Crain's New York Business, August 21, 2023

NY’S CANNABIS MARKET COULD BE WORTH $7.5B—

MOST OF IT ILLEGAL

| By Aaron Elstein

SL Green navigates a new real estate turmoil

Midtown rm battles high vacancy rates, sluggish sales market

By C. J. Hughes

At rst blush, SL Green Realty Corp., New York’s largest owner of o ce space, seems to be having a good summer. e company’s stock price has surged more than 70% from its post-Covid spring low, and the $1 billion sale in June of a stake in 245 Park Ave. to a Japanese investor valued the Midtown tower within a hair of its prepandemic worth.

But SL Green’s shares are still trading at prices more than 60% less than what they were before Covid’s onslaught, suggesting there’s still a long road until full recovery. And as hybrid work persists, the company’s occupancy rate slid to 89.8% in the second quarter from 90.2% in the winter, undermining predictions by executives that the worst of the ofce collapse was over.

e next few months, then, seem to represent a critical crossroads for the company,

When the state Legislature legalized recreational marijuana two years ago and dramatically reduced penalties for illegal sales, the intent was to create a network of carefully located dispensaries to be safely run by people who had been incarcerated for selling weed in the past.

Instead, the smell of weed is quite literally in the air all over the city, and

BY THE NUMBERS 2021

The year the state of New York legalized recreational marijuana

the government isn’t collecting much tax revenue from it. New York state’s marijuana marketplace could be worth $7.5 billion, Washington research rm New Frontier Data estimates. But most sales take place within the thousands of unlicensed bodegas, delis and other retailers in the city selling ower, edibles and extracts.

Sales at licensed dispensaries statewide trickled in at $33 million

in the rst half of the year, according to the state Cannabis Control Board. Tax revenue was coming in at $3.3 million a month through mid-May, according to a study by industry group Coalition for Access to Safe and Regulated Cannabis; the Hochul administration had projected $4.7 million.

e ve boroughs now have more than 10 times the number of shops selling marijuana than Amsterdam, the global capital of cannabis consumption ever since that city decriminalized casual pot smoking in 1976. New York City has at least three times more cannabis shops than all of the Netherlands, with

The unregulated market is expected to generate $5.4 billion, compared to $2 billion in legal sales this year

CEO Marc Holliday

Two Danny Meyer restaurants in NoMad to close as their hotel home becomes a shelter for migrants

By C. J. Hughes

Restaurateur Danny Meyer is abruptly closing two restaurants after their home, a historic hotel in the NoMad neighborhood, has changed uses and become a shelter for migrants.

Marta and Maialino, part of the Redbury New York on East 29th Street, will serve their final meals Friday, Aug. 25, and lay off all 125 employees, according to a state layoff filing.

The 250-room Redbury, which officially closed Aug. 4 but which appears to have been mostly shuttered since the Covid pandemic started, began welcoming migrants this month as the city scrambled to house a fresh surge of thousands of arrivals from the southern border.

In 2015 Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group paid $158 million

in some areas, especially because of the drop-off in business travel, some hotel owners may be calculating that shelters provide a steadier income source than tourists. The city reportedly pays up to $300 a night at some sites.

Pressed for space

“Meeting this humanitarian crisis is requiring sacrifice across the nation and particularly in cities such as New York, where all types of solutions are being utilized, including parklands and repurposing other public and private locations for temporary housing,” a CIM spokesman said in a statement.

“The Union Square Hospitality Group should be commended for its understanding of our participation, along with other city hotel owners, in this initiative to advocate for policy changes on behalf of qualified asylum seekers,” it said.

for the 13-story, 143,000-squarefoot building, which is between Madison Avenue and Park Avenue South, property records show.

As the rate of visitors to the city remains below prepandemic levels

The two high-end Italian restaurants, which occupy the sprawling ground floor of the prewar landmark at 29 E. 29th St., were pressed for space with the Redbury’s change in function, according to Meyer, the executive chairman of parent company Union Square Hospitality Group.

“While we admire and respect the Redbury’s decision, the viability of our business relies significantly on hotel-related [food and bever-

age] operations, including event venues and the lobby bar, spaces that are now unavailable for our use,” Meyer said in a written statement. “We remain fully supportive of the Redbury’s initiative and will continue advocating for policy change that expedites work permits for asylum seekers.”

Marta, which opened in 2014 and specializes in well-reviewed thin-crust “Roman-style” pizzas, will cut 87 jobs, according to the state Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing. Marta’s moniker appears to be a play on Martha Washington, a onetime

name for the historic 1903 BeauxArts property.

Maialino, which moved just last fall to the Redbury from the Gramercy Park Hotel and replaced two smaller eateries, Caffe Marchio and Vini e Fritti (while also taking on the slightly different name Maialino Vicino), will lay off 38 people, the filing said.

Among New York’s highest-profile and financially successful restaurant companies, Union Square Hospitality Group is also the owner of Gramercy Tavern, the Financial District’s Manhatta and the company’s flagship, Union

Square Cafe, which opened in 1985.

Meyer, who also founded the hit Shake Shack hamburger chain that he took public in 2015, stepped down as CEO of Union Square Hospitality last fall to make way for a new chief executive, Chip Wade.

In his statement, Meyer hinted that the pair of closed NoMad restaurants could return at some point at different addresses. In 2015, in the face of escalating rents, Union Square Cafe hopped from its longtime home on East 16th Street to a new berth a few blocks away on Park Avenue South.

Since the spring more than 95,000 migrants have flooded into the city and seemingly are posting a severe test of Mayor Eric Adams’ ability to install them in housing, which led to the striking scene in early August of people sleeping for days on the sidewalk outside a Midtown hotel.

For its part, CIM also owns the Dominick hotel on Spring Street in SoHo and numerous stakes in New York rental and condo projects, such as the Tribeca condo 100 Barclay.

An email sent to the mayor’s office to confirm the details of the new shelter was not returned by press time.

Douglas Elliman downsizes after a rough quarter

By C. J. Hughes

Douglas Elliman, pummeled by the home-sales slowdown, is planning to leave one of its longtime Midtown homes for a smaller office, dealing another blow to the beleaguered office sector.

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The property-management division of the massive real-estate brokerage will exit 675 Third Ave. early next year to a less-expensive space after its lease expires, Chairman Howard Lorber said in an earnings call this month.

It’s not clear where the division, a $35 million subsidiary of Douglas Elliman, will go next. A company spokesman had no comment in a follow-up call.

Lorber added that the overall firm also recently cut 45 employees and reduced ad spending to trim costs while also looking to close offices nationally. “Douglas Elliman continues to weather the current macroeconomic challenges,” he said.

According to CoStar, the firm leases 17,000 square feet at 675 Third Ave., a 32-story postwar tower owned by the Durst Organization. Other tenants in the building, which CoStar Group says is 79%

leased, include Consumer Reports, GKV Architects and the International Trademark Association. Asking rents at the building are around $60 per square foot annually, CoStar says.

Uptick in luxe listings

For its part, Durst said 675 Third Ave. would bounce back from the firm’s departure. “We were happy to provide a home for Douglas Elliman for the past 25 years and wish them continued success,” said Thomas Bow, a Durst executive vice president. “We are seeing very strong leasing momentum across our Third Avenue portfolio.”

The move comes on the heels of a brutal spring for Elliman. On Aug. 7, the brokerage, which employs 6,900 employees across 120 U.S. offices, reported that its earnings in the second quarter had swung into negative territory, with $8.3 million in consolidated losses versus $14.6 million in income in the year-ago period.

Along the same lines, the brokerage division of the company, which spun off from parent Vector Group in 2021 before interest rates began to climb, shed $1 million in

the second quarter of this year, compared with $21.6 million in income in the same period last year. That division sold $9.9 billion in real estate in the second quarter, versus $13.6 billion a year ago.

Although the brokerage said earlier this summer it was looking for a replacement for CFO J. Bryant Kirkland III, it did not announce a new hire on Aug. 8.

That day, Elliman’s stock price was hovering around $2 per share,

down more than 80% from its 2021 debut at around $12 a share. Despite “industry-wide headwinds,” Lorber said he was heartened by the recent uptick in the supply of luxury listings, which will lead to vital new revenues for the company in six to nine months after deals for those units have closed. He added that residential sales were strong this spring in downtown Manhattan but the Upper East Side was a weak spot.

Douglas Elliman will leave its Midtown office at 675 Third Ave. early next year. COStAR gROUP

“We remain fully supportive of the Redbury’s initiative and will continue advocating for policy change that expedites work permits for asylum seekers.”

Restaurateur Danny Meyer, in a statement

Danny Meyer is closing Marta and Maialino Vicino restaurants at the Redbury New York. | BUCK ENNIS

The business of trash gets a digital upgrade

The upstart: CurbWaste

Collecting trash? There’s an app for that. CurbWaste, a 20-person software startup based in Times Square, wants to provide waste haulers technology to streamline their operations and better serve their customers.

Many waste haulers still depend on old-school routing, invoicing and management tools, says CurbWaste CEO and founder Mike Marmo. Locally, the city is in charge of residential pickup while the private sector handles commercial trash. New Yorkers throw out 10,000 tons of garbage every day, according to the city Department of Sanitation. Some operators rely on Excel or even pen-and-paper recordkeeping systems. Marmo’s cloud-based platform provides everything from automated invoicing to dynamic dispatching and a driver app. It even sends text alerts so customers know when the truck is coming to pick up a dumpster.

Launched in 2021, CurbWaste has doubled its customer base in the past several months and now serves 55 haulers in 21 states, Marmo says. Clients subscribe on a per-driver basis, paying $150 to $300 a month for each driver in the system.

The company has raised a seed round and seedround extension, bringing its total funding to $11.2 million.

Sara Taylor, who co-owns trash hauling service KC Dumpster in Kansas City, Mo., says her business operated for years with several systems that weren’t fully integrated. “We were doing a lot of double and triple data entry, taking the order in one system and putting it in a different system to actually dispatch drivers on the road,” she says. Her accountant, meanwhile, was manually creating invoices on QuickBooks; drivers had to call or text each customer to let them know their ETA.

In January, her business, which typically handles 75 dumpster pickups per day, migrated to CurbWaste. “It increased our capacity by about 25 dumpsters a day,” Taylor says.

The reigning Goliath: AMCS

The privately held Limerick, Ireland-based software company, founded in 2004, has more than 1,000 employees in Europe, the U.S. and Australia. It serves more than 4,000 customers deploying more than 700,000 trucks—typically large enterprises in the waste, recycling, logistics and utilities industries.

How to slay the giant

Marmo’s great-grandfather, grandfather and father worked in the trash business, but after majoring in management, he went in a different direction—playing professional baseball in Italy before returning to the states to w ork in sales.

In his mid-20s and unsure what to do next, he got a scale-operating job at a waste transfer station in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

That experience revealed a lot about the trash business. “You talk to the drivers, you talk to the owners, you get exposure,” he says.

Seeing that most small waste haulers were behind the times, Marmo launched his own Brooklyn-based dumpster service and sank all of his profits into paying engineers to develop a cloud-based platform to run his company. When other trash haulers asked if they could use it, Marmo sold his dumpster company to focus on the t echnology. It took his developers a full year to refashion the software into a commercially available platform.

“I’m not a technical founder, so I had to learn,” Marmo says. “I also had to learn how to raise money. I didn’t know what venture capitalists look for. I didn’t know how to talk to them, I didn’t know how to meet them.”

His break came in 2022 when a golf buddy told him about ServiceTitan, a $10 billion software startup company serving the HVAC and plumbing industries. Marmo found

the company on Crunchbase and emailed the VC firm listed as ServiceTitan’s first investor.

“ I was like, ‘Whoever invested in them might invest in us,’” he says. He was soon flying to Santa Monica, Calif., to close on a pre-seed round.

Patrick Harmon, a principal at B Capital Group, which led the company’s seed round several months later, says he was already on the hunt for a waste management startup when he heard from CurbWaste. It was Marmo’s experience in the industry that sold Harmon on the company.

“ He’s a fourth-generation waste guy who knows all the players,” he says. “In these old-line industries, trust is absolutely paramount. Customers are more willing to trust s omeone that comes from their space and really cares about changing it for the better.”

Marmo landed his first customer in 2022—a small operator in Tulsa, Okla.—after reading a trade magazine article about how the company’s young owner hired a graffiti artist to paint his dumpsters. “I reached out to him because I felt like he was like-minded,” Marmo says.

The platform improved the customer’s cash flow by 10% and increased revenue by 20%, he says.

CurbWaste continues to focus on small, growing trash haulers looking to innovate. “All of our growth is through referral and word-of-mouth, or it’s our independent outreach,” Marmo says. “We don’t do any marketing.”

The next challenge

Marmo plans to build new features along with a lending service for growing customers who need cash for, say, a new garbage truck. But the central focus is on scaling the platform to meet the needs of larger customers. Until now, CurbWaste has focused mainly on smaller trash haulers with up to 30 trucks. Now, it will also go after mid-size enterprises, he says, with fleets as large as 300.

Anne Kadet is the creator of Café Anne, a weekly newsletter with a New York City focus.

Anne Kadet

CurbWaste CEO and founder Mike Marmo. | BuCK ENNIs

WHO OWNS THE BLOCK

Decades-old Murray Hill ‘sliver’ building with Hollywood ties lists its final units

Morgan Court is on the site of a former carriage house for financier J.P. Morgan and his offspring

By C. J. Hughes

A1980s Murray Hill tower with Hollywood ties—and a key role in zoning history—is embracing a third act.

Morgan Court, a 40-unit condo known as a sliver building for its unusually skinny proportions (and that was appropriately the setting for the 1993 Sharon Stone thriller “Sliver”), has begun to market its final three sponsor units.

The sale of duplexes Nos. 26B, 28B and 28A at 211 Madison Ave. will in a way mark the end of a four-decadelong real estate tale. But don’t expect the condo’s sponsor, Mark Perlbinder, a development veteran whose father built two large apartment houses on the block, to wax sentimental.

“It’s bricks and mortar. There’s no emotion,” Perlbinder said. “You can’t have a discussion with a building like you can with flesh and blood.

The former site of a carriage house for financier J.P. Morgan and his offspring, Morgan Court was conceived in the mid-1980s amid a backlash against controversial sliver buildings, which are often several times taller than the structures around them.

The city eventually passed an anti-sliver zoning law to limit the height of structures on lots narrower than 45 feet. Perlbinder avoided the crackdown by breaking ground in March 1983 one day before the new law took effect.

Brushes with silver-screen fame came later. “Sliver,” in which the building (addressed as 113 E. 38th St.) has challenges with a tenant video-surveillance system and frequent murders, was followed by “Law & Order,” which filmed scenes in the building, Perlbinder said. The 2010s-era “Selling New York” broker-focused reality show also used Morgan Court as a set, said Reba Miller, the Compass agent handling sales there today.

Apartment designs have evolved along the way. The first batch of six units, which managed to find takers just before the late-1980s recession hit, featured greenish Formica and teak floors, Miller said. An effort to reboot the building in the mid-2000s and sell its 22 remaining sponsor units, many of which were functioning as rentals (though some were often kept empty), added marble counters and stainless-steel appliances.

For the third push, the trio of remaining developer units, all of them three-bedroom duplexes, have relocated their kitchens for better flow while also adding numerous floor-to-ceiling windows that boost the amount of views by 25%. At a time of slowed condo sales, Morgan Court is asking $3.6 million for No. 28A, $3.3 million for No. 26B and $3.4 million for No. 28B.

“Developers today are on a different trajectory. Construction loans are written so people are always breathing down their necks. But if developers could hang on to units, they should,” Miller said. “Value appreciates with time.”

11 E. 36TH ST.

In the mid-2000s, developer Eli Bobker redeveloped this 1912 terra cotta office building into a condo, Morgan Lofts, which initially hit the market with 57 studios to two-bedrooms. But the project apparently had trouble selling through the Great Recession, and in 2014, with 14 apartments left to go, lender Madison Realty Capital swooped in with a $19 million loan. Madison founder Josh Zegen is listed in state records as a principal of Morgan Lofts ownership today. A two-bedroom resale last listed at $1.4 million went into contract in May after being marketed for a year. The Ginger Man, a craft beer-focused bar named for an American character in a J.P. Donleavy novel who carouses around Ireland, opened in 1996 in the building’s 4,000-square-foot ground-floor space but became a 2021 casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic.

211 MADISON AVE.

A 1980s sliver-style condo that’s marketing its last sponsor units four decades after sales started, No. 211 offers its residents a spacious courtyard shared with other buildings on its block. All the sites have overlapping ownership courtesy of the deep-rooted Perlbinder family, which has developed several buildings in Murray Hill and is in its fourth generation of leadership. Patriarch Joseph Perlbinder built housing in Brooklyn and the Bronx. His son Julius Perlbinder developed postwar apartment complexes like 35 E. 35th St. and 36 E. 36th St. plus the Schwab House at 11 Riverside Drive, a co-op today. His son Mark Perlbinder built No. 211; a daughter, Muffy Flouret, is also in the family business. When actress Sharon Stone was filming in the building for the movie “Sliver,” she was in the courtyard and ran into Mark, whom she said she recognized from somewhere. As it turned out, both Perlbinder and Stone were regulars at department store Bergdorf Goodman, Perlbinder said.

38

The 13,000-square-foot neo-Gothic structure here, the Episcopalian Church of the Incantation, opened in 1864 and is a city and National Register landmark known for its stained-glass windows, several of which were created by Tiffany designers. A major fire in 1882 wiped out the organ and a west-facing window, although the church appears to have quickly rebuilt them. The Delanos (as in Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and the Morgans were parishioners in the early 20th century. When Sara Roosevelt, Franklin’s mother, died in 1941, the church built special access ramps to allow her wheelchair-using son, who was then the president, to enter. A parish house completes the picture at next door No. 209.

This massive full-block structure with arched ground-floor windows was for decades a prominent department store in the B. Altman and Co. chain. After shuttering in 1988, it sat empty for several years before Morton Olshan and Peter Malkin redeveloped the cavernous 13-story, 885,000-square-foot prewar structure into a half-dozen commercial condos. Oxford University Press, which uses the address 198 Madison, owns a five-story berth. Another was occupied by a branch of the New York Public Library dedicated to science, industry and business from 1996 until 2016, when it decamped to the revamped Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library across from the main branch on Fifth Avenue. Since 1999, the City University of New York has offered graduate-level classes in another space that’s reachable from the Fifth Avenue facade.

36

This 12-story red brick postwar rental building, which city records say has 108 units, was developed by Julius Perlbinder, Mark Perlbinder’s father, although deeds indicate that members of the Berger and West families also owned stakes at various times. A studio apartment in early August with parquet floors and stainless-steel appliances was listed at $3,700 a month. J.P. Morgan Jr., known as Jack, a son of the Gilded Age financier of the same name, once owned the property after buying it in 1929 from the Williams family through his Flintlock Realty Co. using a $100,000 mortgage with a 5% interest rate, according to The New York Times. Jack lived at 231 Madison, an 1854 brownstone with 22 fireplaces that today mostly contains offices for the Morgan Library and Museum around the corner. Dad J.P. Morgan Sr. lived in a similar building on the same block, at 219 Madison Ave., which was razed in 1928 to make way for the library’s annex.

A vestige of an era when Murray Hill was synonymous with aristocracy, this site offers the Union League Club, a membership-only organization that dates back to 1863. Formed during the Civil War to preserve the Union and limiting its membership then to Republicans at a time when the party was associated with the Northern states, the Union League Club relaxed its rules during President Franklin Roosevelt’s second term in 1937 to allow in Democrats, too, according to a city report to confer landmark status on the 12-story, 99,000-square-foot brick structure. In 1931, the Union League Club moved to the site, its fourth home, from Fifth Avenue and East 39th Street in a deal orchestrated by non-member J.P. Morgan Jr., who assembled several parcels and apparently sold them to the club at cost. Fifteen U.S. presidents, including Teddy Roosevelt, have apparently been members of the club, which requires men to wear jackets until 4 p.m. on Fridays.

Though headquartered in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, the arts-friendly Pratt Institute has had four Manhattan outposts since its founding in 1887. The first was in this five-story townhouse, which Pratt bought in 1968. A gallery mainly used for showcasing works by Pratt students, 46 Park claims to have hosted 57 shows between 1970 and 1974. In 1978, after moving to a larger space at nearby 160 Lexington Ave., Pratt sold the 7,800-square-foot building to the Republic of El Salvador for use as its Permanent Mission to the United Nations, which allowed the diplomatic organization to relocate from East 43rd Street. The sale price was about $100,000, or $500,000 today, according to city records. (Pratt’s current Manhattan location is on West 14th Street.) Wedged between two bulkier towers, No. 46 provides a feel for Murray Hill’s scale in its Beaux-Arts heyday before high-rises shouldered in.

188 MADISON AVE.

46 PARK AVE.

E. 37TH ST.

E. 36TH ST.

207 MADISON AVE.

Mayor Adams’ new efficiency czar is a veteran of city government

By Nick Garber

Mayor Eric Adams has tapped city government veteran Denise C. Clay as his new chief efficiency officer, he announced Aug. 10, making her the second person in as many years to hold the newly created job.

Adams announced the efficiency czar position shortly after being elected in 2021, although he did not formalize it through an executive order until April 2022. He described the new role as a signature effort of his first few months in office, with the goal of “weeding out

city buildings commissioner Melanie La Rocca, held the efficiency job until June, when she stepped down to become chief operating officer at the real estate development firm BFC Partners. That made her part of a string of high-level departures from the Adams administration during its first 18 months.

Clay, who has held senior roles in the Department of Finance for about nine years, “brings the experience and expertise to make sure that our government is working for every New Yorker every day,” Adams said in a statement. She will report to First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright.

Mayor Eric Adams announced the efficiency czar position shortly after being elected in 2021.

the waste and eliminating the inefficiencies” within the city’s sprawling bureaucracy.

Adams’ initial choice, former

City Hall never officially announced La Rocca’s resignation, and gave no detailed accounting of the office’s accomplishments thus far when it announced Clay as the new pick on Aug. 10. La Rocca had been publicly connected to a handful of initiatives, including

the “moonshot” goal announced in December of building 500,000 homes over the next decade— which centered in part on bureaucratic reforms.

Adams creates new offices

La Rocca was also reportedly involved in the “secret shopper” program launched last year allowing New Yorkers to evaluate their interactions with city agencies, and was named in a press release about reducing the city’s vehicle fleet.

Adams has created numerous new offices within his administration, from rat czar to public realm officer to an office of faith-based and community partnerships. That structure has caused some consternation—police commissioner Keechant Sewell and chief housing officer Jessica Katz both reportedly grew frustrated by internal confusion over who was in charge of certain issues, spurring their resignations this year.

The efficiency officer is formally

charged with developing metrics to track government performance, finding ways to improve “customer satisfaction” and the delivery of services, identifying ways to reduce regulation and streamline procedures, and reviewing the city budget to find new needs, according to Adams’ executive order creating the job.

Clay, the new efficiency officer, most recently served as chief operating officer for First Deputy Mayor Wright, preceded by stints

as chief of staff and senior advisor in the city’s Department of Finance. Before joining city government she was an executive at Johnson & Johnson, the health products company Covidien and the consulting firm Sand Cherry Associates.

“New Yorkers deserve nothing less than the best from their city government, and we will continue to deliver results for the residents and visitors we have the privilege to serve,” Clay said in a statement.

Judge throws out Airbnb lawsuit challenging city’s regulation of hosts, allowing law to go into effect in fall

By Cara Eisenpress

A city rule requiring short-term rental hosts to register their units before they can get paid has survived a legal challenge from Airbnb, the San Francisco-based home-sharing platform, at least for now.

Judge Arlene Bluth sided with the city, allowing the law to go into effect this fall over Airbnb’s lastditch effort to push out or eliminate enforcement for the 2021 law, though she also had stern words for the city agency overseeing registration and urged them to pick up their pace.

“Requiring that a listing have a registration number and that Airb-

a unit means a host has to agree to comply with a long list of rules from the city’s housing code, including that no unit is rented for fewer than 30 days unless a host is on premises, and that no more than three unrelated adults are in an apartment at one time.

After a year of finessing the details, the Office of Special Enforcement set the launch for early July. The lawsuit pushed the start date to the fall. Airbnb said that there are more than 80,000 guests who have booked stays starting on or after Sept. 5, the start date, including 10,000 guests whose stays are during the first week of enforcement.

The judge admonished the company for not preparing for the possibility it might not win in court.

nb only accept fees from listings with a valid registration number makes perfect sense,” wrote judge Arlene Bluth in a decision released Aug. 8 by the New York State Supreme Court. “It is a method designed to streamline the process of ensuring that only eligible spaces appear on Airbnb or other listing sites.”

The rule was created by a City Council law passed in late 2021, following several previous attempts by the city to rein in shortterm rental bookings. Registering

“New York City’s short-term rental rules are a blow to its tourism economy and the thousands of New Yorkers and small businesses in the outer boroughs who rely on home sharing and tourism dollars to help make ends meet,” said Theo Yedinsky, global policy director for Airbnb, in a statement. “The city is sending a clear message to millions of potential visitors who will now have fewer accommodation options when they visit New York City: you are not welcome.”

The company reported profit of $650 million on revenue of $2.5 billion last quarter, its most profitable second quarter ever. Airbnb has said it nets about $85 million annually from New York City stays.

Bluth admonished the compa-

ny for not preparing for the possibility it might not win in court.

“Airbnb has known about these rules for many months,” she wrote, “and has had ample opportunity to tell its hosts about these new rules and tell them to apply for a registration number.”

‘Glacial pace’

The city’s Office of Special Enforcement had approved just 141 registrations as of July 25, according to documents filed in the case. Just under 250 were returned to applicants for more information, while 29 were denied. Another 1,300 have been submitted. There

are also nearly 9,000 buildings registered on a prohibited buildings list that would prevent any tenant from successfully registering. Rental platforms won’t be able to process payment for units without registration numbers.

Judge Bluth also took the city to task for its “glacial pace” in processing applications but said that was not enough basis to let the suit play out.

While the city has argued that short-term rentals can be dangerous, illegal and inflationary for the long-term rental market, Airbnb has maintained that the marketplace is crucial for residents with extra units who need to make

ends meet and for small businesses in out-of-the-way neighborhoods.

Five New York neighborhoods— Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Williamsburg and Prospect Lefferts Gardens in Brooklyn; Ridgewood, Queens; and Washington Park South in Manhattan—have plentiful Airbnbs but few or no hotels and may feel the brunt of the decision at local small businesses.

During the hearing, the judge appeared to take seriously some of the more arcane bits of housing law that hosts are expected to comply with in order to register, like not having any locks on bedroom doors or informing the city when a live-in significant other moves out after a breakup. She also asked representatives from the Office of Special Enforcement why they were processing applications slowly.

Airbnb maintains that the registration rule will eliminate about 95% of its net revenue for city units. The city’s guess is more moderate—OSE Executive Director Christian Klossner estimates that about 55% of Airbnb’s revenue in the city comes from illegal short-term rentals.

The chief efficiency officer is one of many new offices that Mayor Eric Adams (above) has created within his administration, from rat czar to public realm officer to an office of faith-based and community partnerships. | BLOOMBERg

Airbnb hoped to end or delay a city rule it says will kill its business facilitating short-term rentals. | BLOOMBERg

Hope, skepticism on Kingsbridge Armory

The announcement of another redevelopment attempt was tempered with acknowledgement of how many times it’s been tried

Project kicko announcements are typically marked by heady triumphalism, as elected o cials strain to outdo one another with predictions about all the problems this latest venture will solve. Sure, it may seem like a modest new building that will hopefully bring some jobs to your neighborhood, but what it will actually do is eliminate crime, turn you into a millionaire and cure your arthritis.

blindness. e governor- and mayor-backed announcement did appear to put this latest attempt on rmer ground than its highest-pro le predecessors, but some skepticism is still warranted.

Eddie Small

ere was plenty of this at the recent announcement launching redevelopment attempt No. 6,731 for the Kingsbridge Armory, but it was telling that the speakers tempered it with acknowledgments about how many times this has been tried before. Gov. Kathy Hochul even said she understood the skeptics, which is not the type of comment you normally hear at such events.

But given how often and how publicly developers and elected o cials have failed at transforming the armory, not addressing this would have come o as willful

ON POLITICS

e biggest issues with a pair of earlier plans essentially boiled down to political and nancial problems. e Bloomberg administration had hoped to turn the armory into a mall in the mid2000s, but this failed in the face of opposition from the City Council, as members of the Bronx delegation insisted that every mall employee receive a living wage. (Mayor Eric Adams has had plenty of his own issues with the City Council, but based on local Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez’s enthusiastic remarks at the kicko event, redeveloping the armory is not one of them.)

After the mall push, a team led by former New York Rangers star Mark Messier and former Deutsche Bank executive Kevin Parker spent roughly a decade trying to

turn the armory into a massive ice-skating complex. However, they were never able to securenancing for the project, which was ultimately abandoned last year. is aspect of the new attempt also seems to be in better shape given the $200 million in grants the city and the state have already committed. And the community has expressed a desire for the armory to house industries such as sustainable manufacturing and urban agriculture, which banks may be more con dent aboutnancing when compared to the more fanciful ice rink project, whose practicality was a point of contention throughout the process.

Lack of details

But this does not guarantee smooth sailing for the project going forward. e biggest red ag so far is the lack of details over what it will actually involve, as the recent announcement was not so much a plan as it was a plan to choose a plan. e request for proposals will not go out until September, and o cials do not

anticipate selecting the winning bid until next year. Once that is done and broad principles such as “creating jobs” and “prioritizing youth” turn into speci c ideas, opportunities for disagreements will exponentially increase. And if this theoretical recession does arrive at some point, securingnancing could become a problem as well. Any project is likely to cost far more than $200 million, after all.

It has been about 30 years since the U.S. military last used the armory, which is a long time for a project to stall out by anything other than Second Avenue subway standards. Hochul and Adams deserve credit for taking this on, but skepticism will be warranted until the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the only type of event with more heady triumphalism than a project kicko . Hopefully it gets here this time.

Another round of musical chairs at City Hall

Mayor Adams is seriously interested in reform

Did you know New York City has a new e ciency o cer? ough I write about politics for a living, I didn’t either.

e post itself was created by Mayor Eric Adams last year. Melanie La Rocca, a former city buildings commissioner, held the e ciency job until June, when she stepped down to become chief operating o cer at real estate development rm BFC Partners. Her replacement will be Denise C. Clay, who has held various senior roles in the Department of Finance. La Rocca’s resignation, oddly enough, was never announced.

What exactly is an eciency czar supposed to do? Adams touted the new position when he was running for mayor and followed through on the campaign promise when he won. La Rocca, and now Clay, are supposed to spend time “weeding out the waste and eliminating the ine ciencies” within the city’s enormous bureaucracy. La Rocca’s role seemed fairly nebulous: She was publicly connected to the ill-de ned “moonshot” goal announced in December of building 500,000 homes over the next decade and was reportedly

involved in the “secret shopper” program allowing New Yorkers to evaluate their interactions with city agencies.

Ross Barkan

Undoubtedly, La Rocca and Clay are capable bureaucrats, and there are plenty of ine ciencies that need to be ironed out in city government. But there’s little evidence Adams is seriously interested in reform. He has not done anything tangible to change the procurement process that leads to delayed timelines on infrastructure projects and huge cost overruns. He has only added to, not shrunk, the amount of political patronage in the upper echelons of government.

Governing, in general, has not been Adams’ priority. Unlike Bill de Blasio and Mike Bloomberg, Adams has lacked policy ambition. Bloomberg created 311, built new parks on the waterfront, rapidly expanded bike lanes and pedestrianized Times Square. De Blasio guaranteed every employee ve paid sick days (for companies and organizations that employ more than ve people) and created a universal prekindergarten program that became, over time, a national model. Both men were

deeply awed and received their fair share of criticism; neither was immune to scandal. But they shared a commitment to implementing a very clear policy vision. If Bloomberg cared more about “weeding out waste” than de Blasio, that wasn’t the ultimate point of his administration. Both mayors wanted to recruit talented people to government and keep them there. Each empowered well-regarded

commissioners to run their agencies. Each, for example, allowed world-class transportation experts to run the Department of Transportation. Today, a former local politician heads up that same agency.

e Adams administration has bled expertise over the last year.

Jessica Katz, who was charged with implementing his housing plan, has resigned. He lost his rst police commissioner and so-

cial services commissioner. Others, like Frank Carone, his rst chief of sta , will now make much more money lobbying government o cials and picking up consulting fees. Cronyism at City Hall has run rampant.

Meanwhile, glaring vacancies exist at many city agencies and some of them, particularly in the housing sector, have struggled to function. Adams has been slow to embrace remote work and has forced pay cuts on lower-level sta . If Adams continues to lead the city this way, the talent exodus will continue. No single eciency czar, under these circumstances, can make anything run the way it should.

Quick takes

◗ If Adams can indeed redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, as promised, he will deserve signi cant praise. Neither Bloomberg nor de Blasio could make it happen.

◗ e median price for a Brooklyn home hit $1 million in July, a new record—great news for sellers and the real estate industry, but ominous for middle-class buyers who hope to ever set down roots in the city.

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

Undoubtedly plenty of inef ciencies need to be ironed out, but there’s little evidence

Mayor Eric Adams marches in the 41st annual National Dominican Day Parade on Sunday, Aug. 13. | BENNY POLATSECK/NYCMAYOROFFICE/FLICKR

The Kingsbridge Armory. | BUCK ENNIS

Helicopter firm Blade reports revenue nearly doubled in second quarter in unit that transports organs

By Amanda D’Ambrosio

A Manhattan helicopter company known for carting elite New Yorkers to the Hamptons reported growing revenue in a recent call with investors, thanks largely to its organ transportation business.

Blade Air Mobility said its MediMobility arm, which transports donor organs to centers across the country, reached $34.4 million in second-quarter revenue, nearly double compared with the same quarter last year.

Innovative technologies in transplant medicine have created demand for efficient transportation that can go longer distances.

The organ transportation business made up more than half the company’s revenue last quarter. The company reported $61 million in second-quarter revenue, up 71% from the same quarter last year.

Flight profits increased to $10.4 million in the second quarter, up from $5.1 million the year prior. The growth was driven by the company’s organ transport business, contributions from its acquisitions in Europe and profits from short-distance travel in the U.S., Blade said.

2021 acquisition

Despite the gains, Blade reported a net loss of $12 million, which it attributed to corporate expenses and software development. The Hudson Yards-based company, which went public in November 2019, has become well-known for flying New Yorkers to local airports and getaways from the Hamptons to South Florida, and it also flies passengers in Canada and Europe. Then in 2021 it acquired organ transport company Trinity Air Medical for $23 million and has become the largest organ transplant business nationwide.

“Organ transportation in particular, is growing very, very quickly,” said Will Heyburn, Blade’s

chief financial officer. Now, Blade’s MediMobility business serves 68 transplant centers and organ procurement organizations across the U.S. and completed thousands of transports last year, Heyburn said.

Innovative technologies in transplant medicine have created demand for efficient transportation that can go longer distances. Perfusion technology, for example, uses a device to continue pumping liquids through an organ once it leaves the human body and extends organ viability. The technology has contributed to an increase in organ donations across the country year over year, said Rob Wiesenthal, Blade’s CEO.

Recent changes in organ allocation policy have increased the average distance that organs travel from 125 miles to 200 miles, the company said, although donor organs can be transported thousands of miles. Recently, Blade flew a heart from Alaska to Boston—a distance of 2,500 miles, Heyburn said.

Blade primarily generates revenue from transporting heart, liver and lung donations because of the

short time those organs remain viable outside the human body. A heart can survive outside the body for approximately four hours, while livers and lungs are viable for a bit longer, Heyburn said.

There were nearly 43,000 organ transplants in the U.S. last year, with just over 16,000 of those being heart, liver and lung procedures.

Blade operates under an asset-light model, meaning the company does not actually own or operate any of the aircrafts it uses.

Under that model, the same plane used to fly passengers to Palm Beach during the day can later fly a group of surgeons from New York to Philadelphia to pick up an organ at night—offsetting the costs of the aircraft and giving the company “incredible economies of scale,” Heyburn said.

The company works with all the transplant centers in the New York City area and serves customers including NYU Langone, Wiesenthal said.

Felon landscaping firm files lawsuit against the city over losing work trimming trees in Brooklyn, Queens

By Nick Garber

A troubled tree-trimmer with a criminal past sued the city, alleging that it was unfairly uprooted from its longtime gig pruning branches in Brooklyn and Queens.

Dragonetti Brothers Landscaping filed a complaint this month against the Parks Department and the rival landscaper that beat it out this spring for two contracts totaling more than $22 million.

That rejection came months after the Brooklyn-based company and its leaders, Vito and Nicholas Dragonetti, pleaded guilty to a large-scale insurance-fraud scheme in which they misclassified employees eligible for workers’ compensation insurance to avoid paying more than $1 million in premiums, according to Manhattan prosecutors. The company paid $1.2 million in restitution and was barred from doing business with certain city agencies—but not the Parks Department.

During the legal battle, scores of trees went unpruned for months last year in Brooklyn and Queens, and lawmakers called on the Parks Department earlier this year to cut ties with the felonious firm. Agency leaders responded that they had to maintain contracts already on the books.

Now, it seems, Parks has managed to find an out. After Dragonetti Brothers applied in May for the Brooklyn and Queens openings,

the Parks Department responded in a pair of June letters that it was rejecting both bids because Dragonetti was no longer accredited by the Tree Care Industry Association, court papers show.

Protest letters

In fact, the trade group terminated Dragonetti Brothers’ accreditation for a five-year term until 2028, the department said in its rejection letters. The agency did not say whether that termination was connected to the company’s felony conviction, and the New Hampshire-based association did not respond to a request for comment.

Dragonetti had proposed a $9.4 million contract for Brooklyn trimming and $13.1 million for Queens—making it the “presumptive awardee,” since its closest rival was asking for $2 million more from the city, according to the company’s lawsuit. Still, the Parks Department ultimately awarded both contracts to the rival bidder, Long Island-based Dom’s Lawnmaker.

In its lawsuit, Dragonetti Brothers appears to admit having lost its accreditation but argues that it has all the qualities “equivalent to those required for TCIA accreditation.” Lawyers for Dragonetti responded to the rejection with two protest letters in mid-June, demanding another chance to prove

the company’s qualifications before the contract was awarded, but Parks decided weeks later to sustain the rejection.

While Dragonetti Brothers never explicitly mentions its criminal case in the lawsuit, it says the heightened scrutiny the city now places on the company would actually serve as an asset.

Since February 2022, Dragonetti Brothers has been under a monitorship agreement with the city’s Department of Investigation as a way to keep doing city work despite the company’s criminal case and subsequent conviction.

That arrangement entails the city sending a third-party inspector to Dragonetti’s worksites at least four times a month to ensure it is staying out of trouble— something the company says should outweigh the need for outside accreditation.

“This is more than what is required or done by [the Tree Care Industry Association] (they conduct but one visit),” the lawsuit reads.

The Parks Department declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Dragonetti Brothers has been paid more than $206 million by the city since 2010 for projects that included tree-planting and building pedestrian ramps, ac-

cording to records kept by the city comptroller’s office. The Parks Department has at least 25 active contracts with Dragonetti Brothers, records show.

Budget hearing

Further controversy erupted during and after a May 22 budget hearing, when City Council members pressed the Parks Department to stop doing business with Dragonetti. Shekar Krishnan, who chairs the body’s Parks Committee, said Dragonetti had mistakenly cut down a “beautiful huge London plane tree” in his Queens district and pointed to the crimi-

nal case as evidence that “this is not a contractor the Parks Department should be working with.”

Brooklyn member Chi Ossé, alluding to the firm’s infamous reputation, added that Dragonetti’s “name alone should have been the first red flag in terms of contracting with the city.” Conservative lawmakers later accused Ossé of exhibiting an anti-Italian bias—a charge he denied—and Ossé soon received a racist letter purporting to be authored by Dragonetti Brothers.

Company president Nicholas Dragonetti told the New York Post that they had nothing to do with the letter.

Blade doubled its health care revenue in the second quarter of the year. | BLOOMBERg

Dragonetti Brothers Landscaping sued the Parks Department and the rival landscaper that beat it out this spring for two contracts totaling more than $22 million. IstOCK

Landlords’ involvement in smoke shop crackdown is a step in the right direction

Illegal smoke shops are out of control in the city. It makes sense to call on landlords to help stymie their proliferation by requiring them to not knowingly lease their storefronts to such vendors.

e illegal market has quickly outpaced the legal market. According to senior reporter Aaron Elstein’s cover story, there are about 8,000 unlicensed stores citywide, compared to just 21 licensed retail dispensaries across the state. Only ve of those are in the city, according to the state’s O ce of Cannabis Management.

It’s understandable how the problem grew so quickly; landlords were eager to lease shuttered storefronts to paying tenants during the pandemic, and there wasn’t exactly a surplus of takers to choose from. Plus, no one anticipated that the rollout of cannabis licenses would be so glacially slow.

Landlords can now be ned up to $10,000 for knowingly renting store space to illegal cannabis sellers under a new law that went into e ect Aug. 14. Under the two-strike system, if a raid nds illegal activity, the sheri ’s o ce will rst notify a landlord that they are renting to an illegal business. If the store is found to still be op-

erating in subsequent inspections, the landlord will receive a $5,000 ne. For each subsequent failed inspection, the landlord will get ned an additional $10,000.

is was a wise move by the city, as the

Let design lead the future of NYC outdoor dining

New York City’s outdoor dining program began as an emergency solution to an economic crisis. Now it’s about to become a permanent feature of our city streets.

e City Council’s long-awaited vote recently to make the Open Restaurants program permanent underlines the enormous potential to remake our public realm and to solve the issues that arose during the emergency program.

e creation of Open Restaurants in 2020 was an unparalleled moment of civic innovation, introducing remarkable exibility in our government to meet an urgent need. e program was designed to create economic resilience, and it worked. It has been widely popular, for restaurant owners and New Yorkers alike, and it has helped save over 100,000 jobs.

Despite the program’s overwhelmingly positive e ect on the local economy and city culture, the public perception of the Open Restaurants program in NYC remains maligned by a vocal minority, pointing out the problems related to unsightly or abandoned dining sheds. In

many ways they are right; dilapidated sheds, excess waste and loud streets pose quality-of-life issues.

While the program has meaningful ways to improve, it shouldn’t be discarded whole-cloth. By creating new design standards and an inclusive review process, the permanent program can not only be an overwhelming success, it can mark the start of an exciting new chapter for our city streets.

Passing the bill was an important rst step, putting a cap on fees and creating variably priced geographic zones so all restaurants can participate. By specifying a long transition period, restaurants can amortize their existing investments and transition to the new rules.

Some concerns remain, but now the city will have a critical period of time to test new ideas, move emergency-era sheds o the streets and show New York what the future of outdoor dining could look like. What we see on the streets today is not the vision for the permanent program.

First, the city plans to partner with design experts to create a exible and mod-

problem has reached a point where the private sector must step in to make sure the underground industry does not get even more out of hand. Plus, o cials have taken initial steps, like raids to seize the illegal goods themselves, before they decid-

ed to involve landlords.

It’s encouraging that the Real Estate Board of New York is also in favor of the legislation, with Steve Soutendijk, cochair of REBNY’s New York retail committee and a commercial broker with Cushman & Wake eld, at a recent press conference calling it a “commonsense law” that will “keep bad actors out of commercial spaces and help ensure that real estate brokers and property owners are working with properly licensed retail establishments.”

Landlords are generally not allowed to lease their spaces to illegal businesses, and smoke shops selling much more than bongs are no exception.

Not only are many smoke shops engaging in illicit activities, they are undercutting the legal cannabis business, which was designed to infuse more money into the state’s economy while decriminalizing marijuana and aiding equity goals.

Ideally, the state will become quicker at getting licenses into the hands of cannabis retailers so that they can conduct business legally. Until then, the city must use all tools available to keep the smoke shop issue at bay.

ular “kit-of-parts.” e Alfresco NYC Coalition has compiled a list of recommendations for outdoor-dining designs. is could include the key pieces of outdoor dining, such as barriers to provide diner protection, signage to promote accessibility and seating that can adapt to many kinds of roadways. is kit can be vetted, code-compliant and pre-reviewed by relevant city agencies. It can be customized and give restaurants the assurance that their setup would be entirely legal.

Prioritize accessibility

e kits could be designed to collapse easily for storage in the o -season and add built-in trash containers. Sidewalk and dining platform accessibility should also be prioritized, giving New Yorkers of all

abilities ease of mobility and also more access to these amenities.

Even more importantly, these designs should suggest a renewed sense of purpose for our streets. e curb lane (where the street meets the sidewalk) has innumerable pressures: trash collection, deliveries, dining, street trees, street furniture and parking. e designs should not only address a single business but suggest how entire blocks might manage these resources more cohesively. is collective approach also would open up ways for cultural organizations, libraries, retail establishments and community groups to engage with the public realm.

Public space—dynamic, inclusive and accessible—will play an enormous role in delivering this future. Outdoor dining is just one program that demonstrates the potential of NYC’s street life.

A June 27 photo showing an empty smoke shop on First Avenue. | BUCK ENNIS

NICK GARBER

Matthew Clarke is executive director of the Design Trust for Public Space.

Let’s get Fordham moving

Across New York City, the movement of people, goods and services is essential. When this essential movement is stifled, so too are the economic opportunities for all New Yorkers.

At the beginning of the last century, New York built an iconic subway network to relieve congestion. Several decades ago we built our highway and truck route networks. Recently, we began looking at bus priority because, today, traffic movement hinges on how we prioritize the use of space on our busy streets.

The Bronx’s Fordham Road, a mile north of the Cross-Bronx Expressway, is a designated truck route and the borough’s east-west transit backbone, moving 85,000 bus riders every day. But trucks and buses alike crawl and must squeeze around double- and triple-parked cars.

For four years, the New York City Department of Transportation has been developing solutions that would get Fordham moving by giving more priority to buses and trucks and discouraging the violations and behavior that bring people, goods and services to a halt.

In May, facing pushback from area insti-

tutions, the DOT decided to move forward with a compromise proposal for “offset” bus lanes to speed 85,000 people along the corridor daily, along with new parking and loading zones to ease deliveries to local businesses.

Project opponents responded by taking a literal “my way or the highway” approach. But most drivers to those institutions arrive off an exit on the Bronx River Parkway, which connects to the regional highway network, a mile to the east of the most congested stretch of Fordham.

The opponents’ stated preference is for a repainted set of curbside bus lanes originally installed 15 years ago. It’s an obsolete design that wouldn’t improve bus service and would leave trucks and buses alike weaving in and out of a hazardous slalom course of double-parked cars.

The city’s recent study included two busway options, which would prioritize trucks as well as buses along the busiest stretch of the road. Busways, installed repeatedly in other boroughs, absorb area truck traffic from neighboring streets, improving air quality, traffic safety and delivery efficiency.

‘Good cause’ eviction will worsen housing problems

In recent months, some commentators and advocates have argued that adoption of “good cause” eviction is the best way to reduce homelessness and prevent evictions. This argument is fundamentally flawed. Good cause eviction would in fact exacerbate an already-worsening housing shortage and senselessly punish hardworking small property owners amid a crisis we did not create.

Homelessness in New York City is driven by the interplay between people moving to New York City, people losing their homes and people being unable to find new homes. Unfortunately, what happens too often is that New Yorkers who are unable to pay their rent lose their homes, enter a shelter system plagued with challenges and are forced to look for housing in a market where there are too few units for the people who need them.

Despite what proponents of good-cause eviction claim, their policy solution does nothing to address this dynamic. This is the case for several reasons.

First, according to New York State court data, approximately 80% of eviction filings in New York City in 2022 were related to non-payment of rent. The good-cause

eviction proposal would not prevent a tenant who fails to pay rent from potential eviction. This means that the overwhelming number of eviction proceedings would still move forward.

Second, if adopted, good-cause eviction will make it virtually impossible for small property owners like me to maintain our buildings. We already struggle with rising expenses like property taxes and other costs, which too often leave us without the resources we need to handle maintenance requests and improvements.

Good-cause eviction will push us over the brink, leading to the deterioration of much-needed housing stock. Beyond that, by making it harder for other property owners to cover development and maintenance costs, the policy will dramatically restrict the ability to finance new projects. As a result, the new units the city needs to help house the homeless will not materialize.

Finally, good-cause eviction’s combination of artificial restrictions on rent growth and mandatory lease renewals would result in fewer New Yorkers moving from their current homes to new homes. As such, there will be even fewer units available for those who need permanent stable

The 14th Street busway set the template for what is possible by cutting traffic crashes leading to fatalities and serious injuries by 68% while allowing faster freight travel times.

Based on past experience, offset bus lanes would likely improve speeds by 10% to 15% for riders while a busway could offer a 30% to 40% speed increase for both buses and trucks, since busways permit truck traffic while bus lanes require trucks to keep clear of buses.

Improved efficiency

The compromise design, with bus lanes “offset” from the curb, while not prioritizing bus riders or goods and services to the same degree, would help improve efficiency, dedicating loading zones and eliminating the need for buses to weave constantly to and from the crowded curb.

The bottom line is that Fordham Road today is not working for anyone. The west-

bound section of the roadway between Webster and Morris avenues often moves at less than four miles an hour. Often, bus riders can walk between stops faster than buses and trucks can travel.

Slow, unreliable buses cost New Yorkers time, denying people valuable opportunities outside their immediate neighborhoods. Meanwhile, blocked trucks both on roadways and curbside put a financial strain on wholesale and retail customers, driving up the cost of living when we can ill afford it.

Getting Fordham moving, with offset lanes, a busway or similar robust prioritization of people, goods and services, would help answer for the long history of denying Bronxites the benefits of beneficial public policies widely implemented in other parts of the city.

Together, riders and truckers urge the administration of Mayor Eric Adams to act now.

housing. While I take pride in providing safe, quality housing to long-term residents, I also know that discouraging renters from ever seeking out new housing options will further harm our housing supply.

New York City’s housing crisis is fundamentally driven by a lack of housing. Unfortunately, the current rental housing pipeline is dramatically slowing because of a lack of pro-housing policies.

Protect and increase supply

Experts estimate that more than half a million new apartments are required by 2030 just to keep pace with demand, and analyses of NYC DOB data show that we

are failing to build at the pace required to reach this target. This also makes it even more important to avoid losing the housing stock that already exists.

To meaningfully address homelessness in New York City, policymakers should advance policies that protect and increase housing supply and provide support to New Yorkers who need help paying rent. For example, they can focus on rental assistance to avoid non-payment court cases, which would help small operators who can’t afford housing court. Promoting policies like good-cause eviction, which will leave small property owners in ruin while failing to address the problems at hand, will solve nothing.

Betsy Plum is executive director of the Riders Alliance.

Zach Miller is director of Metro Region Operations of the Trucking Association of New York.

Ann Korchak is a New York City rental property owner and president of the nonprofit Small Property Owners of New York.

This bank CEO wants to help the Latino community

Carlos Naudon, a former certi ed public accountant, lawyer and consultant, says he has always had an interest in banking and helping the Latino community. As president and CEO of Ponce Bank and Ponce Financial Group, he gets to combine both interests. Ponce Bank has grown to $2 billion in assets since Naudon became president in 2015. Located in Parkchester in the Bronx, Ponce serves predominantly minority New Yorkers. With the pandemic having left Black and brown communities in an especially vulnerable position, Naudon seeks to help strengthen these neighborhoods. Minorities won’t always be in the minority, Naudon notes, which is why it’s essential to address economic imbalances now.

Why is it important for banks to focus on minority businesses?

e reality is that when there’s an event that a ects everybody — an economic event or weather event — the resiliency of many of the minority communities is much less than the majority communities. So it behooves us as a nation to strengthen those communities, to help them become more resilient, economically, nancially and health-wise. e pandemic certainly reinforced the fact that that needs to happen. From the nancial provider perspective, it’s an available market, it can be done pro tably, and it’s in the national interest.

What advice would you give to lenders about working with minority-owned businesses?

You have to understand the culture of the minority population that you serve. You need to be able to have the customer feel comfortable with the culture [of] the bank. Hopefully, you can have folks that speak the same language and understand the culture of the

DOSSIER

Who he is: President and CEO, Ponce Bank

Grew up: Santiago, Chile; moved to Baltimore when he was 13

Resides: East Harlem during the workweek, though his family’s home is in Prospect Heights

Education: Bachelor’s in economics and computer science, University of Maryland; master’s in accounting and nance, University of Rochester; J.D., Brooklyn Law School

Spare time: When he isn’t at work, Naudon plays tennis, shes, boxes and practices yoga.

Family life: Naudon is married, and he and his wife have two adult children.

prospective customer, because that’s going to help a lot more. ere are lots of people who have come to this country with bad experiences with banks from their country. You have to recognize that and try to break those barriers that exist.

By | Ana Altchek

How has community-focused banking supported the nancial viability of small businesses during the pandemic and in the post-pandemic era?

The pandemic demonstrated to the rest of the country that community banks, particularly minority depository institutions and community development financial institutions, were highly effective in funneling stimulus and aid to small local communities. They served as the model, which the government then followed to place funds into communities that were disproportionately affected by the economic slowdown that occurred. Those programs have been extremely successful in getting resources to the local communities, and what we did in New York City was repeated in many large cities and small towns throughout America by the small clearing banks, banks that are in the community and for the community.

Many people started small businesses during the pandemic. Do you have advice for these entrepreneurs on how

to know when it’s time to scale up? Don’t look at tomorrow; look at the longer-term view and adjust accordingly. As the pandemic has eased, there has to be an honest assessment and analysis of the business, and the first question that needs to be asked is, “Is the business dependent on the continuity of the harsh times of the pandemic? Or is it not dependent and therefore I can continue what I’m doing?” There has to be an adjustment to the economic times. The person who just started the business two or three years ago needs to constantly think about how the business will be affected by increasing interest

rates and a possible recession if they don’t have a soft landing.

What’s the outlook for New York’s small businesses in the next decade?

There has to be an effort by the city and state of New York to encourage the formation, survival and thriving of small businesses, because that’s what’s going to eventually push the economy, the revenue and the employment base of the city. There are practices today by the city, state and federal government that are counterproductive for businesses. Lack of capital and access to capital is the number one reason for failures of small businesses. Financial institutions like ours should be encouraged with smallbusiness lending by the regulatory agencies, not discouraged. Many of the capital requirements and collateralization requirements are not supported for small-business lending.

New tax incentive could invigorate Gowanus development

By Eddie Small

e hard part of the Gowanus rezoning was supposed to be getting it passed. And although there were plenty of di culties involved in that yearslong e ort, factors such as rising interest rates and the expiration of the 421-a a ordable housing tax break have made delivering on the rezoning’s goals just as challenging.

“It’s literally Murphy’s Law on what happened to that neighborhood in a matter of three years,” said Andrew Sasson, managing director at New York brokerage Ackman-Zi . “Not even—really two years of road-

they will need to see more details about the program before assessing its total impact, most agreed that it should have at least a slight positive e ect on making sure the rezoning meets its housing goals.

Bright future

e 421-a program, which expired in June 2022, provided developers a tax break in exchange for making 30% of their project’s residential units a ordable housing. It was extremely controversial, with critics deriding it as a giveaway to the real estate industry that did not result in genuinely a ordable homes, while developers have long insisted that the economics of building a ordable housing in the city do not work without such a program.

But many in the real estate industry were less certain about the numbers, noting it was still unclear how many developers would take advantage of the new program.

ere are 25 projects with a total of 6,323 housing units in the development pipeline for Gowanus, according to an analysis from Brooklyn-focused brokerage TerraCRG. Of those, nine projects, with 2,373 units had secured construction loans as of mid-July (at least one other project has secured nancing since TerraCRG did this analysis).

Residential projects need to have more than 50 units to be eligible for the state’s program, and most of the ones that have not landed construction nancing meet that qualication, according to TerraCRG’s analysis.

now,” he said. “It’s a small step but a very positive step.”

blocks being thrown at it. It would truly be a shame to see all that work not come to fruition.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced a program to get around one of those roadblocks that would e ectively replace 421-a. And though stakeholders caution that

When the city passed the Gowanus rezoning in late 2021 under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, his administration estimated it would bring roughly 8,000 housing units to the neighborhood, including more than 3,000 a ordable ones. When Hochul announced her replacement program, she said it would allow for 4,500 units, including 1,000 a ordable ones.

“ ere’s approximately at least 2,000 units here that could be saved using the pilot program,” TerraCRG CEO Ofer Cohen said. “Without the pilot program, there’s no clear path for developing those units.”

And real estate rms that don’t plan to use it for current projects may still nd it worthwhile for future ones, said JLL Senior Managing Director Andrew Scandalios.

“I would imagine interest for additional sites will start in earnest

Expansion plans

e current 421-a replacement program is narrow by design. And it is essentially a move to get an already planned rezoning back on track.

For many developers, then, the most important question isn’t how many housing developments this pilot program will help in Gowanus but whether it could work in other

neighborhoods as well, e ectively giving the Hochul administration a way to more broadly replace 421-a despite a state Legislature that has shown no interest in doing so.

Bill Caleo, co-founder of developer the Brooklyn Home Co., predicted several developers would opt into the new program and hoped to see the Hochul administration eventually broaden its reach.

“Time is money, so they’re going to use it, and they’re going to build,” he said. “I really hope that this could be a model for the rest of the state.”

“It’s literally Murphy’s Law on what happened to that neighborhood in a matter of three years.”

Andrew Sasson, managing director at New York brokerage Ackman-Ziff

Real estate developers want to see whether a state program for Gowanus could work in other neighborhoods.

| ISTOCK

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

ACCOUNTING

Withum

John Sheehy, JD, is a Principal within Withum’s Forensic and Valuation Services team and leads the Investigative Services Group, helping clients make informed decisions with regard to background investigations, due diligence, internal investigations, whitecollar criminal litigation and complex commercial litigation. Prior to joining Withum, John was a Special Agent and Supervisor at the Federal Bureau of Investigation for more than 25 years.

ADVERTISING / MARKETING

Fishawack Health

Veteran marketing executive Celine Vita has joined Fishawack Health’s US Marketing leadership team as the new Chief Growth Officer. She will be responsible for expanding the portfolio of business by leveraging the company’s broad capabilities to engage clients seeking innovative commercialization solutions from advisory to implementation and across the product life cycle from preclinical to post-launch. Her expertise in developing multidisciplinary solutions will play a role in driving growth.

ARCHITECTURE

Huntsman Architectural Group

Huntsman

Architectural Group announces two promotions: Nicole Everett NCIDQ LEED AP ID+C, elevated to Principal, and Brita Everett AIA LEED AP, promoted to Associate Principal.

Nicole Everett is an inclusive and visionary leader with a focus on design, project management, and operational excellence. She is deeply committed to sustainability, client advocacy, shaping the firm’s culture, and mentoring others.

Brita Everett brings a high level of talent and enthusiasm to her role as a project manager and designer, focusing on workplace and building repositioning. Sustainability is fundamental to her design values, which extends to her work as a writer and educator.

INFORMATION / DATA TECH

Orion Innovation

Orion Innovation has named Tony Scarfo as its new Telecommunications, Media, and Technology (TMT) vertical leader. Scarfo, a telecom industry veteran, will manage the overall strategic direction and lead Orion’s global go-to-market strategy for the TMT industry. With Tony’s leadership, Orion’s deep TMT domain expertise, and the company’s global delivery capacity across the Americas, Europe, and APAC, Orion is strongly positioned to help its TMT clients with their digital transformations.

LEGAL SERVICES

Barclay Damon LLP

Jacqueline Doody, partner, has joined Barclay Damon’s Torts & Products Liability Defense, Professional Liability, and Mass & Toxic Torts Practice Areas. She focuses her practice on the defense of large-loss and commercial claims, assisting clients in all phases of litigation across NYS courts. Jacqueline handles arbitrations and mediations and advises clients on pre-litigation evaluation and strategy. Prior to joining Barclay Damon, she was an attorney at the Law Offices of Jennifer S. Adams.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

EisnerAmper

Charly Weinstein, CEO of global business advisory firm Eisner Advisory Group LLC, has been named to Accounting

Today’s prestigious “Managing Partner Elite” list for 2023. In addition to being Eisner Advisory Group’s CEO, Charly sits on its board of directors and is a member of the firm’s executive committee. With decades of public accounting experience, he is responsible for the strategic direction of the firm and is instrumental in leading both organic growth and growth through strategic M&As.

TECHNOLOGY

Yext

Tzi-Kei Wong leads innovation, shaping product strategy and delivering value to customers. She has 20+ years of expertise in product management and design for digital marketing software. Prior to Yext, Wong led the product and design team as VP of Product at Optimizely. She serves as a mentor to women in STEM and is an active member of programs that empower the next generation of leaders. Wong holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering & Operations Research from University at California, Berkeley.

N. Everett

B. Everett

LARGEST PHYSICIAN GROUPS

Ranked by number of New York-area doctors

ToTo qualifyqualify forfor thisthis listlist,physiciangroups must be based in the NewYork area. This includesthe five boroughsofNewYorkCity along with Nassau, Suffolk

Leading innovation in the best care for all.

This is Weill Cornell Medicine.

Weill Cornell Medicine congratulates Sara Mathew on being named to Crain’s Notable Leaders in Health Care. Mathew directs research, clinical trials and grants for the Department of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine and oversees the GI Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery division. She is the former leader of operational, regulatory and strategic components for the Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center and the American Burn Association-verified William Randolph Hearst Burn Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

which was founded in Midtown in 1990 amid a real estate recession to acquire distressed second-tier office properties.

Can SL Green reverse course and boost occupancy levels into the 90%-plus range considered healthy for blue-chip real estate players? Or does it simply have too much room to spare in its twodozen-plus properties at a time of shrinking demand?

An answer, and clues about the city’s future, will likely be clear in a few months, analysts say.

“Yes, the top landlords like SL Green are in a much better place than those who own second- and third-tier buildings. But there’s just not enough demand for space that costs $100 per square foot,” said Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, a real estate professor at Columbia University’s business school who’s known for critical takes on the office sector. “It’s really hard to find any sign of a systemic rebound with the company. I just don’t see it.”

Van Nieuwerburgh’s position is hardly universal. Likening one

it Agricole wrote the three-year, 6% interest rate loan.

SL Green is also reportedly shopping around a stake in 1 Vanderbilt, a $3 billion-plus development that opened in 2022 and is completely leased to tenants including law firm Greenberg Traurig, Toronto Dominion Bank and Carlyle Investment Management, stock filings show. Office rents at the tower, a 93-story, 1.7 millionsquare-foot spire of which SL Green controls a 70% stake, are typically north of $100 per square foot annually.

Holliday said last winter he hoped to sell $2 billion in assets in 2023, and the sale of a piece of 1 Vanderbilt on top of the other deals “could easily help them get there,” Lewis said.

Other factors seem to have set up SL Green for success. For one, most of its 29 up-and-running office buildings in New York are considered top-flight Class A properties, the kind featuring updated amenities and cutting-edge technologies that have been weathering the storm better than most.

“The commute is what keeps people away—not the cost of it, but the length of it—and so to save somebody an extra 20 minutes on the subway is key,” Van Nieuwerburgh said.

Lastly, a shift in the industries driving job creation may have redounded to SL Green’s benefit. Although the tech sector was dominant before, financial services are now ascendant, and many investment banks prefer Midtown, home to most of SL Green’s portfolio, says Alexander Goldfarb, an analyst with Piper Sandler.

Occupancy is not the only barometer, however. At a time of high borrowing costs, analysts say the debt load of some buildings is concerning. For example, 280 Park Ave., a 1.2 million-square-foot tower co-owned with Vornado Realty Trust, has a $1.2 billion mortgage that comes due in fall 2024.

“It’s in a great location but could be in trouble,” added Lewis of Truist. Still, the site is 100% leased, filings show.

A more fundamental issue may

tate investment trusts have also bounced back in recent months, even as they remain shells of their prepandemic selves.

Vornado, the city’s second-largest office owner, has seen its stock climb from a three-year low of about $13 per share in May to $23 in early August, a 77% gain. In February 2020, though, Vornado’s stock price was about $67, meaning it’s still off by more than 60%.

Similarly, Boston Properties, a major player that owns the sloperoofed 601 Lexington Ave., has seen its shares climb from a low of $48 a share in the spring to $69 in August, a 44% increase, though below the $147 winter 2020 price.

The change in SL Green’s fortunes, and Manhattan’s office market, can seem stark.

Though the company went public in a $229 million offering in 1997, it really rocketed to prominence with the $6 billion blockbuster acquisition of Reckson Associates Realty in 2007. The deal added premier high-rises away from Grand Central, such as 1185 Sixth Ave. and 1350 Sixth Ave., which SL Green still owns. At the time of the merger, Manhattan’s office vacancy rate was under 6%, according to news reports.

It doesn’t seem like those high-demand days will return

quarter of data to statistical noise, some analysts point out that SL Green was almost written off for dead a few months ago.

“People were always asking me six months ago if SL Green was facing bankruptcy. I thought that was absurd then and even more so now,” said Michael Lewis, an analyst with Truist Securities heartened by the 245 Park sale, which valued the 1960s tower at $2 billion, just under the $2.2 billion it traded for in 2017.

A company spokeswoman declined to make executives available for interviews. But company CEO Marc Holliday seems to be sticking with the call that his company will surpass 92% occupancy by year’s end.

“If everything falls into place, then I think we have a chance of doing it,” he said in an earnings call last month. “And if it doesn’t, we’ll be damn close.”

Class A properties

The 245 Park deal, which saw Mori Trust pick up about a 50% stake in a deal representing its first New York investment, wasn’t the only transaction to excite analysts.

Also putting wind in the company’s sails was a $500 million refinancing of 919 Third Ave., proof, perhaps, that lenders haven’t quite given up on SL Green’s preferred Midtown neighborhood even as areas like Hudson Yards have taken off.

Developed in 1970, the 47-story, 1.5 million-square-foot 919 Third is 80% leased to law firms, financial companies and historic hamburger joint P.J. Clarke’s. A group co-led by Aareal Capital and Cred-

Joining them in September will be 1 Madison, a $2.3 billion redevelopment project across from Madison Square Park in which the company is a 25% partner. The 1.4 millionsquare-foot project, about half leased, will offer a 15,000-squarefoot food hall, among other amenities.

And the past few months have offered promising signs, executives say. SL Green is on the verge of leasing 1.1 million new square feet across its portfolio, Holliday said in the firm’s July earnings call, and rental income is seeing a boost of more than 3%.

It may be true that some of its towers are empty for much of the week thanks to hybrid work. But SL Green argues that corporate workers have not totally abandoned offices and still need places to gather when they come in. That so many of SL Green’s properties are clustered around Grand Central Terminal gives the company a leg up on those in-office days, analysts say.

“The big picture is, yes, the occupancy rate is down 3% from where SL Green wants it to be,” Goldfarb said. “But considering working from home, tech layoffs, crime perceptions, the headline should be, ‘It’s down only 3%!’”

Challenges abound

But SL Green still seems to face strong, perhaps existential, challenges involving how offices will be used going forward, what tenants are willing to pay for workplaces and the overall investment sales market.

Indeed, deals for Manhattan office buildings declined 70% in the first six months of 2023, with just $2.2 billion in properties sold, versus the same period in 2022, according to Ariel Property Advisors. The depressed total was the lowest since the first half of 2021, when the pandemic raged.

Reported plans by SL Green to unload 750 Third Ave., a 780,000-square-foot office tower that is less than 20% occupied, as a possible redevelopment site, then, might be difficult to realize.

And No. 750 is not the only property that’s struggling. The 38-story spire 5 Times Square, completed in the early 2000s, is only 23% full and unlikely to be marketed as a redevelopment opportunity, filings show. Other SL Green properties with many dark floors include 185 Broadway (35% leased), 2 Herald Square (35% leased) and 625 Madison Ave. (17% leased), the latter of which is locked in a legal tugof-war between SL Green and land owner Ashkenazy Acquisition.

In the second quarter, SL Green wrote off about $300 million from its 625 Madison struggles, a major reason for its $360 million loss. Still, the shortfall appeared worse than its $39.7 million first-quarter loss.

have to do with SL Green’s edge as a Class A provider. Yes, the company owns some of the most desirable space in the city, which protects it from the problems plaguing older and smaller towers, Van Nieuwerburgh said. But if the Class A supply were to grow because other landlords conclude that the most efficient way to stay competitive is to upgrade rather than convert to apartments, that advantage could be dulled, he said. “How much Class A can there be?” he added. “The flight-to-quality strategy will not work out collectively if we run out of tenants who can afford those kinds of rents.”

He added that a well-capitalized real estate investment trust should have no more than a 10% vacancy rate, so if SL Green’s were to continue creeping in the same direction as the past few months, alarm bells would likely sound. And because under-pressure corporations may be looking to trim costs by not renewing leases, vacancies could climb, others add.

Others bounce back

SL Green’s rebound is not happening in a vacuum. Other real es-

soon. But if rivals’ towers are converted to housing, if return-towork demands are heeded or if trendy areas become fringe, then owning a bunch of buildings in the center of town could prove a good bet. It just may take years to find out, analysts say.

“It really all comes down to, What is the future of the office?” Lewis said. “And we don’t know the answer yet. But I think we will look back and realize that this was a seminal moment.”

Really the biggest?

It’s common shorthand that’s likely not often fact-checked: SL Green is New York’s largest office owner. But stock filings suggest the claim is true.

The company owns part or all of 29 office towers containing 29.7 million square feet, which does not include soon-to-be open projects like 1 Madison that will add 1.4 million more.

Although Vornado controls a similar number of office properties, 27, those sites appear smaller, as they contain 20.9 million square feet, filings show. Then again, Vornado reportedly has plans for 10 new towers by Penn Station.

5 TIMES SQUARE

1 MADISON AVE.

1 VANDERBILT

BLOOMBER g

A shift in the industries driving job creation may have redounded to SL Green’s benefit.

NOTABLE LEADERS IN ACCOUNTING, TAX & AUDIT

In 1929, New York became the first state to require a college degree for receipt of a Certified Public Accountant certificate—a watershed moment in accounting history. Other states followed suit, marking New York as a pacesetter in the creation of uniform industry standards.

The Empire State is still at the front of the pack: New York is second in employment of accountants and auditors (behind California), and its boundaries house unparalleled expertise in these and adjacent industries.

In that spirit, our 2023 list of Notable Leaders in Accounting, Tax & Audit recognizes accomplished New Yorkers paving the way in their respective fields. The 42 professionals who made the grade are true leaders, advising a wide range of clients, overseeing workplace transformation efforts, introducing new practice areas, incorporating tax in sustainability strategies, and more. They also find time for community work, from serving in soup kitchens to advocating for neurodivergent people.

Methodology: To qualify for this list, candidates had to be in senior leadership roles as fulltime accountants, auditors or tax professionals with at least 10 years of experience. They also had to work within the New York City metropolitan area, serve as a mentor or role model in their field and be involved in community or similar efforts, among other criteria.

Read on to learn how these honorees are shaping these important industries.

Lara Abrash Chair of the board, Deloitte U.S., Deloitte

Lara Abrash serves as chair of the board of Deloitte U.S., leading the board of directors and governing all aspects of the organization. Abash, who focuses on areas such as workplace transformation, inclusion and capital trust, was instrumental in the launch of Making Accounting Diverse and Equitable, a $75 million project to increase diversity in the profession. She also spearheaded Deloitte’s strategy to transform the audit profession with technology and innovation, resulting in sustained quality results. Abrash,who has spoken at events such as the annual convention of the National Association of Black Accountants, serves as a board member of Girls, Inc.

Todd Bialick

Digital assurance and transparency leader, PwC

As digital assurance and transparency leader at PwC, Todd Bialick leads more than 1,850 partners and employees in the digital assurance and transparency practice. Under his leadership, the group helps clients build trust and transparency with stakeholders, emphasizing internal controls and regulatory compliance. Bialick has led reporting programs and IT audits for a large global technology company, a cloud-based application services company, a customer communications firm, a large financial institution and a pharmacy benefit management company. Outside of his professional role, he has served as a board member of Lehigh University’s accounting advisory board.

Michael Brennan Director, Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs

Michael Brennan serves as director of Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs, where he executes a vision of growth and opportunity and mentors younger firm members. He was instrumental in the firm’s recent acquisition of the accounting firm FiveBridge, which he founded. Brennan’s leadership helped the firm retain all members while expanding capabilities in high-net-worth and tax services. He volunteers as a high school basketball coach in his community. In addition, Brennan has started and funded an amateur athletic union basketball team for elementary school-aged kids.

Kenneth Cerini Managing partner, Cerini & Associates

Kenneth Cerini is managing partner of Cerini & Associates, where he is responsible for administration of the firm’s not-for-profit and educational provider practice groups. Additionally, he is involved in the accountancy’s marketing efforts and serves as editor for two of the firm’s seven newsletters. Outside of his professional role, Cerini has founded a nonprofit award program, the Imagine Awards, and has created a strategic partnership with the Book Fairies, providing books to children. Cerini also helped found The Nonprofit Resource Hub, which facilitates collaboration, learning and growth for nonprofits. He is a member of the Stony Brook University Career Center and College of Business Accounting Advisory Board.

Marc Chase Principal, Baker Tilly

Marc Chase, a principal at Baker Tilly, provides specialized services to middle market private equity investors, also working to establish the firm’s national private equity process, markets and resources. Bringing 25 years of industry experience to his role, Chase is involved in recruiting and hiring private equity professionals to drive strategic growth while implementing communication protocols and reporting tools. He has previously worked for venture capital funds, professional services firms, and real estate private equity firms. Chase currently holds a board level advisory position at the IT services and consulting company Function4. He recently concluded board positions at Thruue and Claymore Capital.

Lee Cohen Managing partner, LMC

Lee Cohen oversees LMC’s operations and strategic plan as founder and managing partner of the accounting and tax services firm. He has introduced new practice areas, including an outsourced CFO division, an outsourced mortgage consulting business and, in 2023, a division that provides tailored family office services. Cohen received the 2022 Arthur J. Dixon Public Service Award from the New York State Society of CPAs. He serves as treasurer of the Jewish Communal Fund and formerly served as president of Sephardic Bikur Holim, a social services agency in Brooklyn. Lee has supported philanthropic organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City.

Rick Cole Partner, FORVIS

Rick Cole, a partner at assurance, tax and advisory firm FORVIS, serves as the marketing industry leader for the nonprofit, education and public sector. In this role, he is responsible for the growth and strategic direction of the industry group in the New York office, including strategic account planning, financial performance and business development. Cole also serves as a direct coach for three manager and director-level team members. He is a lecturer at Columbia University School of Professional Studies and a frequent speaker with the National Association of College and University Business Officers and various state-certified public accountants societies.

Corinna Creedon Managing director, FORVIS

Corinna Creedon serves as managing director of FORVIS, an assurance, tax and advisory firm where she leads nonprofit advisory services (NPAS) and emerging outsourced accounting services teams in the New York office. She has been actively onboarding a fully-staffed NPAS group, and is involved in the leadership and oversight of 14 additional NPAS local markets as co-leader of the national NPAS practice. Creedon is currently spearheading an initiative to assist organizations in managing the infrastructure changes that come with new technology stacks. She is a volunteer advisor and past treasurer at the nonprofit Book Fairies, and has been invited to speak for various nonprofit boards and membership groups.

Mark Curcio

Partner and New York of ce leader, Katz, Sapper & Miller

Mark Curcio is a partner and New York Of ce leader at Katz, Sapper & Miller, an advisory, tax and audit rm. He is responsible for managing the New York City of ce, developing and managing client relationships and identifying new business opportunities. He mentors and encourages younger staff members, leaning on his own academic and professional experiences to help them develop important professional and interpersonal skills. He has also mentored high school students and several interns that have become members of the Katz, Sapper & Miller team. A committed proponent of New York City’s university system, Curcio earned his master’s degree at Baruch College.

W. Michael Curry Partner, Sax

W. Michael Curry is a partner at Sax, an accounting, tax and advisory rm, where he oversees approximately 75 employees. In this role, he provides tax and consulting services to construction clients such as general contractors, construction management, specialty trade contractors and site work contractors. He is also a member of Sax’s risk management and quality control committees, helping to identify and address risks to the rm and ensure that internal quality control procedures are in place. Curry is a member of the Construction Financial Management Association and serves as commissioner of the Atlantic Highlands Harbor Commission.

Mary T.D. Delman Partner, Citrin Cooperman

Mary T.D. Delman is a partner at Citrin Cooperman, a professional services rm. She specializes in all facets of wealth transfer planning, including estate, gift and generationskipping transfer tax planning; charitable planning; duciary income taxes; and foreign trust reporting. She also assists with management of the trust and estate practice, working to develop the staff’s technical skills. Delman has helped implement the CC Edge NYC Committee, which has established several employee resource groups and sponsored charity events. She is a coleader of Citrin Cooperman’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee and a member of the estate and gift taxation committee of the New York City Bar Association.

Scott Drago Managing director, FTI Consulting

Scott Drago is a managing director at FTI Consulting, a global business advisory rm. He leads the tax consulting services practice for the real estate solutions group, which provides tax advisory and compliance services to large real estate companies. Drago also advises foreign investors on structuring investments in U.S. real estate. He has worked on numerous pro bono matters involving legal aid societies and charities related to education, sports and environmental and sustainability initiatives. Other projects he has worked on have established charities to raise awareness of the impact particular industries have on the environment.

Glenn Friedman Chief executive of cer, Prager Metis

Glenn Friedman is chief executive of cer of Prager Metis, an advisory and accounting rm. In this role, he provides leadership to more than 100 partners and principals and 600 team members across 23 of ces. Friedman, who is responsible for the rm’s growth, has effectively led Prager Metis in niche and specialty development plans, in addition to implementing rm-wide programs. Outside of his professional role, he serves on the board of trustees of the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Friedman has spoken at various conferences on best practices in the mergers and acquisitions eld.

Steven

Bush Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Chris Gagliardi Partner, Janover

Along with his responsibilities as partner, Chris Gagliardi serves as Janover’s outsourced accounting services practice leader. He helps alleviate client workloads through customized accounting and nancial process solutions, and has spearheaded the rm’s offshore personnel onboarding initiative. Gagliardi leads Janover’s virtual CFO support services; co-leads the construction practice area; and is a member of the quality control department. He has also been instrumental in researching, identifying and implementing technology solutions that drive ef ciency. Gagliardi is a board and nance committee member of Central Nassau Guidance & Counseling Services and a member of the Long Island Builders Institute.

Kim Gates

Vice president of residential accounting, Kushner

Kim Gates serves as vice president of residential accounting at diversi ed real estate organization Kushner. She oversees the organization’s entire residential portfolio, consisting of more than 20,000 units, as well as hotels and lender reporting. Gates has introduced numerous technologies and platforms aimed at streamlining nancial reporting, and has led more than 60 teams nationwide in completing budgets and portfolio roll-ups. Recently, she oversaw implementation of a sophisticated reporting portal for investors to receive updated nancial information. She is active in the Kushner community outside of her professional role, planning and running of ce activities such as Toys for Tots donations.

Kristen Gray

EY Americas sustainability tax leader, EY

As sustainability tax leader for EY Americas, Kristen Gray works with clients and colleagues to incorporate tax in sustainability strategies, identifying shifting tax transparency and reporting requirements; supply chain and operating model changes; and funding opportunities. She has reshaped EY Americas’ sustainability narrative, strategizing with tax lines to market the role tax plays as a funding mechanism and value driver for sustainability goals. Gray served on the board of trustees at the Central Queens Academy Charter School, and has also served on the boards of the Atlanta-based Out of Hand Theater and the cancer nonpro t Fighting Pretty.

Orumé Hays

Founder and chief executive of cer, Hays CPA

Orumé Hays is founder and chief executive of cer of Hays CPA, a rm geared toward the accounting, nance and tax needs of startups, small businesses, entrepreneurs and independent contractors. In her role, Hays has introduced initiatives to enhance professional development opportunities, including organizing continuing professional education sessions and facilitating roundtable discussions and employee experience activities. She also serves as a director on the board of the New York State Society of CPAs. In addition, Hays actively mentors students, also participating in high school and college career events to promote the accounting profession.

Debra Herman Partner, Hodgson Russ

As a partner at Hodgson Russ, a law rm providing businessfocused legal counsel, Debra Herman advises clients on matters such as corporate income and franchise taxes, bank taxes and utility taxes. She represents clients in all phases of tax disputes, including audits and litigation at the federal, state and local levels and criminal tax investigations. Herman is a current member and former chair of the state and local taxes committee of the New York City Bar Association. She is a nationally recognized author on state tax topics and was elected as a 2022 fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel.

Two Crain’s Notables in

ACCOUNTING, TAX & AUDIT:

Leading with Dedication to Client Service

STRONGER TOGETHER

CBIZ, one of the nation’s top accounting, tax, and advisory services providers, acquired Marks Paneth LLP, a leading partnership, on Jan. 1, 2022. CBIZ Marks Paneth and CBIZ are stronger together, with expanded service offerings and office locations that better serve existing and prospective clients.

Jay and Howard head robust industry groups that are crucial to the New York business unit. CBIZ New York has a strong retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and hospitality practice, as well as family office, real estate, private equity and not-for-profit.

PERSONAL TOUCH

Silver and Hoff drive profitability by offering robust strategies carefully tailored to clients’ needs. Their deep expertise allows them to devise creative solutions for longterm and new clients.

Both offer tremendous value to their engagements by increasing efficiencies for clients’ operations and maximizing margins. CBIZ and CBIZ Marks Paneth together offer a one-stop shop: clients can explore resources in expanded sectors, including retirement, health insurance, employee benefit plans, valuation, and sophisticated tax strategy and planning.

Hoff and Silver truly immerse themselves in their clients’ businesses, taking a handson approach. Their method: providing a personal touch while offering key expertise gained during long and successful careers.

Says Hoff: “You have to really put in the time to understand a client’s business and goals, and by doing that, we help our clients run their businesses more successfully”

According to Silver: “We’re hired to assist management in the operation of their business, not just year-end numbers. The business of our clients IS our business.”

Leader for CBIZ Marks Paneth, and Jay Silver, Practice Leader – Private Commercial Business Mid-Atlantic Region for CBIZ, who were selected as Crain’s 2023 Notables in Accounting, Tax & Audit.

Howard Hoff (left), National Manufacturing & Distribution Industry Practice Leader for CBIZ and Commercial Business Practice Leader for CBIZ Marks Paneth Jay Silver (right), Practice Leader – Private Commercial Business Mid-Atlantic Region for CBIZ MHM (Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C.) is an independent CPA firm that provides audit, review and other attest services, and works closely with CBIZ, a business consulting, tax and financial services provider. CBIZ and MHM are members of Kreston Global, a worldwide network of independent accounting firms.

Howard Hoff

Managing director and national manufacturing and distribution industry practice leader, CBIZ; Commercial business practice leader, CBIZ Marks Paneth

Howard Hoff is the national manufacturing and distribution industry practice leader for CBIZ and commercial business practice leader for CBIZ Marks Paneth. He works with clients to improve the organization and profitability of their businesses by helping them strategize from a tax and financial perspective. A shareholder in Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C., Hoff provides audit services. He also identifies growth areas and matches them to capabilities across CBIZ’s national practice for cross-selling and new client acquisition opportunities. Hoff is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Institute of CPAs and the Contemporary Credit Club.

Kathryn Kaminsky

Vice chair and trust solutions

co-leader, PwC U.S., PwC

Kathryn Kaminsky serves as vice chair and trust solutions co-leader for PwC U.S. She works with C-suites and boards across industries to help create and execute strategic visions. In co-leading PwC’s trust solutions business, Kaminsky brings together PwC’s audit; environmental, social and governance; digital assurance; and tax reporting capabilities to help clients deliver sustained outcomes. She has also launched a LinkedIn Live series called “Candid Career Conversations” to share career insight and leadership advice. Kaminsky is a board member of the United Way of New York City and the Ronald McDonald House of New York.

NOTE WORTHY

Lisa Knee Partner, EisnerAmper

As a partner at EisnerAmper, Lisa Knee works on complex transactions, including domestic and international tax structuring for portfolio companies, management companies and individual owners. She successfully implemented an internal mentoring program within EisnerAmper’s real estate group. Knee also handles real estate funds and transactions, and was recently promoted to managing partner of EisnerAmper’s real estate practice. Outside of her professional role, she participates in SheBuilds, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing housing and community issues affecting women. Additionally, Knee spearheaded EisnerAmper’s partnership with Project Destined, an organization providing diverse students with training and mentoring in the commercial real estate field.

Jun Li

Americas wealth and asset management markets sector co-leader; U.S. wealth and asset management tax leader, EY

As Americas wealth and asset management markets sector co-leader and U.S. wealth and asset management tax leader for EY, Jun Li is responsible for setting strategic vision, developing new tax and consulting services and overseeing operational functions. He has been involved with recent efforts to reshape EY’s future workforce. Li’s industry experience includes providing tax consulting and compliance services to multinational hedge funds, private equity funds, offshore funds and investment advisors. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the New York State Society of CPAs, and is actively involved with EY’s global sponsorship of Help for Children.

1.4M

Number of people employed as accountants and auditors in the U.S. in 2022. (Statista)

Kirthi Mani

Managing principal of the New York City office, CliftonLarsonAllen

Kirthi Mani, managing principal of CliftonLarsonAllen’s New York City office, assists local, national and international clients with their accounting and tax needs. She leads the company’s global advisory services team and counsels clients navigating cross-border business, regulatory, operational, personnel and compliance issues. Mani assisted in the launch of the company’s Mobility Abroad Program in 2023, providing global network members with international secondment opportunities. She also leads company initiatives with the National Association of Black Accountants in the New York region. Mani is a board member with BCT, a trust in India fighting hunger, illiteracy and poor health.

Stephen Mazzotti Partner, EisnerAmper

Stephen Mazzotti is a partner in the financial services group at EisnerAmper and leader of the company’s New York audit and assurance practice. With experience serving publicly traded and private companies, his expertise includes providing audit and business advisory services to private equity funds, hedge funds, broker dealers and other financial service entities. Outside of his professional role, Mazzotti served as chair on the private equity and venture capital committee of the New York State Society of CPAs. He is also a director of EisnerAmper Cares, the firm’s community volunteer organization, and is involved with Working in Support of Education, a nonprofit aiming to improve economic mobility.

NOTE WORTHY

Craig Michaelson Chief operating officer, Prager Metis CPAs

Craig Michaelson has more than 30 years of experience in trusts and estates, individual and international tax, and real estate investments. He is chief operating officer for Prager Metis CPAs, which offers accounting, audit, tax, consulting and international services. Michaelson runs daily operations of physical and virtual offices and oversees the company’s growth in India, where he managed and sourced leadership for the Chennai office. He works closely with family attorneys, investment advisors, art consultants, family foundations and insurance consultants. Michaelson is a board member of the Piatigorsky Foundation and is also involved with the Alzheimer’s Association.

Seth Promisel

Trust solutions partner; asset and wealth management sector leader, PwC

Seth Promisel serves as trust solutions partner and asset and wealth management (AWM) sector leader at professional services giant PwC, working with asset management, private equity and real estate clients. He leads the company’s AWM practice in helping clients deliver sustained outcomes, and has led the team to double-digit revenue growth. Recently, Promisel provided the sector’s audit and tax professionals with an opportunity to gather in person for an event covering AWM industry trends, among other topics. Outside his work for PwC, he serves his local recreational sports organization by collecting and donating sports equipment to children in underfunded communities.

60% Percent of women accountants and auditors in the U.S. in 2022. (Statista)

Ryan Reiff

Managing partner, FORVIS

Ryan Reiff is managing partner for the New York office of FORVIS, an assurance, tax and advisory firm. He serves clients in healthcare, private equity and commercial products, also leading the strategic direction and operations of the office, including integrating new employees and coordinating resources. In 2022, Reiff played a key role in guiding the merger between Dixon Hughes Goodman and Baird, Kurtz & Dobson to form FORVIS. Additionally, he is a coach for more than 15 executive-level team members and a mentor to staff and internal firm service employees. Reiff is a fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

Michael E. Rhodes

Managing partner for the New York City office, Citrin Cooperman Advisors; Partner, Citrin Cooperman & Company

Michael E. Rhodes is a managing partner for the New York City office of Citrin Cooperman Advisors and a partner at Citrin Cooperman & Company. He establishes clear performance metrics for partners, and works to promote staff development and a positive culture within the office. He has been involved in training professional staff on technical matters, audit methodology and soft skills, and has developed service offerings for early-stage technology companies. Outside of his professional role, Rhodes regularly volunteers at Second Chance Foods, a nonprofit that provides healthy and nourishing food to those in need. He has also supported his hometown’s Boy Scout troop by serving as its advancement chair.

NOTE WORTHY $200B Collective revenue of the Big Four accounting firms in 2022.

(Statista)

Adam Ross Financial services audit partner, Grassi

Adam Ross, a financial services audit partner at accounting firm Grassi, works to cultivate overall company growth. He has driven change within his practice by leading an initiative to upskill and expand the offshore team: In particular, Ross traveled to India to provide training and professional development with the goals of benefiting his firm, creating job opportunities and fostering skill development. In his first year at Grassi, the financial services audit practice saw a 52% increase in revenue. Ross contributes to charitable organizations such as the Gray Matters Brain Cancer Foundation and Futures in Education, also supporting Grassi’s philanthropic initiatives.

Phillip Ross Partner, Anchin

A partner at accounting advisory firm Anchin, Phillip Ross leads the company’s architecture and engineering, and construction industry groups. He also established the firm’s architecture and engineering advisory board, and has developed several industryspecific events, including the Annual State of the Construction Industry event and the Construction and Design Awards. Ross’ recent accomplishments include being named a “Construction Idol” by New York Build Expo in March 2023. Beyond his work for Anchin, Ross is a member of the American Council of Engineering Companies, the New York Building Congress and the American Institute of Architects New York.

Lori Roth Global managing partner, Prager Metis CPAs

As a global managing partner for Prager Metis CPAs, Lori Roth oversees the firm’s day-to-day operations, also providing guidance to each of the office’s managing partners and service line leaders. She specializes in audit and assurance services, litigation support and business valuations. Roth also helps develop strategic goals and policies; monitor performance; and drive business growth. She has helped create new business processes and management protocols to improve firm management. Roth serves on the board of trustees and as the gala chairperson for the Cancer Hope Network, and is a board member for the nonprofit Unchained at Last.

Russell Shinsky Managing partner, Anchin

As a managing partner and a member of the executive committee at accounting advisory firm Anchin, Russell Shinsky co-leads the assurance practice and works to guide firm strategy and growth. Together with the firm’s executive committee, Shinsky worked to appoint a chief innovation officer to lead technology-driven initiatives, resulting in improved productivity. Under his leadership, Anchin has been listed among the “Best Places to Work” by Crain’s, and has seen double-digit growth in personnel and revenue over the past 18 months. Shinsky is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and participates in charitable efforts for City Harvest.

NOTE WORTHY

Jay Silver is a managing director and apparel group practice leader for CBIZ and a shareholder at Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. His responsibilities include consulting clients on operational and financial issues; providing live market intelligence to improve efficiencies; making recommendations regarding acquisitions; and navigating inventory and banking challenges. Silver leads financial due diligence teams for U.S. acquisition targets, and has also assisted clients with restructuring operations and improving profitability. He is a founding executive committee member and treasurer of Delivering Good, and is involved with organizations such as the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless.

Ronni Silver Senior executive vice president and chief internal auditor, Apple Bank

As senior executive vice president and chief internal auditor for Apple Bank, Ronni Silver heads the internal audit department and oversees its 26 auditors, providing departmental and overall guidance. She was involved in the completion of the bank’s core software conversion and created a data extraction and analysis process within the internal audit department. Silver, who has volunteered to help high school students increase their financial literacy, is a mentor for younger female employees. She leads an organization of local financial institution auditors in New York and New Jersey, and is involved with the audit group of the Mid-Sized Bank Coalition of America.

Glenn L. Friedman Lori A. Roth Craig Michaelson

Jay Silver Managing director and apparel group practice leader, CBIZ

130,000

Number of employed professionals at Deloitte in 2022, making it the most staffed accounting firm nationwide.

(Statista)

Ro Sokhi Partner, UHY

Since joining professional services firm UHY as a partner in November 2022, Ro Sokhi has served as lead partner and engagement quality review partner on more than a dozen audit engagements. He also serves as a brand ambassador at networking and industry events, where he helps the company connect with referral sources and prospects, and works with the marketing department to address the needs of middle market companies. Sokhi has played an integral role in securing recent sponsorship opportunities for the firm. His pro bono efforts include volunteering at Ronald McDonald House, where he serves in the soup kitchen.

Carolina Spera Italian practice leader, Grassi

As Italian practice leader for accounting firm Grassi, Carolina Spera handles accounting, legal assistance and administrative management. She specializes in topics such as tax and corporate consultancy, financial statements, business accounting and contracts and relations management. Spera helps expand relationships with Italian and American businesses, also connecting clients with new opportunities, vendors and contracts. Her European background has allowed her to lead initiatives such as partnerships with Italian newspapers, participation in conferences with Italian professionals, and implementation of strategies to support companies’ internationalization efforts. Spera contributes to the Italian Tumors Association and the Italian Leukemia Association.

Alysia Steinmann

Metro New York office managing partner, EY

As metro New York office managing partner for EY, Alysia Steinmann is responsible for leading 13,000 professionals and managing the company’s U.S. headquarters in New York City and New Jersey. She also advises financial services clients as an assurance partner. Her recent accomplishments include being named EY’s “Working Mother of the Year.” A parent of two children with autism, Steinmann has led efforts to advocate for the neurodivergent community and engage neurodivergent talent in assurance. She also serves as treasurer and finance committee chair for New York City Autism Charter Schools and for WhyHunger.

Susan Teicher Partner, Baker Tilly

As a partner at advisory, tax and assurance firm Baker Tilly, Susan Teicher leads the New York private wealth team. She specializes in providing tax planning and compliance, financial and estate planning for high-net-worth individuals and families. Teicher also serves as the office tax leader for the New York City tax department. She has increased Baker Tilly’s exposure and opportunities, and expanded the number of team members across the New York market. As a board member, treasurer and finance committee chairperson for the nonprofit Women in Need, Teicher helps provide shelter for homeless families with children.

NOTE WORTHY

6%

Expected growth of accounting and auditing employment between 2021 and 2031, with 136,400 jobs forecast to open in those fields annually.

(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

A’Isha Torrence Senior vice president of finance, ADAPT Community Network

A’Isha Torrence is the senior vice president of finance for ADAPT Community Network, a nonprofit organization improving the quality of life for people with disabilities. She has managed complex funding for services that support 15,000 neurodiverse individuals and their families, as well as 5,000 employees. Torrence most recently was the vice president of financial planning and analysis for AHRC New York City, where she regularly presented financial updates to the board and finance committees and supported the organization’s fiscal operations. She oversaw all facets of governmental grant processes and navigated regulations to maintain compliance. Torrence is a board member of the New York State Society of CPAs.

Benjamin Williams Member, Rosenberg & Estis

A member at real estate law firm Rosenberg & Estis, Benjamin Williams founded the company’s property tax department in 2018. He has represented thousands of clients in property tax appeals and argued cases at the New York City Tax Commission. Williams’ recent accomplishments include obtaining $1.1 million of assessed value reductions for a portfolio of 12 pre-war rental buildings in the East Village, and winning a tax reduction settlement for a 300-unit Queens rental building. Williams is a past secretary of the New York City Bar Association, and is highly active in New York’s legal forums, exploring recent developments in law.

Elizabeth Zabludoff

Principal in the private client group; family office services leader, Anchin

Elizabeth Zabludoff is a principal in the private client group and the family office services leader at Anchin, an accounting advisory firm. She oversees clients’ financial matters by providing bookkeeping, budgeting and financial services. Zabludoff works closely with other departments on strategic planning and helps her colleagues build their skill sets. She has also produced several marketing materials to raise the private client group’s profile with referral sources and end users. Zabludoff is a member of the Economic Club of New York, Common Good and Gotham Triangle. Her pro bono efforts include involvement with the nonprofit Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Steven Zelin

Managing member, Zelin & Associates

As a managing member at full-service accounting and auditing firm Zelin & Associates, Steven Zelin supervises managers, senior accountants, junior accountants and bookkeepers. He oversees preparation of income tax returns and works with clients on installment agreements and offers in compromise. Zelin tripled the firm’s audit practice through a merger, and by introducing a new team communications approach, he has helped clients grow more knowledgeable about the company’s services. He is a member of the New York State Society of CPAs and chair of its career committee, and is a member of the Accountants Club of America.

NOTE WORTHY 1896

The year the first Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam was administered in New York.

Principal, Insurance Solutions Group International, Credit (Apollo Management Holdings, L.P. – New York, NY); Mult. pos. avail. Offered salary range of $300,000 to $300,000. Responsible for stakeholder managem’t across the firm inc. Credit, Insurance Solut’ns Group Internat’l, Private Equity, & insurance companies. Oversee a LATAM Credit fund, inc. responsibility for manag’g & appoint’g board members. F/T. Apply w/ resume to dhorton@apollo.com. Ref. Job ID: 6578978.

Quantitative Researcher I (Citadel Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Formulate math and sim models of complex mkt prob, relating constants and var, restrictions, altern, conflicting obj, and their num param using tech, math and stat modeling, and comp syst. F/T. Reqs a Master’s deg (or foreign equiv) in Stat, Math, Phys, Comp Science, Eng’g, Fin, or a rel quant field. Edu, trng, or exp must incl: Utilizing stat and math modeling tech (incl time-series analysis, cross-sectional analysis, data mining, or Stat Machine Learning) to analyze historical mkt data and dev trading strategies; C++ or OOD prog; Stat packages incl R, Matlab, or PyTorch; Scripting languages incl bash, PERL, or Python; and Analyzing gigabyte or terabyte sized datasets. Salary range $175,000 - $250,000/yr.

Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7314326.

Vice President, Portfolio Manager (Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC (PIMCO) – New York, NY); Mult. pos. avail. Offering salary of $165,000 to $240,000. Apply statistical, optimizat’n, & probability methods together w/ Economic & Finance theories to design quantitative portfolios; perform portfolio level analytics; monitor daily security level risk statistics; validate & monitor high level computer applicat’ns & forecast’g tools; & provide systems that support the investm’t decision making process. Design, develop, implem’t, & analyze various portfolio back-tests & attribut’n models w/ advanced statistical tools such as MATLAB, E-Views &/or SAS together w/ Python & SQL programm’g. F/T. Apply w/ resume to Lupe.Rubalcaba@Pimco.com. Ref. Job ID: 7641307.

Director Performance Engineering positions (NBCUniversal Media, LLC; NY, NY). As part of Perf & Reliability team supporting ongoing ops of the streaming svc, oversee Ops team resp for running world-class problem mgmt practice to drive resiliency & stability across Global DTC platforms. Position fully remote & may be performed from anywhere in U.S. Salary range is $235,040/yr - $260,000/yr, depending on qualifications. Send resume to: Elsbeth Velasco-Fulgencio at elsbeth.velasco@nbcuni.com, & indicate you are applying for Director Performance Engineering (DR23LN) opening. NBCU is an EOE.

Contact

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Quantitative Researcher II (Citadel Securities Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Formulate adv math and sim models of cmplx mkt problems, relating constants and variables, restrictions, alternatives, conflicting objectives, and their num parameters using tech, math and stat modeling, and computer sys. F/T. Reqs a Ph.D. (or foreign equiv) in Stat, Math, Physics, Computer Science, Eng’g, or a related quant field. Edu, trng, or exp must incl the following: Conducting time-series or cross-sectional analysis to dev trading strategies; Qual data analysis methods and tech (including Robust Regression, Stat Machine Learning, or Natural Language Processing); C++ or OOD programming; Utilizing Python, R or C++ to translate math models and algorithms into code; and Analyzing gigabyte or terabyte sized large datasets. Salary range $225,000 - $275,000 /yr. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7314343.

Quantitative Researcher II (Citadel Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Offering salary of $225,000 - $275,000/year. Formulate adv math and simulation models of complex mkt problems, relating constants and variables, restrictions, alternatives, conflicting objectives, and their num parameters using tech, math and stat modeling, and comp sys. F/T. Reqs a Ph.D. (or foreign equiv) in Stat, Math, Physics, Comp Science, Eng’g, Fin, or a related quant field. Edu, trng, or exp must incl the following: Utilizing stat and math modeling tech (incl time-series analysis, cross-sectional analysis, data mining, or Stat Machine Learning) to analyze historical mkt data and dev trading strategies; C++ or OOD programming; Stat packages incl R, Matlab, or PyTorch; Scripting languages incl bash, PERL, or Python; and Analyzing gigabyte or terabyte sized datasets. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7314327.

Quantitative Researcher I (Citadel Securities Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Formulate math and sim models of complex mkt problems, relating constants and variables, restrictions, alternatives, conflicting obj, and their num parameters using tech, math and stat modeling, and computer sys. F/T. Reqs a Master’s degree (or foreign equivalent) in Stat, Math, Physics, Comp Science, Eng’g, or a related quant field. Edu, trng, or exp must incl the following: Conducting time-series or cross-sectional analysis to dev trading strat; Qual data analysis methods and tech (including Robust Regression, Stat Machine Learning, or Natural Language Proc); C++ or OOD programming; Utilizing Python, R or C++ to translate math models and algorithms into code; and Analyzing gigabyte or terabyte sized large datasets. Salary range $175,000 - $250,000/yr Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7314341.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES

Notice of Formation of CVE US NY LOWVILLE 334 LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/02/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 109 W. 27th St., 8th Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

PLAI Studio Architecture, LLC, Arts of Org. filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/14/2023. Office location: New York County. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy of process to 250 Mercer St C308, New York, NY 10012. Purpose: Architecture and Design.

Notice of Formation of BLOOM S.H. OASIS LLC.

Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/27/23, Office

Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon who process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 500 West 45th St, Unit 310, New York, NY 10036.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of SAS FAMILY ASSOCIATION LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/10/23. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served against LLC to: 1967 Wehrle Dr. Ste 1 #086, BUF, NY 14221, USA.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Formation of NEXTSTEP CAP LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/26/2023. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail process to David Gottlieb, 777 6th Ave., Apt. 16C, New York, NY 10001.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

THE BLACK LINKUP LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/03/23. 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, 775 Riverside Drive, Unit 1C, New York, NY 10032.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of 215 SULLIVAN 5B LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/30/23. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon who process shall be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 201 Varick St. Frnt 1 #522 New York, NY 10014.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of Adaptive PQ Strategies LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 4/20/23. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 516 E 78th Street #3-O, New York, NY 10075.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of THE RUGGED CROSS FILM LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/16/23. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served, and shall mail process to the LLC,330 W 28th St, Apt 1H NY NY, 10001 Purpose: any lawful act.

Seeking bids from NYS Certified MWBE fire sprinkler contractors for large prevailing wage project near Belmont Arena. Must be licensed and insured. Bids due 9/1/23 for immediate awards. Contact sales@abcopeerless.com for bidding information.

Quantitative Research Analyst (Pacific Investment Management Company, LLC (PIMCO) – New York, NY); Mult. pos. avail. Perform portfolio level analytics. Conduct client-oriented quantitative research, includ’g tail risk hedg’g & risk mitigation strategies, robust optimal asset allocation. F/T. Offering a salary range of $180,000 to $190,000 /year. Apply w/ resume to lupe.rubalcaba@pimco.com. Ref. Job ID: 6601186.

Trader (Citadel Americas Services

LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Offering salary of $153,370 to $230,000 per year. Monit and analyze incoming market info, econ news and trading activity to manage portfolio risk, ID inv oppor and make trading dec related to volatility portfolios. Work with non-volatility portfolio mgrs to provide derivative overlay. F/T. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com.

JobID: 6954867.

Notice of Formation of KATUSHA CAB LLC

Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/9/23, Office

Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon who process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 5456 Lagorce Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33140.

Purpose: any lawful act.

RPM6800 Home Inspections Services, LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 5/8/2023. Off. Loc.:Richmond Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, 56 E. Scranton Ave., Staten Island, NY 10308. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity

Formation of IFD SPACEX LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/21/2023. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail process to David Kungl, 300 Rector Pl., Apt. 9F, New York, NY 10280. The LLC is to be managed by one or more managers.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HARLEM LOCKS LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/2/2023. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against to Legalcorp Solutions, LLC, 11 Broadway, Ste 615, NY, NY 10004.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of JIT MFT 923 5TH, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/11/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of CROWNNCURLS LLC

Arts of Org filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/22/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 401 E. 115th St, Apt 3n, NY, NY 10029. Purpose: any lawful act

Notice of Formation of SURGE DIGITAL MARKETING LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/29/2023. Office

Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served against LLC to: The Limited Liability Company 228 Park Ave S. #868409, NY, NY, 10003, USA, RA: United States Corporation Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave, Ste 202 BK, NY, 11228, USA.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of MACELLUM ADVISORS, LP

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 7/13/23. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/27/11. NYS fictitious name:

MACELLUM ADVISORS, 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 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 Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of APEROBOT PRODUCTIONS

LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/31/2023. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served against LLC to: The Limited Liability Company 228 Park Ave S #788672, NY, NY, 10003, USA Reg

Ag.: United States Corporation Agents, INC. 7014 13th Avenue, Ste 202 Brkln, NY, 11228, USA.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of HUDSON HEALTH LONGEVITY MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/17/23.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 281 Broadway, Second Fl., NY, NY 10007. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Jonathann C. Kuo, MD at the princ. office of the LLC.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of AJAX BBC, LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/03/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/25/22. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. 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., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HOSPITALITY QUOTIENT, LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/18/23.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 853 Broadway, 18th Fl., NY, NY 10003. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Union Square Hospitality Group at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of DD KINGSBORO DEVELOPER I LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/31/23.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 600, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Qualification of AAI UNSCRIPTED LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/02/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/31/23. Princ. office of LLC: 1359 Broadway, 21st Fl., NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of State of DE, Corp. Dept., Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of BOTTLE HILL PROPERTIES LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/10/21. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 12 Overhill Dr., Madison, NJ 07940. The regd. agent of the company upon whom and at which process against the company can be served is U.S. Corp. Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave., Ste. 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Ogden Pond Realty LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with NY Dept. of State on 3/10/22. Office location: New York County. NY Sec. of State designated agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served, and shall mail process to the LLC, c/o Baratta, Baratta & Aidala LLP, 546 Fifth Ave, 6th Fl, New York, NY 10036. DE addr. of LLC c/o Vanguard Corporate Services Ltd, 3500 S Dupont Hwy, Dover, DE 19901. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901 on 11/9/21.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of RP BRONX TERMINAL MARKET C, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/06/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/30/23. Princ. office of LLC: 423 W. 55th St., 7th Fl., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal State St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: All legal purposes related to renewable energy.

Notice of Qualification of LONGEVITY HEALTH AGENCY, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/10/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Florida (FL) on 06/16/22. Princ. office of LLC: 11780 N. US Hwy. 1, Ste. N107, N. Palm Beach, FL 33408. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 500 S. Bronough St., Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of BRIX MANAGEMENT LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/01/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 1407 Broadway, 3rd Fl., NY, NY 10018. 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.

ARZZ 1293 BROADWAY LLC.

Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 07/25/23. 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, c/o Foster Garvey, P.C., 100 Wall Street, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10005

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Clement King Executive Counseling LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 05/09/2023. Office Location: NEW YORK County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served against LLC to: THE LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY 228 PARK AVE S #790130, NEW YORK, NY, 10003, USA Reg Ag.: UNITED STATES CORPORATION AGENTS, INC. 7014 13TH AVENUE , SUITE 202 BROOKLYN, NY, 11228, USA

Purpose: any lawful act.

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Purpose: any lawful act.

only half that country’s population. The vast majority of stores here are unlicensed and have overrun the city’s nascent legal marijuana business.

The unregulated market

West Village lawyer Paula Collins, who represents unlicensed stores, said she believes there are close to 8,000 shops citywide, five times the most commonly circulated estimate of 1,500 put forth by the sheriff’s office. Although the unregulated stores, by far the biggest growth story in New York retailing, threaten to strangle the legal market, Collins argues the stores should be allowed to stay in business.

“Closing them would not only put a lot of people out of work but people will simply return to selling from their apartments like before,” said Collins, who told a judge at a recent hearing that she estimates 36,000 unlicensed retailers, wholesalers and growers are dealing in weed statewide.

About a dozen of them work from folding tables set up around the fountain in Washington Square Park, long a favorite spot for recreational drug use and sales. One recent afternoon a college student from France named Yves bought a potent, 35% THC joint for $10.

“I don’t do this in Paris,” he said, firing up his pre-roll.

Moments later a police officer walked by, and Yves asked if it was really OK to smoke a joint in the park. He was told that it’s illegal to smoke marijuana or tobacco in a park under the city’s Smoke Free Air Act. But on the sidewalk, he would have no problem, based on a Parks Department advisory that reads: “Smoking is allowed on sidewalks outside parks, including sidewalks that form the perimeter of parks. For example, smoking will be allowed on the sidewalk on Fifth Avenue outside Central Park.”

“I’m going to the sidewalk,” Yves said.

For many years Amsterdam was the most accommodating place for weed smokers like Yves. In the late 1990s there were around 850 cannabis cafes in the Netherlands, according to a 2014 report by U.K. charity Transform cited by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. But over time the Dutch have become less tolerant of stoned tourists. There were 564 cannabis cafes in the country by 2020, ac-

cording to Statista, and Marloe Boon, a spokesman for the Amsterdam government, said 166 operate nowadays in the city. Coffee shops produce 400 million euros a year in tax revenue, Transform said.

Tired of hosting a never-ending party, the city of Amsterdam in May banned marijuana smoking on the streets of old city center. It’s targeting other vices too, banning alcohol sales at stores after 4 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. And prostitutes were ordered to finish up by 3 a.m. instead of 6 a.m.

New Yorkers are making similar complaints. At a City Council hearing in June, Times Square Alliance President Tom Harris said that over the course of five months, Times Square had gone from two illegal weed stores to 12.

“To effectively deal with this crisis, we need to take the handcuffs off law enforcement,” Harris said.

There are signs of action. On July 18, the Manhattan district attorney’s office ordered the owner of 11 unlicensed shops to stop selling cannabis and pay $400,000 in fines.

Most unlicensed New York smoke shops aren’t collecting the 13% tax levied on cannabis sales, though they do tend to charge the regular 8.75% sales tax rate for lighters and other non-weed merchandise.

The unregulated market for marijuana remains dominant in New York because it’s cheaper. Chris Jones, an Alameda, Californiabased cannabis journalist and registered medical user since 1998, said underground prices are usually half the legal market rate, which in New York is around $200 an ounce.

“Until the prices are about the same, the underground is going to dominate,” Jones said, adding that legal marijuana sales fell in California last year by 7%, or $400 million.

The illicit market is expected to generate $5.4 billion worth of sales in New York this year, according to New Frontier Data. It forecasts $2 billion in legal sales for New York, a figure that feels optimistic considering business at the state’s licensed dispensaries—there are 21 now—has gotten off to a slow start.

The state “has failed by every measure in its rollout of the adultuse program, and every member of New York’s cannabis community— from growers and processors to justice-involved licensees and medical patients—are paying the price,” said the Rev. Kirsten Foy, a spokesman for the Coalition for Access to Safe and Regulated Cannabis.

Tremaine Wright, chair of the

Cannabis Control Board, has no tolerance for whiny weed merchants even if they’re licensed. Black markets don’t move into the light right away, and anyone who invested in a dispensary looking for a quick buck was looking in the wrong place.

“Those people entered into this marketplace knowing exactly what the landscape was,” she told Crain’s. Benefits slow

in coming

New York legalized recreational marijuana in spring 2021, after it became available a PATH ride away in New Jersey, and lawmakers prioritized seeding the new market with shops owned by individuals punished under severe drug laws.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo described le-

says is a dentist. Lawyers for Kim didn’t return calls.

Over a three-week period in June, the state Office of Cannabis Management issued cease-anddesist orders to 33 shops selling illicit weed, and their owners were ordered to appear before an administrative law judge to face fines of up to $10,000 a day. But the state is reluctant to throw the book at marijuana offenders, and OCM’s 2024 budget includes just $5 million for an additional 37 staff to carry out enforcement.

The wheels of justice turn slowly.

most users that’s enough.

“The unregulated market in New York looks and acts a lot like a legal one,” said Amanda Reiman, chief knowledge officer at New Frontier Data. “And when consumers are used to getting products they are satisfied with in the unregulated market, it is tough to get them to switch over.”

She said dispensaries in Illinois and Michigan have been more successful because unregulated markets weren’t so large.

New York state officials say more licensed dispensaries are in the pipeline, starting with 10 medical ones to open later this year that will sell to recreational users. Another hopeful sign is that Chicago Atlantic, a commercial real estate investment trust, recently committed to lending $150 million to a state assistance fund designed to cultivate licensees. That could be quite expensive capital, however, because Chicago Atlantic charges a weighted average of 17.5% for its loans, according to a regulatory filing.

galization as a policy that “rights the wrongs of the past by putting an end to harsh prison sentences, embraces an industry that will grow the Empire State’s economy and prioritizes marginalized communities so those that have suffered the most will be the first to reap the benefits.”

Benefits have been slow to materialize because, with financial conditions tightening, it’s not easy for ex-offenders to raise capital even if they were unjustly convicted. In New York City it costs up to $2 million upfront to open a licensed dispensary, insiders say.

“We took people who were the most economically unable to handle the burden of being first,” Cannabis Control Board member Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins said at a June meeting.

Slowly, the state is starting to close unlicensed shops so the legal ones can get a foothold. The first legal dispensary to open in the city last year, sponsored by the nonprofit Housing Works, generated $12 million in revenue in the first half of the year, accounting for better than a third of all legal sales statewide. But the shop is surrounded by dozens of outlaw operators. One was Varieties on Broadway, at 736 Broadway, until it was shut down June 30.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation,” said attorney Michael Becker, who represents Varieties on Broadway owner Husam Assaedi. City records show the landlord is Jeong Hoon Kim, who the New York Post

A hearing for a Greenwich Village shop called NYC Smokes was postponed for about a month because an attorney said the owner was out of the country. The unlicensed stores recently fined by the Manhattan district attorney were allowed to remain open and owner Rami Alzandani won’t be prosecuted so long as the weed sales stop. Meanwhile, landlords look the other way because some unlicensed shops pay $30,000 a month in rent or more. After an East Village store at 14 First Ave. was sued by the city for selling illicit weed, it changed its name from Runtz Tobacco to Convenience Tobacco, and a recent visit by a Crain’s reporter showed it’s still selling weed. An attorney for landlord Son Dinh Tran said he was unaware of that.

“We’d rather not have the aggravation,” said the attorney, Julian Kaufman.

Sasha Berger, a 14-year-old Park Slope resident, can no longer visit the cats that live in five bodegas near her former middle school because the stores turned into smoke shops, with a minimum entry age of 21.

“Bodegas are very useful,” Berger said. “These cannabis stores are taking up everything.”

Looks legal

The best-performing unlicensed shops make $15,000 a day in profit after paying rent, said Collins, the West Village attorney, and smaller shops make at least $2,000.

Unlicensed shops have significant competitive advantages over licensed dispensaries. Prices can be lower and they can take credit cards, while licensed retailers accept only cash or debit cards. Although unregulated weed is of unverifiable origin and could be full of pesticides, underground dealers and distributors have served New Yorkers’ marijuana needs for 50 years, and for

Perhaps the best New York can hope for is a marketplace that eventually resembles California, where the legal market accounts for 40% of sales five years after legalization, according to New Frontier. There are more than 1,200 licensed dispensaries in California, which has twice New York’s population, suggesting the Empire State could need at least 600, or 30 times more than it has now. One way to get there quickly would be to give unlicensed smoke shops a 90-day deadline to register and close the ones that don’t meet it.

“New York would be wise to create an easy and cheap pathway for unregulated delivery services to become legal,” Reiman said. “They have the consumer base.”

But dishing out licenses like that would mean sacrificing social-justice goals, and the Hochul administration is betting the legal market will gain traction over time. On July 19 the Cannabis Control Board approved more than 200 new licenses, doubling the number outstanding, a move Executive Director Chris Alexander said would “accelerate the transition of New York consumers from the illicit market to the legal market.”

It isn’t clear when the new dispensaries will open, considering the industry’s high borrowing and rent costs, but cannabis entrepreneurs remain hopeful.

“We’re still really optimistic about New York; it’s going to be a huge market,” said Ron Gershoni, CEO of California-based Jetty Extracts, “over time.”

Meanwhile, the fragrance of weed has become as much a part of New York’s streetscape as the stench of summertime garbage. Mary Ann Tighe, CEO of the New York Tri-State Region at commercial real estate broker CBRE, recommended New Yorkers familiarize themselves with the Dutch concept of gedoogbeleid, which means “tolerance policy.”

“The Dutch are saying that human beings sometimes do things that aren’t so attractive, and the best we can do is to tax those things,” Tighe said. “We need to find a way to tax the cannabis that everyone can tell is out there.”

Ana Altchek contributed.

Washington Square Park | BUCK ENNIS

“The unregulated market in New York looks and acts a lot like a legal one.”

Amanda Reiman, chief knowledge officer at New Frontier Data

Matriark addresses food-waste crisis

By | Olivia Bensimon

CrainsNewYork.com

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As Anna Hammond was building a healthy eating program for families living in the city’s public housing through her job as executive director of the Sylvia Center, a Bronxbased nonpro t focused on providing education on healthy food to children, she saw the amount of food going to waste, and the environmental, social and economic impacts of throwing it all away.

In 2018 Hammond founded Matriark Foods, based in Midtown Manhattan, seeking to address the repercussions of food waste by diverting and “upcycling” produce that might be sent

it. at’s kind of what we’re doing at scale.”

Food waste is costly in more ways than one. In 2021 an estimated 38% of the country’s 241 million tons of food went unused and uneaten, costing the country $444 billion, according to the national nonpro t ReFED.

On an annual basis, Matriark diverts 27 tons of food waste, reduces 12.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent released into the air, saves 555,000 gallons of water and recovers 45,000 meals, according to impact data from ReFED’s solutions provider directory that was reported in February.

with the help of a $50,000 grant from ReFED, it was able to test out on a smaller scale the processing of surplus vegetables into a stew, which was distributed to community organizations like soup kitchens and shelters in New Jersey.

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Founded: 2018

Staff: Six

Founder/CEO: Anna Hammond

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to the land ll—releasing toxic greenhouse gases into the air. e company partners with farmers and produce-processing facilities to receive their imperfect and surplus vegetables and scraps, which Matriark then uses to create pasta sauces, broth concentrates, soups and stews.

“We look at what is being thrown out that’s usable, which is a lot, and we develop from that, much like a gardener does in the summer,” Hammond said. “It’s like, you see what’s in your garden, and ‘Oh my goodness! e tomatoes are exploding! We have to make tomato pie. We have to make tomato soup. We have to can tomatoes for the winter.’ It’s there in front of you, and you use

At the beginning of 2019, the company contracted with a few retailers to sell three soups and broths in their stores, and by the end of the year, it had completed its rst commercial production. Hammond and her business partner, Joyce Hyuang, had always conceived of the business being focused on food service businesses because at least half of meals eaten in the country are not cooked at home.

Matriark wanted to make a product to sell to food service distributors, whose major clients include restaurants, hospitals and other institutions, before testing the retail market. But just as the company was ready to begin selling its rst pallet of broth concentrate in March 2020, the pandemic shut down food service globally.

e rm quickly pivoted, and

During the pandemic, Matriark was a part of numerous accelerator programs, including the Kroger Zero Hunger, Zero Waste Innovation Fund. As part of that program, Matriark received $100,000 in upfront grant funding, an additional $100,000 grant after achieving certain program milestones, and $250,000 following a presentation in front of investors and stakeholders. Hammond and Hyuang also participated in the rst Foodbuy Accelerator program for MWBEs, and Food System 6, where they were again encouraged to pursue products that could be sold in stores.

“Everyone was like, ‘You’ve got to do a retail product. . . .You’ll crush it in retail,’” Hammond said. “Not only that, it’s so important to engage the day-to-day consumer on climate-friendly food.”

In September 2022, at ExpoEast, Matriark launched three pasta sauces, which were soon picked up by Whole Foods. e company started selling its marinara, tomato basil and arrabbiata sauces at the Financial District Whole Foods location in January and expanded to an additional 55 stores across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in February. e products are also sold online, and Hammond reports selling 40,560 units— about $8 for an 18-ounce carton—in the rst three months between online and brick-and-mortar.

In addition to retail, Matriark sells three vegetable broths spe-

Funding: The company has raised $2.2 million, half of it in equity-free grants.

Business recipe: Matriark Foods is a “social-impact business” that acquires surplus produce and scraps from partnered farms along the East Coast and turns them into pasta sauces, soups and broths for retail sales.

In mind: Matriark Foods was named after Hammond’s grandmothers, who she said never wasted food and would use up scraps and leftover produce while cooking.

Website: matriarkfoods.com

ci cally to food service providers including Aramark, Compass Group, Guckenheimer and Sodexo, and recently launched a vegetable stew that is meant to be stocked in case of emergency.

Although the business is not pro table yet, Hammond said the rm is “de nitely on our path to pro tability.” She sees this as an opportunity to inspire others to rethink how they approach business with sustainability and climate responsibility in mind.

“Being able to create a business solution that has morality attached to it is just good for everyone,” she said. When it comes to the crises of our era, “the urgency is not tomorrow; the urgency is now.”

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“Being able to create a business solution that has morality attached to it is just good for everyone,” says Matriark Foods founder Anna Hammond. | BUCK ENNIS

The rm uses ‘upcycling’ to turn imperfect vegetables into pasta sauces and soups

“We look at what is being thrown out that’s usable, which is a lot, and we develop from that, much like a gardener does in the summer.”

Anna Hammond, founder of Matriark Foods