliance for Downtown New York executive committee and the Downtown–Lower Manhattan Association.

TOM ELGHANAYAN Chairman and co-founder TF Cornerstone

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6/9/22 5:14 PM

Announcing Honorees of REBNY’s New York Forever: A Celebration of Our City

The Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award Recognizes REBNY members who have a lifetime of exceptional accomplishment in the profession and have made invaluable contributions to New York’s civic welfare

Under Hal Fetner’s direction, Fetner Properties has become one of the most well-respected real estate companies in New York. At the forefront of the residential real estate industry, Fetner has earned a reputation as one of the most sustainable builders in the city, with multiple LEED Gold residential buildings to his name. He focuses on housing and is currently developing three ambitious projects in the city. He graduated from the Whitman School of Management and subsequently earned a Juris Doctor from New York Law School. In 1988 he took on the role of CEO at Fetner, the third generation to take the helm. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a law clerk for Joe Hynes, then special prosecutor for the state of New York. A proud alumnus of Syracuse University, Fetner serves on the university’s board of trustees. He is chairman of the facilities committee at the university and a member of the Whitman Advisory Council and the Whitman Real Estate Advisory Board. Dedicated to providing opportunities for future generations of Syracuse students, he established the Fetner Program Fund, a scholarship for Whitman students pursuing sustainability; and he created the Fetner Sustainability Series and the Fetner Prize in Sustainable Enterprise. He sits on the REBNY Board of Governors and Executive Board and is on the board of trustees of the Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization pursuing constructive change in the finances and services of New York City and state.

HAL FETNER

President and CEO Fetner Properties

Jeffrey Levine is founding principal and chairman of The Douglaston Cos., consisting of Douglaston Development, Levine Builders and Clinton Management. Since 1979, he has directed the construction or rehabilitation of thousands of residential units, including both affordable and luxury housing, student housing, hotels, senior living, health care facilities and millions of square feet of commercial retail, office and institutional spaces. Levine’s most recent accomplishment is the development of the Williamsburg waterfront in Brooklyn: more than 2 million square feet of mixed-use residential property, spread across six distinct buildings. The waterfront features The Edge, which received the National Association of Home Builders’ Pillars of Industry Award for best mixed-use community and best high-rise condominium; Edge Community Apartments; Level BK, with approximately 2,000 residential units; and more than 60,000 square feet of retail, structured parking, a water-taxi pier and a pedestrian esplanade. He is a member of the REBNY Executive Committee and a founding member of both the New York State Association for Affordable Housing and the Kimmel Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating and promoting affordable housing and services for aged, disabled and other special-needs populations. He serves on the board of the Citizens Housing and Planning Council, the New York Housing Conference and the Queens Chamber of Commerce. He also sits on the advisory board of the Spitzer School of Architecture at the City University of New York and New York University’s Real Estate Institute.

JEFFREY LEVINE

Founding principal and chairman Douglaston Development

Some of his many professional recognitions include the EY Entrepreneur of the Year, the NAHB Affordable Builder of the Year, the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York Developer of the Year and the Phipps Housing Community Builder of the Year. In 2011 he was honored with the Met Council’s Builder of the Year Award. He is chairman of the board of the Jewish National Fund and is a member of the fund’s national board, which recently honored him with its Tree of Life, a humanitarian award given in recognition of outstanding community involvement. Levine graduated from the City University of New York’s City College School of Architecture.

David Picket leads the Gotham Organization, a vertically integrated real estate development company providing services throughout concept, financing, design, building, lease-up and ongoing management phases. Since joining the company in 1991, he has led its new project development business through a period of unprecedented growth. He became responsible for Gotham’s development and property operations businesses in 1998. As CEO of Gotham Development, he represents the fourth generation of Picket leadership in the organization’s 100-year history, continuing the firm’s dedication to multifamily housing in New York City. Under his direction, Gotham has developed more than 5,000 housing units and more than 1.7 million square feet of urban retail space. The majority of the firm’s developments have utilized public-private partnerships, combining public funds, tax benefits and/or reduced land prices in exchange for the creation of affordable housing, schools, community facilities, job programs and other public benefits. He was one of the first developers to capitalize on the resurgence of the multifamily housing market in New York in the mid-1990s and to recognize the untapped potential of the Midtown West neighborhood. In addition to Gotham West, which transformed an entire block in Hell’s Kitchen and includes the celebrated Gotham West Market, he is responsible for the development of several award-winning properties including The Nicole, Atlas New York, The Ashland, The Foundry, New Gotham and The Corner. He also oversaw retail projects including Harlem USA and DC USA.

DAVID PICKET

Picket holds a law degree from Columbia and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. He is affiliated with a number of organizations, serving on the boards of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Breaking Ground and the Realty Foundation of New York and the advisory council at the Cornell College of Arts and Sciences.

President and CEO Gotham Organization; President Gotham Development

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6/13/22 2:20 PM

Announcing Honorees of REBNY’s New York Forever: A Celebration of Our City

The Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award Recognizes REBNY members’ outstanding service to the community Sarah Saltzberg is an owner of the Bohemia Realty Group, a boutique and independently owned firm that opened in 2012 and services the New York area, with a focus on Upper Manhattan. Bohemia Realty aims to improve the quality of life for its clients, agents and staff, as well as the community at large. During the past 20 years, Saltzberg has been building a career in real estate as well as the arts, with credits including creator/actor in the Tonywinning 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, creator/additional material author in Broadway’s Gettin’ the Band Back Together, creator/actor in off-Broadway’s Don’t Quit Your Night Job and co-author of Miss Abigail’s Guide to Dating, Mating and Marriage. Along with her partner, Jon Goodell, she is a firm believer in the connection between business innovation and creativity. Besides being an active member in several Upper Manhattan business and neighborhood coalitions, she has long relationships with organizations including the Harlem Children’s Zone, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Theater Development Fund’s Wendy Wasserstein Project, which brings underserved New York schoolchildren to Broadway shows. Last year Bohemia Realty formed Good + Salty Productions, a charitable arm committed to using agent talent in collaboration with charitable causes.

SARAH SALTZBERG Co-founder and co-owner Bohemia Realty Group

A member at large on REBNY’s Board of Directors for the past three years, Saltzberg aims to create a more personal and relatable image for the real estate industry. She is co-chair of REBNY’s Fair Housing Committee and has set up a department within Bohemia dedicated to navigating the housing voucher system in order to effectively provide permanent housing for some of New York’s most vulnerable citizens. She looks forward to the continued work of providing real-life experience as a way to engage legislators, and to help effect lasting change that is fair and equitable to the industry.

PROJECT PARACHUTE: One of the vital initiatives supported by the REBNY Foundation is known as Project Parachute. After the onset of the pandemic, REBNY members conceived of this new effort to provide much needed support to vulnerable renters who were struggling due to pandemic-related impacts. The initial concept came from Hal Fetner of Fetner Properties, David Picket of Gotham Organization and Jeff Levine of Douglaston Development, who are now being honored for their ingenuity with REBNY’s Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award. They ultimately came up with the Project Parachute name and coordinated with other industry leaders and the non-profit community to get the effort off the ground and raise millions in additional funding. Project Parachute’s core mission is to work collaboratively to help New Yorkers financially impacted by the pandemic to stay safely in their homes. The initiative’s philanthropic fund is independently managed by Enterprise Community Partners, which designed the program in collaboration with tenants and community-based organizations to ensure that it meets the needs of New Yorkers unserved or underserved by existing resources. Over the past two years, Project Parachute has delivered more than $6 million in rental assistance to more than 3,000 vulnerable New Yorkers facing financial hardship due to the pandemic. Additionally, Project Parachute’s non-profit service providers offer support to vulnerable renters beyond financial assistance, through resources such as education on tenants’ rights under housing law, referral to any benefits program for which the household may qualify, and financial counseling or career support such as job search assistance. Project Parachute remains active and is continuing to connect with New York City renters in need of financial assistance or other support due to the impacts of the pandemic.

The Louis Smadbeck Memorial Broker Recognition Award Recognizes a REBNY broker with personal and professional integrity, long-term leadership and prominence in the brokerage community and participation in REBNY’s committees Darcy Stacom has marketed and sold more marquee capital markets transactions than any other real estate professional in the United States. With more than $145 billion in sales, financings and joint venture, leasehold and development transactions, she tirelessly drives the business practice along with equal dedication to leadership in campaigns for philanthropy, sustainability, diversity and equity. As head of New York City capital markets for CBRE, she leads a team of professionals dominating the world’s most competitive landscape. She has ranked in the top 1% of CBRE’s global producers for almost two decades. In her career, she has driven many of the nation’s most impactful real estate transactions including the single largest residential deal in history (the $5.4 billion sale of Peter Cooper Stuyvesant Town) and the single largest office transaction in history (the $2.8 billion sale of the GM Building). She is widely recognized for her industry leadership. A REBNY governor, she is co-chair of its Diversity Committee. She also is an NYU Schack Institute board member and co-chair of the annual WIRE conference, the industry’s most prestigious event for women in commercial real estate. Her desire to contribute to the city extends beyond the world of real estate. She is co-chair of the board of the New York Restoration Project, which manages 52 community gardens and more than 80 acres of parkland across all five New York boroughs. She also serves on the board and the executive committee for Phipps Houses, the largest not-for-profit owner of affordable housing in New York City.

DARCY STACOM

Chair and head New York City Capital Markets at CBRE

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6/9/22 11:31 AM

Announcing Honorees of REBNY’s New York Forever: A Celebration of Our City

The Young Real Estate Professional of the Year Award Presented by the Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association each year to a member whose knowledge, skills, integrity and high degree of ethics have contributed most to his or her profession and the community Laura Jackson recently joined SL Green, where her areas of responsibility include tax planning and structuring, investment due diligence, REIT and income tax compliance, and advising the board of directors, CEO, president, CFO and management. Prior to joining SL Green, Jackson was a senior managing director at FTI Consulting, leading the firm’s REIT practice, focusing on due diligence, deal structuring, domestic and international tax compliance, §754 adjustments, creating §704(c) models, tax provisions, IPO readiness, like-kind exchanges and qualified opportunity funds. Prior to FTI Consulting, she worked at Deloitte and Arthur Andersen in the area of taxation for the lodging/ gaming, banking and retail industries. She serves as vice president on the board of Rebuilding Together NYC, a nonprofit organization for safe and healthy housing throughout the city. She founded the She Builds initiative, which empowers prominent women in real estate to give back to the communities they serve. In 2018 she won the New Jersey Governor’s Award for her continued devotion to helping communities in need. Jackson is licensed as a certified public accountant in New Jersey and is a member of the AICPA, NAREIT and Young Men’s/Women’s Real Estate Association. After graduating summa cum laude and first in her business law/accounting class at Monmouth University, she went on to earn a master’s degree in taxation from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

LAURA JACKSON

Senior vice president and tax director SL Green Realty

BUILDING SKILLS: The REBNY Foundation also supports Building Skills NY, a non-profit organization that connects New Yorkers from historically underserved communities with good construction jobs and training. More than 1,600 New Yorkers have been placed in local construction jobs through the program – and Building Skills is consistently increasing its capacity to provide skills training that enables workers to expand their career options in construction.

Congratulations, Darcy.

CBRE congratulates Darcy Stacom, Chairman and Head of New York City Capital Markets, for being honored with REBNY’s Louis Smadbeck Memorial Broker Recognition Award. This award recognizes her achievements at the forefront of the brokerage community for more than 40 years and her efforts to increase diversity throughout the commercial real estate industry.

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Announcing Honorees of REBNY’s New York Forever: A Celebration of Our City

The George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year Award Recognizes accomplished individuals within the management area who display outstanding professionalism in property management, civic achievement and contribution to the real estate industry

Frank Pusinelli oversees marketing, leasing and property management for the operating assets business arm at RXR. He is responsible for all business planning, budgeting and operational activities, and he oversees physical due diligence, revenue and expense underwriting for potential acquisitions as well as the immediate and long-term capital improvement plans, asset repositioning strategies, and design ideas. He also oversees all tenant improvement and capital construction projects for the company’s commercial and logistics assets. He sets policies, procedures and goals within the operating assets division in keeping with the direction of RXR’s executive management team. Pusinelli joined RXR in 1999. During his tenure, he has overseen the execution of more than $1 billion in construction projects, ranging from groundup development and value creation to customized tenant interiors. Previously, he worked as a project manager and estimator in the construction sector as well as in the architectural and engineering field specializing in municipal architecture and environmental engineering. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architectural technology from the New York Institute of Technology and an MBA in finance from Fordham University. He is a licensed architect in the state and a member of the American Institute of Architects.

FRANK PUSINELLI

Senior executive vice president and chief operating officer, operating assets RXR Realty

INTERNSHIP: The REBNY Foundation also helps more young people to enter the real estate industry by supporting REBNY’s partnership with Project Destined, which provides paid internships to diverse undergraduates from the City University of New York (CUNY). Many interns have since gained internships or employment at REBNY member firms, continuing the progress needed to make the next generation of industry leaders reflect the diversity of the city.

AT THE CENTER OF

WHAT’S NEXT

Cushman & Wakefield is proud to support the

Real Estate Board of New York We are pleased to join REBNY in celebrating our great city and this year’s honorees for their outstanding contributions to the real estate industry

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INSTANT EXPERT

What is congestion pricing and where does it stand? BY CAROLINE SPIVACK

WHAT HAPPENS NOW is an open question. Congestion pricing’s timeline is nebulous MCCARTHY as MTA officials work through the FHWA’s questions. The MTA insists delays do not necessarily mean the plan has indefinitely gone off the rails. “We have been vocal about the importance of this program,” MTA spokesperson John McCarthy said in a statement. “The MTA is fully committed to congestion pricing, is aggressively working through the federal process and appreciates the governor’s support.”

MTA

WHAT’S NEXT

“THE MTA IS FULLY COMMITTED TO CONGESTION PRICING... AND APPRECIATES THE GOVERNOR’S SUPPORT”

BUCK ENNIS

ON JUNE 7, during a debate among the three Democratic candidates vying for governor, Gov. Kathy Hochul threw congestion pricing’s 2023 timeline—which has already been pushed back from 2021—into doubt when she declared “now is not the right time” to implement it. Hochul pointHOCHUL ed the finger at the federal government, charging the Federal Highway Administration with hitting the proverbial brakes on the plan. The FHWA overwhelmed Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials, who will implement the plan, with 430 technical questions about the project’s rollout, Hochul said. “So this is not going to happen over the next year under any circumstances,” Hochul went on to say during the debate. The following day, at an unrelated news conference, Hochul clarified her position. “I’m committed to getting it done,” she told reporters. “I was just addressing the practicality that it’s not going to happen right now LIEBER because of the unforeseen circumstances with the federal government.” Neither Hochul, nor MTA CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber, has put forward a new timeline, but their comments suggest that the program won’t launch until 2024 at the earliest.

FLICKR

THE ISSUE

THE PLAYERS THE MTA’S TRIBOROUGH BRIDGE AND TUNNEL AUTHORITY will implement and run the tolling, but before that can happen the FHWA must sign off on the Hochul administration’s congestion plan. MTA officials submitted a draft to the FHWA in February, and in March received a volley of questions on SECOND AVE. SUBWAY everything from air quality analysis to toll exemptions to the effect on traffic patterns in neighboring cities. Without answers to those questions, the MTA cannot share its latest plans with the public for a fresh round of feedback—and the stakes are high. Delays jeopardize funding for projects to improve the city’s mass transit networks, including signal upgrades, accessibility features and expansion projects such as phase two of the Second Avenue subway. Transit officials expect congestion pricing to generate $1 billion in annual revenue, and the MTA plans to sell $15 billion in bonds against the revenue to finance the agency’s 2020-2024 capital plan—a $51.5 billion package. In May, Lieber said the FHWA’s review process has agency officials “working their tails off to answer all those questions, to do new modeling, to do new analyses” that “minimize” the impact on the timeline.

BUCK ENNIS

or more than 50 years, lawmakers in Albany kicked around the idea of tolling motorists who drive into Manhattan’s busiest streets to reduce car traffic and fund mass transit. It was not until 2019, under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, that the state Legislature finally gave congestion pricing the green light through the state budget. The plan was set to make New York the first city in the U.S. to implement the charge. But more than three years later congestion pricing continues to stall.

CONGESTION PRICING has become a political hot potato and no stranger to starts and stops. Hochul wouldn’t be the first governor to point a finger at the federal government for delays; Cuomo blamed the Trump administration for a lack of progress. With the gubernatorial election set for November, some transit experts say political apprehension may be a driving force behind delays. For one thing, regional motorists don’t want to be on the hook for yet another toll. “Congestion pricing is simply not worth the trouble,” grass-roots group Fair Congestion Pricing Alliance said in a statement, claiming that “budget surpluses and ample Federal funding” are enough to support costly MTA upgrades. A June poll published jointly by NY1 and Siena College suggests that congestion pricing will have the desired effect: 42% of those surveyed stated that they would drive to Manhattan less often if congestion pricing is implemented, and 64% noted they would take mass transit as an alternative. Not only would fewer cars on the road mean less planet-warming emissions, but it would also reduce the $20 billion the city loses annually in revenue and time due to clogged streets, according to an estimate by the Partnership for New York City.

BUCK ENNIS

YEAH, BUT…

June 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 21

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Beacons of Hope E

very year Crain’s New York Business identifies 20 individuals in their 20s who promise to become leaders in the decades ahead. As the city continues its slow march out of the pandemic, inequality among New Yorkers has only widened. This year Crain’s wanted to shine a spotlight on those who are striving to build a city that is more compassionate and attentive to communities that are often overlooked, marginalized or misunderstood. Through their grit and determination, these individuals are heeding the voices of a generation hungry to build a city more resilient to the challenges ahead and willing to fix the mistakes of the past. They have organized labor movements, electrified city infrastructure and built a bridge between New York’s underground art scene and the upper echelons of the industry. They have identified health disparities exposed during the pandemic and created new, affordable ways to provide care with a focus on equity. They have also changed our perspective on investing, sports, technology and more. Not only are these individuals cementing themselves in their respective fields, but many have also partnered with community groups and youth programs to lift others into positions of power. This cohort has achieved so much in such a short amount of time that they should give all New Yorkers hope that the abundance of challenges in front of us can be solved. I’m confident you will continue hearing many of these names in the years ahead. —TAYLOR NAKAGAWA, DIGITAL EDITOR

PHOTOGRAPHS BY BUCK ENNIS

CrainsNewYork.com/ 20-in-their-20s-2022

June 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 23

TRISTAN DUTCHIN, 27 Labor organizer, Amazon Labor Union

e’s one of the most famous labor organizers in the nation, but Tristan Dutchin’s heart is in music. One of his favorite parts about working on the Amazon Labor Union committee was writing songs such as “The Union Train,” which urges people to get on board with the movement. “It’s based on a folk song from the 1930s, and I updated it with a reggae beat,” Dutchin said. “I’m very proud of that.” He’s also proud of shocking the world when workers at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island agreed to unionize, a stunning act of defiance against the mighty retailer, which soon terminated him. Dutchin, whose family hails from Guyana, grew up in Crown Heights and attended Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School in Bay Ridge. His grandmother was a unionized nurse, but organized labor wasn’t a part of his life growing up. He joined Amazon in the spring of 2021 and worked 12- to 14-hour shifts, arranging packages for delivery while cameras recorded his every move and supervisors wielding laptops demanded that he work faster. “It was a modern form of slavery,” Dutchin said. Shortly after Amazon grudgingly recognized the Staten Island union, Dutchin was terminated, although he said he hopes to be reinstated. Despite his achievements with the Labor Union, warehouse work is not part of Dutchin’s future. Instead, his goal is to open a shop selling music and Rastafarian clothing. “What I really want,” he said, “is to be my own boss.” —AARON ELSTEIN

“

WHAT I REALLY WANT IS TO BE MY OWN BOSS”

MEAGAN LOYST, 25 Associate, Lerer Hippeau; founder, Gen Z VCs

eagan Loyst, the youngest investor at one of the highest- profile tech investment firms in New York, is bringing the next generation of venture capitalists together. Loyst is an associate at Lerer Hippeau and the founder of Gen Z VCs, a collective of more than 14,000 young tech investors and startup enthusiasts. She is proud of how the group is working to change the perception of young investors. “Our youth is actually an advantage that we bring to the table,” she said. Loyst has built a large following online, and she is regularly called on by national media for her expertise on what a new generation of consumers want from tech companies and retailers. She started her career in private equity, but she was inspired to work with tech founders after attending a speech in 2019 by Emily Weiss, then the CEO of Glossier. Loyst then sent a cold email for a coffee meetup to Andrea Hippeau, an early investor in Glossier and a partner at Lerer Hippeau. The email eventually led to a job. When she isn’t walking around SoHo on the weekends, Loyst said, she is usually writing, taking deep dives into subjects such as the metaverse. Loyst is bullish on the future of tech in the city, particularly with local founders launching startups in fintech, health care and data tools. “As an investor,” she said, “there’s never been a more exciting time to be in New York.” —RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

24 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | June 20, 2022

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LUCAS SIN, 29 Chef, Junzi Kitchen and Nice Day Chinese

FUN FACTS “I was a competitive freestyle mogul skier growing up” —MEAGAN LOYST

Co-founder and chief strategy officer, Lev

“I climbed to the summit of Mount Ranier in Washington before starting work at Lev”

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—SAMMY GREENWALL

ammy Greenwall and Yaakov Zar launched Lev in the fall of 2019. To date, the company has raised more than $200 million from investors and arranged more than $1.5 billion in real estate loans. Zar had a vision for a tech-enabled lending business but needed a partner with experience in real estate and capital markets. At the time, Greenwall was working at Toll Brothers on its acquisitions and capital markets team, mostly focused on financing multifamily properties across the country. Greenwall’s sister had a connection to Zar’s wife. The two men were put in touch and hit it off. The company had humble beginnings. “We had no website,” Greenwall said. “We had extremely basic software, no sales. We were getting paid out of Yaakov’s bank account. We were really a startup.” Growth wasn’t far away, however. “We were in the right market,” Greenwall said. “We capitalized on that, made smart decisions, hired great people.” As the firm’s chief strategy officer, he’s responsible for ensuring every deal is managed, processed and closed efficiently. “We’re in such an obsolete industry that any small iteration we make has a massive impact in our space,” he said. “The path to total domination in this market is becoming clearer and clearer.” —NATALIE SACHMECHI

ANNIE REARDON, 28, AND RENEE RUSSO, 26 Co-founders, Glow Labs

SAMMY GREENWALL, 26

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hile Lucas Sin was growing up, his parents always stressed the importance of being thoughtful about the food he ate. “You eat three times a day,” he said. “You might as well use that time as an exercise to ask yourself questions about what you like about it, who made this food, what’s the history behind it, what are the techniques that you like or don’t like. Just be more inquisitive.” Sin has since turned this thoughtfulness into a career as the chef at the Chinese American restaurant Junzi Kitchen in Morningside Heights. Junzi Kitchen has a second location, in New Haven, Connecticut. “He’s passionate about food,” company CEO Yong Zhao said. “And although he’s very young, he started to learn a lot of cooking from his early days.” The restaurant is known for creating mashups of Chinese and American food staples, with popular menu items such as the cheeseburger egg roll and Mapo mac and cheese—concoctions that Sin has a healthy sense of humor about. “We put them on [the menu] as jokes,” he said. “Of course a cheeseburger egg roll is delicious. There’s not a lot of finesse to that.” Sin framed Nice Day Chinese, his takeout restaurant in Melville, Long Island, as the next step in the storied tradition of Chinese American food, which he said dates back at least 170 years and has evolved from dishes such as chop suey to dishes such as chicken lo mein. He views food as a conduit for having broader conversations about issues such as immigration and culture. “There is a little bit of a canon of dishes that we serve at Nice Day,” he said. “Some we do a little differently.” —EDDIE SMALL

REARDON — CAROLINE LEWIS

nnie Reardon and Renee Russo could easily spend 14-hour workdays together. After their 9-to-5 as colleagues on a JPMorgan tech team, they would convene again at night and on weekends to brainstorm their startup idea, a project that would allow non-fungible token creators to reward their loyal customers. The payoff of some early crypto and NFT investments helped Reardon and Russo make the decision to start their next chapter as founders. In August 2021 they spent two weeks mapping out the NFT ecosystem to understand how NFT creators can boost loyalty with rewards. In April of this year, the Glow Labs co-founders announced that they had raised a nearly $4.2 million seed round. Russo said she grew up as a builder, racing against her brothers to create techy things such as a robot dog. Reardon grew up as a competitive ice hockey player, someone who was fearless on the ice, even in a male-dominated space. Now as they grow their team and bring on more customers working on web3 companies, they continue to be fascinated by their subculture, which they are helping to make more user-friendly. “Everything is transparent and open” with blockchain, Russo said. “But no one knows who their customers are and what they want.” —CARA EISENPRESS

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TOBIAS LESCHT, 28 Head of EV infrastructure and energy, Revel

LIESEL VAIDYA, 27 Co-founder and chief technology officer, Leda Health

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ACCESS TO ASSAULT CARE IS OFTEN SO TRADITIONAL. IT’S OFTEN RETRAUMATI ZING. WE THOUGHT, WHY CAN’T YOU GET TELEHEALTH SERVICES?”

olstering access to health care has been a project of Liesel Vaidya’s since her childhood in Kathmandu, Nepal, when she accompanied her parents on volunteer trips to remote villages to give out health supplies. Later, as a college student at the University at Buffalo, she discovered computer science and became entranced by the power of technology to bridge those gaps. She graduated in 2018 and moved to New York City, where she took a job as a product manager with startup Iyanu, which linked global technology companies with software developers in West Africa as a way to boost the region’s tech economy. But its chief executive, Madison Campbell, raised a different idea she wanted to pursue: an at-home evidence-collection kit for survivors of sexual assault, geared toward college students. Vaidya and Campbell teamed up and launched Leda Health the following year. Their goal, they say, is to make it easier for survivors to report sexual assaults, the majority of which go unreported, and to help them heal afterward. In addition to what Leda calls the early evidence kit, it also offers virtual support, emergency contraception and testing for sexually transmitted infections—all at no cost to the user, thanks to partnerships with universities. “Access to sexual-assault care is often so traditional and so non-innovative,” Vaidya said. “You have to go to the hospital. You have to sit in the waiting room. It’s often retraumatizing. We thought, Why can’t you get telehealth services?” Other offerings include virtual healing circles, a kind of online community that connects survivors with one another and offers guided programming, and a 16-week virtual program for people who have caused sexual harm. In collaboration with NYU, Leda also hosts healing circles with art therapy. The startup has piloted at over 20 universities in California, Florida and Texas and raised more than $9 million from investors. Vaidya said the next steps for Leda’s growth are hiring clinicians and launching therapy services.

hen Tobias Lescht joined Revel in 2019, he didn’t have a clear role. He began as a problem solver, taking on whatever challenges came his way. One major obstacle the electric mobility company faced was building out its charging infrastructure. A month before Lescht joined, Revel rolled out 1,000 Vespa-style electric scooters onto city streets. Lescht got a crash course on electricity and soon became known as the “charging guy” at Revel. So when the company expanded into electric vehicle charging infrastructure, Lescht was a natural fit. He quickly cultivated a passion for making charging infrastructure accessible not just to Revel’s fleet, but to all New Yorkers—and developed a business model that made it sustainable. In 2021 the result was Revel’s first EV fastcharging superhub, in BedfordStuyvesant. The site, with 25 hookups, is the largest fastcharging depot in the country. “Owning an EV is really hard right now because the infrastructure is woefully inadequate, and there’s this chicken or egg cycle where there’s not enough chargers,” said Lescht, who studied economics and psychology at Colgate University. This year Revel is launching new charging stations in Manhattan, and it has more stations in the works in Queens and Brooklyn. It is negotiating a lease for its first spot in the Bronx. “This takes what would be a private fleet depot but builds it in a way to be publicly accessible,” Lescht said.

—CAROLINE SPIVACK

—MAYA KAUFMAN 26 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | June 20, 2022

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EVE HALIMI AND ANAM LAKHANI, 25 Co-CEOs and co-founders, Alinea

HALIMI

s they were studying economics at Columbia University’s Barnard College, Eve Halimi and Anam Lakhani heard a similar message about money among their friends. “Many were not investing and felt excluded from it,” Lakhani said. “There wasn’t a community around it.” Lakhani and Halimi are co-founders and co-CEOs of the startup Alinea, an investing platform targeting Gen Z investors and young women in particular. Though founded only two years ago, the app has a user base in the tens of thousands, Lakhani and Halimi say. Alinea’s goal is to make investing more social and inclusive. The startup connects investors with as little as a dollar to exchange-traded funds, which it calls “playlists for investing.” Many of the playlists are themed, such as companies focused on climate change. Alinea users can connect with one another to compare investments, and the company publishes market insights to keep users aware of market trends. Alinea was selected to the prestigious Y Combinator startup accelerator and raised a $2.1 million seed round last year. Ultimately, Lakhani and Halimi view Alinea as a laidback option to help young investors learn about the markets and start investing early. “It’s like going to the gym—early on you try to build good habits,” Halimi said.

LAKHANI

—RYAN DEFFENBAUGH

2022

HISPANIC LEADERS Crain’s New York Business wants to honor top Hispanic leaders for showing accomplishments in their field and the ability to initiate change.

NOMINATE NOW! Deadline is July 29 Nominate at CrainsNewYork.com/NotableHispanicExecs JUNE 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 27

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MEGAN SULLIVAN, 29

FUN FACTS “What most people don’t know about me is that I originally started out as an amateur writer, documentarian and fencer. I also selftaught myself the tenor and soprano saxophones, eventually getting accepted to Jazz at Lincoln Center’s tristate high school program.”

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—JUSTIN CHAE

General manager, Ci Siamo (Union Square Hospitality Group)

CHI OSSÉ, 24 Council member, New York City Council District 36

hi Ossé made history in November 2021, when he was elected to the City Council to represent Bedford-Stuyvesant and North Crown Heights. At 23, he became the council’s youngest member in its history and the chamber’s first Gen Z initiate. His election capped a meteoric rise for a college dropout who had worked in the city’s nightlife industry through 2019. But when the pandemic struck, Ossé was out of a job and didn’t know what to do. “The murder of George Floyd really stirred something in me, as it did many Americans in this country,” Ossé recalled. He began organizing protests around what he saw as the mistreatment of peaceful protesters by New York City police. He led rallies that advocated for policy changes at a state and local level, notably defunding “a bloated police budget” and channeling reinvestments into affordable housing, mental health care and education. When a City Council seat opened, he decided to run. Ossé, who chairs the committee on cultural affairs, has introduced legislation to provide fentanyl test trips and Narcan training for staff at city nightclubs and bars in hopes of reducing the stigma around opioid overdoses. His district office sponsors food and distribution services each Wednesday and provides an attorney every other week to give constituents free legal advice. “This job is doable,” Ossé said. “You just have to care about the work that you are doing.” —BRIAN PASCUS

hen Megan Sullivan signed on to a new Union Square Hospitality Group project that eventually became Ci Siamo, all she knew was that it would be some kind of Italian-inspired cuisine in Hudson Yards. While she speaks about the restaurant’s contemporary Italian dishes with the passion of a true foodie, what grounds Sullivan is not the caramelized onion torta or the stracci with braised rabbit but rather the team of people she employs. “I see the 120 [people I manage] as a family, who have different backgrounds, strengths, weaknesses, hopes and dreams,” she said. “I see my role as someone who can create a place that feels safe and trustworthy but also where they will grow.” Sullivan grew up working at her family’s restaurants in Sydney, then tried her hand at a different group, also in Australia. Camaraderie drove her then too–at first, she loved just spending time with her dad, and then later she swooned over the ability to meet so many people in a day. She became an assistant general manager at 22. Eventually, though, she felt the pull of New York, which she had visited several times and whose dining experiences stayed with her. “The energy and air of New York can’t be compared to another city,” Sullivan said. She landed at the Modern, another Union Square restaurant, in the summer of 2019. When the Ci Siamo opportunity came to her, she leapt at it. Sullivan said her latest role feels empowering because of the collaborative relationship with chef Hillary Sterling. They worked together to develop the menu and concept of Ci Siamo on their own terms. — CARA EISENPRESS “The trust was amazing,” she said.

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CHIRAG KULKARNI, 26 Co-founder and chief marketing officer, Medly

hirag Kulkarni has seen firsthand how ineffective traditional pharmacies can be at serving people who need prescription medication, with issues ranging from long lines to a lack of privacy. “That whole experience to me felt like a goose chase,” he said, describing getting medication from a conventional pharmacy. “It didn’t really feel like the patient or customer was an essential viewpoint into the issue.” Kulkarni co-founded the digital-first pharmacy Medly in 2018 to help solve these problems. The firm provides same-day delivery of prescription medication, and it has locations across the country and in the five boroughs, offering its services in 12 languages. Medly raised $100 million in Series B financing in July 2020, and it reached an agreement to acquire the pharmacy chain Pharmaca during the summer of 2021. “We started with one pharmacy in Brooklyn,” said Kulkarni, who doubles as the firm’s chief marketing officer. “We ran it, put in our own tech and started to do same-day delivery. From that market, we’ve expanded throughout the country.” Equitable access to medication is a priority for Kulkarni, and Medly has partnered with local community groups to hold regular free health fairs, where residents of underserved neighborhoods get access to free flu and Covid vaccines. “Having a condition or taking medication is a very complicated and painful process, generally,” Kulkarni said. “What can Medly do to partner with patients to make the process more palatable for them?” —EDDIE SMALL For Kulkarni, that’s the big question.

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JUSTIN CHAE, 23 CEO and co-founder, Meridian Strategies

ustin Chae has been working on political campaigns since high school. Now in his early 20s, he’s winning them too. As CEO of Meridian Strategies, a political consulting firm, Chae advises politicians, unions, corporations, nonprofits and city agencies on how to win votes in elections and gain support across statehouses. In 2021 Chae’s company was selected to run the community outreach for NYC Health + Hospitals’ Test and Trace Corps campaign. “We were doing deep persuasion of underserved communities that were skeptical of government or vaccines,” Chae said. “We spent nine months going door to door persuading people to get their first [Covid vaccine] shot.” The Long Island–born Chae’s other clients included the Real Estate Board of New York, state Sens. Andrew Gounardes and Joe Addabbo

Jr. and former City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “He’s very smart,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a national political strategist who mentored Chae. “I think he’s among the brightest people in that generation coming up.” Sheinkopf noted that Chae “has a sense of combat” and is willing to mix it up for the sake of his clients. Chae is not only interested in politics. He sits on the board of directors for the Stonewall Community Development Group, a nonprofit dedicated to securing affordable housing for LGBTQ elders. “It’s the craziest thing: The majority of my business now comes from picking up the phone,” Chae said. “People have started to realize that Justin Chae is the only person who picks up the phone in a timely manner.” — BRIAN PASCUS

JASMINE GRAHAM, 26 Senior policy and campaign manager, Building Decarbonization Coalition

n the past five years, Jasmine Graham has earned a reputation as a relentless advocate for energy justice. At the Building Decarbonization Coalition, Graham focuses on research, analysis and advocacy toward cutting planet-warming emissions from buildings. She is a member of the Local Law 97 advisory board, where she crafts recommendations that will help the city implement ambitious greenhouse gas caps on large buildings. In addition, she advises the state on new energy-efficient building codes. All of this she does with an emphasis on equity. “I always say I have to advocate for all the good stuff and against all the bad stuff, which means I have little to no time,” said Graham, who studied environmental policy at the University of Vermont. “But it is really exciting and rewarding work.” Until May, Graham was the energy justice policy manager at We Act, an environmental justice organization, where she helped shape big legislative changes—such as a landmark bill that bans fossil fuels in new buildings and requires new construction to be fully electric by 2027. “I truly do believe that the clean energy transition has the potential to level out structural inequalities,” Graham said. “We can’t make this transition at the expense of the people who have already been harmed.”

“

WE SPENT NINE MONTHS GOING DOOR TO DOOR PERSUADING PEOPLE TO GET THEIR FIRST SHOT”

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ASHLEY MIAH, 28

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Co-president, The Culture Candy

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hen Ashley Miah began her artistic career, she was struck by the distance between the city’s museum scene and the underground art world, both of which she used to draw inspiration for her paintings. She started The Culture Candy in 2019 to bridge the gap between these two worlds. The company hosts a variety of pop-up galleries, community spaces and an art convention called heART Con, which draws attention to up-and-coming local creatives. “It’s about how to provide better and more well-rounded experiences for people from my background,” Miah said of The Culture Candy’s projects for urban youth. This year heART Week features an exhibit at Chelsea Market that Miah curated with the goal of helping urban artists build their network and gain access to the exclusive upper tiers of the art world. In addition, Miah is focused on training the next generation of artists. The Culture Candy frequently partners with community groups such as the Summer Youth Employment Program to host workshops that teach young people how to jump-start a career in the arts. “The art world is developing in a way that artists have to rely on social networking and media to sell their work,” she explained. Sharing those crucial bits of knowledge has been central to Miah’s mission, and it’s why community building is at the heart of her company’s growth. “I want to be a known artist,” she said, “and to be —CARA EISENPRESS a resource for other artists.”

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MITCHEL FLAHERTY, 29 Director of investment sales, B6 Real Estate Advisors

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I WANT TO BE A KNOWN ARTIST AND TO BE A RESOURCE FOR OTHER ARTISTS”

itchel Flaherty, a recent transplant from the U.K., began his New York real estate career at B6 Real Estate Advisors in 2019. As with most brokers, he needed a specialty and chose to focus his work in the Bronx after watching several episodes of The Stoler Report, a TV news program that often discussed the borough. “I felt like it was undervalued, and I wanted to be in an up-and-coming market,” Flaherty said. In 2021 the director of investment sales closed 12 commercial real estate transactions in the Bronx that were worth a combined $57.5 million. Flaherty got his start in real estate as an appraiser in London. He said there isn’t much difference between London and New York brokers. “A good broker is a good broker anywhere,” he said. Despite his ever-expanding list of closed deals, Flaherty says the most rewarding part of his job involves selling real estate to developers for affordable housing. “You feel like you’re doing something a bit bigger than a real estate deal.” Flaherty is involved with Project Destined, a nonprofit that provides young people in underserved areas with financial literacy training with the goal of turning them into property owners. —NATALIE SACHMECHI

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DESTANY BATISTA, 23 Director of storefront business engagement, Alliance for Downtown New York

estany Batista has a deep love for community engagement and development. An internship at the Department of Small Business Services when she was 17 years old propelled her to work for Queens Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal while in college. It was there that she developed a passion for constituent services. “You have to know what’s happening in those communities, and one of the ways to do that is to stay around for community board meetings even if they go on until 11 p.m.,” Batista explained. For the past nine months, Batista has specialized in storefront engagement at the Alliance for Downtown New York, which manages Lower Manhattan’s business improvement district. Walking everywhere from City Hall to Battery Park—and covering more than 1,000 storefronts—she uses face-to-face meetings and daily check-ins to engage with her district and report facts back to the Alliance’s office so it can fashion programs that can help businesses succeed. “It’s not always the prettiest job,” she said. “Sometimes it means walking long lengths at a time or walking in the freezing cold. But that’s nothing in comparison to the struggles business owners are having.” Batista uses social media to advertise small-business initiatives and organizes community reference groups to generate information sharing and receive feedback on what’s working and what’s not. “I’m not only having conversations with business owners in person, but I’m able to bring that back to our team and do something about it,” she said. “Literally every single part of my life has incorporated these skills I’m using here today.”

— BRIAN PASCUS

“

IT’S NOT ALWAYS THE PRETTIEST JOB... BUT THAT’S NOTHING COMPARED TO THE STRUGGLES BUSINESS OWNERS ARE HAVING.”

I rode my bike across the length of the Erie Canal last year, carrying all my gear for a week from Buffalo to Albany.

PATRICK HARREL, 28

—PATRICK HARREL

Director, basketball strategy and analytics, National Basketball Association

I'm an avid Pokemon Go player (Level 37) and haven't stopped playing since I downloaded the app in 2016. —DESTANY BATISTA

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s any sports fan can tell you, the National Basketball Association has undergone an analytics revolution. Players shoot more 3-pointers than ever today; it’s not uncommon to see a 7-foot-center fire the ball 25 feet away from the basket. If you’re wondering how that happened, Patrick Harrel has the answer. The 28-year-old analytics junkie has been studying shooting trends, creating efficiency metrics and feeding statistical data to Commissioner Adam Silver for the past six years. “It is my job to help the league be informed when it comes to on-court rules and league policies surrounding the game,” the director of basketball strategy and analytics said. “I use data to help inform those decisions.” Harrel’s research includes on-court statistical patterns and monitoring player health and performance. His game-by-game, team-by-team work influences league rules and policy changes proposed each year. “He’s able to see the data in ways that others can’t,” said Rochelle Lindsay, an NBA associate vice president. Harrel also works to create the league schedule, where each of the 30 NBA franchises must play 82 games in seven months. Harrel must balance health and rest factors with travel demands. The Princeton graduate began in an entry level role as the league’s data scientist in 2016. He helped start Future Analytics Stars, a program that trains students from disadvantaged backgrounds for positions in the league office. While he ruled out the introduction of a 4-point shot, Harrel said the analytics revolution in basketball is here to stay. “I don’t see it going back to past trends.” — BRIAN PASCUS

LEONI RUNGE, 29 Founder and CEO, Zaya Care

eoni Runge was working in product management in Switzerland when she witnessed friends on two continents hitting the same life milestone in different ways. “On both sides of the Atlantic, my friends were trying to start families, and their maternity stories couldn’t have been more different,” Runge said. “A lot of my friends in the U.S. talked about feeling dropped off by the health care system after giving birth.” Problem-solving was practically part of Runge’s job description, and she was passionate about women’s health. She started shadowing her OB/GYN sister in Germany and brainstorming ways to make her U.S. friends’ maternity care journey more like what her European friends had experienced. She quit her day job, moved to New York City and, in 2021, founded Zaya Care, now based in Midtown East. Runge’s mission was to equip women with more than just an OB/GYN during pregnancy and after birth. The startup began as a chat tool to connect moms and moms-to-be with doulas, lactation consultants and other specialists who could answer questions and concerns related to pregnancy, childbirth and all that follows. Runge also wanted to tackle a larger problem: Such providers often weren’t covered by insurance. She built a roster of several hundred specialists and, by collectively negotiating on their behalf, nabbed partnerships with major insurance carriers including Aetna and UnitedHealthcare. Now Zaya boasts a team of 15, and the practitioners on its platform include acupuncturists, nutritionists, mental health professionals and physical therapists—all specializing in maternal health. In March the startup raised $7.6 million in a seed round led by Inspired Capital, a New York–based early-stage technology venture fund. Runge said the funding will fuel its expansion to other states. — CAROLINE LEWIS

—MAYA KAUFMAN

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2022

NOMINATIONS OPEN! Crain’s New York Business is looking to celebrate influential business professionals under 40 years old. Submit a nomination to be a part of this list of remarkable honorees.

CrainsNewYork.com/Nominate40 Nomination Deadline is Friday, July 1

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LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS SINCE THE STONEWALL RIOTS IN 1969, New York has been the site of many milestones for the LGBTQ movement, including early organizing and activism in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the 1980s and the 2011 signing of New York state’s Marriage Equality Act. Today, New York City remains an epicenter of diversity, acceptance and activism. The metropolitan area is home to at least 750,000 LGBTQ adults—more than any other region in the nation, according to the nascent American LGBTQ+ Museum. LGBTQ New Yorkers continue to fight for equality and against bigotry, a movement that takes center stage during June’s Pride Month. Crain’s selected 95 such individuals for this year’s Notable LGBTQ Leaders list. This year’s honorees are outstanding professionals in their respective industries. They are involved in mentoring programs, community activities and philanthropy. They invest their considerable energies in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and ensure inclusive hiring practices. Hailing from disparate sectors and industries, they are united by their clarity of purpose, love of freedom, and appreciation for the LGBTQ activism of prior generations. This list of honorees features executives for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after careful editorial review. To qualify for the list, the honorees had to self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer. They needed to serve in a senior-level role and be employed for at least a decade, and they had to have made significant strides in advancing diversity and inclusion. Ultimately, the individuals who made the list were selected for their professional achievements and their commitment to equality.

SAMEER ADVANI Partner | Willkie Farr & Gallagher

As a longtime member of Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s diversity and inclusion committee, Advani has contributed to many of its LGBTQ-focused initiatives, including adding pronouns to attorneys’ email signatures and marching in New York City’s Pride Parade alongside LGBTQ organization Immigration Equality, the law firm’s pro bono client. Advani, a partner in the firm’s litigation department, is co-chair of its mergers and acquisitions litigation practice and a mentor for its LGBTQ affinity group. He represents clients in a range of complex commercial disputes including litigating matters in bankruptcy court and under foreign and domestic arbitration rules. He is chair of the recruiting committee for the firm’s New York office and oversees professional development, work assignments and associate evaluations.

MARY BACCASH Managing director | Goldman Sachs

As managing director in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs, Baccash advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, raising capital and general corporate finance matters, focusing on real estate, lodging and gaming. Baccash connects new clients to available services, helping Goldman expand its footprint in the real estate realm by servicing a diverse group of public and private real estate owners. She was selected for Goldman’s 2021 Vice President Leadership Acceleration initiative, a global program. She is a longtime member of a firmwide LGBTQ steering committee, a role that has her mentoring younger generations of LGBTQ employees. Outside of work, Baccash sits on the board of the nonprofit Manhattan Theatre Club.

JORDANA BAILEY Chief operating officer | NYC Health + Hospitals-Jacobi

As COO at NYC Health + Hospitals–Jacobi, Bailey has successfully steered the institution through the Covid-19 pandemic. Motivated by the knowledge that the LGBTQ community often has less access to personalized health care, she opened a health center for patients of that demographic, affording them access to a wide range of services including primary care, adolescent care, OB-GYN, family planning, behavioral health and hormone therapy. Bailey, a frequent participant in local Pride activities, previously was associate executive director for NYC Health + Hospitals, and she held a number of administrative positions at New York–Presbyterian Hospital in Queens.

JANE BARRY-MORAN Director of research and program strategy | Out Leadership

In her role as a director at Out Leadership—which leads “conversations that inspire out leaders and multinational companies to grow business through inclusion”—BarryMoran manages relationships with more than 60 global LGBTQ nonprofits and advocates. She works to ensure the engagement of member firms in the development and facilitation of education, research and connections to external partners. In addition, she is responsible for managing the organization’s executive events, talent initiatives and communications. She facilitates the publication of Out Leadership’s research reports including one on the representation of openly LGBTQ directors on corporate boards. In her spare time, she volunteers with youth literacy organizations.

BRAD BAUMOEL Global head of LGBT+ affairs | JPMorgan Chase

In his role as head of LGBT+ affairs, Baumoel leads JPMorgan Chase’s global strategies to advance equity and inclusion for LGBTQ employees, customers, clients and communities. He has established a network of strategic partners toward that end. JPMorgan has made a multimillion-dollar commitment to nonprofits dedicated to breaking barriers to inclusion for LGBTQ individuals. Those nonprofits include Sage, Out & Equal and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Baumoel has held leadership roles within the firm’s pride business resource group and its LGBT+ executive council. He helped launch Pride India, one of the pride business resource group’s largest chapters. JUNE 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 33

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LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS DAVID BELSKY

TROY BLACKWELL

MICHAEL BOSWORTH

ZACH BUCHWALD

MICHAEL BROADBERY

Founder and CEO, Good Rebellion

Chairman and CEO, Big Apple Performing Arts

Partner and co-chair, Latham & Watkins

Belsky leads Good Rebellion, a public relations agency with expertise in the arenas of education, health care, nonprofits, philanthropy, politics and government. To date, the agency’s clients have included the National Association of System Heads, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Griffiss Institute. Belsky launched the State University of New York’s first participation in the New York City Pride March, and he was producer and public relations lead for a Humans of Pride documentary project. He has run progressive political campaigns across New York state, and he sits on the board of the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Democratic Club.

Blackwell is the official representative for Big Apple Performing Arts, the nonprofit management company for New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and Youth Pride Chorus. The CEO and chairman is charged with supervising executive-level staff, managing organizational development, appointing board committees and maintaining external partnerships. Blackwell has helped the company increase membership and launch a new diversity, equity and inclusion committee. He is on the board of advisers for the Diversity Action Alliance and for the Museum of Public Relations. Blackwell has received the Gay City News Impact Award.

Bosworth is involved in supervisory, performance and promotion decisions in the New York litigation and trial department of law firm Latham & Watkins. He oversees some of the firm’s highest-profile matters involving complex litigation, investigations, allegations of white-collar crime and crisis management across various industries. A member of the firm’s diversity leadership committee, he leads initiatives to expand training and collaboration opportunities between the firm’s corporate and litigation partners. For Bosworth, LGBTQ issues are often top of mind: Among his pro bono clients is the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ youth.

Head of institutional business for the U.S. and Canada, BlackRock

Managing director, head of compliance for the global markets division, Goldman Sachs

At investment management firm BlackRock, Buchwald oversees a $2 trillion business. He works to ensure that diversity and inclusion are prioritized in recruiting, promotions and team culture. He is a founding member of the firm’s LGBTQ employee resource group, which has been instrumental in driving LGBTQ-inclusive family-planning practices and policies, increasing BlackRock’s financial support for adoption, surrogacy and in vitro procedures. Buchwald is a trustee for the New York Public Theater, and he is on the board of the Jericho Project, a nonprofit that fights homelessness.

Wielding 25 years of experience, Broadbery leads a team of compliance officers at investment banking giant Goldman Sachs across numerous regions and offices. He and his team have expanded the global markets compliance footprint and established functions to create new efficiencies. He guided his team through the period of significant market volatility and regulatory interaction resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. Broadbery is on the Americas inclusion and diversity committee and is head of Goldman’s Americas LGBTQ network. He recently participated in a panel discussion, joining representatives of various advocacy groups, in recognition of the International Transgender Day of Visibility.

OF THE ADULT POPULATION IN NEW YORK STATE, ABOUT 5%—ROUGHLY 798,800 PEOPLE—IDENTIFY AS LGBTQ. —STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

RICHARD BURNS

ROB BYRNES

SUMAN CHAKRABORTY

GAURANG CHOKSI

CHRIS COFFEY

Interim executive director, Johnson Family Foundation

President, East Midtown Partnership

Member, Mintz

Founder and CEO, Violet

Chief executive, Tusk Strategies

Burns is charged with supporting and developing healthy and just communities. His role as interim executive director is a continuation of his activism and involvement in social issues. He previously was in interim leadership roles at Lambda Legal, Funders for LGBTQ Issues and the Stonewall Community Foundation. He is the founding board chair of the American LGBTQ+ Museum in New York City. Burns, who led New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center for more than two decades, is on the boards of the New York AIDS Memorial and the Proteus Foundation.

In the Covid era, Byrnes has advocated for the restoration of Midtown Manhattan’s business climate and public engagement. With 20 years of experience in the role, he manages daily operations at the East Midtown Partnership, a nonprofit that works to promote commerce and improve quality of life. He recently partnered with arts groups to fill vacant storefronts with exhibitions, and he implemented marketing initiatives to attract consumers to the district’s shops. In addition, he worked to improve public safety, cleanliness and social services in the area. Byrnes, the author of several novels, has received the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance. He is a member of the steering committee for the Publishing Triangle, an LGBTQ association.

Chakraborty services clients in the resolution of international commercial disputes. His emphasis is on reinsurance litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, specifically regarding life insurance. Leveraging two decades of experience accrued at a number of firms, he is involved in pro bono work including the successful representation of LGBTQ and HIV-positive political asylum seekers in U.S. immigration courts and the drafting of an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in connection with the rights of same-sex adoptive parents. Chakraborty previously sat on the board of the National LGBTQ Task Force. He is on the boards of the Stonewall Community Foundation and the MCC Theater.

Animated by a desire to help underserved people access inclusive quality care, Choksi founded Violet, a platform that helps health care institutions measure and increase provider cultural competence. As chief executive, he is responsible for setting Violet’s strategy, overseeing execution while playing a role in fundraising efforts and commercialization processes. Choksi, who has experienced health care inequities firsthand, has raised multiple financing rounds and is on the cusp of scaling Violet with other major health care organizations. He previously held product development and marketing roles at Oscar as one of the insurance company’s early employees.

At Tusk, Coffey is charged with leading client services and managing all employees. He recently launched a robust cryptocurrency practice, advising companies in that space on regulatory matters as well as commu nications issues. He was campaign manager for Andrew Yang’s mayoral bid. Coffey been named to City & State’s Pride Power list—which recognizes influential members of New York’s LGBTQ community—for four consecutive years. He chairs the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy and sits on the board of the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQ mental health and suicide prevention efforts.

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Congratulations,

2022 CRAIN’S NY NOTABLE LGBTQ+ LEADERS

Including our very own Patrick McCarthy and Erik Piecuch. Their leadership embraces diversity and inclusion.

Patrick McCarthy SVP, Head of Marketing and MarTech

Erik Piecuch SVP and Team Leader Entertainment Division, New York

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LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS YUVAL DAVID

ROBIN DAVIDSON

ERWIN DE LEON

Filmmaker, director, actor and producer, Yuval David Productions

Director of business development and communications, Boies Schiller Flexner

Scores of film festival awards have been given to David in recognition of his artistic talent. In his roles at the eponymous Yuval David Productions, he generates work that is seen across network television, streaming platforms and online. David, whose work includes episodes of Madame Secretary on CBS and Days of Our Lives on NBC, frequently partners with advocates and organizations to produce content regarding social, political and environmental initiatives. He has collaborated with LGBTQ organizations A Wider Bridge, the National LGBTQ Task Force and Glaad, among others. David is involved with the Shoah Foundation and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

At national law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, Davidson is responsible for enhancing the firm’s brand and reputation and deepening awareness of its services and capabilities. A member of the firm’s senior administrative leadership team, Davidson oversees media relations, internal communications, business development and client engagement efforts, working closely with the firm’s managing partners and practice leaders. She was charged with expanding thought leadership in connection with the business world’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. She has worked to increase the LGBTQ community’s visibility and comfort by advising junior associates on pro bono activities involving LGBTQ issues and by advising LGBTQ colleagues on navigating workplace relationships.

Chief diversity officer, school of professional studies; lecturer in discipline, nonprofit management program, Columbia University

Since accepting the newly created role of chief diversity officer at Columbia’s school of professional studies, de Leon has evaluated existing policies, resources and processes while developing new ones. He led the launch of the diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility committee, formed employee resource groups, and led training for faculty and staff. An educator and author, he has produced written materials, convened talks on DEI topics, and served as a liaison for students. De Leon, who is involved with the nonprofit sector, is a Fellow at research institute Knology and a member of the Empire State Bioethics Consortium.

JON ROBERT DEL GIORNO Member, Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno

Del Giorno, a founding member of government relations and consulting firm Pitta Bishop & Del Giorno, manages its New York City practice. On behalf of public- and private-sector clients, he oversees campaign finance and election compliance services, monitors procurement advisories and bid opportunities, and advises on government contracting, administrative, budgeting, regulatory and policy matters. He is a committed supporter of and advocate for the LGBTQ community; in recent months he leveraged his fundraising know-how and connections to procure funding for the Stonewall Community Development Corp., the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the Pride Center of Staten Island and the Leslie-Lohman Museum.

SEAN EBONY COLEMAN Founder and executive director, Destination Tomorrow

While leading Bronx-based LGBTQ center Destination Tomorrow, Coleman provides educational, financial, housing, health and personal support services for the community. As grant-maker for the Gilead TRANScend Community Impact Fund, he identifies organizations worthy of funding that are led by trans individuals. Coleman, who began his career as a peer leader at the Minority Task Force on AIDS, is managing partner of Sean Ebony Coleman Consulting, which specializes in diversity, equity and inclusion strategies for the LGBTQ community. Based on his involvement with local transgender rights efforts, he was selected to Mayor Eric Adams’ equity transition committee.

NEW YORK HAS 13,892 MARRIED SAME-SEX COUPLES, THE MOST OF ANY U.S. CITY. —WORLD POPULATION REVIEW

BRIAN ELLNER

CHAD ELLSWORTH

JULIE FINK

ABBY FIORELLA

ARTHUR FITTING

Executive vice president of marketing and growth at BCW; U.S. public affairs lead at WPP

Partner, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy

Managing partner, Kaplan Hecker & Fink

Chief technology risk officer, Mastercard

LGBTQ+ program manager, VNS Health

An immigration lawyer at Fragomen, Ellsworth represents information technology and financial services clients in the Northeast and Northern California. He works with clients across multiple industry sectors and has experience representing students, graduates, executives, high-networth individuals and entrepreneurs in business travel, mobility and business immigration employment matters. Of late he has been helping clients plan their immigration strategies in response to the crisis in Ukraine. He has helped vulnerable LGBTQ individuals immigrate to the U.S., and he has worked to influence regulations regarding their immigration.

Fink and a team of lawyers led an independent investigation of the National Collegiate Athletic Association to reduce gender inequalities, resulting in changes within the NCAA and the sports community as a whole. At law firm Kaplan Hecker & Fink, she leads an active commercial and public-interest litigation practice while overseeing its management, growth and strategic planning. Fink, previously in-house counsel for Pfizer, holds a leadership position at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. She received the 2021 Hero Award from the Help USA nonprofit for her work in supporting domestic-violence victims. Fink speaks regularly on diversity and equity, civil rights issues and pro bono work, and she has written about LGBTQ issues including reproductive rights.

As chief technology risk officer—a role she developed at Mastercard—Fiorella is responsible for a global team supporting the holistic assessment and governance of technology risks, including tracking, control validation and external reporting. Fiorella chairs Mastercard’s technology risk committee, where she is charged with the aggregation and reporting of risks to executive management and the board of directors. She is executive sponsor of Mastercard’s Pride business resource group and recently completed a term on the board of the New York City LGBTQ Community Center. Fiorella is an executive mentor and advisory board member at OutWomen, a global network of LGBTQ executives.

Throughout his decades of experience in health care, Fitting has worked to identify gaps in care for at-risk and marginalized communities and has developed improved access to home health care for LBGTQ individuals in particular. As LGBTQ+ program manager at VNS Health, Fitting oversees outreach with communitybased organizations, focusing on promoting home health care and bereavement support for the LGBTQ community via virtual support groups. He has a long history of service and volunteer work, including time spent with the Gay-Lesbian Medical Association, the LGBT Health Equity Coalition, the American Nurses Association and the New York City LGBT Community Center.

Ellner holds a dual role at global communications agency Burson Cohn & Wolfe and its parent company, WPP. For the former, he focuses on corporate communications with an emphasis on social purpose; for the latter, he leads public affairs in the U.S. In recent months he oversaw a group of WPP agencies building a pro bono campaign in support of the Equality Act for the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy group. He launched WPP Unite in North America, an LGBTQ employee resource group. Ellner served in the Bloomberg administration, and he was a lead strategist in the 2011 campaign for marriage equality in New York. He is a founding board member of Athlete Ally, which works to support equality and end homophobia in sports.

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Joe Solmonese Senior Vice President, Government Relations and Strategic Communications

Montefiore Einstein proudly salutes our own Joe Solmonese

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Congratulations for being honored as one of the Crain’s New York Business 2022 Notable LGBTQ Leaders. Thank you, Joe, for your vision and leadership; for your dedication to our associates, patients and community; and for working tirelessly to expand equity and access.

6/13/22 9:01 AM

LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS KAREN FRANZ

NATHANAEL GAY

SARAH GREENBERG

JOE HALL

ZACH HARRIS

President and CEO, AKRF

Department manager, Con Edison

Associate partner, McKinsey & Co.

Partner and head of ESG practice, Davis Polk & Wardwell

Franz leads a team of 300 urban planners, economists, engineers and environmental scientists at environmental engineering consulting firm AKRF. As president and chief executive, Franz has worked with government agencies and guided projects including Brooklyn Bridge Park, Governors Island, Columbia University’s Manhattanville campus and the East Side Coastal Resiliency project. She has led the company in pursuing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including retaining a social impact consultancy to establish and empower an internal DEI committee. She served on an ad hoc committee organized by the New York City chapter of the American Council of Engineering Companies to establish a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging awards program.

Gay oversees Con Ed’s project management office for electrical operations, working to ensure the health and environmental safety of all employees while maintaining the reliability of the utility’s electrical system. Notably, he developed a device and an algorithm in partnership with a vendor to help field workers more quickly identify failed equipment, allowing them to begin repairs sooner. He is co-chair of the organization’s LGBTQ employee resource group, a role in which he led efforts to make Pride Month a learning experience for his colleagues. He supports youth development through his involvement in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program and mentors LGBTQ youth through the Hetrick-Martin Institute.

At consulting giant McKinsey, Greenberg leads the health care customer experience domain, guiding development for more than 30 clients. The associate partner led a patient experience strategy for a kidney care dialysis provider— which is expected to improve clinical outcomes. She has co-authored articles on the importance of information transparency in health care. Notably, she led efforts toward transgender inclusion in the workplace, producing a landmark McKinsey report that generated a number of highprofile news media articles highlighting the findings. Greenberg has planned multiple events for the LGBTQ community in New York City, including alumni network and cross-company happy hours. She was previously a consultant at IBM and Johnson & Johnson.

Since 2014, Hall has been advising major participants in the digital asset and blockchain industries on securities law matters as an early authority in the rapidly developing space. The Davis Polk partner is experienced with public company governance and Securities and Exchange Commission reporting. Hall regularly advises on C-suite issues, board matters, initial public offerings and debt offerings. He previously co-chaired the board of the New York–based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, guiding the organization through many changes. He has been on Lambda Legal’s National Leadership Council since 2015.

Vice president of marketing, water portfolio, PepsiCo Beverages North America

Harris champions diversity and inclusion through creative brand work as vice president of marketing for PepsiCo North America’s water portfolio. Harris leads campaigns with strong social impact, specifically for the Bubly brand, which maintains year-round allyship with the LGBTQ community through partnerships with organizations such as Family Equality. He also worked with the Lifewtr brand, which amplifies the work of diverse creatives, and its Black Art Rising initiative, which celebrates Black content creators and nonfungible-token developers affected by systemic bias. Harris is an executive sponsor of Equal, PepsiCo’s LGBTQ employee resource group.

NEW YORK STATE HAS ABOUT 588,000 LGBTQ WORKERS. —MOVEMENT ADVANCEMENT PROJECT

KAREN HAYCOX

ANTHONY HAYES

ANTHONY HITT

RACHEL HODGDON

FABRICE HOUDART

Chief executive of Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County; president of Habitat’s New York City Community Fund

Founder and president, Hayes Initiative

President and CEO, Engel & Völkers Americas

President and CEO, International Well Building Institute

Managing director, Out Leadership

As president of the Hayes Initiative, an eponymous LGBTQ-owned and -operated public affairs consulting firm, Hayes is responsible for managing client relationships, client strategies and project execution. Current and former clients include Fortune 500 companies, major league sports teams and nonprofit organizations. When the pandemic struck, Hayes provided pro bono work to small businesses to support their crisis-communications efforts. He previously was as an adviser to the Hillary for America campaign and advocated for individuals with HIV/AIDS in his role as vice president of public affairs at Gay Men’s Health Crisis. He was involved in efforts to secure marriage equality on a national level and in New York state, and in the repeal of the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law.

At global real estate services company Engel & Völkers, Hitt is tasked with leading brand and business efforts in the Americas. Hitt previously was a topproducing real estate agent for many years in the Los Angeles area, where he managed a team of agents and launched an innovative training program. Hitt, an advocate for fair housing for all and a promoter of LGBTQ homeownership, is a founding member of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance and a member of its sponsor advisory board.

Hodgdon is at the helm of product and program development at the institute, helping the organization lead its charge of promoting health and wellness in buildings and communities. She guides the institute’s evolution, spearheading initiatives related to environmental, social and governance concerns. Under Hodgdon’s leadership, the institute’s Well Building Standard has been adopted in more than 100 countries. She developed the Well Equity Rating, which helps companies measure their progress toward diversity, equity and inclusion goals. Hodgdon is on the board of Out Leadership, a global LGBTQ business network.

At global LGBTQ business network Out Leadership, Houdart is managing director of global equality initiatives. In that role, he co-leads Quorum, a program dedicated to increasing the representation of LGBTQ directors on corporate boards. He helps raise awareness of benchmarks and provides optimal practices, tools and resources to help companies meet their commitments to equality. He previously was an officer at the U.N. Human Rights Office, where he was involved in campaigns advocating for LGBTQ equality, and he co-authored the U.N. Global LGBTI Standards of Conduct for Business, a corporate social responsibility initiative supported by more than 300 companies.

At global nonprofit housing organization Habitat for Humanity, Haycox leads efforts to create, preserve and advocate for healthy, affordable homes and the equity building opportunities they provide. She helps the organization implement its goals through using the tools of nonprofit developers, community land trusts, limited-equity co-ops and rental-to-ownership conversions. To date, she has created opportunities for more than 100 families to build equity. Haycox is on the board of the Stonewall Community Development Coalition, which provides LGBTQ senior citizens in New York with supportive, affordable and safe housing options.

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NORTHWELL HEALTH CELEBRATES INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP as displayed by Crain’s Notable LGBTQ Leaders

A special congratulations to our own

ROBERT LANE Vice President, Principal Gifts Your efforts creating a welcoming, inclusive team allows young professionals to feel confident about expressing themselves in the workplace. Thank you for your mentorship, which has helped young professionals in the LGBTQIA+ community navigate the delicate balance of being “out” while maintaining their personal and professional boundaries. We applaud Robert and all of the honorees on their accomplishments.

Michael A. Epstein Chairman, Board of Trustees Michael J. Dowling President & CEO

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LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS MATT HYDE Project manager, Turner Construction

Hyde is responsible for monitoring and refining Turner Construction’s long- and short-term plans to ensure project success. He works closely with the preconstruction team to provide operational input for estimates. He ensures smooth transitions from preconstruction to construction, coordinates activities in the field and manages information flow. Hyde is a member of Turner’s inclusion action committee, where he has led a group of employees in addressing racial and gender inequities. He helped create the firm’s LGBTQ employee resource group. He is founder and co-director of the Build Out Alliance, which advocates for LGBTQ individuals within the design and construction industry.

JUDITH KASEN-WINDSOR First vice president, investments, Center Street Capital Advisors

Kasen-Windsor has been providing financial advice for a quarter-century. At financial services giant Wells Fargo, she was first vice president of financial investments and a portfolio manager in the private client group. She champions LGBTQ causes in efforts to preserve the legacy of her deceased wife, Edith Windsor, who was the plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case United States v. Windsor, which concerned same-sex marriage. Kasen-Windsor is committed to the LGBTQ community through her work with organizations including the Edie Windsor Sage Center, which caters to LGBTQ senior citizens. She previously was a portfolio manager and vice president of investments at Smith Barney.

LISA KELLY

TIM KELLY

GWYN DYLAN KRUEGER

Vice president, new business, EarthCam

Chief strategy officer, AdvantageCare Physicians

Kelly spearheads and negotiates EarthCam’s partnership initiatives within the construction technology industry. As a vice president at the provider of webcam content, technology and services, she is responsible for managing a nationwide sales team, driving business development initiatives, integrating new technologies to increase revenue streams and ensuring an inclusive company culture. She participated in the Freedom to Marry campaign in New York, and she has volunteered with Planned Parenthood and for the Occupy Wall Street movement. In response to the pandemic, she helped deliver food to families in need and created community fridges to distribute basic necessities. Kelly is a board member at Strong Women, Strong Girls, a mentorship organization.

At primary and specialty care practice AdvantageCare, Kelly serves as a partner to city and state leaders, guiding initiatives to increase employee engagement and overseeing practice growth. His work and active involvement in Advantage Care’s pandemic response enabled the practice to operationalize testing and vaccinations at multiple locations. He is a founding member of AdvantageCare’s diversity, equity and inclusion council and a founding executive sponsor of an employee resource group that works to increase the participation of historically excluded groups in entrepreneurship.

Senior director of customer experience, Meetup

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At social media platform Meetup, Krueger decides where resources may best be invested to ensure that customer support operations are an asset to the product, engineering, design and marketing functions. The senior director of customer experience has hosted Meetup Live events on topics such as dismantling social injustice and parenting with pride. Krueger planned, launched and organized a Meetup group for a transmasculine cohort, seeking solutions by connecting communities. As a member of the Partnerhero Advisory Council, Krueger frequently contributes to causes that help individuals through the physical gender confirmation process and to efforts to secure racial equity across the country.

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IN 2021 NEW YORK STATE BEGAN RECOGNIZING LGBTQ-OWNED BUSINESSES AS MINORITY-OWNED, ALLOWING THEM TO COMPETE FOR SIGNIFICANT GOVERNMENT-CONTRACTING OPPORTUNITIES. —JD SUPRA

MATT KUDISH

ROBERT LANE

ROBERT LENNON

STEPHEN LESSARD

RAYMOND LEWIS

Executive director, National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City

Vice president, principal gifts, Northwell Health

Chief business development and communications officer, Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Pro bono managing attorney, Latham & Watkins

Global event marketing and public and community relations consultant, RP Lewis & Associates

Under Kudish’s leadership, the alliance connects with tens of thousands of New Yorkers a year. As executive director, he develops and executes strategic goals with the organization’s board and staff, including increasing the organization’s reach, elevating awareness of the organization’s free programs, and producing thought leadership on mental health issues. Kudish is the alliance’s representative for media coverage. He has been integral to the launch of LGBTQ-specific programs at the National Alliance on Mental Illness–NYC, including support groups and peer-to-peer programming. Kudish has been a hospice volunteer and a volunteer buddy with Gay Men’s Health Crisis.

At Northwell Health, Lane leads a team of fundraisers that connects people prepared to make multimillion-dollar contributions within areas of medicine and research ready for advancement. The vice president is a member of the Northwell Health Foundation’s management team and works on the foundation’s strategy and direction. He is also a member of the development advisory group, an internal committee that works to advance philanthropy across the organization. His efforts have enhanced transgender health care in New York City. His dedication to Northwell’s Friedman Transgender Health and Wellness Program has helped lead to more sensitive, comprehensive and informed care for patients.

At international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, Lennon is responsible for all client events, alumni relations matters, and internal and external commu nications. His accom plishments include securing thousands of favorable press mentions for the firm and receiving individual recognitions and awards for its partners. Under Lennon’s direction, the law firm’s innovative pro bono, diversity and social responsibility efforts have garnered mainstream media coverage. In response to the pandemic, he was part of a senior leadership team that developed firm Covid-19 policies and protocols. Lennon is president of Treatment Action Group, a research and policy think tank committed to racial and gender equity—which he has been involved with for more than a decade.

Working closely with the global pro bono committee and U.S. tax department at law firm Latham & Watkins, Lessard is tasked with developing and expanding the firm’s exempt organization pro bono practice. Lessard works to enhance Latham’s ability to advise nonprofits, nongovernment organizations and tax-exempt organizations. At the same time he seeks opportunities and engagements with nonprofit organizations that align with the firm’s diversity and social justice values. Lessard, a member of the National LGBT Bar Association’s military working group, represents transgender veterans seeking to change their names on discharge certificates. He has mentored several LGBTQ law students and worked on a number of LGBTQ pro bono projects.

While working at his public relations, event marketing and strategic partnership firm, Lewis has racked up a number of accomplish ments. His recent accomplish ments. That includes the Uptown Rainbow Stage, a Pride Month event in Harlem that was created during the pandemic. Lewis is a founding member of the African American–focused food festival Harlem EatUp! He is active in local police-community relations and sits on the advisory board of the James Beard Foundation, a nonprofit culinary arts organization. Lewis has been the recipient of awards from Crain’s and the Harlem YMCA.

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p l i e A b s p a a p U C o C W E

KELSEY LOUIE

DWIGHT MCBRIDE

KERRY MCCARTHY

PATRICK MCCARTHY

PARAG MEHTA

Chief executive at The Door; chief executive at Broome Street Academy

President and professor, The New School

Vice president, philanthropic initiatives, New York Community Trust

Senior vice president and head of North America marketing, City National Bank

Managing director and president, the JPMC PolicyCenter, JPMorgan Chase

McCarthy manages the communications and philanthropic advising departments at the New York Community Trust, which connects residents with nonprofits to build equitable and healthy communities. She builds out new tools and services to help donations become more effective. In addition, she works on external communications including annual reports and earned media, conveying the organization’s past and present impact and helping attract new donors. Since the advent of the pandemic, she has stewarded tens of millions of dollars in grant-making to provide relief to hard-hit arts and social services nonprofits.

A team of professionals spread across New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami and Nashville reports to McCarthy. The bank’s team develops and executes brand marketing, content development, digital marketing, segment marketing and social media campaigns. McCarthy is responsible for monitoring and assessing market trends. He previously was global head of marketing for Citi FinTech in New York, where he charted the development of its consumer product marketing strategy. He is a supporter of the LGBT Community Center in New York City and a member of the Broadway Cares Leadership Council.

At JPMorgan, Mehta works with a team of experts who leverage the bank’s assets, insights and expertise to develop and advance policy solutions that drive inclusive economic growth in the U.S. and abroad. He is board chair of New American Leaders, a national nonprofit that works to strengthen American democracy by increasing the representation of first- and second-generation immigrants and refugees in government. Mehta previously was executive director of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. With his husband, he is a plaintiff in a landmark petition before the Delhi High Court to have their marriage recognized in India.

Louie leads The Door, a youth development organization, and Broome Street Academy, its charter high school. As chief executive of both organizations, he oversees their budget, operations and fundraising and programmatic initiatives. In also leading their racial equity and inclusion work, Louie boasts expertise in LGBTQ issues, HIV/ AIDS prevention and care, behavioral health, addiction services and homelessness. He previously was chief executive at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and chief operating officer and program officer at the Harlem United Community AIDS Center. Louie is on the boards of the National Minority AIDS Council, the Network of Social Work Management and Cause Effective.

McBride sets The New School’s course, oversees its academic mission and operational effectiveness, and leads its cultural contributions to New York City. He has led and supported initiatives aimed at foregrounding the New School’s commitment to social justice leadership, including the Mellon Initiative for Inclusive Faculty Excellence and the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy. He is has written award-winning books, articles and essays and is on the board of trustees of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities in New York. He is a member of LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Services for the UnderServed applauds

Jorge R. Petit, MD 2022 Notable LGBTQ Leader

As President & CEO of S:US, Dr. Petit's longstanding commitment to empowering LGBTQIA+ communities is unwavering.

The S:US board, staff and people served join in congratulating you on this well-deserved recognition.

www.sus.org

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LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS JUAN MEJIA

JOSEPH MILIZIO

KEVIN MOORE

PAUL NAGLE

WILLIAM NORRIS

Senior vice president and chief operating officer, New York–Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital

Managing partner, Vishnick McGovern Milizio

Assistant director for LGBTQ+ clinical services, NYU Langone Health

Founding executive director, Stonewall Community Development

Chief operating officer, Gotham Gym

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Nagle boasts more than three decades of experience in nonprofit administration and LGBTQ activism. He is now executive director of Stonewall Community Development, whose mission is to provide New York City’s LGBTQ senior citizens with safe, affordable homes and health services. He previously was founding executive director of All Out Arts, presenting plays, concerts and exhibitions by LGBTQ creatives. Nagle created the initial development strategy for the Brooklyn Community Pride Center and raised its first grants. He previously was involved in efforts to help arts organizations in Lower Manhattan rebound after 9/11.

Norris is accountable for the operations at Gotham, a multistage luxury gym and training center. His responsibilities include human resources, finances and partnerships. Norris recently expanded and staffed two new gyms outside New York City, and he established strategic partnerships with luxury goods and experience providers across Gotham Gym locations to increase brand visibility. He has formalized human resources processes to enable scaled growth and has contributed to efforts aimed at postpandemic gym recovery and success. Norris, who often mentors young LGBTQ professionals, is on the board of Unite to Lead, which supports LGBTQ youth leadership.

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Mejia is responsible for all operations at the Lower Manhattan campus of New YorkPresbyterian. He leads a management team and a workforce of more than 1,000. He also leads corporate initiatives including efforts related to quality improvement, diversity, inclusion and patient experience. He has led the growth of services, including introducing robotic technology to operating rooms for minimally invasive surgical procedures. Mejia is the senior lead sponsor for all efforts designed to ensure that the hospital is a safe and affirming place for LGBTQ patients and employees.

Milizio oversees law firm Vishnick McGovern Milizio’s daily operations and business growth. He leads several practice areas including business and transactional law, real estate, exit planning for business owners, and surrogacy, adoption and assisted reproduction. He founded the firm’s LGBTQ representation practice two decades ago, and since then, he has provided counsel on a variety of related areas including workplace discrimination, family rights and estate planning. In 2021 he co-founded the Long Island chapter of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce. Milizio was named one of New York Law Journal’s top LGBTQ representation lawyers of 2020–21.

Moore oversees NYU Langone’s systemwide initiative to advocate for and educate about the clinical and cultural needs of its LGBTQ patients. He helped write several hospital policies regarding the needs of transgender and gender nonbinary people, and he has educated staff on the importance of gender affirmation and the use of preferred pronouns. On the clinical side, Moore guides patients through the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative periods of gender-affirming surgery. He is a board member at the Out Foundation, OutHealth and the Transgender and Gender Nonbinary Advisory Council.

OPENLY LGBTQ EXECUTIVES AT THE HIGHEST ECHELONS OF AMERICAN BUSINESS INCLUDE TIM COOK OF APPLE AND JIM FITTERLING OF DOW. —THE RIVETER

DR. JORGE PETIT

ERIK PIECUCH

WESLEY POWELL

JOE PRESSLEY

CHRISTINE QUINN

President and CEO, Services for the UnderServed

Senior vice president and team leader, City National Bank

Partner and co-chair of the pro bono practice group, Willkie Farr & Gallagher

Chief executive, Hetrick-Martin Institute

President and CEO, Win

Piecuch provides customized banking, lending, mortgage and investment services at City National. His range of entertainment clients spans the film, TV, music, sports and theater industries, including productions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Book of Mormon and Dear Evan Hansen. In recent months he has booked many millions of dollars in private banking loans for New York business managers, accounting firms and entertainment companies. Piecuch is co-chair of the LGBTQ Alliance at City National and a board member and treasurer for MCC Theater.

Powell leads pro bono efforts on a range of civil rights matters involving and affecting the LGBTQ community, low-income New Yorkers and asylum seekers. As a partner at law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, he focuses on transgender rights, specifically with respect to gender-affirming health care, asylum and access to restrooms. In his active litigation practice, he focuses on antitrust litigation, regulatory advocacy and disputes arising from mergers and acquisitions. Powell has been on the board of the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which provides services to LGBTQ youth, and a chair of the LGBT Bar Association of New York partners committee.

The Hetrick-Martin Institute provides LGBTQ youth—a majority of them people of color—with an array of services they need to flourish. As CEO of the organization, Pressley is responsible for leadership, planning, community interfaces, advocacy, development and board relations. He recently reimagined HMI’s annual gala to make it more diverse and inclusive, and he engaged in a five-month listening tour with staff and youth program members to learn about their challenges and experiences. Pressley formerly was as a mayoral appointee to the New York City HIV/AIDS Planning Council. He is a founding and current board member of the New Pride Agenda.

Quinn was inducted into the City Limits Hall of Fame, which called her one of New York’s most important community leaders. She now is chief executive at Win, a provider of shelter and supportive services for homeless families in the city, but her current career comes after a storied—and far more public—one. She previously was City Council speaker, and she was a 2013 mayoral candidate. A champion of the Equal Benefits Bill in 2006, Quinn was instrumental five years later in the passage of New York’s Marriage Equality Act. She is executive committee chair of the state Democratic Party.

For more than four decades, Services for the UnderServed has worked with vulnerable individuals and families in New York City, helping them escape poverty and create pathways to rich, productive lives. Over seeing its budget and staff, Petit guides efforts to provide an array of shelter, housing and treatment support services to New Yorkers struggling with homelessness, substance abuse and intellectual and developmental disabilities. In his role at S:US, Petit, a psychiatrist, is planning a comprehensive diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging initiative to be implemented across the organization as well as its board.

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a t d a M a d p w g a a r e a d c o w L

KEITH RASMUSSEN

RANA REEVES

CHARLES RENFRO

RONALD RICHTER

ROSALYN RICHTER

Executive director, Seedco

Founder, CEO and executive creative director, RanaVerse

Partner, Diller Scofidio & Renfro

Chief executive, JCCA

Senior counsel, Arnold & Porter

Renfro leads the interdisciplinary design studio at architectural firm Diller Scofidio & Renfro. His current projects include leading the design of the Museum of Image and Sound in Rio de Janeiro and the New Museum of Transport in Budapest. He previously worked on educational facilities including Columbia Business School in New York City and the Rubenstein Forum at the University of Chicago. Renfro serves as co-president at Boffo, a nonprofit that presents innovative art and explores the intersection of LGBTQ life and the arts. He is a board member at the New Group theater company and a contributing editor at Document Journal.

JCCA, formerly known as the Jewish Child Care Association, is a nonprofit that works to meet the welfare and mental health needs of children and families in the New York metropolitan area. As chief executive, Richter has expanded its academic enrichment and family-support services. An early literacy program piloted under his direction led to the creation of a division focused on educational and vocational programming for youth across the agency. He facilitated the development of a comprehensive race-equity initiative to dismantle barriers facing the agency’s clients, staff and communities. In an earlier role at New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services, he led initiatives to help LGBTQ youth.

At law firm Arnold & Porter, Richter represents clients in complex commercial litigation at both the trial and appellate level. A mediator and arbitrator, she has 30 years of experience as a neutral party, and she is available for moot courts and private judging in various matters. She is involved in pro bono work, specifically on behalf of the LGBTQ community, routinely mentoring LGBTQ students and associates. She was co-chair of the New York City Bar Association’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee. Richter received the Advancement of Judicial Diversity Award from the New York State Bar Association. She previously was board co-chair at Sage, a service provider for LGBTQ senior citizens.

Seedco, an affiliate of social services provider Acacia Network, connects people with employment and professional development opportunities. As executive director for the nonprofit, Rasmussen is involved in its programs, finances and operations. Guiding his team in delivering workforce development and benefits access services in New York, Maryland and Tennessee, he assesses community needs, designs new programs, develops partnership structures, and works on strategic planning for growth and social impact. In addition, he is vice president at the Acacia Network and represents Seedco on its executive team. Rasmussen is a member of Acacia Network’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee, helping to make the organization more inclusive and welcoming for members of the LGBTQ community.

The mission of advertising agency RanaVerse is to merge brands with contemporary culture to create impact and drive equity. As its founder, chief executive and executive creative director, Reeves is responsible for international client relations, brand strategy and consulting, new business, employee management, trend forecasting and community engagement. He has led campaigns focused on people of color and the LGBTQ community for Adidas, Coach, Dove, Equinox, Gap and other brands, implementing efforts to improve matters for marginalized communities. He is leading the expansion of RanaVerse into the U.K. market. Reeves is a supporter of Destination Tomorrow, an LGBTQ center in the Bronx.

Congratulations! From all of us at God’s Love We Deliver, we applaud the 2022 list of Notable LGBTQ+ Leaders and Executives!

TO VOLUNTEER, DONATE, GET MEALS, OR LEARN MORE, VISIT GLWD.ORG June 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 43

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LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS GREG RIDER

MARK ROBERTSON

DR. ZOE RODRIGUEZ

JOHN ROONEY

JODY RUDIN

Director of corporate compliance, EmblemHealth family of companies

Co-head of dispute resolution and litigation, New York, Norton Rose Fulbright

Vice chair and medical director, Mount Sinai West, Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai Downtown

Area director for economic inclusion, Gilbane Building

President and CEO, Institute for Community Living

In his role with Gilbane Building’s New York state operations, Rooney works with executive leadership and project teams to drive participation by businesses owned by historically underrepresented groups, including women, minorities and the LGBTQ community. He helped develop the company’s Rising Contractor program, a training and mentorship accelerator for such businesses, and created its NYC Economic Inclusion Task Force. He volunteers at Sage, a nonprofit dedicated to LGBTQ senior citizens. Rooney has been a mentor and panelist at a small-business coaching initiative at Columbia University. He previously was vice president of the New York City Economic Development Corp.

Rudin oversees one of New York’s largest mental and behavioral health services and housing organizations. At the Institute for Community Living, she is responsible for operations, fundraising, and government relations. In addition, she focuses on growing the organization and its whole-health model of services, increasing services for children and young adults. She helped launch Marsha’s House, an LGBTQ homeless shelter, and has coordinated workplace LGBTQ training. Rudin previously was chief operating officer at Project Renewal, a homeless services organization. She is vice chair of the board at Homeless Services United.

E c G

Rider directs corporate compliance governance for the EmblemHealth family of companies, including nonprofit health insurer EmblemHealth and primary and specialty care practice AdvantageCare Physicians. He oversees standards of conduct, policies and procedures, compliance training and communications, as well as the compliance and ethics hotline. As founder and leader of EmblemHealth’s employee resource group for members and friends of the LGBTQ community, he brings in speakers from public and private community organizations for Pride Day and National Coming Out Day. Rider created the LGBTQ+ Healthcare Coalition with external community health organizations. He is a member of the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus.

At the New York office of law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, Robertson organizes and leads the department in assignments, marketing, events and continuingeducation programs. Among his pro bono work for the LGBTQ community, he represented a gay man from Serbia who sought asylum in the United States. Robertson chairs the firm’s Pride network; under his leadership, it has instituted the use of preferred pronouns and begun tracking the recruitment and retention of LGBTQ lawyers. Robertson is on the New York City Bar Association’s LGBTQ rights committee and on the major donor committee at the Human Rights Campaign.

Rodriguez provides comprehensive gynecologic care including preventive visits, contraceptive counseling and office hysteroscopies. As a member of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery steering committee at Mount Sinai, the physician helped make transgender health care more accessible and accepted through the establishment of a programmatic and medically integrated approach. Rodriguez has presented at conferences on related topics such as fertility preservation and the surgical management of gender incongruence. She is an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive science at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

THE U.S. HAS ABOUT 1.4 MILLION LGBTQ BUSINESS OWNERS. —NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

DAVID SAKOWITZ

MATTEO SARDI

JEFF SCHOENFELD

NORMAN SIMON

CARLA SMITH

Partner and co-chair of the capital markets practice, Winston & Strawn

Vice president of digital marketing and head of brand content, The Related Cos.

Partner, Brown Brothers Harriman

Partner and chair of advertising litigation, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel

Deputy chief executive, Urban Resource Institute

At law firm Winston & Strawn, Sakowitz concentrates his practice in securities, international corporate finance transactions and mergers and acquisitions. He has broad experience advising on high-yield debt, equity and equity-linked securities, counseling domestic and foreign private issuers regarding compliance with reporting obligations. Sakowitz does pro bono work to uplift the LGBTQ community: Through the Name Change Project, he provides legal name-changing services to low-income transgender and gendernonconforming people. He is global co-chair of Winston’s Pride LGBTQ affinity group and a member of its diversity, equity and inclusion committee.

Sardi is at the helm of brand content efforts at Related, telling the stories of people and communities brought together by its real estate projects. He is responsible for place-making and communitybuilding initiatives and strategic projects aimed at growing global brand awareness. He created Related Gardens. Launched on Earth Day this year, the companywide initiative aims to draw attention to the mental and emotional benefits of having regular access to green spaces. He is co-founder and senior sponsor of Related’s first LGBTQ employee group, which has created employee volunteer opportunities with the HetrickMartin Institute and other local organizations.

At investment bank Brown Brothers Harriman, Schoenfeld oversees business development and relationship management on a global basis for the firm’s institutional asset management business. He helps manage recruitment, retention and professional development as well as diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. He founded the Pride network at Brown Brothers Harriman, and he has led efforts to attract and retain LGBTQ talent. Schoenfeld previously was president of UJA-Federation of New York, where he founded its Pride network. He is on the board of New York–based amfAR, a leading cure-focused AIDS research organization.

Simon represents some of the nation’s leading brands at law firm Kramer Levin. He has maintained a robust pro bono practice, litigating leading LGBTQ rights cases and serving on the firm’s pro bono committee. He sits on the National Leadership Council of Lambda Legal, a LGBTQ civil rights organization, and he previously chaired the board of Empire State Pride Agenda, an LGBTQ advocacy group. Simon was as a lead lawyer in litigation seeking marriage equality in New York. Chambers USA has recognized him for his work.

Smith guides the Urban Resource Institute, a leading provider of domestic violence shelter services. She leads the operations, finance and programs divisions of the organization and oversees a network of more than 20 shelters in New York City. In addition, she supervises the development and execution of trauma-informed programming involving direct service, education, prevention and intervention programs. She has promoted revision of the organization’s manuals, policies and procedures to enhance diversity, equity and inclusion. And she has spearheaded the implementation of an LGBTQ cultural competency program. Smith previously held roles at other social service organizations, including as director of finance and administration at the NYC Anti-Violence Project.

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t a e c n i i i a C t L o H s t

RICHARD SOCARIDES

JOE SOLMONESE

WENDY STARK

WILLIAM SULLIVAN

LINDA SWARTZ

Executive vice president and chief communications officer, GLG

Senior vice president of government relations and strategic communications, Montefiore Health System

Executive director, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center

Executive director, Waxman Cancer Research Foundation

Partner, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft

Callen-Lorde provides sensitive, quality health care to members of the LGBTQ community in New York, regardless of their ability to pay. As the health center’s executive director, she leads its charge of promoting health education and wellness for the LGBTQ community, including comprehensive health care and research. Under her direction, Callen-Lorde has opened sites in the Bronx and Brooklyn, launched a policy and advocacy program and begun a postgraduate nurse practitioner fellowship in LGBTQ health. She provided medical respite care for New Yorkers living in the shelter system at the start of the pandemic. Stark previously was on the board of the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice.

Sullivan oversees the Waxman Foundation’s long-term strategy and is involved with the board of directors and staff in setting the organization’s vision. He is leading an institutional transition that includes planning a comprehensive fundraising and development program, transitioning senior staff and enhancing the board of directors. He has guided the foundation through budgeting, fundraising and research-grant efforts during the pandemic. He assisted a colleague in starting a nonprofit on Staten Island that provides a safe space for LGBTQ teenagers, and he has helped raise funds for AIDS research at Rockefeller University. Sullivan is a board member of the James Lenox House Association and the New York Pops.

At financial services company GLG, Socarides leads global media relations, internal communications and government affairs. He oversees GLG’s social impact program, providing pro bono support to hundreds of organizations around the world. He is executive sponsor of the company’s LGBTQ diversity network and a senior member of its global diversity, equity and inclusion council. Socarides is involved with Out Leadership and the Open for Business Coalition, and he has served on the boards of Glaad and Lambda Legal, among other gay rights organizations. He was a White House special assistant and a senior adviser to the president in the Clinton administration.

At Montefiore, Solmonese is responsible for managing all aspects of strategic communications and government relations at the state and federal levels. As a liaison with elected officials, he lobbies government stakeholders to advocate for or against public policy and funding decisions with impact for Montefiore. He previously was president of the Human Rights Campaign, a role in which he pushed for LGBTQfriendly laws and policies including marriage equality, nondiscrimination and support for LGBTQ-owned businesses. Solmonese sits on the board of the National Partnership for Women and Families and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

Swartz has led the tax group at law firm Cadwalader for more than two decades. As a partner and member of the firm’s management committee, she is involved in setting its strategic business and cultural priorities. She has launched and led diversity and inclusion initiatives at Cadwalader. She is a partner sponsor for the firm’s LGBTQ affinity network and a member of its global diversity committee. She conceptualized and founded the Cadwalader Civil Rights Series, a program of year-round public-facing speaker events featuring civil rights leaders and influencers, including champions of LGBTQ rights. Swartz co-chairs Cadwalader’s nonprofit incubator as part of her pro bono practice.

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LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS JOSEPH TAIANO

VALERIE TERZANO

RACHEL TIPOGRAPH

THOMAS TSANG

RANDALL TUCKER

Global head of marketing for Accenture Song, Accenture

Vice president for nursing and patient care, NYU Langone Hospital–Long Island

Founder and CEO, MikMak

Co-founder and CEO, Valera Health

E T

As marketing chief for Accenture Song—a subsidiary of management consulting giant Accenture— Taiano is charged with setting global marketing strategy. He oversees communi cations across the firm, including front-office transformation, product design and marketing services. He also is responsible for the development of integrated marketing campaigns, content and client experience activation, brand strategy, digital marketing and sales enablement. Taiano is an active member of Accenture’s Pride employee resource group and frequently speaks about the importance of allyship, inclusive leadership and diverse marketing. At Out Leadership, he is part of a network of chief marketing officers working to advance LGBTQ representation in the field.

Terzano provides comprehensive oversight for professional nursing and related standards of care at NYU Langone on Long Island. She manages the hospital’s budget as well as it nursing staff. Terzano’s areas of nursing responsibility include a Level 1 trauma center, an emergency department, inpatient medical and surgical services and maternal-child health. In addition, she oversees nursing research and staff professional development. Terzano is founder and co-chair of an LGBTQ advisory committee at the organization, which includes representatives from admissions, human resources and home health care. She previously was vice president of the Girl Scouts of Nassau County and a member of its board of directors.

At e-commerce optimization company MikMak, Tipograph manages overall operations including new business opportunities and administration. She is dedicated to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion at every level of her business through a focus on inclusive hiring practices and employee empowerment. Tipograph co-hosts the “Brave Commerce” podcast. The American Advertising Federation named her to its Hall of Achievement. Tipograph was previously Gap’s global director of digital and social media, a role in which she and her team helped lower the average age of customers by 10 years.

Tsang provides leadership, vision, passion and strategy for Valera, a virtual mental health services provider for children and adults. The company, which partners with large hospitals and health plans, has conducted hundreds of thousands of visits and has given millions of Americans access to mental health services. Valera prides itself on its intentional inclusivity and its ability to care for the LGBTQ community, and Tsang has hired and advanced minority LGBTQ leaders to ensure comprehensive services. Tsang volunteers at the CallenLorde Community Health Center, and he is a member of its quality committee. He is active in fundraising events for organizations including the Trevor Project, a crisis support nonprofit for LGBTQ youth. He is on the board of AIRnyc, a nonprofit community-based health care organization.

Executive vice president and chief inclusion officer, Mastercard

Tucker is responsible for expanding Mastercard’s diversity and inclusion strategy globally and for aligning it with companywide business objectives. He recently facilitated a customer event with diversity, equity and inclusion leaders from brands that Mastercard is partnered with that focused on promoting racial equity in the workplace. He is a regular speaker at LGBTQ events and has been featured in major media outlets. He previously led the transformation of Starwood Hotels & Resorts’ DEI strategy from a U.S.-focused model to a global one. Tucker has been named a Pride Star honoree by Adweek, and he has been featured in Forbes, Fortune and Business Insider.

Latham & Watkins celebrates our colleagues Michael Bosworth and Stephen Lessard and all of this year’s Notable LGBTQ Leaders.

Michael Bosworth

Stephen Lessard

We are thrilled and proud to be a part of New York’s vibrant business community.

LW.com

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U L a p

a o t W h r b w b m t o c g o e m c

JUDY TROILO

TODD SEARS

KARSTEN VAGNER

EDUARDO VILARO

KAYLE WALLS

Executive director, The Loft

Founder and chief executive, Out Leadership

Senior vice president, people, Maven Clinic

Chief executive and artistic director, Ballet Hispánico

Under Troilo’s direction, the Loft has established itself as a regional leader for LGBTQ programs and services in the Lower Hudson Valley. The LGBTQ community center produces events that include the Hudson Valley Trans Forum, an annual conference focused on serving and empowering transgender individuals; and the Westchester Pride festival. She has grown the Loft’s operating revenue and staff size by brokering strategic partnerships with civic organizations, businesses and state, county and municipal governments. After the onset of the pandemic, she oversaw the creation of a digital campus offering virtual support groups and workshops, among other online events, that ensured continued services for members of the LGBTQ community.

Sears founded Out Leadership, a global LGBTQ business network that connects leaders across industries to foster business growth, cultivate talent and advocate for equality. Out Leadership convenes three accelerators: OutNext, a leadership development program for LGBTQ professionals; Quorum, which advances LGBTQ diversity in corporate governance; and OutWomen, which celebrates LGBTQ women in business. Sears began his career as an investment banker and financial adviser. He then pioneered diversity initiatives at Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and other companies. Sears is a board member of the Global Equality Fund of the U.S. State Department.

Vagner is tasked with growing and empowering the diverse teams at Maven Clinic, a health care company that offers virtual care for women’s and families’ health. To that end, he oversees talent acquisition; total rewards; people programs; growth and development; diversity, equity and inclusion efforts; and the employee experience. Under Vagner’s leadership, Maven has hired more LGBTQ people and launched a comprehensive DEI program. Vagner has mentored LGBTQ youth through Out in Tech, and he founded the LGBTQ affinity group OutNexus in a previous role at AppNexus. He is on the advisory board of Mathison, a company focused on diverse hiring.

At dance company Ballet Hispánico, Vilaro leads the three pillars of the organization: its professional dance company, its school of dance and its community arts partnerships. He wields his management strength as well as his creative expertise for organizational efforts that include presenting and fundraising. A champion of individual expression and gender fluidity through artistry, he launched Diálogos, a conversation series that explores the connections among social justice, art and intersectionality in Latinx culture. He was inducted into the Bronx Walk of Fame in 2016, and City & State included him on its 2020 Power of Diversity: Latin 100 list. Vilaro previously was artistic director of Chicago’s Luna Negra Dance Theater, which he founded.

Chief financial and administrative officer, Eye to Eye

At Eye to Eye, a nonprofit that works to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of students with learning and attention disabilities, Walls oversees the growth, improvement and innovation of the operational systems and infrastructure. He collaborates with the organization’s board, departments and stakeholders on planning and budgeting strategy related to human resources, finance, technology, data, legal and risk-management functions. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, he helped the organization navigate the uncertainty around school funding and philanthropy. Walls has volunteered with programs that positively affect families and communities, including those that offer mentoring for learningchallenged children and that provide scholarships for LGBTQ youth.

Congratulations to Jeff Schoenfeld and all of your Notable LGBTQ Leaders

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LGBT LG BTQ Q LEADERS LEADERS PATRICK WESONGA Co-founder and head of product, Coral Health

At Coral Health, a startup that focuses on health equity for communities of color, Wesonga oversees product management. The company provides an inclusive platform to achieve positive health care experiences for employees of diverse backgrounds. He also has taken on advisory and board positions at other startups in the New York area. He was previously a product leader at Capital One, and he was responsible for the launch of Clear’s first mobile app. Wesonga is a member of the board at Snorble and an adviser for Yuvo Health.

SHANNON WHITTINGTON Clinical director, gender-affirmation program, VNS Health

VNS advises clinicians in the care of transgender and nonbinary patients. Since 2016, the organization has helped hundreds of New Yorkers access the care they need, including gender transitions. Whittington helped conceive a forthcoming research project, to be conducted by VNS in concert with the Center for Home Care Policy and Research, whose goal is to close the knowledge gap on patient care after genderaffirming surgery. She received a Quality and Innovation Award from the Home Care Association of New York State and the Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses.

DOUG WIRTH

CHRIS YOUNG

CURTIS YOUNG

President and CEO, Amida Care

General partner, Revel Partners

Executive director, Artistic Noise

At nonprofit community health plan Amida, Wirth works to overcome public health challenges and provide access to care for vulnerable New Yorkers including people with HIV/AIDS, the homeless and transgender individuals. He previously was executive director of Community Care Partners and was on the governor’s task force to end the AIDS epidemic in New York. Wirth is board co-chair at the New Pride Agenda and is a board member of the nonprofit RCHN Community Health Foundation. He was named to City & State’s Health Power 100 list the past three years.

Revel is an early-expansion-stage venture fund that supports entrepreneurs and management teams in digital media and internet technology. Young’s responsibilities include hiring, managing employees and defining investment strategies to ensure the inclusion of underrepresented communities. Young is an outspoken supporter of LGBTQ entrepreneurs; since 2015, he has been a board member of StartOut, a nonprofit that drives economic empowerment in the LGBTQ community. As chair of the organization, he offers his expertise to professionalize StartOut, develop its partnerships with leading companies and boost development. Earlier in his career, Young led and successfully exited Alloy Digital, Digital Broadcasting Group and Klipmart.

Young works at the intersection of art, education and social justice. At Artistic Noise, he helps bring the practice of art to court-involved young people in the five boroughs. Young, who has been on the Community Board 12 LGBTQ task force, was honored by the New York Legislature for his civic engagement as an LGBTQ community leader. He previously was manager of grants programs at the International Education Resource Network. Young is on advocacy committees including at the Department of Correction Program Council and the Social Justice Coalition. He serves on the board of the Community Healthcare Network and Class Size Matters.

2022

LEADERS IN ACCOUNTING & CONSULTING Crain’s New York Business is looking to recognize top accountants or consultants in New York for their accomplishments over the last 18 months.

NOMINATE NOW! Deadline is July 22

Nominate at CrainsNewYork.com/NotableAccountConsult

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CLASSIFIEDS

Advertising Section

Contact Suzanne Janik at 313-446-0455 or email: sjanik@crain.com POSITIONS AVAILABLE

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Qualification of LITTLE ROOKIES BASEBALL, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/17/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/21/21. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. 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.

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. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. 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 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 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 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.

Notice of Qualification of TIGONDEROGA NYC LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/20/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in California (CA) on 02/22/22. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 3535 Inland Empire Blvd., Ontario, CA 91764. CA addr. of LLC: 23300 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 200, Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 1500 11th St., Sacramento, CA 95814. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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Notice of Formation of ROC TENANT, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/24/22. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Brian J. Beller, Esq., c/o Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP, 1350 Broadway, NY, NY 10018. 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.

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 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 Amani Luxxe Wax Lounge, LLC, a domestic LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on April 8, 2022 . Office location: Bronx County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 856 E 221st Apt 2, Bronx, NY 10467. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Senior Associate, Financial Reporting (Citadel Enterprise Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Prepare & review audited fin statements for all entities, ensur’g compliance w/ GAAP, IFRS or local standards, & ensur’g accuracy of info & completeness of presentat’n & disclosures. Research, develop & define account’g policy for all the Citadel investm’t funds, brokerdealer entities & corp entities. F/T. Reqs a Bachelor’s degree (or foreign equivalent) in Business Administrat’n, Fin, Account’g or a rel quant field. Must have experience in the following: fin report’g w/ Hedge Funds, Investm’t Managem’t or Fin Services; improv’g processes & work’g on projects designed to improve efficiencies; creat’g & utiliz’g v-lookups, pivot tables & other complex formulas in Excel; build’g fin models to assist in implementat’n of account’g standards; tech account’g in IFRS & US GAAP; interpret’g & apply’g new account’g standards; prepar’g & review’g fin statements, annual audit reports, & quarterly reviews; & creat’g & present’g material of fin info for board of directors. This position requires a CPA (or approved foreign equivalent) w/ active license. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 6199199.

Associate (Apollo Management Holdings, L.P. – New York, NY); Mult pos avail. Provide analytical & project support for all investment related activities. Construct financial models, sensitivity analyses, comparable analyses & other discrete financial analyses. F/T. Resumes: to Devon Horton at dhorton@apollo.com. JobID: 4718815.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Qualification of LYTICAL VENTURES CI II QP, LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/11/22. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/26/22. Princ. office of LP: 250 W. 55th St., 37th Fl., NY, NY 10019. NYS fictitious name: LYTICAL VENTURES CI II QP, L.P. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP 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. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP 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.

Sr. Developer, Software Development. (LSEGH, Inc. – New York, NY); Mult. pos. avail. Design & implem’t high-quality code to deliver fixed income analytics via the Yield Book product suite, on both serverside & client-side technology. Develop mathematic formulas & methodologies that calculate & output fixed income analytics, such as duration, yield, & option adjusted spread (OAS) at the bond level. F/T. Position based in New York, NY. Permitted to telecommute up to 3 days per week. Apply w/ resume to resumes@refinitiv.com. Ref. JobID: 5801737.

Associate (The Carlyle Group Employee Co LLC – New York, NY) Mult pos avail. Develop financial models & perform research for evaluat’g new business segments & competitor benchmark’g analysis. Synthesize financial data from investment teams & fund mgmt to respond to investor requests efficiently & accurately. F/T. Apply w/ resume to HR3@carlyle.com. Ref. JobID: 5953861.

Private Equity Principal (Apollo Management Holdings, L.P. – New York, NY); Mult. pos. avail. Manage all aspects of investment from thesis definit’n to due diligence, relationship dev, analysis, negotiat’ns, financ’g, transact’n documentat’n, portfolio company mgmt/value-add, serving on portfolio company boards, & exit. Manage the due diligence process incl all business, finan, industry, legal & technical due diligence, incl mgmt of all third-party specialist advisors & intermediaries. F/T. Based in New York, NY. Telecommuting permitted up to 1 day per week. Apply w/resume to Kelley Smith at kesmith@apollo.com. Ref JobID: 5979923.

Risk Analyst (Citadel Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Work closely with Risk & Portfolio Mgrs to identify key risk exposures & performance drivers. Define & monitor risk guidelines & dev quant analytics for risk estimat’n & risk mgmt. F/T. Reqs a Bach degree (or foreign equiv) in Risk Mgmt, Math, Finan, Stats, Quant Finan or a rel quant field & 2 yrs of exp in identify’g key risk exposures & manag’g statistical risk. Edu, train’g or exp must incl the follow’g: develop’g, enhanc’g, & interpret’g quant & finan valuat’n models; aggregat’g info from various data sources & creat’g detailed statistical reports; & effectively communicat’g risk report info & respond’g to risk-related inquiries from internal partners. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. Ref JobID: 5936975.

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TECH

TRAVEL

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BLOOMBERG

Economic diversification Boston Properties’ outperformance might reflect the fact that just 27% of its portfolio is in New York. It’s 100% for both Empire State Realty and SL Green and 87% for Vornado, whose stock is flirting with its pandemic-era low of March 2020. The New York “fear trade” is back. These office landlords are sophisticated long-term players who weathered the collapse of the dotcom bubble, the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 onslaught of Covid-19. In all those crises, Uncle Sam rode to the rescue by cutting interest rates and, in 2008 and 2020, taking emergency measures to keep the financial system afloat and tenants paying rent. But the cavalry isn’t coming this time. The cost of capital is rising quickly as the Federal Reserve boosts interest rates. Around 20 years ago, city leaders made economic diversification a priority so New York’s fortunes wouldn’t be so vulnerable to Wall Street’s booms and busts. The technology, tourism, health care and education sectors grew. A thriving venture capital scene took root. The benefits of the city’s tech embrace became clear in the dark

days of August 2020, when Facebook delivered a crucial vote of confidence in Manhattan’s future by pledging to lease 730,000 square feet at the Vornado-owned Farley Building in Midtown. As recently as April, Facebook was still expanding its footprint, when parent Meta Platforms leased 300,000 square feet at 770 Broadway, another Vornado building. But the technology sector’s ups and down can be just as volatile as Wall Street’s. Indeed, tech and finance are closely linked. Venture capital activity tends to track the Nasdaq, and in the first quarter, “mega-round” funding fell 30%, followed by a 16% drop in April. A few weeks after committing to more space at 770 Broadway, on May 4, Facebook initiated its first employee hiring freeze. It too might have to reassess its real estate footprint. BMO said New York tech job listings declined by 3.5% last month. As for Compass, its office footprint includes a 100,000-squarefoot headquarters at 90 Fifth Ave. The lease expires in 2025.

Getaway expands its cabin offerings with an eye toward upscale camping BY CARA EISENPRESS

Brooklyn tourism company focused on making nature-focused trips easier to access has announced an expansion that doubles the number of locations it operates. Getaway has carved out a niche for itself by building tiny cabins—50 to 150 square feet—in relatively remote locations that are actually within two hours of a major city, including New York. Its latest expansion includes nine new locations near Atlanta, Chicago and Washington. When complete at the end of the year, the expansion will bring its total cabin count to 1,000 from the current 784, it said. The expansion also includes Getaway’s first two upscale campgrounds, one of which is in the Catskills. The two sites are relatively decked out, with tents, mattresses, nice bathrooms and other amenities.

‘Short, frequent escapes’ The idea, according to Getaway, is to allow city dwellers to disconnect in nature without needing a tremendous amount of travel time or planning.

GETAWAY

been the best-performer. SL Green, the city’s largest commercial landlord, is the worst, with a 41% drop.

Founded in 2015, Getaway hit its stride during the period of pandemic restrictions. Bookings more than doubled in 2020, and throughout last year occupancy rates at open properties stayed around 93%, the company said. In the first quarter of this year, Getaway recorded the greatest number of guest stays in its history, as remote work took off and domestic destinations held sway. “At Getaway, we’re seeing a cultural shift in travel as more urban dwellers are seeking short, fre-

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50 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | JUNE 20, 2022

quent escapes to nature to focus on their mental health and well-being,” said Jon Staff, founder and CEO of Getaway. “Our cabins and campsites offer space for people of all walks of life to honor their free time, disconnect from work and technology, and reconnect with their loved ones and themselves.” Although volume at New York– area airports hit 90% of pre-Covid levels in April, according to the Port Authority, international volume was still down 35% in March compared with March 2019. ■

SMALL- BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

BUCK ENNIS

NILI LOTAN headquarters on Duane Street

LOTAN, THE WOMAN BEHIND THE BRAND

FOCAL POINTS

Tribeca fashion house builds brand piece by piece Luxury designer Nili Lotan focuses on small orders, boutiques to avoid financial losses, markdowns BY DIANE HESS

sraeli-born fashion designer Nili Lotan launched her eponymous brand 18 years ago without an MBA or a business plan. Instead, she had a vision for a women’s clothing line of “luxury essentials.” Thanks to her more than two decades of industry experience working for fashion brands Adrienne Vittadini, Ralph Lauren and Nautica, Lotan knew the pitfalls of the trade and how to avoid them. She spent one month creating a mini collection of six pieces, which she presented to Barneys in 2004. “I thought if I could get into Barneys or Fred Segal LA, I’d be good,” Lotan recalled. Initially she avoided larger department stores, even turning down an order from Nordstrom. At the time Lotan was aware of designers suffering financial losses because they had produced millions of dollars’ worth of clothing that had to be marked down. She realized it was necessary to maintain tight control of inventory. Lotan produced domestically, hiring a few local pattern makers and sewers. That way, she could quickly adjust the size of an order. “I didn’t want to be in a position to fail,” she said. “I guess that was my strategy.” The company's first milestone was when

Barneys signed on in 2004. Lotan’s second wholesale customer was Fred Segal LA. Her designs were also sold by boutiques. “I sold to small stores, where the client was loyal and looking for specific luxury items,” she said.

The look for less Today her clothing can be found in 250 high-end retailers worldwide. Lotan waited until 2016 to open a store of her own, in Tribeca. She also has shops on Madison Ave-

“I DIDN’T WANT TO BE IN A POSITION TO FAIL. I GUESS THAT WAS MY STRATEGY” nue and in East Hampton. She debuted in Palm Beach in January and is negotiating two locations in Los Angeles. “I designed my collection for hardworking women like myself, who think like me about clothing, in the sense that it is not a jewel— it’s functional and empowers you,” Lotan said. This summer she will promote her first men’s collection. In September she will introduce a line of bags, belts and small leather

goods, having marketed some early versions. Eventually, Lotan predicts accessories could become 70% of sales, which is typical for the luxury category. Fourteen years after Nordstrom first approached her, in 2018, Lotan finally agreed to sell to the chain. After Barneys folded in 2020, she branched out to Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman. Still, department stores represent only 30% of the wholesale business; smaller boutiques make up the rest. Online sales are about 30% of revenue. For the most part, Lotan has eschewed fashion shows and advertising. This has allowed her to keep prices lower than other luxury brands. At Barneys, she benefited from being on the floor next to more expensive labels, such as The Row and Yves Saint Laurent. “People realized they could get my clothing for less,” she said.

COMPANY NAME Nili Lotan HEADQUARTERS 142 Duane St., Tribeca CEO AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR Nili Lotan BORN Netanya, Israel EDUCATION Lotan was in the first graduating class at the Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in Ramat Gan. She moved to New York City after college and three years in the Israeli Army. REVENUE In 2022 Lotan forecasts sales to be approximately $100 million. Since 2004 her business has grown an average of 50% on a yearover-year basis, she says. HER STYLE Lotan says her aesthetic is timeless, understated and elegant. Her top-selling signature Jenna pant ($325) has a military-inspired look. SPOUSE Lotan is married to singersongwriter David Broza. BACKUP GIG Had she not become a fashion designer, Lotan would have been an architect.

Full control Since 2016 Lotan has increased her staff from eight to 100 workers. Earlier in the pandemic, she audited each of her departments. She hired the company’s first chief operating officer this year. Lotan is proud that she retains full control of her business. Having started out with $25,000—a gift from her mother to her

daughter that she borrowed—she doesn’t have investors. “I wanted the freedom to do what I want,” she said, with characteristic understatement. “It’s not like I can get up and go to the beach—I am here from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.— but this is what I want to do.” ■ JUNE 20, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 51

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