Crain's New York Business

Yankees and Mets draw fewer fans, but revenues rise

The bottom line is improving for two of the city’s largest—and bestknown—privately held companies

BY AARON ELSTEIN

On Nov. 19 Aaron Judge posted a 2022 highlight reel on his Instagram page to the tune of “I’m King of New York.” Fans saw the post as a sure sign the reigning American League Most Valuable Player and home run record–holder would be returning to the Yankees. Foes preferred to see it as a farewell note. is much is certain: Wherever Judge calls home next year, his uniform is likely to look di erent. at’s because the collective-bargaining agreement reached in the spring between players and team owners introduces two new sources of advertising revenue as early as next season: jersey and helmet decals. e additional sponsorship money is one reason Forbes estimates the Yankees are the rst baseball team to be worth $6 billion. e Mets are pegged at $2.7 billion. Forbes estimates tend toward the conservative side, but if they’re in the ballpark, it means that since George Steinbrenner

State takes major steps in cannabis marketplace launch

BY EDDIE SMALL

New York has taken two major steps forward in its legal marijuana rollout, awarding licenses to the rst group of retailers and selecting teams of construction and architecture rms that will build and design the dispensaries.

e state has so far approved 36 people and organizations, including several based in the city, to be its initial recreational marijuana retailers. e O ce of Cannabis Management awarded the conditional adult-use retail dispensary licenses at its Nov. 21 control board meeting to eight nonpro ts and 28 people who have been involved with the

criminal justice system, in accordance with the state's goal of helping individuals who were harmed by marijuana’s criminalization bene t from its legalization.

Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright stressed in a statement that this was “just the start” for New York’s legal weed business, and the state “will contin-

ue to work to build an industry that is open to anyone who wants to participate.”

e selected licensees include 13 people or groups based in the city— three in the Bronx, four in Queens, four in Manhattan and two on Staten Island—as well as several citybased nonpro ts, including Housing Works, e Doe Fund and LIFE

Camp. e board also awarded licenses to four rms in the Capital Region, two in the Southern Tier, one in the Mohawk Valley, seven on Long Island and one in the North Country.

Individuals selected for the licenses needed to have experience

RETAIL

BUCK ENNIS

Tax exemptions exceed community-bene t spending for nine local hospitals, report nds

BY MAYA KAUFMAN

Nine city hospitals have spent millions of dollars less on community investments than they receive in tax breaks, according to a report released this week by the Lown Institute, a nonpro t health care think tank.

New York-Presbyterian Hospital had the greatest discrepancy of any of the 21 hospitals included in the report; its community bene t spending was $359 million short of the value of its tax breaks, the institute found.

$1.5B

BY HOSPITALS

On the ip side, Monte ore Medical Center’s community bene t spending exceeded the value of its tax breaks by $76 million, more than any other hospital in the report.

e Lown Institute, based in Needham, Massachusetts, used hospitals’ 2019 nonpro t tax lings to reach its ndings.

e Internal Revenue Service dictates that hospitals demonstrate su cient community bene t in exchange for their tax-exempt status, although there is no federal requirement for how much they have to spend.

ere are eight categories of

community bene ts, although the Lown Institute’s analysis only includes the ve that it considers to have a “direct and meaningful” community impact. ose arenancial assistance for eligible patients, subsidized health services, community health improvements, cash and in-kind contributions to other health care organizations or local community groups, and community building activities that address social determinants of health. e IRS also counts hospitals’ Medicaid shortfall—meaning the di erence between the cost of care and what Medicaid pays for it— and spending on medical education and research.

“Communities make good-faith investments through these tax breaks and expect that hospitals will hold up their end of the bargain,” Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, said in a statement. “Our evidence shows that’s not always the case.”

e hospitals in the report collectively received $1.5 billion in federal, state and local tax breaks in 2019 and reported spending $1.1 billion on direct community investments. ree of the city’s largest hospitals had the highest de cits between the two.

REAL ESTATE

New York-Presbyterian Hospital received nearly $493 million worth of tax breaks that year while it reported spending $134 million on community bene ts, according to the report.

“We respectfully disagree with this report’s premise, methodology and conclusions,” Angela Karafazli, a New York-Presbyterian spokeswoman, said in a statement. “New York-Presbyterian’s commitment to improving the health and well-being of the communities we serve is unwavering.”

Karafazli cited the organization’s work starting up a Covid-19 vaccination center in Washington Heights and the grants it provides

NYU Langone Hospitals had the second-largest de cit, at $166.5 million.

Lisa Greiner, a spokeswoman for NYU Langone, noted the report’s exclusion of several “valuable community bene t items,” such as Medicaid shortfalls. Including all categories would bring NYU Langone’s spending to more than $1 billion, she said, citing 2018 data.

Monte ore Medical Center, a safety-net provider, spent $185.1 million on community bene ts in

2019—millions more than many other wealthier hospitals in the city, the report found.

In comparison, NYU Langone spent $95.1 million the same year, while Mount Sinai Hospital spent $128.8 million and Lenox Hill Hospital spent $57.1 million.

“As the largest employer and provider of health care in the Bronx, the nation’s poorest congressional district, Monte ore’s commitment to supporting the health and well-being of the communities we serve is at the core of everything we do, as demonstrated by our robust community bene t investments,” a Monte ore spokeswoman said in a statement.

Incentives needed

To incentivize more meaningful community bene t spending among hospitals, the Lown Institute recommended that the state require hospitals to spend a certain amount on direct community investments as a condition for participating in the indigent care pool, which provides funding to New York hospitals to care for patients who cannot a ord to pay.

e state could also follow Oregon’s example and establish a minimum level of community bene t spending, the institute said in its report. ■

Thor Equities unveils $3B Coney Island casino bid

BY AARON ELSTEIN

Thor Equities Chairman Joe Sitt became the fourth New York developer to throw his hat in the gambling ring by declaring last week he wants to bring a casino to Coney Island.

Commerce CEO, said Sitt’s group is committed to hiring minority- and woman-owned businesses, working with local institutions and hiring “directly from residents of Brooklyn and Queens.”

Still, community support is no slam dunk.

EVENTS CALLOUT

DEC. 8

POWER BREAKFAST

Mark your calendar to hear from Maria Torres-Springer, the city’s deputy mayor for economic and workforce development, interviewed live onstage by Crain’s Publisher and Executive Editor Fred Gabriel. Find out about her vision for the city’s post-pandemic future. This event will also provide an opportunity to talk about the progress the Adams administration has made in getting the city back on its feet and the challenges it still faces as we head into 2023.

DETAILS

Time: 9 to 10:30 a.m.

Location: 180 Central Park South CrainsNewYork.com/pb_torres-springer

Sitt, who revitalized the renowned Brooklyn amusement destination with the opening of Luna Park in 2010, said he hopes to turn the beachfront into more than a summer attraction.

“We are committed to creating lasting prosperity for a community and its residents and turn Coney Island into a vibrant year-round destination,” he said in a statement.

Few details were provided about the project, described as a $3 billion investment that would create “thousands” of permanent jobs.

To win one of the three New York casino licenses designated for downstate, Sitt and his partners must demonstrate the community is on board. In announcing the bid, Randy Peers, Brooklyn Chamber of

CORRECTIONS

“We have to listen to what they o er before we shoot it down,” said a person familiar with the thinking of Community Board 13, whose support is likely to be vital.

Sitt’s partners include experienced operators Global Gaming Solutions, the business arm of the Chickasaw Nation, and Saratoga Casino Holdings, which runs casinos in Saratoga Springs, Colorado and Mississippi. e pair would run the Brooklyn casino along with Legends, which handles drink and food sales at Yankee Stadium. ree casino licenses are to be awarded, and two of them are expected to go to “racinos” in Yonkers and Queens. e third is expected to land somewhere in the ve boroughs and be one of the largest ca-

sinos in the country. CBRE estimated a New York City casino could generate up to $2 billion in annual revenue and $600 million in operating pro t.

In addition to Sitt raising his hand, o ce landlords e Related Cos., SL Green Realty and Vornado Realty Trust have teamed up or are rumored to be partnering with Las Vegas operators to bid for casinos in Hudson Yards, Times Square or Herald Square, respectively. Billionaire Mets owner Steve Cohen reportedly wants a casino near Citi Field and is believed to favor Hard

Rock for a partner.

Las Vegas Sands is understood to be eyeing sites in Nassau County. Developers are also expected to unveil bids for sites near the Staten Island Ferry Terminal and Belmont Park when state gaming regulators begin formally considering o ers in January.

e state will have to decide if the best home for a casino is Midtown, which is still su ering from a decline in business and international travelers, or an outer borough. Ultimately, it might come down to which neighborhood wants it most. ■

to dozens of community-based organizations citywide each year.

New York-Presbyterian is “one of the state’s largest providers of safety net care,” she said.

BUCK ENNIS

BUCK ENNIS

RECEIVED

NY PRESBYTERIAN Weill Cornell Medical Center

CONEY ISLAND

■ A profile of Marina Severinovsky in the Nov. 21 issue should have stated that Schroders is a member of the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative.

BUCK ENNIS

Legal drama complicates sale

hotel for veterans

BY C. J. HUGHES

Acentury-old Manhattan hotel for veterans that closed during the pandemic is nearing a sale but needs to untangle legal issues rst.

e Soldiers, Sailors, Mariners, Coast Guard and Airmen’s Club at 281 Lexington Ave. in Murray Hill, which o ered rooms to former service members at discounted rates of less than $100 per night, is in contract to be sold for $9.2 million to an owner that does not plan to reopen the veterans’ hotel, court lings show.

e buyer is a limited liability company whose organizer is Hao Li, lings show.

But the 5-story, 30-room property, as a nonpro t, requires a sign-o from the state’s attorney general before any sale closes. On Nov. 15 the hotel led a petition in state Supreme Court in Manhattan seeking permission to move forward.

Complicating the deal is a three-way legal battle, which involves the hotel; the nextdoor co-op, the Carlton Regency; and the original developers. e battle revolves around the land under the hotel, which the hotel leases, and how much rent is owed for that ground lease.

To end the litigation, which has dragged on since 2007, the hotel has o ered to divert millions of dollars from its sale proceeds to end its ground lease early. e lease is supposed to run through 2073.

e Carlton Regency, which is the neighborhood’s “ nest white-glove building,” according to its website, consists of two towers that were built as rentals and that went co-op in 1979. e towers straddle the hotel.

About $1 million in proceeds will go to the estate of Ivan Obolensky, a Russian prince, Wall Street analyst and ex-naval lieutenant who lent the hotel money through the years to keep it a oat.

e beaux-arts, bay-windowed building at West 37th Street is not an o cial landmark. But developing a taller tower on the property does not seem possible, as the air rights appear to have already been snapped up by the Carlton Regency, lings suggest.

e hotel’s legal drama appears to have complicated efforts to sell the property, which was built in the late 1800s as two townhomes and which has served as a hotel since 1927, when it hosted World War I veterans.

Steve Bodden, a principal of the commer-

cial brokerage Sanchez Bodden Lerner, which began marketing the hotel in 2017, called the process “very complicated” but otherwise declined to comment.

Covid sealed its fate

As Covid slammed New York, the hotel closed for good in December 2020, according to court papers, although the site had been struggling for years with less-than-full rooms and “deteriorating conditions.” Veterans and current service members could stay in its rooms, which featured side-by-side beds and shared bathrooms.

While the hotel will no longer have a physical location, some of the sale money will be used to subsidize veterans’ stays at other hotels, documents say.

Jodi Warren, an attorney for the hotel, declined to comment. William McShane, the club’s president, also had no comment. James Conforti, an owner of the Carlton Regency, did not return an email by press time.

THE CENTURY-OLD HOTEL offered rooms to veterans at a discounted rate.

Investment banker lists Central Park West co-op

BY C. J. HUGHES

John Chachas, a media-focused investment banker who shaped the blockbuster 2008 Clear Channel radio buyout, is hop ing to get a strong reception for his home, which hit the market the week of Nov. 14.

The three-bedroom, three-anda-half-bath co-op, No. 5F at 211 Central Park West, has an asking price of about $8.8 million. It fea tures a living room with a fireplace and park views, a formal dining room and an eat-in kitchen, along with a separate studio apartment on the building’s first floor.

The co-op is in the Beresford, a coveted art deco residence at West 81st Street on the Upper West Side.

$8.8M

No. 5F at 211 Central Park West

aging principal of Methuselah Ad visors, an investment banking advi sory firm, has helped orchestrate the spinoff of radio and television assets on behalf of Hearst and Dis ney. He advised Clear Channel Communications on its $18 billion acquisition by THL and Bain Capi tal, a takeover effort that lasted two years.

Methuselah also had a hand in the 2015 merger of old-line news paper companies E.W. Scripps and Journal Communications, a move that caused Scripps to grow into one of the country's largest operators of TV sta tions.

IN 2010 CHACHAS SOUGHT NEVADA’S REPUBLICAN SENATE NOMINATION

Past and current residents of the building, which overlooks the American Museum of Natural His tory, include Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, architec ture critic Paul Goldberger and bil lionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

Chachas and his wife, Diane, have lived in the Beresford for sev eral decades, according to tax re cords.

The price they paid for their unit is unclear.

Chachas, the founder and man

Methuselah also counseled USA To day publisher Gan nett on its bid for Tribune Publish ing, the former parent company of the Los Angeles Times. Gannett’s offer was ultimately rebuffed.

Political aspiration

On the side, Chachas has dab bled in politics, though far from New York.

In 2010 the Nevada native ran for that state’s Republican Senate nomination to take on then-Demo cratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who died last year.

Chachas finished fourth in his

primary, however. The Republican winner, Sharron Angle, ended up losing to Reid.

Methuselah lists two offices on

its website, one in New York and one in Salt Lake City, which is near Chachas’ childhood home. Wheth er he’s relocating to Utah is unclear.

First-ever Museum of Broadway opens in Theater District

BY JASMINE SHEENA

On Nov. 15 the city’s first-ever Museum of Broadway opened, on West 45th Street in the Theater District.

The museum, a multifloor facility spanning three floors in a 12-story building which features interactive exhibits and showcases memora bilia from more than 500 theatrical productions from Broadway’s his tory, including The Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast and Funny Girl. It also shines a light on

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. A general admis sion ticket is priced at $43, a fee that was set to be comparable to similar attractions in the city such as the Museum of Ice Cream and Ma dame Tussauds.

Big debut

Nicoletti and Boardman have been involved in marketing and producing in the city for years. Ni coletti started her own firm, Rubik Marketing, in 2009. Boardman is a producer at Untitled (Theatricals), a company that produces and in vests in Broadway productions.

the behind-the-scenes effort it takes to put on a production. It was founded in collaboration with part ners such as Playbill, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the

The idea for the museum was originally conceived in 2017, and a lease for the space was signed in August 2021. Construction began in June, replacing an Irish pub that was on the ground floor. It was fi nanced by a num ber of investors in volved in the Broadway commu nity including the John Gore Organi zation and produc ers Henry Tisch and Wendy Federman. Museum co-founders Diane Nico letti and Julie Boardman declined to specify the actual cost of creating the site, only saying that it was mil lions of dollars.

“There is a ripple effect on the economy,” Boardman said of Broadway’s role in the city. “Be cause of Broadway, people come see a show. Then you hire a babysit ter, then you park in a parking ga rage, then maybe you go to drinks after. It’s such an integral part of New York City.”

David Leopold, creative director at the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, a partner involved in the creation of the space, said that the foundation financed some of the costs associ ated with an exhibit displaying the drawings of late artist Al Hirschfeld as well as funding the creation of an app that will accompany the exhib it. He said he believes the museum also might attract visitors back to Broadway, which has struggled to

recover from the pandemic.

“Giving people a sense of the his tory of what they’re seeing will only make for a richer audience,” he said.

The project was headed by Paul Bennett Architects, with JLL acting

as the real estate agent who found the space. Amy Zhen of Cushman & Wakefield and Matthew Schuss

■

John Chachas has worked on several media deals as founder and managing principal of Methuselah Advisors

of JLL supported the project as bro kers, with the firm Alexander Wolf & Son providing general contract ing services.

BUCK ENNIS

“GIVING PEOPLE A SENSE OF THE HISTORY WILL ONLY MAKE FOR A RICHER AUDIENCE”

The firm and Louise Beit, the Sothe by’s agent marketing the Chachas’ co-op, did not respond to requests for comment. ■

NO. 5F AT 211 CENTRAL PARK WEST, a three-bedroom co-op, features a living room fireplace and a separate studio apartment.

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Crypto firms find new ways to say how sad they are

In the wake of FTX’s dramatic collapse, the companies have a lot of bad news to share with customers

Wall Street firms used to pull no punches when they had bad news for customers.

As markets sank in 1998, Merrill Lynch sent a memo to its sales force with the acronym ACORN, which stood for “Advise clients our re sponsibility: none.”

Cr yptocurrency platforms are taking a kinder, gentler approach to sharing bad news, which there is much of in the wake of FTX’s col lapse. Recently the lend ing division of Mid town-based Genesis Global Trading gingerly told clients that if they want their money, well, they can’t have it.

“FTX has created un precedented market tur moil, resulting in abnormal with drawal requests which have exceeded our current liquidity,” the firm tweeted.

That passive-voice-filled sen tence probably is intended to pre vent further panic in the market

place. What it means is, Genesis doesn’t have enough cash.

In another tweet, the firm asked customers to keep the faith because Genesis has “hired the best advi sors in the industry to explore all possible options.”

Now, “all possible options” could include a bankruptcy filing. But to avoid that, Genesis is “working tire lessly to identify the best solutions” while “sourc ing new liquidity.” The firm promised soon to deliver “a plan.”

‘We are disappointed’ Crypto’s daisy-chain of woe forced Mid town-based broker Gem ini Trading to put out a statement that also gently informs certain clients they too can’t access their money.

The firm, owned by the Winkle voss twins, said it is “aware” that problems at Genesis are affecting Gemini customers who had been promised high rates of interest paid in crypto. Genesis was the “lending

partner” for that program. Gemini said it is “working with the Genesis team” and “will continue to work with them” but said nothing about a favorable outcome, perhaps be cause this is no time to make prom ises about anything.

“We are disappointed,” Gemini

ON POLITICS

Delivery workers bear the risk of deadly e-bike battery fires

Since lawmakers first legalized e-bikes a couple of years ago, the New York streetscape has transformed remarkably. Motorized bicycles dart up and down major thorough fares and side streets, many of them delivering food from nearby restau rants. For the workers themselves, and anyone looking to get around the city at a faster clip, the bikes have been a boon. If even a few of them get New Yorkers out of their gas-guzzling automo biles, they will be contrib uting, in their own small way, to the fight against climate change.

ies are powerful enough to allow a vehicle to travel 25 mph or, if illegal ly modified, even faster. Legal, cer tified batteries are expensive, and many poorer delivery workers ar en’t buying them. They seek out uncertified, imi tation batteries on the cheap and don’t know how to properly charge them. A bike charger can’t simply be inserted into an outlet that’s powering an air conditioner.

ROSS BARKAN

Because public housing residents don’t pay for metered electricity, an un derground industry has sprung up around some of these buildings to charge e-bikes for cash.

poorly regulated business and foist all risk onto their cyclists, all of them independent contractors, many of them immigrants. These companies, in a just world, would be forced to purchase, maintain, regulate and charge these bike bat teries, and be ordered to dispose of the batteries in a city Fire Depart ment–approved location. E-bikes must be the responsibility of the delivery apps, not workers. If the companies can’t afford to purchase and maintain safe bikes, then they shouldn’t exist at all.

In the meantime, the New York City Housing Authority is right to pursue an e-bike ban, and the de livery companies and their mis guided allies should get out of the

said.

‘Deeply saddened’

Jersey City–based BlockFi is pre paring to file for bankruptcy pro tection, The Wall Street Journal re ported.

“We know the past few days have

been incredibly diffi cult for you,” BlockFi told customers in a recent blog post. “We are deeply sad dened to see the devastation that is cascading across an industry that we love and believe in.”

The firm acknowl edged it has “signifi cant exposure to FT X,” including loans to Alameda Research, assets held at ftx.com, and undrawn amounts from a credit line with FTX.US.

“Across BlockFi, our team is working tirelessly towards our primary ob jective of maximizing value for all of our clients, and that will see us ex plore every strategic option avail able to us.”

It certainly sounds nicer than Merrill’s ACORN memo. Even if the end result is the same. ■

If gripes about e-bikes, like the way they speed over sidewalks and threaten pedestrians, can be over blown, a greater problem exists for this relatively new technology: bat tery fires. Five New Yorkers have been killed so far this year, and many more could die if larger apartment fires break out. Politi cians are beginning to take notice, but they’ll have to act fast to avert potential catastrophe.

Many e-bike users charge their bike batteries at home. The batter

Last year a man died charging sev eral different batteries in a Manhat tan public housing development. Attempting to put out lithium-ion fires is incredibly dangerous. Used bike batteries thrown down trash chutes are also a serious fire haz ard.

As Nicole Gelinas recently ar gued in the New York Post, mass amateur charging should be out lawed, as well as noncertified bat teries. Delivery apps such as Door Dash and Uber Eats dominate a

way and allow the city to take fire prevention seriously. There is a greater conversation to be had about the breakneck delivery pace these technologies have forced upon an exploited workforce. App

delivery services have convinced New Yorkers that they are entitled to the rapid delivery of a meal with the swipe of a finger. For decades it was enough for workers to arrive on pedal bikes. And these bikes were, on the balance, much safer for pe destrians and cyclists, without any risk of immolation.

What now? Mayor Eric Adams and the City Coun cil must treat e-bike battery fires like the public health threats that they are and aggressively regulate an industry that is bound to kill more New Yorkers. The state Legis lature can rethink what kinds of e-bikes are allowed on city streets and how necessary the technology really is, given the terrifying down sides. Legalization was pitched as

an unequivocal good; the reality, not surprisingly, has been far more complicated.

Quick takes

● Who will chair the state Assem bly’s housing committee next year? Steve Cymbrowitz, the current chairman, lost his re-election. There could be a quiet fight be tween progressive and moderate lawmakers over who leads one of the state’s most important commit tees.

● Jay Jacobs, chairman of the state Democratic Party, must go. For too many years, the state orga nization has been functionally use less, and a serious operative must take over after the losses Demo crats suffered on Election Day. ■

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

The mayor and City Council must treat this as a public health threat

BUCK ENNIS

DELIVERY APP FIRMS SHOULD GET OUT OF THE WAY OF FIRE-PREVENTION EFFORTS

BLOOMBERG

AARON ELSTEIN

B.J. Jones prepares Battery Park City for the climate change era

INTERVIEW BY BRIAN PASCUS

B.J. Jones is the president and CEO of the Battery Park City Authority. For the past eight years, he’s overseen the authority’s internal operations and quarterbacked its five-year capital plan. He presides over a mixed-use community that covers a significant portion of Lower Manhattan, where 16,000 residents mix with 30,000 workers and nearly a half-million visitors each year.

Jones has also worked at the nexus of city government. He spent 11 years in the administration of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, mainly as assistant commissioner of the Department of Buildings and as deputy director of the mayor’s Office of Operations. His accomplishments include instituting the 311 city call line, making reforms to the building code, and leading relief efforts after Hurricane Irene in 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Jones spoke with Crain’s about his career in city government and what he’s doing to protect Battery Park City from the rising seas of climate change.

How did you come to your current position?

My career has always been connected to government. I started out in government consulting, which was a multiyear boot camp, being exposed to different projects, different types of government operations and jurisdictions across the country. Then I moved to New York to try it out for a year—I was often on the road—and here I am 25 years later. Particularly after 9/11, I really wanted to work for the government itself, and got myself started on that side of the fence in the first term of the Bloomberg administration.

Takeaway for business professionals

Battery Park City is a critical engine for the economy. The former marine shipping pier is now a thriving, 92-acre mixed-use community with 16,000 residents and 30,000 jobs. It holds 30 residential buildings and 10 million square feet of office space. The neighborhood includes schools; cultural institutions, such as the Museum of Jewish Heritage, among others; and public parks spanning more than 36 acres.

There were a lot of different opportunities, from modernization projects to policy projects. I started off at the Department of Buildings, working on technology initiatives, like online permitting and then doing comprehensive regulatory reform, like updating the building code for the first time in several decades. And later, as deputy director in the mayor’s Office of Operations, I worked on a range of initiatives. After [Superstorm] Sandy, I was detailed to the recovery effort, which really opened my eyes to the importance of fighting climate change, and then I eventually got to the Battery Park City Authority, where I started off as vice president of administration.

What are you working on right now at the Battery Park City Authority?

We are really focused on our mission to maintain this neighborhood—to make sure this neighborhood is built to last. Maintenance has taken on a new significance, given a lot of the challenges we’re facing, primarily the climate crisis. We’re pursuing plans to fortify the neighborhood against more frequent and catastrophic storms, but also proactively taking climate action to help facilitate this neighborhood into becoming a carbonneutral one. We’re also mindful of housing affordability in preserving affordability where it exists, in Battery Park City, and using our economic model to help fund it elsewhere in New York.

What are you specifically doing to fortify Battery Park City for climate change?

Fighting climate change and preparing for future storms require significant commitment and investment, so we’re

talking hundreds of millions of dollars. Our work started in repair and restoration work after Sandy, but most recently we completed our first resiliency project, providing floor protection of Battery Park City ball fields, which were destroyed during Sandy, and the adjacent community center. Now we’re focused on doing our part of the Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Initiative, so [we’re] designing and eventually constructing a flood barrier system that will extend from the southern tip of Battery Park City along the water’s edge to the north side of the neighborhood.

What has Battery Park’s City historic role been for the city?

Battery Park City is an example of how creative urban planning can really make a difference. This neighborhood is an example of creating housing, creating public spaces, creating commercial opportunities. But more than that, Battery Park City really was a leader in terms of environmental responsibility. We developed green guidelines for construction that are commonplace now,

but [they] were ahead of the curve when they were established in the early 2000s. For example, we have the first Leadership in Engineering and Environmental Designcertified residential high-rise in the country, but we also have LEED-certified schools and commercial spaces. It’s also been a successful economic model. We generate revenues for important public services for the city to the tune of $200 million per year; less than 50 years ago there wasn’t much here. It was all crumbling piers.

Which was the most difficult proj ect you worked on in the Bloomberg administration?

Updating the building code was a real challenge when you think about the regulations that govern construction throughout the city. You’re talking about an enormous range of stakeholders, and you’re talking about a political process and a regulatory process, and you also have to think about the operational impacts that flow from there. And so working with a team to make that happen—and make that happen for the

POWER MARKS

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES Approximately 180

ON HIS RÉSUMÉ Government consultant, KPMG and BearingPoint (1994-2003); assistant commissioner, Department of Buildings (2003-10); director, Fund for the City of New York (2010-11); deputy director, mayor’s Office of Op erations (2011-20); Battery Park City Authority (2014-present)

BORN Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

RESIDES West Village in New York City

EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts degree in management, Gettysburg College; master’s in public administration, American University; master’s in ap plied positive psychology, University of Pennsylvania

BREAKING THE MOLD Jones released a sustainability plan on Earth Day 2020 to recommit the Battery Park City Authority to substantiality and to develop a climate action plan. The plan seeks to lower carbon emissions, electrify buildings and reduce waste to provide a playbook for the community’s residents and building owners.

first time in nearly 40 years—was a real education, but also a great experience

What are the keys to effective executive leadership?

The keys to being a good leader are being able to prioritize, to facilitate collaboration and camaraderie, and to develop trust and positive relationships with stakeholders across the municipal world.

When or where have you failed in your professional career?

When I think about failure, I think about really doing enough, and I think about that particularly through the lens of climate change. I think about Sandy and the recovery effort and all of the resources that were deployed to help people.

When you have folks whose homes have been severely damaged or destroyed, or infrastructure is offline or businesses are closed, you can’t get the aid out fast enough. It can really be frustrating.

What do you do for fun?

I have a niece and nephew in the D.C. area that I don’t get to see nearly enough. Spending quality time with them is a lot of fun. And also [spending time with] friends and family and just hanging out in New York City. ■

ASHLEY HOLT

EDITORIAL

Building a soccer stadium in Willets Point is an investment in the city’s future

New York City recently shared its plan for the next phase of its Willets Point, Queens, redevelopment project. A highlight of the plan is a 25,000-seat soccer stadium for the New York City Football Club. In a town that shows such erce allegiance to its basketball, football and baseball teams, prioritizing a soccer stadium might seem strange. But an investment in a soccer stadium is actually an investment in the city’s future.

Take for example how popular NYCFC has been so far despite its not being one of the city’s more mainstream teams. According to Soccer Stadium Digest, the

ing the team.

And the pandemic has highlighted just how much of the local economy depends on international travelers, with a number of industries still struggling as foreign tourists have been slow to come back. Soccer is the most popular sport in much of the world, and having a soccer destination in the ve boroughs could be a key factor in attracting international tourists—and encouraging them to spend money outside of Manhattan. e new stadium also could play host to high-pro le international matches, just as NFL and NBA teams sometimes play “home” games in Europe.

A SOCCER STADIUM IN THE FIVE BOROUGHS COULD WIN BACK INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS

football club averaged 17,180 fans per home game during its 2022 season, played at Yankee Stadium. e publication also notes that Major League Soccer overall experienced a 25% bump this past season in comparison to the 2021 slate of games. at shows there is de nite local interest in support-

e negotiations surrounding the soccer stadium also could serve as a blueprint for other arena deals, such as what might happen with Madison Square Garden as the Penn District is revamped. NYCFC will foot the entire $780 million cost of building the stadium. And because the land under the soccer venue is owned by New York City, the football club will pay the city a scale of annual rent that will start

at $500,000 a year and reach $4 million in 2076. Some have criticized the price point and called into question the subsidies for infrastructure improvements and property tax breaks that are part of the deal. So far City Hall has said the subsidies could range from $200 million to $300 million, but that’s not to say they could not balloon, as infrastructure costs often do. But in light of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s misstep in funding the Bu alo Bills’ $1.4 billion new stadium—a taxpayer-funded plan that calls for $850 million in state and local funds—the Adams

administration should be applauded, in some respects, for not giving away the site for free. New Yorkers can’t walk past a local park without spotting a soccer ball being kicked around. As the city becomes more ethnically diverse, soccer will continue to grow in popularity. NYCFC might even become a household name in the near future. A deal like this one that prioritizes where the city is heading is a good thing. And keeping the nancial numbers manageable makes the victory for Queens even sweeter. ■

Call for union labor jeopardizes NY energy goals

GARY LABARBERA’S “Creating and retaining union jobs should be the cornerstone of state’s energy goals” op-ed [Nov. 10] was an interesting read. Although it’s refreshing to see business groups and labor working together, it’s unfortunate they’re uniting to turn their backs on tens of thousands of construction workers. eir agreement also could jeopardize the state’s ability to meet its climate goals.

e reality in New York is about 70% of the construction workforce is nonunion. Despite this, LaBarbera, the Independent Power Producers of New York and the Business Council claim the best way for New York to meet its clean-energy goals is to build using only union labor by implementing project labor agreements. ey want to allow only 30% of the workforce to build these developments.

at’s an interesting position to take, given that every contractor you talk to will tell you their biggest challenge right now is nding workers.

Given that, we ask these groups to answer one question: How can the state meet its energy goals when 70% of the workforce is excluded?

New York is already making the development of renewable energy more expensive by requiring projects be built using the state’s prevailing wage. at adds 17% to 30% to the cost, depending on the trade and where the project is sited. And the groups want to make it even more expensive by limiting the number of contractors that will choose to bid on the work.

Even without other unique projects, it would be virtually impossible for 30% of the workforce to complete the renewable

projects. at’s in a regular construction market. New York is getting ready to develop major projects including the new Bu alo Bills stadium, the reconstruction of I-81 and the Micron project near Syracuse, plus more than a dozen airport projects and billions in infrastructure work that already have PLAs tied to them.

e union halls alone cannot handle all the work that needs to get done in our state.

If those groups get their way, instead of utilizing the quali ed workers here in New York, we’ll likely see workers from out of state.

at would be unacceptable. e projects are being funded by New Yorkers’ hard-earned tax dollars. It should be New York workers who bene t from the opportunities. It shouldn’t matter if you’re in a union or not. What should matter is if you are local

and quali ed.

We’re not anti-union. If union contractors win the work, so be it. Our point is that what LaBarbera, the Business Council and some of our elected leaders support will delay New York’s ability to meet its climate goals and will sideline tens of thousands of construction workers.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature want New York to be a leader in moving away from fossil fuels. Good. eir rst step should be to reverse what they’ve done and open all renewable energy projects to all quali ed bidders regardless of a liation. Let the entire construction workforce help New York meet its energy goals.

BRIAN SAMPSON

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chairman Keith E. Crain vice chairman Mary Kay Crain president & ceo K.C. Crain senior executive vice president Chris Crain editor-in-chief emeritus Rance Crain chief nancial of cer Robert Recchia founder G.D. Crain Jr. [1885-1973] chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. [1911-1996]

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President, Empire State Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors, a construction industry trade association.

NYCFC currently plays its home games at Yankee Stadium.

BY JONATHAN SCHIFRIN

The New York City Eco nomic Development Corp. announced during the summer that the city now tops the U.S. in life science jobs and funding, surpassing the two long time industry leaders: greater Bos ton and the San Francisco Bay Area. New York is home to more than 150,000 jobs in the life science sec tor and more than 5,000 biotech

nology businesses.

Taking over the top spot is a mile stone that caps more than a decade of transformative leadership from both the public and private sectors to make New York a global public health research hub, including the city’s $1 billion commitment to boost the industry.

For years, city and state policy makers have reinforced the growth of an industr y that builds so natu rally on the assets that New York has always possessed: a large, diverse talent pool, world-class

OP-ED

life sciences

needs a lot more laboratory space

academic research institutions and a steady flow of venture capital.

One of the last remaining hurdles to supercharge the life science and biotech industries in New York is the lack of laboratory space, for which there is exceptional demand.

As of last year, New York City had fewer than 2 million square feet of lab-exclusive space. Boston and San Francisco, both of which are much smaller cities, offer life sci ence users exponentially more space, reaching or exceeding 30 mil lion square feet. In order to support and enable life saving research work, the life sci ence sector requires world-class space.

Closing the gap is a big challenge, especially when demand among top players in the space is rising exponentially. Leasing reached 400,000 square feet last year, com pared with a little more than 150,000 square feet in 2020.

Meeting the demand

The good news is that developers have been stepping up in New York, where the overall square footage of space is set to nearly triple, up from 2 million square feet to more than 5 million by 2028, according the

CBRE Q3 2022 NYC Life Sciences Market Report.

The market trends in New York right now are similar to what our firm has seen happen in Bos ton, San Francisco and San Diego: rapid growth leading to market satura tion in the initial clusters, followed by the outward spread of the ecosystem. Just as MIT spurred the initial life science concen tration in Boston’s Kend all Square—which then spread to the Seaport Dis trict—the renowned Man hattan health care corridor is expanding to the city’s other boroughs.

Long Island City has emerged as a particularly attractive location for life science companies. One new proj ect that is set to come online in the Queens neighborhood is Hatch Life Sciences. At 43-10 23rd St., Longfel low Real Estate Partners is convert ing a former creative office building to 214,013 square feet of lab-ready shell, to begin delivering in the first quarter of next year. In addition to upgrading the base building sys tems, Longfellow is adding com prehensive amenities on the first floor and approximately 70,000

square feet of pre-built lab suites ranging from 14,153 to 21,516 square feet.

Gensler’s principal on the Hatch Life Sciences project, Tom McGoldrick, said the firm contin ues to see the repositioning of office and manufacturing buildings to expand research-capable programs in New York. Gensler is helping its clients differentiate their real estate by prioritizing resiliency, flexibility and well-being.

Life science might prove to be the defining industry of this century — one with the potential to create transformative public health bene fits while creating thousands of jobs for our community. We must ensure that the built environment is there to meet the demand. ■

Jonathan Schifrin is a senior vice president in CBRE’s Advisory and Transaction Services Group in New York City.

A call to action in support of affordable housing that meets the needs of the most vulnerable

BY KEITH ENGEL

The local and national inter linked crises of food insecu rity, homelessness and housing affordability bear renewed attention.

According to an analysis last year by Feeding America, approximately 1.5 million New Yorkers are experi encing food insecurity, including one in four children.

Exacerbated by rising costs for food, rent and other necessities, the figure represents a 36% increase

and homelessness and can be miti gated only through housing that helps the most vulnerable mem bers of society: a tripartite rubric of shelter and transitional housing, supportive housing and perma nent affordable housing.

Legislative changes

At the start of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s new term, it remains to be seen if key housing issues left unre solved during the last session will be re-engaged. The policy initia tives include the retooling of the expired 421-a pro gram and reviving the good-cause eviction legislation that was tabled.

over pre-pandemic counts.

The nationwide homelessness crisis has surged to new heights during the Covid-19 pandemic. In New York, 63,318 individuals reside within the shelter system. About 32% of them are children, and 60% are families with children.

The present housing affordability crisis exacerbates food insecurity

Further, with advocacy in sup port of promoting affordable housing at all scales, and in following New York’s City of Yes housing proposi tions, we hope for the renewal of Hochul’s accessory dwelling unit plan. It would build upon the past term’s legislative success of passing Assembly Bill A06262 which, under certain criteria, allowed the con version of existing hotels to sup portive housing without triggering

other wise daunting regulatory requirements.

At the local level, several initia tives within Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes plan promote affordable housing. They include exploring other housing types in service of a more equitable range of popula tion demographics, to include accessory dwelling units, dwelling units below the minimum size

required by zoning, and shared-housing opportunities. Additionally, the proposals would review the dwelling unit factor to allow residential projects to create more small units and would extend the floor area ratio allowed for affordable independent residences for seniors to permanently afford able and supportive housing projects.

The housing, homelessness and food insecurity crises require sus tained, collective and incremental effort, engagement and advocacy. I’m hopeful that we can make a difference.

■

Keith Engel, studio director for Dattner Architects in Manhattan, is a member of Queens Community Board 6.

COMPANIES

THE CRAIN’S LIST of top privately held companies, ranked by revenue earned last year, measures how companies emerged from a year of unparalleled disruption and uncertainty. Quite well, as it turns out: Unlike 2020, when revenue decreased for the majority of rms, that was the case for just 13 companies this year. To make the list, the bar has been raised yet again. Last year the cuto was $112 million; this year, it shot up to $150 million, within striking range of the $160 million cuto in 2019. After a year of enduring losses, the Mets and Yankees nd themselves back on the list.

More than a dozen companies exited the list last year due to 2021’s IPO bonanza, but there was just one major public market debut since last year’s list was published: Buzzfeed, which hit the stock market in December 2021. Noom and Better, which both reportedly were planning to go public this year, instead announced major layo s, as many of the city’s startups nd themselves in a state of limbo created by public-market volatility.

—Amanda Glodowski

ERIC SCHWEIGER CEO, Schweiger Dermatology

RON RUDZIN CEO, Saatva

GETTY IMAGES

LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES

New York–area companies ranked by 2021 revenue

RANKCOMPANY

Hearst 300 W. 57th St. New York, NY10019

BloombergLP 731 Lexington Ave. New York, NY10022

SellersFunding 45 N. Broad St. Ridgewood, NJ07450

Standard Industries 9 W. 57th St. New York, NY10019

STO Building Group 5 330 W. 34th St. New York, NY10001

Horizon MediaInc. 75 Varick St. New York, NY10013

212-649-2000 hearst.com

212-318-2000 bloomberg.com

StevenSwartz,President, chief executive WilliamHearstIII,Chairman FrankBennackJr.,Executive vice chairman, former chief executive

MikeBloomberg Chief executive

929-229-2252 sellersfunding.com RicardoPero Chief executive

212-821-1600 standardindustries.com

212-481-6100 stobuildinggroup.com

212-220-5000 horizonmedia.com

DavidMillstone DavidWinter Co-chief executives

JamesDonaghy Executive chairman RobertMullen Chief executive

BillKoenigsberg,Founder, president, chief executive

EileenBenwitt,Executive vice president, chief talent officer

VincentO'Toole,Executive vice president, chief operating and financial officer

$11,900.0 +5.3% n/d 23,000Information, services and media company

$11,000.0 2 +4.8% n/d 19,000Global business, financial information and news

$10,000.0 3 0.0% n/d 153 4 E-commerce platform

$10,000.0 +56.3% n/d 20,000Global building materials

$9,510.0 +17.7% $10,800.0 4,200Construction management and general contracting

$9,500.0 +11.8% n/d 2,400Media and marketing services

Central National GottesmanInc. 3 Manhattanville Road Purchase, NY10577

Red Apple GroupInc. 800 Third Ave. New York, NY10022

Breakthru Beverage Group 6 60 E. 42nd St. New York, NY10165

Candy 205 Hudson St. New York, NY10013

Renco GroupInc. 1 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY10020

AmTrust Financial Services 59 Maiden Lane New York, NY

914-696-9000 cng-inc.com

212-956-5803 ragny.com

AndrewWallach President, chief executive $7,100.0 +14.5% n/d 3,050Sales and distribution of pulp, paper, tissue, packaging and other products

JohnCatsimatidis Chairman, president, chief executive

212-699-7000 breakthrubev.com TomBené,President, chief executive W. RockwellWirtz,CharlesMerinoff Co-chairmen

candy.com ScottLawin Co-founder, chief executive

212-541-6000 rencogroup.net

$6,700.0 2 +48.9% n/d 8,000 2 Retail, energy and real estate, media

$5,600.0 2 n/d n/d 7,000 2 Wine and spirits distribution

$5,000.0 4 n/d n/d 126 4 Non-fungible token marketplace

IraRennert Founder, chairman, chief executive $5,000.0 2 0.0% n/d n/dMilitary vehicles, automotive interiors, pallet racks, magnesium and refined metals

877-528-7878 amtrustfinancial.com BarryZyskind President, chief executive

$4,600.0 2 n/d 5,329 2 Property and casualty insurance company

212-223-3200 trammo.com EdwardWeiner President, chief executive $4,200.0 7 +133.3% n/d n/dCommodity merchandizing, distribution and transportation

Suffolk 50 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY10020

J.M. HuberCorp. 499 Thornall St. Edison, NJ08837

646-952-8000 suffolk.com

732-603-3643 huber.com

RalphEsposito President, Northeast and mid-atlantic region 15

16 NFI 2 Cooper St. Camden, NJ08102 877-634-3777 nfiindustries.com

32 8 Ingredients and materials

manufacturer

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT Noom #44

On the upswing

67% OF COMPANIES on the list grew their revenue from FY20 to FY21, more than a 10 percentage point increase from last year.

SAEJU JEONG

21

MarkTeo,President, chief executive AndrewTeo,Chief financial officer $2,500.0 +1.0% $3,000.0 5,000Flexible packaging

Hispanic-American media

212-594-9717 hntb.com

PhillipBrake Senior vice president

JasonYoung Chief executive

$1,446.5 +2.0% n/d n/dHNTB is an employeeowned infrastructure firm serving public and private owners and contractors.

$1,416.7 +22.3% n/d n/dIntegrated media company

Fedway Associates Inc. and Affiliates 20 North Ave. East Elizabeth, NJ07201

973-624-6444 fedway.com

RichardLeventhal,Chairman, chief executive

RobertSansone,Group President MaxLeventhal,Director of business development

JohnDevin,President, Fedway Associates RalphIppolito,President, Inter Metro

Gellert Global Group

1 Atalanta Plaza Elizabeth, NJ07206

Allied Beverage Group 700 Kapowski Road Elizabeth, NJ07201

908-351-8000 gellertglobalgroup.com

$1,413.3 +10.7% $1,450.0 1,050Importing and distributing wines and spirits, logistics, trucking and real estate development 29

800-2721323 alliedbeverage.com

GeorgeGellert

Chairman, chief executive AndrewGellert President

JeffreyAltschuler President, chief executive

$1,400.0 +6.9% $1,400.0 1,000 8 Wholesale distribution of wines, spirits and other beverages

$1,410.0 8 0.0% n/d 1,815Imported food products 30

DavidMillstone

STO

Horizon

Central National GottesmanInc. 3 Manhattanville Road Purchase, NY10577 914-696-9000 cng-inc.com

JamesDonaghy Executive chairman

$9,500.0 +11.8% n/d 2,400Media and marketing services

Adams & Co. Real Estate 96

AFD Contract Fur niture Inc. 123

Alliance Shippers Inc. 57

Allied Beverage Group 30

AmTrust Financial Services 12

Atrium 72

Bar r & Barr Inc. 92

Better.com 33

BlockF i 64

Bloomberg LP 2

Breakthr u Beverage Group 9

Brooklyn Nets 55

Candy 10

CannonDesign 86

Capital Rx 91

Capitolis 112

Central National Gottesman Inc. 7

CGS 108

Cityblock Health 76

Continental Grain Co. 21

Corgan 111

Cur ry Automotive 46

Daily Har vest 101

D’Ar tagnan Inc. 120

Deep Foods Inc. 79

Dental365 121

Diversant 104

Doher ty Enterprises 70

E.W. Howell Construction Group 98

Eileen F isher Inc. 103

E-J Electric Installation Co. 50

Empire Office Inc. 64

Fedway Associates Inc. and Affiliates 28

FreshDirect 53

Geller t Global Group 29

Gensler 32

Goya Foods Inc. 24

GPI Greenman-Pedersen Inc. 90

GZA GeoEnvironmental of New York 125

Harry’s 84

Hearst 1

HNTB New York Engineering and Architecture 26

HOK 71

Horizon Media Inc. 6

Hudson Meridian Constr uction Group 100

Hunter Rober ts Construction Group 36

ICC Industries Inc. 22

Imperial Bag & Paper Co. 18

Iovino Enterprises 60 J. Crew 22

J.M. Huber Corp. 15

J.T. Magen & Co. Inc. 31

JRM Constr uction Management 44

Justworks 38

Kaufman Organization 116

Kobalt 59

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates 118

Krasdale Foods Inc. 42

Langan 80

LRC Constr uction LLC 67

Manhattan Beer Distributors 34 Max Kahan Inc. 63

Mediaocean 82

Medly Phar macy 84

Mindlance 94

Minute Media 119

Nationwide Mor tgage Bankers Inc. 122

Navillus 101

New York Giants 55

New York Jets 58

New York Mets 93

New York Yankees 62

NFI 16

Noom 44

Nor thStar Group Services Inc. 43

NPD Group Inc. 61

Omnibuild 115

Packable (Pharmapacks) 66

Paige Electric Co. 112

Perkins Eastman 99

Phar ma in Motion LLC 49

PIM Brands Inc. 52

Posillico Inc. 73

PrestigePEO 17 Pride Global 74

Red Apple Group Inc. 8

Renco Group Inc. 10

Ro 106

Rokt 107

Russell Reynolds Associates 37 Saatva 76

Schimenti Constr uction Co. 88

Schweiger Dermatology Group 114

SeatGeek 86

SellersFunding 3

Sigma Plastics Group 20

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill 83

Solomon Page 104

Standard Industries 3

Stanford Investment Group 94

Stark Carpet Corp. 124

STO Building Group 5

STV 51

Suffolk 14

Sugar Foods Corp. 40

Synechron Inc. 41

Taub Family Cos. 78

The LiRo Group 69

Thor nton Tomasetti Inc. 97

Torcon Inc. 68

Tory Burch 25

Trammo, Inc. 13

TransPerfect 35

TripleLift 109

Triton Construction Co. 75

Trump Organization 54

Turtle & Hughes Inc. 47

Univision Communications Inc. 19

Urban Atelier Group 89

V ice Media Inc. 47

V ista Food Exchange Inc. 81

Weeks Marine Inc. 39

Wine Enthusiast Cos. 117

Wm. Blanchard Co. 110

Ziff Davis Inc. 27

Senator Charles E. Schumer

New York

LARGEST PRIVATELY HELD COMPANIES

TEAMS

became the Yankees owner in 1973, the team has generated a compounded annual return of nearly 18%. Heading into this year, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway had produced a 20% annual return since 1965, and the S&P 500 Index, 10.5%.

Put another way, not only do the Yankees have the resources to pay Judge whatever it takes, but losing him risks impairing one of the best

list of the largest privately held companies in New York, enter next season in their best financial shape in several years.

In 2022 both teams made the playoffs in the same season for the first time since 2006. Ratings on the YES Network were their highest since 2011 and up 27% over last year, with an average of 368,000 viewers per game, the network said.

Each major league team collects at least $100 million in local and na tional TV money, according to Baseball Prospectus, with the Yan kees estimated to reap nearly $200 million and the Mets, somewhat less.

MIX

brands in sports. Which, of course, is a major reason Mets owner Steve Cohen would like to poach the 30-year-old star from the Yankees.

With a net worth of about $13 bil lion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Cohen certainly could top the Yankee front office’s offer.

The Yankees and Mets, ranked 62nd and 93rd on this year’s Crain’s

It’s not clear how bad the Covid-19 pandemic stressed the teams financial ly, but filings to Yankee Stadium bondholders show that in 2021, the team generated about $200 million in ticket and suite revenue, down from $336 mil lion in 2019. The team historically has generated about half its total revenue from ticket and suite sales.

(The Yankees brought in $284 mil lion this year, not including their five home playoff games.) In 2020 the team refinanced the debt taken

out to build its stadium—which lowered interest expenses by $40 million, according to Moody’s.

Nearly 2,600 full-time-equivalent employees work at Yankee Stadi um, according to the city Economic Development Corp.

Victories ahead

In a report earlier this month, Fitch Ratings affirmed its BBB cred it rating for the bonds that financed the construction of Citi Field, and it rates the Yankee Stadium bonds BBB+. The higher rating for the Bronx bonds reflects “the franchise strength of the Yankees and the more stable and robust levels of at tendance and ticket revenues,” Fitch analyst Henry Flynn said. Still, attendance isn’t what it was even 10 years ago. The Mets drew more than 200,000 fewer fans last year than the Citi Field–era high of 2.7 million, set in 2016 after the team’s last World Series appear ance. The Yankees drew about 180,000 fewer fans this year than in 2019, even with Judge’s historic season.

Whether that is a result of higher ticket prices or fans preferring to watch from home, Wall Street ap parently believes the change in the business mix is lasting. Fitch said it

assumes that total assigned pro ceeds to Yankee Stadium bond holders next year will match 2016’s, the lowest level in the ballpark’s 10year history excluding the first two pandemic seasons. The ratings firm also assumes that ticketing pro ceeds won’t match 2019 levels until 2024, and it expects them to grow by 1% per year thereafter.

If that plays out, smaller crowds won’t matter so much as long as revenue from other sources contin ues to grow.

Sports betting offers opportuni ties for teams, though baseball fans

don’t bet as often as football fans do.

Flynn said the Mets will be reno vating Citi Field during the winter with an eye toward enhancing reve nue, though the team hasn’t an nounced its plans yet.

In addition, players will start wearing patches on their sleeves with sponsor logos starting next year. Flynn said the patches will be more prominent than the ads on NBA and NHL uniforms.

“You’ll see it when the players are at bat,” Flynn said. “It’ll be a pretty strong revenue addition.” ■

BUCK ENNIS

WALL STREET BELIEvES THE CHANGE IN THE BUSINESS

IS LASTING

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Modern Home and Travel LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/27/22. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon him/her is 14 Murray St #180, New York, NY 10007.

Purpose: For any lawful purpose

Notice of Formation of DARBY TOWNHOMES

PRESERVATION GP, LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/10/22.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES

Notice of Formation of EVERGREEN STAFFING LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/07/22.

Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Farrell Fritz, P.C., 400 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of FARALLON ASIA (GP) II, L.L.C.

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/20/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/13/11. 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., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of DARBY TOWNHOMES

DEVELOPER, LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/10/22. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of MENAI MARKETS LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/03/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/31/20. Princ. office of LLC: 520 Madison Ave., 21st Fl., NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. Original addr. of process was Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808; however, as amended by Cert. of Change filed with SSNY on 10/19/22, SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Digital asset financial services provider.

Notice of Qualification of FARALLON OVERLOW GP II, L.L.C.

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/20/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/10/19. 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., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of FARALLON HOLDCO, L.L.C. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/20/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/09/15. 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., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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owning a business in New York and to have had a criminal o ense related to marijuana that occurred before the state legalized it. e state received more than 900 applications for retail licenses.

Housing Works, which has multiple locations in the city, focuses on helping people a ected by HIV/ AIDS and homelessness. e organization released a statement saying it views the recreational cannabis industry as a way to help increase its services for these groups, along with those who were unjustly incarcerated on

charges.

juana program.

e company Variscite NY One, registered in Albany, has sued New York over its requirement that a person must have had a marijuana conviction under New York law to be eligible for a retail license. e majority owner of Variscite has a cannabis conviction under Michigan law, not New York law, according to the lawsuit. Each applicant for a license was allowed to pick up to ve regions of the state where its application to open a store would be considered. e ve regions Variscite chose were the Finger Lakes, Central New York, Western New York, Mid-Hudson and Brooklyn. e judge in the case on Nov. 10 issued an injunction preventing New York from approving retail licenses in those regions.

THE STATE RECEIVED MORE THAN 900 APPLICATIONS FOR RETAIL LICENSES

e selected retailers will now submit their nal application materials to the state, and once these are approved, they will get their nal licensure to open and run the dispensaries. Up to 175 licenses will be issued overall, split between as many as 150 for individuals and as many as 25 for nonpro ts.

e Cannabis Control Board selected the rst round of retailers as the state faces an ongoing federal lawsuit against its recreational mari-

e state had planned to recommend 18 applicants from those regions, including four in Brooklyn, for approval at last Monday’s meeting but was unable to because of the suit.

The build-out

e state Dormitory Authority also recently announced it had awarded bids to 10 teams of architecture and construction rms to design and build recreational marijuana dispensaries in the state.

e companies will develop about 150 retail locations across New York. e state put out its request for pro-

posals for contractors to build and design the stores in May, and ocials are still working to nd sites for them. ey expect this process to last through 2023.

e dispensaries will have to be at least 500 feet away from a school and 200 feet away from a house of worship. e state will lease these spaces from private landlords and then sublease them to the dispensary owners.

e teams that received bids are:

● AOW Construction and

Anderson Porter Design

● ES Development & Management and Method Architects

● Forte Construction, Goldman Copeland and 2WR+Partners

● Grow America Builders and H2M Architects + Engineers

● LeChase Construction Services, Envision Architects and LaBella Associates

● Murnane Building Contractors, BKA Architects and Wolf Construction

● SEI Design Group and Bette &

Cring

● A joint venture of Anderson Porter Design, Salt Construction Management and WHL Plant known as SWAP Team

● Temeka Group, Schnackel Engineers, Quorum Architects and CS Hudson

● e Pike Co. and SWBR

New York o cially legalized pot in March 2021, following the passage of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. Sales estimates for the state have exceeded $1 billion. ■

Maria Torres-Springer

NYC Deputy Mayor for Economic & Workforce Development

CBD KRATOM in the Garment District

Presser has worked with several big names in the music business, including Peter Nero, Hal Holbrook, Carlos Montoya and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. He has worked as a consultant with several European opera theaters.

ART ACROSS OCEANS Presser says his work has taken him to at least 10 countries around the world.

CREAM OF THE CROP If he had to pick a favorite Broadway play, it would be Cats, but he is fond of the entire Rodgers and Hammerstein repertoire and enjoys opera and classical music.

OUT OF THE PARK In his spare time, Presser enjoys watching baseball, in particular the New York Mets and Yankees.

Letting kids look behind the curtain

Inside Broadway’s founder seeks to educate students about the theater

BY SHELBY ROSENBERG

If you’ve ever walked past a Broadway theater, you’ve probably seen a large group of students on their way in or out. For many, it’s their rst time visiting the eater District, and they have Michael Presser to thank for it.

Presser is the founder and executive director of Inside Broadway, a nonpro t that exposes city public school students as young as 7 years old to Broadway by operating an arts and education program in conjunction with theaters.

Presser’s interest in theater began as a child in Philadelphia, when his parents took him to see the pre-Broadway tryout of My Fair Lady. He was enthralled and took every chance he could to see other performances that passed through town on their way to New York. He was interested in how the magic happened onstage every night.

When he attended Temple Uni-

versity, there was no arts administration pathway, so he pursued a business degree while continuing to attend performances in his spare time. He remembers when the Metropolitan Opera visited Philadelphia for a week of performances, coinciding with his nal exams.

“I was determined to get to almost all of the performances,” he recalled. “To this day I can still remember the operas and casts I saw, but I can’t tell you anything about the exams except that I passed.”

In 1973 Presser moved to Greenwich Village. In what he calls the mid-1970s version of LinkedIn networking, he mailed letters to every big name he could think of in the local theater and opera world.

He met several famous gures including conductor Leonard Bernstein, and even received a side-gig as an usher at the Metropolitan Opera. He met people involved in production, administration and casting who taught him about the complex-

ities behind productions.

From there, Presser joined a talent agency as an artist manager. Over several years he traveled to theaters throughout the U.S. and Europe, building his experience.

School program

In 1982 Presser met the late Bernard Jacobs, then-president of the Shubert Organization. Jacobs wanted to donate 50 tickets a week for students to see the musical Cats and asked Presser to create a program to make that happen. It was the beginning of Inside Broadway.

As the lineup of o erings gradually expanded, Presser drew on his arts management background to add an educational component by introducing students to the behindthe-scenes action of productions.

Later, Inside Broadway began producing its own shows, including classics like Smokey Joe’s Café and Bye Bye Birdie, which tour schools across the city.

Now in its 40th year, the program reaches over 90,000 students in around 100 schools annually. Presser estimates the program has introduced more than 3 million students to the theater since its founding.

Inside Broadway’s o erings are free, funded primarily by city agencies including the City Council and the departments of Cultural A airs, Education and Youth. is year it is projected to have taken in an estimated $2 million in funding.

As Presser plans for the future, he’s inspired by discussions about how the industry can be more inclusive. He aims to drive those e orts forward through his programming.

As he looks back, he says despite all his experience, he approached Inside Broadway humbly. “I thought if I could do [the ticket program] well, maybe they’d give me something else to do,” he said. “[Late Shubert chairman] Jerry Schoenfeld always said that they gave me a kernel, and I built an empire.” ■

BUCK ENNIS

BORN Philadelphia RESIDES Greenwich Village EDUCATION Bachelor’s in business, Temple University FAMOUS ENCOUNTERS

MICHAEL PRESSER

PRESSER fell in love with the theater after seeing a Philadelphia tryout for My Fair Lady when he was a kid.

future of NYC

SENATOR LEROY COMRIE SPONSOR SPEAKER Chairman of Committee on Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions 14th Senate District

SARAH M. KAUFMAN Interim Executive Director NYU Rudin Center for Transportation

TOM