Crain's New York Business, October 23, 2023 by crains-new-york-business

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM I OCTOBER 23, 2023

See the top 100 employers this year and what perks they offer their staffs. PAGE 15

Columbia University controls long lines of apartment houses near its main Morningside Heights campus. | BUCK ENNIS

Private colleges cost city $788M in property taxes Despite an acute need for more revenue, squeezing more out of the schools seems too politically controversial to succeed, analysts say By C. J. Hughes

New York might not look like a typical college town. But when it comes to the extent of land controlled by universities, the city can seem in a class of its own. Today, private colleges own about 25 million square feet of land, the equivalent of close to 600 acres, or about three-quarters of the size of Central Park, based on a Crain’s analysis of planning records, deeds, tax filings and court documents that took a broad view of what constitutes a college property. Although that total may be small in a 200,000acre metropolis, it’s an amount that’s growing steadily. New York University’s $210 million acquisition of a Kips Bay apartment building during the summer, one of 2023’s priciest acquisitions,

Lost revenue The number of tax-exempt college properties jumped 8% in 2023 vs. 2014, but lost tax revenue from those properties saw a much larger increase of 81% in the same time period. Forgone tax revenue $788M

$435M

2014

2023

Source: Citizens Budget Commission

may be a case in point. Counting the number of leafy quads is not just some academic

exercise. There can be major implications for the municipal budget, because, as nonprofits, the schools are generally not taxed on their property, meaning the city forgoes about taxes on about $4 billion a year in assessed value, or $788 million, according to the data. To put that figure in perspective, Mayor Eric Adams said last month that in response to the crisis, which will cost the city $4 billion per year, every department needs to cut 15% from its budget by April. The Police Department, for example, would ax $750 million. Sanitation would slash $270 million. Parks, $92 million. And so on, which suggests that $788 million could go a long way. But despite an acute need for See TAXES on Page 26

(Top) Public Works Partners, MG Engineering D.P.C. (left), Ichor Strategies LLC (right) and Chelsea Lighting NYC | BUCK ENNIS AND PHOTOS SUPPLIED BY COMPANIES

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GOTHAM GIG Neurosurgeonturned-reality TV star on taking risks and learning from mistakes.

WHO OWNS THE BLOCK A longtime plan to reinvent Coney Island seems to be taking hold.

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CHASING GIANTS A startup is powering the city’s pickleball craze. PAGE 3

10/20/23 5:55 PM

Hochul’s trips to Washington and Israel were to touch on Israel’s war with Hamas and the migrant crisis By Nick Garber

Gov. Kathy Hochul went on the road, embarking on trips to Washington and Israel that were to touch on two issues at the center of New York’s political discourse: Israel’s war with Hamas and the ongoing migrant crisis. The governor visited the White House Oct. 17 and met with Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Senior Advisor Tom Perez, where she reiterated a demand for more funding and staffing to help New York contend with the crisis. Later that day, she was to board a flight to Israel on what she

New York’s political establishment has been largely aligned in its support for Israel, although some cracks have emerged as the humanitarian crisis worsens in Gaza and reports built of an imminent invasion. On Oct. 16, State Sen. Liz Krueger, an influential Democrat, said in a social media post that “We must condemn the killing of civilians, especially children, everywhere even while we demand the return of all the hostages.”

“show solidarity with the communities that are impacted,” said Basil Smikle, a political strategist and public policy professor at Hunter College. The White House meeting, in particular, also “signals to voters that she has access to the president and his ear,” Smikle added. Hochul’s last meeting with Zients, in August, resulted in the White House pledging some limited action to help eligible asylum seekers apply for work permits. Hochul did not announce any new commitments after the Oct. 17 meeting, which came as the number of migrants in the city’s care has pushed past 64,000, and as Mayor Eric Adams imposes new limits on shelter stays for migrant families with children. Meanwhile, Hochul has been steadfast in her support for the Israeli government in the wake of a Hamas attack that killed upwards of 1,400 people and resulted in about 200 Israelis being taken hostage. No doubt, Hochul is keenly aware of New York’s deep cultural and economic ties to Israel — many of the city’s 1.6 million Jews have some connection to the nation, and the state does billions of dollars in trade with Israel each year.

‘Zero tolerance’ Gov. Kathy Hochul | OFFICE OF GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL/FLICKR

Over the Oct. 13-15 weekend, two socialist members of the state Assembly were arrested during a Brooklyn protest organized by Jewish groups that called for a ceasefire in Gaza. That came days after the city’s Democratic Socialists of America faced criticism — including from some of its own high-profile members — for promoting a Times Square rally for Palestine in the immediate wake of Hamas’s attack. Hochul, for her part, initially declined to offer any verbal support for Palestinian civilians, instead telling a reporter this month that she urged “law-abiding Palestinians to reject Hamas.” Hours later, after reports emerged that a Palestinian man had

The trips to Washington and Israel function as ways for Hochul to “show solidarity with the communities that are impacted.” — Basil Smikle, political strategist and public policy professor at Hunter College called “a solidarity mission” in which she planned to reaffirm her support for the nation in the wake of Hamas’s attacks this month. More than anything, both trips function as ways for Hochul to

EVENTS CALLOUT

A fireside chat with health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan exploring the city’s role in meeting residents’ need for mental health care. The discussion will touch on how, in a post-Covid world, where cases have waned but a mental health crisis persists, the city plans to build on established health care initiatives to address inequality, quality of life and access to care. DETAILS Location: 180 Central Park South, New York City CrainsNewYork.com/forumevent

Correction

Neil Cole, the former CEO of Iconix Brand Group, was sentenced Oct. 10 to 18 months in prison for cooking the books at his fashion powerhouse. Cole, 66, will remain free while appealing his conviction and pursuing cancer treatment. “Clearly you are a person not beyond redemption,” U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos told Cole after imposing a sentence well below the 78 to 97 months sought by prosecutors.

Founded Iconix in 2005 The judge cited Cole’s charity work helping reduce teen pregnancy and the opportunities he provided young people over a successful business career during which he built Iconix into the largest brand licensor in the world after Walt Disney. But

itz, was credible and Cole was not. “I believed Mr. Horowitz,” Ramos told Cole, seated between his lawyers with his family members close by. “I didn’t believe you.” Cole, the younger brother of designer Kenneth Cole, founded Iconix in 2005 and the Nasdaq-listed company grew to $400 million in revenue, more than $100 million in earnings, and 150 employees, including his two

“Clearly you are a person not beyond redemption.” — U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos

◗ Scott Rechler’s remarks in the ar-

ticle “RXR’s Rechler on the office crisis, hybrid work, office conversions” on Page 11 of the Oct. 16 issue were taken from an interview conducted by Semafor.

BLOOMBERG

HEALTH CARE FORUM

risks. Other communities in New York will take note of politicians’ foreign junkets and “hold them accountable to be just as responsive when they’re needed in [their own] communities,” Smikle said. And with President Joe Biden scheduled to make his own trip to Israel around the same time as Hochul, she must now engage in a “balancing act,” Smikle said, as she strains to avoid staking out any policy positions at odds with the chief executive from her own party. “She has to walk a line and make sure she’s somewhat aligned with the president, and not step beyond the president,” Smikle said.

Former Iconix CEO gets 18 months for fraud but will remain free for appeal, cancer care By Aaron Elstein

NOV. 15

been attacked in Brooklyn in a possible hate crime, Hochul emphasized that she has “zero tolerance for hate directed towards Palestinian New Yorkers.” Hochul said that in Israel she would meet with diplomatic leaders and others affected by Hamas’s attacks. Shortly after announcing her trip, Hochul led 16 other governors in sending a joint letter to Congress urging continued U.S. aid to Israel for “weeks and months to come.” “New York will show the world that we stand with Israel — today, tomorrow and forever,” Hochul said in a statement Oct. 16. Traveling to the site of an active conflict carries its own political

Judge Ramos also said Cole didn’t testify truthfully at his two trials and obstructed justice. He added that a former Iconix executive who testified at trial, Seth Horow-

ture with the understanding the partner would be reimbursed. This and other “round trip” transactions lacked economic substance but NEIL COLE enabled Iconix to report artificially high quarterly sales and earnings, which met Wall Street financial targets and gave the false impression the company was growing quarter after quarter. Cole was convicted at trial last year of eight counts of securities fraud, improperly influencing audits, and issuing false filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ramos added that Icsons. The firm acquired fashion onix would have met annual fibrands and licensed them to nancial targets even without enmanufacturers and retailers. Its gaging in fraud to meet quarterly portfolio included Rocawear, the projections. label started by Jay-Z. It worked Shortly before he was senwith Madonna to develop and li- tenced, Cole rose to speak to the cense her Material Girl brand to judge. Macy’s and with Charles Schulz’s “I stand before you a very diffamily for the rights to the Pea- ferent man from 10 years ago,” he nuts characters. said. “I humbly admit I have lost everything that was meaningful to me.” Convicted last year As the proceeding ended, RaIn 2014, Cole induced a busi- mos looked at the defendant one ness partner to pay an inflated last time and said: “Good luck to price for an interest in a joint ven- you, Mr. Cole.”

2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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10/20/23 4:14 PM

CHASING GIANTS

CityPickle co-founders Erica Desai (left) and Mary Cannon | BUCK ENNIS

Meet the startup powering New York’s pickleball craze CityPickle has opened the city’s first indoor courts in Central Park, Long Island City and Hudson Yards and has plans for more The upstart: CityPickle

two-hour clinics for $60. Court reservations, meanwhile, range from $80 to $120 an hour. The venue also offers a full menu including fare such as ribs and tacos along with draft beer, wine and cocktails. CityPickle members who pay a $500 initiation fee and $99 per month get a 20% discount on all spending along with advanced registration on court reservations and programming. The co-founders plan to open five additional indoor locations over the next several years that will reflect the local vibe. “We’re looking to expand permanently to Philadelphia, and there’ll definitely be cheesesteak on the menu,” says Desai.

ityPickle, New York’s first indoor pickleball facility, has four courts, a pro shop, a bar, a restaurant — and two unlikely co-founders. Before launching CityPickle, Mary Cannon and Erica Desai, long-time friends and co-CEOs, were both out of the job market for more than a decade, raising their families. Cannon, a graduate of Harvard Business School, worked in finance and real estate and served on the board of two large nonprofits before starting CityPickle. Desai, meanwhile, served as a program director for the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene before applying her The reigning Goliath: Chicken N Pickle management skills to head the parents’ association at her daughter’s school. Kansas City-based Chicken N Pickle, established in 2016, “It’s one of those jobs that requires working with all differ- has 15 locations open or under development across Misent kinds of people, with different kinds of skills and back- souri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Cologrounds, and getting the most out of them—those skills ap- rado. The venues feature a restaurant, sports bar, pickleball ply in any situation,” says Desai. courts and a variety of yard games. Avid tennis buddies, they both discovered pickThe company reportedly employs around 1,500 leball while out of town during the pandemic— workers and announced a $10 million fundraising Cannon in South Carolina and Desai in Vermont. round in August to boost its expansion. Kansas Returning to the city, they discovered the only City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce pickleball facilities were outdoor public courts that participated in the company’s raise. often demanded an hour-long wait for 15 minutes of play. How to slay the giant Pickleball has exploded in popularity with an estimated 48 million Americans now playing,10 In the summer of 2021, New York was full of pantimes the number of players in 2019. But the numdemic-induced street-front vacancies. Cannon and Anne Kadet ber of courts hasn’t kept pace with the enthusiasm. Desai saw a great opportunity to grab space for a “Court supply has increased at a fraction of that pickleball facility. The main obstacle? The city was growth rate, so there is certainly plenty of pent-up demand late to the pickleball phenomenon. for courts, especially in places like New York City,” says Brian “We had to explain to every landlord what pickleball was,” Levine, a strategic advisor and former CEO of Major League said Desai. Pickleball. “A dense metropolis makes it very costly to build To aid the effort, they created a business plan, hired a facilities.” marketing and design team to create CityPickle’s upbeat, Cannon and Desai self-funded the launch of CityPickle in preppy branding and constructed an elaborate pitch about August 2021, starting with a series of small popups before the growing popularity of pickleball. opening a 14-court temporary outdoor facility at Central After a year-long search of roughly 50 spaces, they signed Park’s Wollman Rink this summer that served 60,000 play- a lease in September 2022 on the 10,100 square-foot space ers. It opened its first permanent, indoor facility in Long Is- in Long Island City. land City last month. They planned the opening for 2023, but understood they The co-founders declined to say how much they’ve invest- still had an awareness problem. How could they get an ened in the startup, but they are currently employing 12 full- tire city interested in pickleball? time staffers and 58 part-time workers. The startup’s booking The two felt the company needed exposure in a high-proapp has nearly 60,500 active users, according to the company. file location and pitched a free pop-up pickleball court to an The venue offers two-hour open play sessions for $48 and executive who worked at Related, the developer behind

Hudson Yards. “I pitched it at a cocktail party,” says Cannon. “I said, ‘This is what Hudson Yards needs.’” Related agreed to let CityPickle operate a single pickleball court for one month in October 2022. Cannon and Desai installed the pop-up themselves, trucking in the equipment under cover of darkness, finishing at 2:30 am. They helped staff the court all month so they could get feedback from players. The pop-up, which cost Cannon and Desai about $34,000, produced zero revenue, but it accomplished their mission. Tremendous media buzz led to online reservations selling out within two hours of going live. Thanks to the online signup process, CityPickle collected the names and emails of thousands of local pickleball enthusiasts. The installation also opened the door to additional popup partnerships at the TWA Hotel at JFK Airport, Brooklyn’s Industry City and Wollman Rink. The six-month rink operation, which launched in April, was a much larger and more complicated affair than the first popups—14 courts operating 14 hours a day, the largest single pickleball installation in the Northeast. Despite record-breaking rainfall throughout the summer, the venture was profitable, says Cannon, with courts fully booked on the weekends. They’ve applied their learnings to the Queens location. The beginner pickleball lessons and clinics were unexpectedly popular, for instance, as was demand for party space. “We hosted more than 450 events and probably had three times the number of requests,” says Cannon. The co-founders plan to open their additional locations in larger spaces to meet the demand for big pickleball parties and for pickleball play in general.

The next challenge Having launched on their own dime, the co-founders say they will need outside funding to expand. Cannon and Desai are speaking to investors about Series A financing and hope to close a round by the end of the year. “We’re looking for strategic dollars. Not just any money, but people who understand pickleball and where we are in our growth cycle, so they can help us,” says Cannon. Fundraising shouldn’t be a problem, says Levine. “There is tremendous investment interest for pickleball right now, and frankly it’s a little bit overwhelming,” he says. Anne Kadet is the creator of Café Anne, a weekly newsletter with a New York City focus. OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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10/20/23 5:45 PM

WHO OWNS THE BLOCK 1607 SURF AVE.

After a lull, Coney Island adds a half-dozen new apartment towers A decades-old plan to reinvent the area known for roller coasters and cotton candy as a residential hub seems to finally be bearing fruit

aking Coney Island’s beach area more about housing than roller coasters and cotton candy—an idea first pushed in the 1950s by master planner Robert Moses and promoted by various mayors, developers and investors ever since—seems close to completion at last. In quick succession in just the last few years, a parade of large apartment towers has popped up along Surf Avenue, swallowing up lots that have been little more than places to park since the Moses era. But while the affordable housing brought by the new buildings may help the disadvantaged area, some still worry the major changes could force people out. “People here are scared stiff of gentrification,” said 80-year-old commercial broker Joe Vitacco Jr., who in his decades in the area has worked with developers who have tried to remake the amusement park district with mixed results. “But I firmly believe that Coney Island can eventually be a place with year-round appeal.” The latest tower will break ground this winter at Surf Avenue and West 19th Street, where drivers once parked for minor league baseball games and, prior to that, where they went to fill up their tanks. Developed by the team of Taconic Partners, BFC Partners and L&M Development Partners, a trio that is responsible for two previous block-long projects down the street, the 12-story tower will offer 430 units of affordable housing for a community with a 24% poverty rate, higher than the 19% rate for Brooklyn as a whole, according to data from New York University’s Furman Center, an urban policy research group. The project, 1709 Surf Ave., arrives in a landscape awash with new towers, including ones at 1921, 1607 and 1515 Surf Ave. Slightly farther afield are 3003 W. 21st St., a 170,000-squarefoot project with 52 affordable units, and next-door 2006 Surf Ave., also known as Raven Hall, with 216. There are certainly still windswept swaths of the neighborhood, notably a huge lot on Surf Avenue and West 21st Street. But together, the new projects give a denser look. Zoning, of course, explains much of the appearance. Moses made the first moves in the 1950s by razing rides and allowing more residential sites (one amusement park, Luna Park, stood inland). Similarly, a 19-block rezoning in 2009 expanded the housing zone westward while raising the allowed height of developments. But Coney Island may not entirely shake its “people’s playground” past. The landlord Thor Equities, which owns a significant chunk of the amusement area south of Surf Avenue, is bidding for one of New York City’s new gaming licenses to develop a $3 billion casino there.

1709 SURF AVE. The third of three landscape-altering housing developments from Taconic Partners, BFC Partners and L&M Development Partners will soon rise from this empty block-wide site. The storefront-lined 12-story, 430-unit project will be 100% affordable, in that all of its units, subsidized by taxpayers, will be available at below-market prices for those making certain incomes. Robert Moses reportedly thought Coney Island was seedy; he once said the beach was so crowded people had less room than a coffin. In the 1960s, as his urban renewal vision began razing buildings tied to the tourism business, a series of gas stations stood at No. 1709. One owned by the Humble Oil and Refining Company, the predecessor of Exxon, later gave way to a Gulf that served vehicles into the late 1990s, tax records show. A dozen leftover tanks were removed from the ground in 2003. Taconic Partners, a developer perhaps best known for selling Manhattan’s 111 Eighth Ave. to Google in 2010 for $1.8 billion, placed several early bets on Coney Island, including this property, which it picked up for $7.8 million in 2005, according to the city register. Taconic then sold stakes to its development partners in 2018 for $5.9 million, records show.

2909 W. 17TH ST. A four-story dark-brick prewar building that stood on this corner from the 1920s and that contained a Chase bank branch in recent years—the only full-service bank in western Coney Island—fell victim to Superstorm Sandy and never re-opened. For its part, Chase returned in 2021 a few blocks east at 1428 Mermaid Ave., where the bank offered ATMs before. But in 2018, David Koptiev of Gabriel Development sold No. 2909 to developer George Rigas for $5.8 million, and three years later, Rigas began to demolish the 11,700-square-foot structure. Rigas plans to put up a mixed-use building with 77 apartments, some of which appear to be designated at below-market rents.

2315 SURF AVE. One of five New York City Housing Authority complexes packing Coney Island’s western half, Gerald J. Carey Gardens suffered major damage from Superstorm Sandy in 2012 when water wiped out boiler systems as part of the hurricane’s 44-death, $19 billion trail of destruction through the city. The four-building, three-block complex, which opened in 1970 and is named for a former NYCHA head and Brooklyn native, offers 682 apartments for 1,585 people. Carey Gardens was troubled by crime in the decades after it opened, according to news archives, and gang activity in the 1970s reportedly inspired the cult classic dystopian movie “The Warriors.” But the 60th precinct has seen vast improvement over the years. Major crimes have declined 12% year to date from the same period in 2022, according to police statistics.

1921 SURF AVE. The first effort by Taconic, whose co-founder is Charles Bendit, and its partners to remake this strip occurred on this site, which in 2021 added a two-towered 446-unit affordable building. Forty-six of its apartments are for the formerly homeless, while the rest lease for prices starting at $367 a month. The development cost of the 521,000-square-foot project, which stretches back to Mermaid Avenue, was $254 million, $77 million of which came from tax-exempt bonds. Though now packed with monolithic projects, the area once resembled other Brooklyn neighborhoods with a mix of smaller structures, based on historical tax photos. A clutch of what appears to be holdout buildings on the block, modest brick offerings at Nos. 2925-2929 W. 20th St., suggest what was once the area’s more typical style. In December 2022, Surf Market, a grocery store, inked a deal for 10,000 square feet in the building’s retail space, which was marketed at an annual rent of $38 per square foot.

1904 SURF AVE. The 7,500-seat minor league park here has cycled through names with the speed of a fastball. When developed for $39 million in 2001 as the home of the Mets affiliate Brooklyn Cyclones, the stadium was KeySpan Park. But it sold its naming rights nine years later to the Municipal Credit Union, which rebranded the site MCU Park. Then in 2021, Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn’s largest hospital, got to slap its name on the structure in a 10-year deal, resulting in the Maimonides Park of today. About half of the Cyclones’ 132 games are played there. The land once belonged to Steeplechase Park, one the three original major amusement parks in Coney Island. George Tilyou founded it in 1897, but it closed in 1964 due to low attendance. The metal tower glimpsed beyond the home-run fence is the park’s former Parachute Jump attraction, Steeplechase’s only significant surviving trace.

1301 SURF AVE. A rare relic of Coney Island’s early-20th-century golden era, this 7-story, 116,000-square-foot building, the former Shore Theater, opened in 1925 and shuttered in the 1970s. Longtime owner Horace Bullard, the founder of the Kansas Fried Chicken chain (one of Bullard’s restaurants was inside No. 1301), came up with a $450 million plan in the 1980s to revive Steeplechase Park. But the financial crash that occurred later in the decade and subsequent resistance from former Mayor Rudy Giuliani dashed those hopes. In 2013, Bullard died of Lou Gehrig’s disease, and in 2016, daughter Jasmine Bullard sold the landmarked building, which once contained a Loew’s theater, ballroom and rooftop restaurant, to developer Pyotr Yadgarov for $14 million, well above the $12 million it had been asking for years. Yadgarov intends to create a hotel at the property, according to plans that have kicked around for years, and demolition appears to have begun in spring 2023.

1515 SURF AVE. Market-rate housing is arriving too. Developer LCOR is putting the finishing touches on this project, which includes 324 market-rate rentals, 139 affordable ones and a landscaped roof deck with a pool and views of the Thunderbolt roller coaster, a re-creation of the original Steeplechase version. Out of sight is a feature that may be an attraction for green-energy advocates: the building’s geothermal wells. There are 153 of them, which extend 50 stories underground, and which cool and heat the building courtesy of constant subterranean temperatures. No. 1515 is considered the city’s largest-ever geothermal project. Gargiulo’s, a white tablecloth Italian restaurant founded in 1907 and located across West 15th Street, owns the land that contains those wells and has leased it to LCOR in a $20 million deal, according to the city register. Gargiulo’s had used the site as a parking lot for years.

1607 SURF AVE. Developer Fred Trump, Donald Trump’s father, bought this huge site from the Tilyou family in 1973 for what appears to be about $9,000 (about $62,000 today), according to the deed. Previously, Trump had purchased the Tilyous’ dilapidated Steeplechase Park site across the street with the aim of building an apartment complex akin to the ones he developed on nearby Neptune Avenue. But officials never gave Trump the zoning he sought. Donald Trump and his brother the late Robert Trump inherited the parcel after Fred Trump died in 1999, a deed shows, though in 2005, Robert unloaded it to Taconic for $4.1 million. The second of three large affordable projects from Taconic and its partners along Surf Avenue, No. 1607 broke ground in January 2022, and the 10-story, 361,000-square-foot structure, developed at a cost of $189 million, is supposed to deliver its 375 rental units by next year. Coney Island added 9,000 new apartments in the 1960s, according to research from the City University of New York; from 1990 to 2000, in contrast, it gained just 780.

BUCK ENNIS, GOOGLE MAPS

By C. J. Hughes

4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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10/20/23 1:39 PM

THOUGHT LEADER REPORT

PRIVATE EQUITY

SPONSORED CONTENT

SEC adopts final private fund adviser rules Restricted Activities Rule: Advisers will be prohibited from certain activities without disclosure and/or consent, such as: • Charging or allocating fees and expenses related to:

ALEXANDER REYES Citrin Cooperman Alexander Reyes is a partner and leader of the firm’s Financial Services Industry Practice with over 20 years of experience in assurance and advisory.

n August 23, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted new rules (Private Fund Adviser Rules) to enhance the protection of private fund investors. This update represents a significant change to the private fund industry’s regulatory landscape and consists of the following rules, applicable to registered private fund advisers.

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- Investigations of the adviser or its related persons by any governmental or regulatory authority; - A portfolio investment on a nonpro rata basis, unless the allocation approach is fair and equitable, and the adviser distributes advance written notice of the approach, including an explanation of how it is fair and equitable; - The adviser’s regulatory, examination, or compliance costs; and • Reducing the amount of any adviser clawback by the amount of certain taxes, unless the adviser discloses the aggregate clawback to investors before and after taxes Preferential Treatment Rule: Advisers cannot provide preferential

treatment unless clear terms are disclosed before an investor’s investment in the private fund and all preferential terms are disclosed at least annually to all investors. This includes: • Redemptions that advisers expect to have a material, negative effect on other investors, unless the ability to redeem is required by law or the adviser offers the preferential redemption rights to all other investors; and • Information about portfolio holdings or exposures that advisers expect to have a material, negative effect on other investors Quarterly Statement Rule: Advisers will be required to prepare quarterly statements providing investors with information on fund performance, costs of investing in the fund, fees and expenses paid by the fund, as well as certain compensation and payments to the adviser. Audit Rule: Advisers will need to obtain annual and liquidation audits for each private fund that they advise, which must meet the requirements of

the audit provisions in the Advisers Act Custody Rule (Rule 206(4)-2)). Additionally, the auditor of these funds will need to meet the standards of independence in Rule 2-01(b) and 2-01(c) of Regulation S-X. Adviser-led Secondaries Rule: Advisers will be required to obtain an independent fairness or valuation opinion, which addresses the fairness of interests offered to the private fund, and distribute the opinion to investors along with a written summary of any material business relationships between the adviser and opinion provider. Recordkeeping Rule: Advisers must retain books and records related to each of the above rules and document, in writing, their annual review of their policies and procedures’ adequacy. With so many new rules, it is essential for private fund advisers to be aware of when they all go into effect. Important timeframes to note include:

effective 18 months from the date of publication in the Federal Register. • The compliance dates for the AdviserLed Secondaries Rule, the Restricted Activities Rule, and the Preferential Treatment Rule are staggered between 12 and 18 months from the date of publication in the Federal Register, depending on the size of the adviser. • Adherence to the amended Advisers Act compliance rule will be required 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. For more guidance on SEC compliance and other issues private fund advisers face, contact Alexander Reyes at areyes@citrincooperman.com. “Citrin Cooperman” is the brand under which Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, a licensed independent CPA firm, and Citrin Cooperman Advisors LLC serve clients’ business needs. The two firms operate as separate legal entities in an alternative practice structure. Citrin Cooperman is an independent member of Moore North America, which is itself a regional member of Moore Global Network Limited (MGNL).

• The Private Fund Audit Rule and the Quarterly Statement Rule become

10/16/23 8:37 AM

ON POLITICS

A suspension of the city’s right-to-shelter law could backfire on Adams and Hochul If the mandate is weakened, the legacy of the migrant crisis could be that it makes New York a less humane place

ayor Eric Adams and Gov. city declared its state of emergency Kathy Hochul are united last October. Adams and Hochul in their quest to end New both have said the city’s resources York City’s right-to-shelter law. are stretched too thin, and a theoThey feel, given the influx of the retically indefinite surge of mimore than 120,000 migrants who grants would mean local homeless have come through the city since people couldn’t claim shelter spots any longer. last year, that the consent This is foolhardy on decree that has existed multiple grounds. If the since 1981 is no longer courts ultimately rule that valid. right-to-shelter can be The city, as of now, su s p e n d e d —p re v i ou s must provide a bed to challenges, all unsuccessany homeless person ful, came in the Giuliani who asks for one. In their and Bloomberg years— desire to strike down the there will be, as Adams right to shelter, Adams and Hochul hope, less and Hochul believe they pressure on the shelter are on the right side of Ross Barkan system. But street homehistory. “This interpretation that has been promulgated lessness will inevitably balloon. The homelessness crisis the city for the last year and a half, it doesn’t hold up any longer,” Ho- grapples with today would be chul said recently. “Let’s deal with made far worse. For all the trouble New York has the unprecedented scale of the human crisis which has truly had with housing its poorest in restretched the resources of the city cent decades—there’s a dearth of to manage the implementation as affordable apartments and the destruction of single-room occupanit has been interpreted.” The Adams administration has cy units has removed a crucial asked the courts to suspend the safety net for the most destitute— right to shelter if a state of emer- there are no tent cities like those gency remains in effect and the that can be found in Los Angeles or number of single adults seeking Phoenix. There is, thankfully, no shelter is at least 50% higher than it equivalent of San Francisco’s Tenwas in a two-year period before the derloin, either.

Homeless people are scattered throughout the city and some avoid the shelters, fearing for their safety. But enough take beds to make the city’s challenge manageable. On winter nights, they know there is always a warm place they can go. If the courts side with the Adams administration, the city will likely spend far less money, over time, on housing the homeless. Shelters might close. Without an alternative plan for finding the homeless permanent housing—an SRO revival could do it, but would be many years away—the street population will balloon. When the migrant crisis inevitably abates, the five boroughs might be confronted by the encampments that are already found on the West Coast. Adams argues the right to shelter will perpetually draw migrants to New York City and “destroy” what we have. Adams and Hochul, in different ways, have indulged in destructive hyperbole. Now that Venezuelan migrants have temporary protected status, they can seek work permits and become self-sufficient. Immigrants do not risk their lives to come here so they can live in precarious city shelters. They want to earn money, afford their

Suspending New York’s right-to-shelter mandate could backfire on our elected leaders. MICHAEL APPLETON/ /NYCMAYORSOFFICE/FLICKR

own apartments, and help family back home. Many, ultimately, may choose to leave the five boroughs and go elsewhere. Migration out of Mexico declined over the last decade; it’s plausible the current wave of migration, from Venezuela and elsewhere, will dissipate too. If the legacy of this migrant wave is the end of the right to shelter, New York City will be a far more inhumane place to be.

Quick takes ◗ Hakeem Jeffries, the House mi-

nority leader, is reportedly explor-

ing the possibility of finding a primary challenger for Jabari Brisport, a socialist state senator who occupies an overlapping district. Brisport has won by commanding margins and will not be an easy target. ◗ Will a conservative Democrat get back his old City Council seat in eastern Queens? After losing to the far-right Vickie Paladino in 2021, Tony Avella is hoping to return to political office, where he’d join a small but vocal faction of right-leaning Democrats in the City Council. Ross Barkan is a journalist and author in New York City.

‘Doom loop’ economists who forecast possible 40% drop in New York office values now warn it could be even worse A trio of economists who last year warned New York office buildings could lose 40% of their value — unleashing an “urban doom loop” as work-from-home inclinations linger — are now warning of an even bleaker future. In the coming weeks the authors of the 2022 study, Work From Home and the Office Real Estate Apocalypse, will update their sobering analysis, which forecast a 39.2% de-

Nieuwerburgh, a professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business. Falling market values translate into falling assessed value and Van Nieuwerburgh said over time that could cost the city about $5 billion in annual tax revenue, or nearly 5% of the total. “I think we will begin to see this play out next year and it could easily drag on for five-plus years,” he said. The good news is that certain new office towers, which the study’s authors describe as A+ buildings, are seeing rents not only hold up but in some cases increase. Trouble is, there are only a handful of A+ buildings. Ruth Colp-Haber, a partner at commercial broker Wharton Property Advisors, said the list includes the World Trade Center, Hudson Yards, One Vanderbilt Avenue, the General Motors Building, and 9 W. 57th St. Traditional Class A buildings aren’t so new or centrally located, she said. Class B buildings tend to be

The good news is that certain new office towers, described as A+ buildings, are seeing rents not only hold up but in some cases increase. cline in the value of New York office buildings between 2019 and 2029. In May the economists upped the ante to 42.3% and they expect to soon further refine their figures by incorporating data that accounts for building operating costs. “That’s likely to make the drop larger, not smaller,” said Stijn Van

older, and Class C typically describes relatively small, old office buildings located on streets instead of avenues. “These designations have no particular definition,” Colp-Haber said. “It’s in the eye of the beholder.”

Incentives for landlords With an estimated 90% of New York’s 100 million square feet of vacant office space in Class B and C buildings, the city has responded by offering incentives to landlords who upgrade them in the hopes of attracting more tenants and higher rents. Owners of buildings built before 2000 and situated south of 59th Street, with at least 250,000 square feet of space, can lock in their property tax bills and get discounts on other taxes if they agree to invest a sum on improvements equal to at least 75% of assessed value. The program is expected to go live later this year with 25 buildings. “We’ve been overwhelmed with the response,” Andrew Kimball, CEO of the city’s Economic Development Corp., said at a Crain’s

GETTY IMAGES

By Aaron Elstein

Power Breakfast last month. “This will give a real shot in the arm to the economy.” But even generous incentives might not be enough to overcome the challenges faced by struggling buildings, such as one in Murray Hill that’s poised to swing from almost 70% occupied to 70% vacant. The 1962 building at 215 Lexington Ave. sits relatively far from the Grand Central and Penn Station commuter hubs. The 120,000square-foot building, marketed as “B+,” was 33% vacant at the end of

2020 and 50% vacant at the end of last year, according to a report this month from Fitch Ratings. The vacancy rate rose to almost 60% in July and stands to reach nearly 70% when another large tenant’s lease expires next May, said Fitch, which put the odds of default on the building’s loan at 75%. The building’s owner, the Somerset Group, didn’t respond to requests for comment. Such misery could have plenty of company across the city in the months ahead.

6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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After subway attack, MTA chief calls for city to get more people into mental health help By Jacqueline Neber

MTA CEO Janno Lieber called on the city’s mental health system to step up and get more people into treatment after a man shoved a stranger into a train Oct. 18, leaving her in critical condition. A 30-year-old woman, who authorities have not yet named, was pushed at about noon Oct. 18 into a moving train on the E/F platform at the Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street station by a man who was “known to us in the subway system,” said Michael Kemper, NYPD’s chief of transit. The woman’s head struck the train, Kemper said, and she fell onto the tracks after it moved out of the station. Eyewitnesses pulled the victim onto the platform and called 911. She was in critical condition, recovering from surgery, as of the afternoon of Oct. 18, Kemper said. Lieber, who has led the transit agency since 2022, expressed frustration on behalf of his riders, who regularly encounter people with mental-health issues on trains. “I’m not a mental health professional, but I’m sure that the people who are have to figure out how to get these people out of the public space and into treatment so that they get in better condition for

themselves and more important for New Yorkers who are just trying to live their lives,” he said. Mayor Eric Adams, on the other hand, has not publicly addressed the attack, more than 24 hours after it happened, and his office did not respond to requests for comment. Detectives identified the suspect in the attack as Sabir Jones, a 39-year-old man. Police are looking for him but had not yet made an arrest as of Oct. 19. While Kemper said Jones was known to the police department, he did not say whether Jones was on the city’s “Top 50” lists of people in the subway system and above ground who are dealing with mental health concerns but have resisted overtures offering help. The New York Times first reported on the existence of the lists, which the city has refused to turn over to Crain’s New York Business. The Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health also did not respond to requests for comment by publication, including a direct question to the mayoral offices as to whether Jones was on the “Top 50” lists. Many New Yorkers with serious mental illness remain on the streets, putting themselves and

others at risk, despite a system that spends billions. Instead of being admitted to hospitals, many are sent back out onto the street with medication and roam the city with little to no support, a Crain’s investigation last year found. The story noted that the man who pushed Michelle Go to her death in front of an R train in 2021 was hospitalized at least two dozen times for symptoms of his schizophrenia over more than two decades but kept landing back on the street.

Controversial directive Matt Kudish, CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City, said the latest incident emphasizes that it’s time for the city to “fill the cracks.” “It’s a horrible thing that happened. It’s not the man’s fault, it’s the system’s fault,” Kudish said, advocating for the city to invest in community outreach, crisis respite centers, crisis stabilization centers and supportive housing– not just treatment options. “You don’t just pick someone off the street, and they’re better,” he added. Previously Adams has been more vocal about his plans to ad-

dress the city’s mental health crisis. In November 2022 he issued a controversial directive reminding police, emergency responders and outreach workers that they can involuntarily transport people to hospitals who appear unable to meet their basic needs. This spring Adams unveiled a new phase of the plan, focused on reaching people before they are in crisis and expanding treatment options, housing and community support programs. He dedicated $5 million toward the plan in the fiscal 2024 budget. So far this year 15 people have been pushed into subway tracks compared to 22 people in the same period last year, NYPD data shows. Lieber said that the MTA and NYPD have made “tremendous progress” addressing subway crime overall—but he said New Yorkers “can’t put up with” random attacks. “When things like this happen, we have to double down and work even harder to protect New Yorkers,” he said, adding that the MTA and NYPD would continue fighting to bring down crime. “We feel for them, but we need for them to get in treatment and

MTA chief Janno Lieber called for the city to take action after a woman was assaulted by a mentally ill person. | MARC A. HERMANN / MTA FLICKR

out of the public space,” Lieber added. Ruth Lowenkron, director of the disability justice program at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, urged the city to further invest in mental health care in the wake of the incident. She emphasized that people with mental illness are statistically no more likely to be violent than people without mental health diagnoses—and are more likely to be victims of crime themselves. She praised Lieber for his expression of concern for individuals, and called for investment in health-based responses to crises and services that people can voluntarily seek. “Our mental health system is failing us and it’s been failing us for the longest [time],” she said. “So I would hope this would be a wake up call for investment in mental health services.”

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OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 7

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EDITORIAL

Academic institutions an untapped — and necessary — source of city revenue A

cademic institutions are a critical part of the cityscape, providing cultural collateral and an educated workforce that pays dividends for generations. But it’s time for politicians to challenge the status quo of the current arrangement. Private colleges own about 25 million square feet of the city’s land and continue to add to their holdings, senior reporter C. J. Hughes found in an analysis (story on p.1). That number seems to be growing as powerful academic institutions make multi-million dollar acquisitions that go beyond new libraries and student centers, extending to apartment buildings and medical facilities. The number of tax-exempt properties has jumped by 8% since 2014, according to watchdogs. The moves not only represent a sprawling real estate portfolio, but a significant loss of revenue for the city, since given their nonprofit status, colleges and universities are not taxed on their property. Their holdings represent $4 billion in assessed value, which translates to $788 million in foregone municipal income each year.

Columbia owns 610 W. 113th St. | BUCK ENNIS

Academic institutions say that their tax break allows them to contribute to the city in other ways, generating economic activity from students and cultural assets, investing in infrastructure surrounding their campuses and training a more educated

workforce in the city. Given a city-agency-wide marching order to cut budgets by 15%, it seems increasingly necessary that academic institutions should contribute something. Across the country, colleges have worked

out payment in lieu of taxes, or pilots, with their cities– deals where they cough up some amount that would still be less than their assessed property taxes, but more than nothing. Implementing such deals appears to be an obvious first step to a complex issue where alienating historic institutions from the city is off the table. But the issue does not have to be so politically charged; Columbia, which has the largest footprint in the city, is the only Ivy League school in the country that does not have a pilot arrangement with its municipality. Pilots can be creative and should not compromise an institution’s financial standings, especially schools that don’t have sizable endowments to fall back on. Perhaps schools can help to patch some of the gaps from city budget cuts by contributing to specific initiatives, like picking up the tab for sanitation in their area or opening up their libraries to the public. It’s possible to have a nuanced approach to a pilot arrangement that does good for both parties, the schools that enjoy generous incentives to stay here, and New Yorkers who benefit from their presence.

PERSONAL VIEW

andemic-era protections for the place but lift the maximum on marketing hospitality industry were essential services — a service many restaurants use in keeping restaurants afloat. Over- as a way to attract new customers. Many of night, the livelihood of restaurants de- the members of the New York State Latino pended on third-party delivery apps and Restaurant Bar & Lounge Association are small, independent, family-run the visibility they provided. This places like mine. We have was true for my restaurant as voiced serious concerns about well. With our doors closed in the including sufficient protections middle of winter, third-party for restaurants while enabling apps became the only means for us to compete with the big me to connect with my customchains. ers. While this was a lifeline, it also put me in a vulnerable position because I was entirely deProductive talks pendent on the apps. To protect against that vulner- Sandra Jaquez, Thankfully, in recent months, ability, the City Council passed a restaurant productive conversations belegislation limiting what the apps owner in Inwood, tween delivery app companies could charge for delivery and is the incoming and the restaurant industry marketing services. This was es- president of the have led to bill amendments sential to the industry and a New York State that ensure there are guardrails. strong sign of support. But as we Latino This model would give New continue to recover from the Restaurant and York some of the strongest propandemic and consider other ex- Bar Association. tections for the restaurant internal factors affecting the dustry in the country. Owners restaurant ecosystem, it has become clear would have more options if they want to that a permanent solution is needed to participate in third-party app promotions, give assurances and flexibility to both the but, most importantly, it would not force restaurant industry and delivery plat- their hand. It would give flexibility to forms. restaurant owners who voluntarily choose A proposed amendment in the City to pay more for additional services that Council would keep the delivery fee cap in make sense for them, while building in ad-

ditional protections and assurances for all restaurants on the platform. This model would include guarantees that all restaurants are searchable on the app regardless of their marketing plans and would allow modifications to marketing services at any time with 24 hours’ notice. The delivery apps would offer restaurants a tiered system where they could choose to pay the existing 5% and get a base set of services, or increase to a higher tier with additional services. Restaurants would also have the ability to negotiate customized offerings, to ‘mix-and-match’ different features and to find a price that makes sense to them. These changes are particularly critical as a recent decision by a federal judge allows the apps’ lawsuit against the city to proceed. Leaving the case in the court’s hands could be more dangerous to the restaurant industry as it could threaten the fee cap all together. Without the industry’s input on the fee cap, fewer guardrails and protections would exist and the financial burden on restaurants could be severe. Now is the time for the City Council to embrace a compromise that will give restaurants flexibility while continuing to protect the industry — and avoid the uncertainty and millions in taxpayer dollars that a lawsuit would bring.

BLOOMBERG

We need a permanent solution that provides assurances and flexibility for both restaurants and delivery platforms

As a restaurant owner for more than 20 years, I have navigated third-party apps prior to and through the pandemic and seen firsthand the benefits they have provided — my restaurants are more visible and accessible to customers. However, no owner should be forced to pay for these services, and ensuring flexibility was a key reason we came to the table to safeguard an owner’s choice. We strongly urge the City Council to move ahead with this new, common-sense model.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes submissions to its opinion pages. Send letters and op-eds of 500 words or fewer to opinion@CrainsNewYork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, title, address and telephone number. Crain’s reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity. 8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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PERSONAL VIEW

Building toward New York City’s greener tomorrow

t’s no secret that we’re going through resiliency to the forefront of blueprints — an international sustainability renais- and with countless global sustainability sance, putting an emphasis on ensur- firsts, New York is the quintessential illusing the longevity of our world across all tration. business facets now and for the generations to come. New York City continues to Preserving Manhattan’s history be a trailblazer at the forefront of this movement, having enacted some of the Skanska helped protect and preserve country’s most ambitious climate laws the historical structure and dignity of the and goals. Having recently hosted both famous James A. Farley Post Office to beNew York Climate Week and the come what is today’s famous (and United National General Assembeautiful) Moynihan Train Hall. bly, the city continues to provide Rehabilitating and transforming the platforms and advance the an existing structure will always evolutionary sustainability disbe the greenest option rather than cussions needed on a global scale constructing a brand-new buildthat will pave the way for the fuing. The train hall renovation used ture of our planet. the existing structure’s embodied As a proven global and nationcarbon to reduce emissions that al construction leader, Skanska is would have typically been refollowing suit, aiming to achieve Myrrh Caplan leased during the fabrication, denet-zero carbon emissions along is the national livery and assembly of new matethe entirety of its operations by vice president of rials. 2045, with a 70% reduction in sustainability The project integrated skylights controlled emissions by 2030 for Skanska above the former historic steel globally. Three recent projects re- USA Building. trusses to welcome abundant natflect that commitment. ural light and air into the space A sustainable building is defined well for a more pleasant commuter experience before the ground is broken on a project. while decreasing energy use. Additional The planning process is crucial in bringing energy-efficient mechanical systems into life a healthy building, and a holistic ap- clude efficient LED fixtures, low-flow proach must be applied from Day One, in- plumbing fixtures, and a thermal energy cluding elements that look to maximize conservation system. Implementing these carbon and energy reduction, reuse mate- sustainable construction methods resultrials, and bring historic preservation and ed in Moynihan Train Hall becoming the

first train hall in the world to achieve LEED for Transit Building Design and Construction certification.

Sustainable resource management LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B is the first airport project in the world to receive LEED v4 Gold Certification, a true symbol of the intersection of energy efficiency, waste management, water conservation and greenhouse gas reduction. The stateof-the-art building management system ensures long-term sustainable excellence, encompassing modern baggage handling, solar water heaters, large skylights and wall-to-ceiling windows, which has resulted in 20% net energy savings, 40% decreased water consumption from rainwater harvesting, and 10% embodied carbon reductions from initial design optimization. To bolster and safeguard New York City’s shoreline against the impending impacts of climate change, we have successfully executed projects exceeding $1 billion in investment. The exciting East Midtown Greenway project will, upon completion, span 22 blocks to enhance waterfront access and create open space for the community. To ensure the project is built to withstand the increasing environmental concerns, engineered soil will be placed in Silva Cells along the base to collect stormwater and support the growth

Moynihan Train Hall | BLOOMBERG

of newly planted trees, all while accounting for sea-level rise around Manhattan. The International Energy Agency reports that 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions result from the built environment and its accompanying operations. Now more than ever, businesses across all sectors must continue to put sustainability goals and initiatives at the forefront of their business strategies. It’s the only way we’ll be able to preserve the longevity of our work and the communities we serve.

PERSONAL VIEW

AI was coming for my translation business, so I adapted

GETTY IMAGES

ew technological advancements in erations. At a minimum, there isn’t an enrecent years have captured the pub- trepreneur in the world who shouldn’t be lic’s imagination to the degree that devoting resources to understand how GenAI will impact his or her industry. generative artificial intelligence has. Depending on who you ask, GenAI will either usher in a brilliant new era of prog- Disruptive force ress, discovery and achievement, or it will render countless jobs obsolete and erode As the founder and CEO of one of the fundamental individual liberties. But as is world’s largest providers of language and true in all highly charged detranslation services, the question bates, the truth lies in the middle. for us quickly became, how do we While GenAI certainly poses deploy this technology ethically risks if used irresponsibly, it while still maximizing its very real would be good to recall that it potential? wasn’t long ago that people levIn the past decade, our busieled the same charges against ness model has inexorably home computers and the interchanged, from technology-ennet. abled, human-led translations, to At its most basic level, GenAI is “human in the loop” AI-driven artificial intelligence capable of Phil Shawe, translations — translations done creating text, images or other is the founder by AI, then edited for grammar media using models that learn and CEO of and cultural competency by a patterns and structure of their in- TransPerfect, a person. To that end, our AI is conput data, then generate new data translation stantly learning from our linguists with similar characteristics. services firm and adjusting its models accordThough still in its infancy, there is based in ingly. no denying that this technologi- NoMad. Since deploying this technolocal tool is a disruptive force. gy, I have been asked frequently However, the notion that machines will about our team’s level of concern for generate new great works of literature, whether or not this could be the beginning original reporting for news stories or co- of the end for not just my business, but our gent, well-argued legal briefs, is highly un- entire industry. And though it may surlikely. prise you to hear, our answer is unequivoBut to stay competitive and on the cut- cally: no. ting edge, successful businesses will need While the disruptive force of AI could to integrate GenAI into their plans and op- indeed render some businesses obsolete,

it is my unwavering belief that those forces can be mitigated by embracing the change and evolving with it. And embrace it we have, investing millions into developing our own AI models, as well as creating a new division tasked solely with gathering and cataloging the raw materials for GenAI model generation. In fact, the key themes echoed throughout the recent GlobalLink NEXT User Conference in New

York, which my company hosts, was that we need to embrace the fact that the world of GenAI multilingual content is upon us. As executives, civic leaders and the broader tech industry are all learning firsthand and in real time, GenAI is likely neither a catapult to the next Renaissance nor the first chapter in a real-life Terminator story. So for now, GenAI won’t kill you, but it will kill your business if you don’t adapt. OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

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Records show depth of dysfunction at now-closed youth mental health facility The August Aichhorn Center wants to sell its property to fund a new inpatient psychiatric facility By Amanda D'Ambrosio

An Upper West Side-based behavioral health center for “troubled youth” that has been in a months-long legal struggle with the state over the sale of its property mistreated its residents for years before its closure in 2020, using excessive physical force and failing to document harm, records show. The nonprofit August Aichhorn Center for Adolescent Residential Care petitioned the state this summer to sell its $14 million property at 23 W. 106th St. and grant the proceeds to Montefiore Medical Center to fund a new inpatient psychiatric facility. The arrangement came after the center’s initial request to sell was rejected by Attorney General Letitia James due to concerns that it would use the proceeds to pay for its debts, closing fees and other corporate costs. The attorney general stated that such spending was not aligned with the intended purpose of the organization — to provide youth mental health treatment. The agreement between the center and Montefiore could satisfy that criteria. The decision on whether August Aichhorn will be able to sell its property, which records suggest was purchased for $875,000 in 1989, is the latest in a series of battles with the state. Prior to the proposed sale, August Aichhorn

A rendering of the project planned for 521 E. Tremont Ave. | SLCE ARCHITECTS

City to get rare large residential project in the Bronx By Eddie Small The August Aichhorn Center wants to sell its property at 23 W. 106th St. to fund a new inpatient psychiatric facility. | COSTAR GROUP

Documents show that staff at August Aichhorn repeatedly used physical restraints — a practice that can include pinning children to the floor to restrict movement or administer medication — and in some cases for excessive lengths of time. August Aichhorn operated two residential behavioral health facilities over the past few decades: a 32-bed facility on the Upper West Side and a 24-bed facility in Crown Heights. Patients at both facilities — which had a combined 56 beds — experienced 497 physical restraints in 2018, which lasted an average of 15 minutes each, documents show. In at least one case, staff restrained a child for 45 minutes — longer than the regulatory maximum of 30 minutes. Staff at August Aichhorn, which included psychiatrists, therapists, nurses and caseworkers, failed to adequately report and document restraints, assault, self-harm and a suicide attempt. Dr. Michael Pawel, executive director of August Aichhorn, did not respond to multiple requests for comment by phone and email by publication. Pawel earned $134,088 in annual compensation in the year ending by June 2022, according to financial documents. In early 2019 a 14-year-old girl at the Upper West Side facility harmed herself on three separate days, swallowing an unknown number of pills, a razor blade and paper clips. Her injuries sent her to the hospital on at least two occasions. But state investigators noted that medical attention was delayed, and in one case the patient spit up blood for an hour before staff brought her to the hos-

The state closed August Aichhorn’s two inpatient treatment facilities in 2020. faced investigations from the Office of Mental Health that ultimately shut down its inpatient facilities. August Aichhorn operated as a residential treatment center for “troubled youth” since 1991, caring for “destitute, delinquent, abandoned, neglected or dependent children,” according to court documents. Despite the center’s focus on treating youth with histories of trauma, its leadership violated standards of care and state treatment regulations for years, using physical force against children, inappropriately administering psychiatric medications and neglecting reports of selfharm, according to state regulatory documents obtained by Crain’s.

Research facility The state closed August Aichhorn’s two inpatient treatment facilities in April 2020. By the time the organization sought to sell its Upper West Side property this year, it was operating as a research facility and no longer caring for patients.

pital. The delays were not analyzed by an incident review committee, documents show. Another patient attempted suicide by barricading herself in her room and tying a sash around her neck after an upsetting phone call with her family in January of that year, according to the investigations. However, there was no evidence that the incident review committee discussed the event, the patient’s history or a course of treatment in a meeting a month after the occurrence, according to state reports.

Drew state attention Physical restraints and poor reporting practices at August Aichhorn garnered attention from state health officials; the center was on an improvement plan as early as 2017, but did not succeed in reducing restraints or improving reporting. The OMH sent a letter to the center in June 2019 stating that it was not meeting agency standards and wouldn’t be recertified for a three-year license. Instead, the OMH allowed August Aichhorn to obtain a oneyear license that would expire in April 2020. During that year, the agency continued monitoring the center and commissioned a third-party report to document medication use and physical restraints. The report, conducted by Dr. Jennifer Havens, director of child and adolescent behavioral health at New York City Health + Hospitals, ultimately found an overreliance on antipsychotic medications to treat bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, as well as an overall lack of trauma-informed care. “It is my opinion that August

Aichhorn needs to make a foundational shift in its treatment approach,” Havens said in the report. “This work will require a deep and ongoing commitment from all levels of the organization, starting at the top.” August Aichhorn sent responses back to state mental health officials to address concerns in the 2019 letter; however in January 2020, OMH sent another letter stating that these responses were inadequate, writing that “OMH is troubled that August Aichhorn’s second attempt in this cycle fails to provide a satisfactory corrective action.” According to court documents, state mental health officials requested that August Aichhorn remove Pawel from his position as executive director. But the board decided against removing him, and August Aichhorn’s residential treatment centers were shuttered by April 2020. Three years after the closure of inpatient treatment facilities at August Aichhorn, the organization’s future operations and financial status remain unclear. Revenues plummeted when the center shifted from providing inpatient care to becoming a research facility. August Aichhorn reported $15.5 million in revenue in 2019, $13.6 million in 2020 and $2.2 million in 2021 — its first year as a research center. It’s also unclear what will happen to the property at 23 W. 106th St. if the attorney general’s office approves the sale to Liberty Acquisitions LLC. Liberty did not respond to multiple requests for comment about what it plans to do with the property. A representative of the attorney general’s office is scheduled to appear in court regarding this sale at the end of November.

Developers in the city have not been planning too many large new residential buildings this year, but one is now on its way to the Bronx. Emanuel Kokinakis of Astoria-based Mega Contracting Group recently filed plans with the Department of Buildings for a project at 521 E. Tremont Ave. that will span about 212,000 square feet and stand 14 stories and 144 feet tall with 213 residential units and 17 parking spots. It will also include ground-floor retail and space for a community facility. SLCE Architects is the architect on the project. The site is currently home to a 3-story, mixed-use building, according to city records. Demolition permits have not been filed for it yet.

Worked on other projects A representative for Mega Contracting Group did not respond to questions about the project’s estimated cost and construction timeline by press time. Mega Contracting Group has worked on several other projects in the city in neighborhoods ranging from Far Rockaway to Midtown. The New York City Housing Authority recently selected the firm as the general contractor for $246 million in repairs at a pair of South Bronx developments through its program to bring them under private management. Its Bronx project, located in the borough’s Crotona neighborhood, is one of the few large multifamily projects that has been planned for the city this year. A recent report from the Real Estate Board of New York found that developers filed plans for just 20 projects with more than 100 units during the first eight months of the year, and no month during the summer saw more than four such projects.

10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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Former American Express CEO, 1980s financial star James Robinson lists Park Avenue home for $25 million By C. J. Hughes

An uptown apartment with ties to a gripping Wall Street drama of the 1980s, the high-priced tug-ofwar for control of the conglomerate RJR Nabisco, has entered the market. The six-bedroom co-op at 778 Park Ave., listed at $25 million, belongs to James Robinson III, the former chief executive officer of American Express, whose investment banking arm, Shearson Lehman Hutton, squared off against Henry Kravis’s firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in 1988 for con-

as a character. An HBO version of the book released in 1993 has the late actor Fred Thompson playing Robinson.

Entire ninth floor Luxuriating across the entire ninth floor of its building, a 20-story prewar structure at East 73rd Street designed by Rosario Candela, Robinson’s apartment offers a 600-square-foot living room with a fireplace, a formal dining room with a fireplace and an eat-in kitchen with a pantry, plus multiple staff rooms across its 6,500 square feet, according to its listing. Robinson and his wife, Linda Robinson, a former vice chairman of the financial giant BlackRock, bought the unit in 2000 for $18 million in an off-market deal, according to news reports from the time. The market for uptown co-ops has been sleepy as of late. But No. 778, one of the premier addresses on the Upper East Side, has been an exception. Last spring, billionaire William Lauder, the executive chairman of the cosmetics giant Estee Lauder,

The hit book Barbarians at the Gate features Robinson as a character. trol of the cigarette and cookie concern. KKR ended up victorious after snapping up the company’s shares for $25 billion in a takeover then considered the largest leveraged buyout in history. The hit book about the financial power struggle, Bryan Burrough and John Helyar’s Barbarians at the Gate, also features Robinson

James Robinson III; 778 Park Ave. | RRE VENTURES; TRAVIS MARK

paid $25 million for the building’s 12th-floor apartment, which sits below one he bought for $28 million in 2007, according to the city register. Fashion mogul Vera Wang is also a resident of the building, which has just 18 apartments. And the late socialite Brooke Astor owned a duplex on the 15th and 16th floors. In 1988, R. Ross Johnson, two years into the CEO role, began exploring a management buyout of RJR Nabisco when its stock price cratered after the failure of a new smokeless cigarette, Premier.

Gala PARKER

2023

Over a few weeks that fall, two camps made increasingly large offers to gain control of the company and take it private. On one side was Johnson, backed by Robinson and Shearson executives Peter Cohen and J. Tomilson Hill. Kravis, a founder of the firm considered the LBO king, faced off against them. Shortly after putting together his blockbuster deal, Kravis sliced up his acquisition and sold it off its parts. After American Express, which he ran from 1977 to 1993, Robinson co-founded Midtown-based venture capital firm RRE Ventures,

which has invested $2.5 billion in 400 startups since 1994, including fintech and crypto companies, according to RRE’s website. The Georgia native also served as a director at the Coca-Cola Company from 1975 to 2014. Coldwell Banker Warburg agents Lisa Tarnopol Deslauriers and Linda Reiner, two brokers marketing the property, declined to comment on their listing. And Nikki Field, a broker with Sotheby’s International Realty, the other firm with the listing, did not respond to an email for comment by press time.

Tuesday November 7, 2023 Queens Museum

Flushing Meadows Corona Park Corona, NY

parkerinstitute.org/gala

Celebrating

THE PARKER LEAGUE

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After businesses on pedestrian-friendly streets see a boost, a plan for Fifth Avenue takes shape By Caroline Spivack

pedestrian spaces. “The research is clear that Open Businesses along a vehicle-free Streets bring more people to our stretch of Midtown during last city’s public spaces, more busiyear’s holiday season each raked ness to our city’s stores and more in an average of $90,000 more than jobs to New Yorkers,” said Mayor merchants on non-pedestri- Eric Adams in a statement. The sharp boost in sales helps an-centric streets. The figure is a core takeaway the Adams administration make from a new study by Mastercard in its case to communities that repartnership with the city on how imagining key commercial corriconverting 11 Midtown blocks dors, such as Fifth Avenue in Manwith permanent near Rockefeller Center into pe- hattan, destrian-friendly public spaces, pedestrian upgrades will not just on just three Sundays during the make city streets safer but help 2022 holiday season, bolstered merchant’s bottom lines. To that end, the city announced commerce in the area. this month that it is advancing efforts to overhaul a stretch of Fifth Avenue by establishing the Future of Fifth: A new public-private partnership between the city, — Madelyn Wils, chief adviser, Fifth Avenue Association the Fifth Avenue AssociThe study estimates that the ation, the Grand Central Partnercity’s Open Streets initiative in ship, the Bryant Park Corp. and Midtown drove some $3 million in the Central Park Conservancy to additional spending at businesses overhaul the iconic thoroughfare. Madelyn Wils, chief adviser at along pedestrian-friendly streets, with merchants seeing a 13.9% up- the Fifth Avenue Association and tick in transactions compared to co-chair of the planning group, blocks that weren’t converted into pointed to narrow sidewalks and a

“It’s a very popular street and extremely crowded on the weekends and holidays.”

glaring lack of green space along the corridor. “It’s a very popular street and extremely crowded on the weekends and holidays,” Wils told Crain’s. “It’s important to provide people with a good experience, and we want to make sure that Fifth Avenue is welcoming and beautiful.”

In study stage Future of Fifth officials, along with a team of consultants, will collaborate on a design process to reshape the Fifth Avenue corridor and release a conceptual design in mid-2024; a final design is anticipated by early 2025, according to the mayor’s office. A de Blasio administration-era plan sought to reshape Fifth Avenue with a busway, but the plan was shelved in 2021 after pushback in part from the Fifth Avenue Association. Wils said the effort is “very much in the study stage” and that “it’s way too early to talk about what is going to happen specifically on Fifth Avenue.” As a plan begins to take shape, the Future of Fifth team will host

Shoppers cross at an intersection on Fifth Avenue. | BLOOMBERG

public events, carry out surveys and conduct local outreach for community feedback, Wils said. In 2022 a Department of Transportation report found that restaurants and bars on car-free Open Streets saw higher sales than those on closed streets, and the Open Streets program helped keep local businesses afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The data is clear: When we give more space to people walking and biking, business thrives,” said DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez in a statement. “That’s because our streets can accommodate far more people on foot than in cars — a key reason why businesses had such great success during our car-free holiday Open Streets.”

Bin City: 95% of residential buildings will have to containerize trash next year, according to new mandate By Nick Garber

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration will require the vast majority of residential buildings in New York City to store their trash in containers starting next year, a milestone in the yearslong quest to rid the city’s sidewalks of putrid garbage bags. The new mandate, announced last week, will apply to buildings with nine or fewer units, which make up 95% of residential properties across the city. Starting in the fall of 2024, the owners of those 765,000 buildings will need to obtain a bin and set it out on the sidewalk each collection day. The city will roll out its own official bin and is now soliciting bids

“We’re showing real urgency to change the paradigm.” — Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch from vendors to design it. That bin will be available once the mandate takes effect, and residents will be required to start using it by summer 2026. Meanwhile, the Sanitation Department will spend the coming months retrofitting or replacing hundreds of garbage trucks to add mechanical tippers capable of hoisting the official bins and dumping them out. “We’re showing real urgency to change the paradigm,” Sanitation

Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in an interview. “New York City is not going to be the first city to put our trash in containers — in fact, we are going to be the last.” New York has indeed lagged behind peers like Chicago and Washington—not to mention global capitals such as London and Tokyo—in its failure to containerize its waste. In the name of combating rat infestations, Adams has sought to reform the antiquated system, most recently by requiring all businesses to containerize their trash starting in March. The new residential rule may be the biggest undertaking yet, given the need to simultaneously upgrade the city’s vehicle fleet. As for the big apartment buildings that make up the rest of New York’s housing stock, the only feasible solution will be bigger, stationary bins that would sit on streets instead of sidewalks—and take up about 150,000 parking spots, according to a city-commissioned study. Tisch vowed more news “soon” about those large-scale containers, which are currently being piloted on a few blocks in Harlem. To use stationary bins at scale, the city will also need to find side-loading trucks that do not yet exist in North America—although the Sanitation Department said it is now developing a prototype. Although homeowners may grumble about the need to buy

new receptacles, city officials tried to assuage any concerns by vowing that the official “NYC Bins” will be priced at no more than $50—well below retail price for similar products. (Officials noted that other cities charge residents for waste collection, including the cost of bins, while New York provides it for free.)

‘Political will’ The bins will be designed to last at least 10 years, and be light enough to be lifted by sanitation workers who choose not to use the mechanical hoist, Tisch said. The winning vendor will also need to consider Mayor Eric Adams and Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch (left) announced Wednesday that all residential aesthetics, rat resis- buildings with nine units or fewer will need to put their trash in containers by fall 2024. | NYCMAYORSOFFICE/FLICKR tance and compatibility with mechanized trucks, and quired “real political will and a re- New York City.” Other waste reforms introduced have the capacity to produce mul- jection of the status quo” by the tiple sizes of bins to suit different mayor, given the sheer scale of the under Adams include a residential composting program that will take problem. types of buildings. “The one thing every business effect citywide next year. MeanPrior mayors have taken stabs at trash containerization before, in- and every resident in New York while, the city is delayed in implecluding Bill de Blasio, whose City has in common is they pro- menting another law seeking to small-scale “Clean Curbs” pilot in duce waste and set the waste out reform its unruly system for pickHell’s Kitchen was later deemed on trash day,” she said. “If you’re ing up commercial waste, which too labor-intensive to be scaled changing the rules about how you will divide the five boroughs into citywide. Tisch said pushing do that, that affects every business 20 zones to be used by private through the latest reforms has re- and eventually every resident in haulers.

12 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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New York City Health + Hospitals unveils plan to reduce contract nurses by almost 1,500 to meet budget goals New York City Health + Hospitals leaders have devised a plan to reduce the system’s contract registered nurse count by almost 1,500 by the second half of fiscal year 2025 to meet budget goals. According to data presented at a finance committee meeting Oct. 16, agency and temporary staffing costs have caused the system to overspend its cash disbursements budget by 6% so far for this fiscal year. The health system spent at least $2 billion on temporary staff including nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic alone. Spending was $272 million for the first half of this year, the slides said, as the system rebounds from the pandemic. “We definitely have to get a handle on our usage of temp services in nursing as well as non-nursing,” H+H’s chief financial officer, John Ulberg, said Oct. 16. Nursing, human resources and finance leadership are taking an “all hands on deck” approach to successfully execute its fiscal 2024 budget goals over the next 18 months. Temporary registered nurse rates have already decreased by 3% as of September, and a ramp down is expected to begin in the second quarter of fiscal 2024, according to a slide in the committee

perienced professionals, he said, and leaders hope it will improve retention. Current nursing leaders are pleased with H+H’s plan, Katz added, because better salaries could motivate more people to work for the system. “It’s a huge morale lift for our nurse leaders who really felt bad about having to so heavily rely on [registry staff ],” he said. Beyond temporary staffing costs, H+H is also managing other

“We definitely have to get a handle on our usage of temp services in nursing . . . .”

budget risks going into fiscal 2024, including supply chain and inflationary measures and the impact of New York’s Medicaid redetermination process, according to the committee meeting slides. System representative Christopher Miller added that H+H’s goal has always been to reduce its reliance on temporary staff to better the entire system. New York City Health + Hospitals operates 11 public hospitals in the city.

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— H+H Chief Financial Officer John Ulberg meeting presentation. The system aims to have about 1,800 temp nurses in the first quarter of FY 2024 and to reduce that number to 330 by the fourth quarter of FY 2025.

Created new buzz By the end of FY 2024 H+H expects to shed 58% of its excess temporary nurses. The health system’s budget for temp nurses will remain flat at about 330 positions during those 18 months. Ulberg also said that H+H has more than 900 contracted nurses who have worked for the system for years that could convert to H+H staff via a new salary structure that aims to match salary packages. The committee did not share details on the new structure. In the past, the vast majority of nurses interested in working at H+H were younger with less experience, and the lower pay the system offered created significant turnover when staff would leave for positions with better salaries, said Dr. Mitchell Katz, the system’s president and chief executive officer. However, the new salary structure the system has begun to offer has created new buzz among ex-

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OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 13

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hile about half of workers are not satisfied with their jobs, these 100 companies are among the best places to work in the city, at least according to their employees. Crain’s has again partnered with the Best Companies Group, an independent research firm, to find the top 100 employers in New York City that continue to keep their workers satisfied. The rankings are divided into small (1–50 city employees), midsize (51–100) and large (more than 100) companies. They are based on extensive employee surveys and audits of benefits, human resources, policies and perks. The companies on the list employ a total of about 17,000 workers in the city and more than 150,000 individuals nationwide. Of the top 100 companies, 17% are tech companies, the industry with the most companies listed, followed by 11% in the legal industry and 10% in engineering. Fifteen companies offer unlimited paid time off, a drop-off from last year’s figure of about 25%. Just 10 companies on the list do not use formal programs to recruit or retain employees of ethnic and cultural backgrounds, according to the research. Across the firms on the list, the median voluntary turnover rate is just 14%. The ability to work remotely is another common thread across featured firms, with 67% of the employees at the companies reporting for duty from home. Read more about the perks that earned each company its slot on the list. — Amanda Glodowski, assistant managing editor

OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 15

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Though the hospitality industry inherently requires an in-person presence, Arlo Hotels has found it worthwhile to offer at least one work-from-home day. | BUCK ENNIS

Best Places to Work rankings show that in-office flexibility increasingly shapes worker satisfaction That’s one takeaway from this year’s awards, which go to 100 companies across New York where employees enjoy working

By Jack Grieve

here’s a lot that goes into being a great employer. Competitive wages and generous benefits are certainly part of it. Regular recognition of employee achievements goes a long way. Perks like office amenities, happy hours and free food can all help. But as employers across sectors continue to call their staff back to the office, the policies that govern how frequently workers actually need to be at their desks are increasingly shaping overall employee satisfaction. That’s one of many takeaways from Crain’s 2023 Best Places to

modates telecommuting as a standard practice. While some are still experimenting to find the right balance between in-person and remote work days, the majority have moved away from single-approach models and are instead embracing structured hybrid schedules. Take Midtown software firm Thought Machine, for example, which topped this year’s best employers list. The firm requires its staff—about 40 of whom are based in New York—to commute to the office three days each week. “The reality is that it’s what people expect,” Bradley Steele, general manager at Thought Machine, said of the hybrid model. “If we didn’t have that, it might be harder to attract great talent. It might be deemed inflexible and less compassionate.” Second-ranked Arlo Hotels, on the other hand, has implemented a “fourday flex week” policy that requires its 20 corporate employees who are based in the city to report to the company’s NoMad headquarters Monday through Thursday. “We found that when we were working from home, it wasn’t as productive,” said Amir Setayesh,

“One size doesn’t always fit all. Do what you’ve got to do.” — Michael Poster, partner in charge, Michelman & Robinson

Work rankings. The annual award recognizes 100 companies across New York City that distinguish themselves as places where their employees truly enjoy working. Most companies on the list report that their employer accom-

managing director at Arlo parent company Quadrum Global. “The performance becomes a lot higher when teams are working together.” Like many industries, hospitality inherently requires a strong bootson-the-ground presence that can make remote work a difficult proposition for employers. Still, offering at least some flexibility with one work-from-home day has proven to be a worthwhile endeavor for Arlo.

‘We have a great culture’ “There’s a trust level that’s associated with that, but we definitely see that there’s been great productivity and positive feedback,” added Heather Berti, the company’s senior vice president of people services. Meanwhile, other top employers are taking a more lenient approach. Fifth-ranked NineDot Energy, for example, aims to have employees in the office just two days each week—and even that is not a strict requirement. CEO David Arfin said that although “coming in is optional,” the company has no trouble getting employees into their Brooklyn office. “We have a great culture, people

Thought Machine led this year’s Best Places to Work list. | BUCK ENNIS

just like one another,” he said. “People try to come in, and when they do you see them collaborating, laughing, bonding together and problem-solving. It’s just a fun thing to watch.” Similarly, executives at law firm Michelman & Robinson, which ranked sixth on the list, encourage employees to work from the company’s Murray Hill office three days a week but remain adamant on not

imposing any strict RTO policies. “We don’t really believe in mandates around that stuff,” said partner-in-charge Michael Poster. “Some people are in more, some people are in less. I’m not taking attendance.” For him, being in the office for three days is more of a target than a requirement. “One size doesn’t always fit all,” he said. “Do what you’ve got to do.”

16 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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#20 Burns & McDonnell #2 NineDot Energy

#11 Alan Margolin & Associates

SMALL COMPANIES 50 or fewer city employees

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23

■ Offered ■ Not offered

PA ME YS 10 DIC 0% AL OF PR EM IUM S PAY WE S FO LLN R C ES OS SP TO RO F H GR EA AM LT S H/ OF FO FERS R A TU DV ITI AN ON CE AS D D SI EG STA RE NC ES E OF F PTO ERS DA UNL YS IM ITE D

MA PLA TCHE NC SR ON ETI TR RE IBU ME TIO NT NS

RANK

COMPANY PERKS

% MALE EXECS % FEMALE EXECS

% VOLUNTARY TURNOVER

107

82%/18%

10%

Yes

60%/40%

Yes

N/A

1999

143

83%/17%

42%

Yes

N/A

Brio Benefit Consulting Consulting

2004

100%/0%

Yes

Forest Hills Financial Group Financial Services - Other

1980

62%/38%

Yes

January Technologies Inc. Financial Services - Other

2016

57%/43%

11%

Yes

RF|Binder Advertising/PR/Marketing

2001

40%/60%

20%

Yes

N/A

All Heart Homecare Agency Healthcare - Provider

2012

100%/0%

12%

Yes

Peppercomm Advertising/PR/Marketing

1995

29%/71%

Yes

N/A

Runway Technology

2018

57%/43%

Yes

Alan Margolin & Associates Engineering

1981

80%/20%

13%

N/A

Yes

N/A

Corra Technology

2002

106

50%/50%

13%

Yes

N/A

HHM Hospitality/Travel/Tourism

1979

50%/50%

Yes

SEI Consulting

2013

557

50%/50%

12%

Marx Realty Real Estate

1915

75%/25%

Yes

N/A

Meetup Technology

2002

45%/55%

75%

Yes

N/A

Public Works Partners Services - Other

2010

40%/60%

Yes

N/A

Homefield IT Technology

2012

50%/50%

14%

Yes

N/A

Yes

Altfest Personal Wealth Management Financial Services - Other

1983

67%/33%

11%

Yes

Burns & McDonnell Engineering

1898

8,500

91%/9%

Yes

Grassi Advisors & Accountants Accounting

1980

420

90%/10%

17%

Yes

Henderson Engineers Engineering

1970

927

60%/40%

15%

Yes

N/A

Northwestern Mutual - Park Avenue Financial Services - Other

1857

50%/50%

22%

Yes

N/A

COMPANY NAME/ INDUSTRY

YEAR FOUNDED

NYC EMPLOYEES

U.S. EMPLOYEES

Digital Remedy Advertising/PR/Marketing

2000

NineDot Energy Renewable Energy

2015

Michelman & Robinson LLP Legal

OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 17

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#7 LMC

#3 Ryan LLC

MIDSIZE COMPANIES 51 to 100 city employees

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

% MALE EXECS/% FEMALE EXECS

% VOLUNTARY TURNOVER

71%/29%

Yes

N/A

200

50%/50%

Yes

N/A

1991

2,539

69%/31%

13%

Yes

Atrium Staffing Staffing

1995

315

60%/40%

35%

Yes

N/A

Omnibuild Construction Inc. Construction

2007

75%/25%

Yes

Basis Technologies Technology

2001

787

69%/31%

13%

Yes

LMC Accounting

2010

83%/17%

30%

Yes

Benhar Office Interiors Services - Other

2002

28%/72%

Yes

Polsinelli Legal

1972

1,739

43%/57%

N/A

Yes

Star Mountain Capital Financial Services - Other

2010

87%/13%

Yes

N/A

Pragma LLC Financial Services - Other

2003

100%/0%

Yes

N/A

Giant Machines Technology

2015

70%/30%

10%

Yes

N/A

Janover LLC Accounting

1938

167

81%/19%

14%

Yes

Vocon Architecture

1987

232

54%/46%

15%

Yes

Olive Tree Holdings Real Estate

2017

342

78%/22%

20%

Yes

N/A

Capitolis Technology

2017

57%/43%

Yes

N/A

LeagueApps Technology

2010

136

75%/25%

67%

Yes

N/A

Stride Technology

2014

50%/50%

16%

Yes

N/A

CompStak Technology

2012

70%/30%

14%

N/A

Kravet Inc. Wholesale Trade

1918

768

56%/44%

Yes

N/A

Americon HITT Construction

1937

1,582

100%/0%

16%

Yes

Talkspace Healthcare - Insurance/Services

2012

184

54%/46%

51%

Yes

Argo Real Estate Real Estate

1952

130

55%/45%

Yes

N/A

Direct Agents Advertising/PR/Marketing

2003

75%/25%

26%

Yes

N/A

Ichor Strategies LLC Consulting

2015

50%/50%

16%

Yes

Chelsea Lighting NYC LLC Distribution

1994

90%/10%

23%

Yes

N/A

COMPANY NAME/ INDUSTRY

YEAR FOUNDED

NYC EMPLOYEES

U.S. EMPLOYEES

Thought Machine Technology

2014

Arlo Hotels Hospitality/Travel/Tourism

2016

Ryan LLC Corporate Tax Advisory Services

#12

/ OF F FO ERS R A TU DV ITI AN ON CE AS D D SI EG STA RE NC ES E OF PTO FERS DA UNL YS IM ITE D

■ Offered ■ Not offered

MA PLA TCHE NC SR ON ETI TR RE IBU ME TIO NT NS PAY ME S 10 DIC 0% AL OF PR EM IUM S PAY WE S FO LLN R C ES OS SP TO RO F H GR EA AM LT S H

RANK

COMPANY PERKS

18 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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#10 Star Mountain Capital

#12 Giant Machines

AY NLIM S IT

ered

#25 Ichor Strategies LLC

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LiveOnNY takes care of the employees who care for organ donors By Brooke Bilyj, Crain’s Content Studio

otivated by a mission to honor the legacies of organ donors and the lives they save, LiveOnNY works hard to support its employees as they facilitate organ donations for transplants. “The LiveOnNY team works tirelessly to take care of our donor heroes, so we take care of our team,” says president and CEO Leonard Achan, who joined the nonprofit organization two years ago. As a federally designated organ procurement organization (OPO), LiveOnNY coordinates organ and tissue donation by identifying potential donors, requesting consent from families in the absence of a donor registration, then procuring and transferring organs to hospitals across the country. By rallying its team around this lifesaving purpose, the nonprofit is making a major impact that extends beyond New York. “Since implementing a new strategic plan in 2022, LiveOnNY has been able to increase the number of organ donors, tissue donors, and organs transplanted across the nation from New Yorkers by approximately 50% in each

category,” Achan says, noting that people are the foundation of this strategy. “In that same timeframe, we invested in professionals to increase the staff by 60% to accommodate growth of rising donation by the community.” Investing in employees The nonprofit’s willingness to invest in employees helps attract and retain staff that are devoted to the mission, Achan says. For example, LiveOnNY offers competitive wages and financial incentive programs to reward performance toward the organization’s goals. “Our recent success of honoring, changing and saving lives would not be possible without the commitment of LiveOnNY staff, and that’s recognized in their total compensation plan, especially in 2022 where staff showed up throughout the Covid pandemic to have a record-breaking year and was rewarded for their heroic work, during one of the most difficult times for healthcare workers in NYC,” Achan says. LiveOnNY employees can also access benefits on their date of hire—including 100% employerpaid health insurance, retirement account matching that vests fully after three years, and even pet insurance.

Beyond these perks, LiveOnNY strives to foster a culture of recognition and appreciation for employees. This includes tuition reimbursement and continuing education to help employees develop new skills, opportunities for promotion to recognize professional growth, and regular staff appreciation events to celebrate important milestones. Employees can also recognize each other through an online portal where they can earn points for rewards. Sometimes, the investments LiveOnNY makes in employees are as simple yet thoughtful as sending UberEats vouchers to staff on particularly busy days to remind them to stop and eat. “It’s the small things that count,” Achan says. While the work that LiveOnNY’s staff does is very serious in nature, the organization also hosts fun, lighthearted events to help employees find balance. These include family

nights and Bring Your Child to Work days, along with regular holiday and cultural celebrations throughout the year. “Investing in people retains and attracts staff devoted to our mission from the communities we serve,” Achan says. “This charge and mission is not for everyone. We’re recruiting the best talent of professionals possible because that’s what people whose legacies and lives are at stake deserve—only the best.”

OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 21 LIVE ON NYC.indd 19

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10/16/23 3:00 PM

10/19/23 5:34 PM

LARGE COMPANIES More than 100 city employees

RANK

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

■ Offered ■ Not offered

MA PLA TCHE NC SR ON ETI TR RE IBU ME TIO NT NS PA ME YS 10 DIC 0% AL OF PR EM IUM S PAY WE S FO LLN R C ES OS SP TO RO F H GR EA AM LT S H/ OF FO FERS R A TU DV ITI AN ON CE AS D D SI EG STA RE NC ES E OF F PTO ERS DA UNL YS IM ITE D

COMPANY PERKS

YEAR FOUNDED

NYC EMPLOYEES

U.S. EMPLOYEES

% MALE/ % FEMALE EXECUTIVE

% VOLUNTARY TURNOVER

Stellar Health Technology

2018

169

60%/40%

17%

Yes

LiveOnNY Nonprofit - Health & Human Services

1978

320

53%/47%

13%

Yes

CBIZ Accounting

1987

165

7,000

84%/16%

21%

Yes

N/A

JFK International Air Terminal LLC Transportation

1997

116

78%/22%

15%

Yes

N/A

Mazars USA LLP Accounting

1921

399

1,045

57%/43%

30%

Yes

The Conference Board Non-Profit - Other

1916

242

44%/56%

24%

Yes

N/A

TuneCore Technology

2005

104

132

50%/50%

20%

Yes

Horizon Media Advertising/PR/Marketing

1989

2,014

2,410

36%/60%

13%

Yes

Schimenti Construction Company Construction

1997

108

243

80%/20%

25%

Yes

EisnerAmper Accounting

1919

954

2,660

72%/28%

16%

Yes

Rosenberg & Estis P.C. Legal

1975

188

70%/30%

16%

COMPANY NAME/ INDUSTRY

22 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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10/19/23 5:35 PM

BEST PLACES TO WORK EVENT

Companies gather for Best Places to Work live reveal More than 400 attendees gathered at the New York Marriott Marquis on Sept. 28 for the live unveiling and ranking of the 2023 Best Places to Work. The event, sponsored by AMA Group, Arlo Hotels, C.A.C. Industries and Marriott Marquis New York, featured videos from select companies on the list as Crain’s editors counted down the rankings starting at 100. Photography by Buck Ennis

An attendee uses a phone to capture the event.

Thought Machine was the overall winner of Best Places to Work and No. 1 on the list of midsize companies. Grassi Advisors & Accountants took the No. 21 slot in the small companies category.

Jaime Zepeda, executive vice president at Best Companies Group, opens up the event and explains to the audience what it means to be part of Best Places to Work.

Corra, No. 12 in the small companies category, accepts its award.

A supporting sponsor of the event and No. 2 on the midsize companies list, Arlo Hotels, toasts.

No. 8 in the large companies category, Good Apple, celebrates. OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 23

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CLASSIFIEDS

Advertising Section

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

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Formation of TWELVE BAR, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/14/21. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 930 High St., Fairfield, CT 06824. 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 Formation of WISNIEWSKI PSYCHOLOGY SERVICES, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/26/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of PLLC: 2900 E. Overlook Rd., Cleveland Heights, OH 44118. SSNY designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o C T Corporation System, 28 Liberty St., NY, NY 10005. Purpose: Psychology

Notice of Qualification of RGNMCA PORT JERVIS I, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/26/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/25/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of GENIUS & POISON LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/05/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/29/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, PO Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of MHR CONSULTING SERVICES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/28/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 39 Fifth Ave., Apt. 4C, NY, NY 10003. 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 OUCHA, LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/19/23. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against to ; 101 West 24th Street Apt 21A, NY, NY 10011. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company. Name: West 48 Owner LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on July 24, 2023. NY office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to The Limited Liability Company, 7 Penn Plaza, Suite 600, New York, NY 10001. Purpose/character of LLC is to engage in any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of ZENDABLE CARDS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/29/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/26/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

SUBMIT YOUR BUSINESS CLASSIFIEDS TODAY Get your message in front of New York’s influential business community with Crain’s New York Business - Classified ads Public and Legal Notices • Request For Proposals Job Openings • Real Estate and More! Advertising Section

To place a classified ad, Call 313-446-0455 or Email: sjanik@crainsnewyork.com

POSITIONS AVAILABLE MATTHEW EVAN ROTH, Ph.D., PSYCHOLOGY, PLLC filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect'y of State of NY (SSNY) on 8/18/2023. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Matthew Evan Roth, Ph.D, 315 Gates Ave, Apt 1B, Brooklyn, NY 11216. Purpose: Psychology.

Notice of Formation of XPRESS SERVICE SYSTEMS, LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/25/2023. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against to 2266 Fifth Avenue, Unit #584, NY, NY 10037. Purpose: any lawful act

Notice of Formation of Nicol Furniture, LLC Arts of Org filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 8/4/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 64 E. 111 St. Unit 609, NY, NY 10029. Purpose: any lawful act

Notice of Formation of KINDERBROOK HOME LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/23. Office: NY 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, 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of NN VALLEY HOLDINGS LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/24/23. Office: NY 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, 232 ELIZABETH ST. UNIT 6A, New York, NY 10012. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

I THINK IN SPACES LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/6/23. Office: BRONX 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, 4440 Baychester Ave., 1st Floor, Bronx, NY 10466 Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

SHE SHED PRODUCTIONS, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/05/23. 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 Chapman Consulting, 770 Lexington Avenue, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10065. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Principal, Data Science Engineer positions (NBCUniversal Media, LLC; NY, NY). Be directly responsible for data science engineering as part of building out necessary platform & products for NBCUniversal’s Audience Studio. Position fully remote & may be performed from anywhere in U.S. Salary range is $180,000/yr $220,000/yr, depending on qualifications. Send resume to: Elsbeth VelascoFulgencio at elsbeth.velasco@nbcuni.com, & indicate you are applying for Principal, Data Science Engineer (GT23LN) opening. NBCU is an EOE.

ARE Compliance Principal (PIMCO Prime Real Estate LLC – NY, NY); Mult. pos. avail. Duties incl: Perf. Anti-Fin. Crime due dil. in relation to investors, sellers, & buyers of real estate assets & other bus. partners. Implement MNPI, monitoring info. barriers, maintaining restricted lists. F/T. Offered sal. range of $165,000 – $175,000/yr. Position based in NY, NY. Telecommuting perm. up to 2 days per wk. For complete details or to apply, send resume to Lupe.Rubalcaba@pimco.com. Ref. JobID: 7194568.

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Qualification of SANDY 350 DE SPE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/25/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/15/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of MUZINICH DIRECT LENDING ADVISER, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/28/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/06/23. Princ. office of LLC: 450 Park Ave., NY, NY 10022. 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 the State of DE, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity

Notice of Formation of FWLG LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/05/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Cohen & Cohen, LLP, 122 E. 42nd St., 4th Fl., NY, NY 10168. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Banana Bean Productions LLC filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect'y of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/14/2023. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: The LLC, 10 Liberty St, Apt 27G, NY, NY 10005. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of TRESS XPRESS LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/30/2023. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against to 2266 Fifth Avenue, Unit #584, NY, NY 10037. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of SOUTH STREET 68J, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/22/23. 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, 33 W. Main St., Holmdel, NJ 07733. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company. Name: DD ECF West 48 JV LLC (“LLC”). Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on July 24, 2023. NY office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to The Limited Liability Company, 7 Penn Plaza, Suite 600, New York, NY 10001. Purpose/character of LLC is to engage in any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of SHERMAN TIGER LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/26/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/12/23. 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: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity. OCTOBER 23, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 25

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TAXES From Page 1

new sources of revenue, squeezing more out of colleges, such as by reforming the overall property tax system, seems too politically controversial to succeed, analysts say. “Yes, the system is massively socially inequitable,” said John Kaehny, the executive director of the watchdog group Reinvent Albany, adding that it would be ideal for colleges to pay even 50% of regular rates, which currently would result in a boost of $2 billion. “But the efforts to reform the system never go anywhere.” For their part, New York University, Columbia University and other top colleges say that what they contribute in terms of student spending, job creation, hospital services, intellectual property and cultural assets has a high value, a give-back that justifies their taxfree status. The tax code was reasonably written to reward those who promote social goods, they add. But it can still be eye-opening to consider the vastness of holdings of New York’s private universities, which often own property far from their core campuses and don’t exactly advertise it as their own. Indeed, one may expect that NYU owns many of the elegant rowhouses ringing Washington Square Park, which sits amid its Greenwich Village hub. But brownstones in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn; a mansion in Riverdale, the Bronx; and many medical buildings in Kips Bay also pepper the school’s portfolio. Similarly, Columbia not only controls long lines of apartment houses near its main Morningside Heights campus—West 113th between Amsterdam Avenue and Riverside Drive offers two-dozen buildings alone, though few sport identifying plaques—but the university also has numerous sites in Washington Heights near its partially owned, full-block New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Even the comparatively tiny Cooper Union, the East Village school once famous for its free tuition, has a plot far from its East Village campus: the land under the landmark Chrysler Building in Midtown. Building owner RFR Holding reportedly writes a rent check to Cooper for $33 million a year.

Columbia’s property Perhaps it’s no surprise that Columbia, founded in 1754 in Lower Manhattan as an appendage of Trinity Church and now on its third Manhattan campus, would be tops in terms of size. The 35,000-student, 19,000-employee institution owns about 210 sites, according to Crain’s analysis, or a total of nearly 15 million square feet of land. And that number swells to nearly 18 million when considering the buildings that stand on those properties, the data show. According to city tax officials, the level of assessment of that vast portfolio is nearly $1.9 billion, the total against which a tax bill would

be calculated if held by a for-profit entity. But owing to Columbia’s 501(c) (3) nonprofit status, the majority of that assessable real estate is tax-exempt, according to Planning Department records. Still, Columbia does seem to frequently dispute many of its tax assessments. Earlier this month, for example, the school, which has an endowment of about $13 billion, filed more than 100 lawsuits in Manhattan Supreme Court alleging that the city overvalued many of its sites, records show. Among the disputed properties is Columbia’s new two-towered business school, which opened last winter at a former industrial site at 2285 12th Ave. in the Manhattanville neighborhood, where the school has expanded in recent years by using eminent domain. The full-block business school, where Henry R. Kravis Hall faces David Geffen Hall across a quad, should be assessed at $116.1 million, up from $105.9 million last year, according to the city. But in its suit, Columbia claims a fairer valuation is $14.5 million. “The reason why Columbia has to pay some taxes on some sites is when they have other uses, like retail, which is the case at the business school. It can also depend on who’s actually living in some of these buildings,” said Eric Grabino, an attorney handling many of the recent tax-grievance cases for the school, which according to re-

of NYU’s holdings is about $1.8 billion, just below Columbia’s total, according to the analysis. NYU is taxed on just $120 million of that, thus enjoying nearly $1.7 billion in savings, according to the data. With a nearly $6 billion endowment, NYU, whose board of trustees includes names such as Silverstein, Milstein, Wilf and other real estate heavyweights, has been active. In addition to this year’s purchase, a 23-story residential tower at 377 E. 33rd St. for medical school faculty housing and other uses, the college in the spring closed on another high-profile property, 400 Lafayette St. in NoHo, for $98 million. Faculty offices will go there. No. 377 was assessed at $28.9 million, while No. 400 was $18.1 million; both of those assessments will now presumably be zeroed out. The expansion of NYU, which has 60,000 students and 5,000 fulltime faculty members, is not totally unexpected. More than a decade ago, the school, which was once a bastion of middle-class commuters, announced plans to grow its campus in time for its 200th anniversary in 2031. But that expansion has sometimes seemed to have little do with classrooms. In a bid to recruit professors and branch out from its dense historic neighborhood, NYU has snapped up high-end housing in fashionable enclaves across the city in recent years. A group affiliated with NYU’s law school, for example, picked up the Cobble Hill site, a threeunit brownstone at 453 Henry St., earlier this year for $5.2 million. Similar Brooklyn townhouses include 28 Orange St. in Brooklyn Heights and 107 S. Oxford St. in Fort Greene. Since 1999 NYU has also owned 28 Bethune St., a historic brick edifice on a tree-lined block in the West Village. Its assessment of $554,000, for instance, is completely tax-exempt. NYU’s portfolio also includes a handful of residential condo units, in buildings such as Brooklyn Heights’ 134 Pierrepont St., though the analysis looked at only fulltax-lot sites. For its part, NYU says its tax breaks should be weighed alongside its myriad contributions, which include educating locals— about 15% of its undergraduates hail from the city—and building the city’s workforce. About 75% of its graduates live in New York after graduating, said university spokesman John Beckman in a statement. “We recognize the budget challenges the city faces,” Beckman said. “Nevertheless, we feel the charitable status that derives from NYU’s educational mission, and the attendant tax policies, is not a one-way exchange.”

“The efforts to reform the system never go anywhere.” — John Kaehny, executive director of watchdog group Reinvent Albany cords did shell out about $70 million in property taxes last year. Loan terms can also push schools to challenge assessments, other analysts say. A Columbia spokeswoman, Samantha Slater, sent a statement pointing out Columbia is on track to invest $170 million in housing assistance, parks and schools in its neighborhood and elsewhere, and which has since 2009 also spent $100 million to upgrade streets and sidewalks. “We focus on meaningful investments that provide local jobs and economic opportunity, along with sustainable community partnerships built around the university’s intellectual capital and the work of thousands of committed faculty and students,” Slater said.

NYU holdings Even though NYU’s 2.4 million square feet across 113 sites is a fraction of Columbia’s, the school, founded in 1831, appears to have crammed a lot more real estate on its properties. It owns 15.9 million square feet of buildings, including many sites affiliated with NYU Langone Health near First Avenue, the research shows. And NYU’s properties, which tend to be located near its campus in affluent Greenwich Village and in other trendy neighborhoods downtown, seem to rival uptown Columbia’s in terms of value. Indeed, the total assessed value

Rest of the pack After NYU and Columbia, private colleges have relatively small footprints. Fordham University, which has two campuses, a Gothic-style, 85-acre spread known as

NYU owns 28 Orange St., Brooklyn Heights. | BUCK ENNIS

Rose Hill in the Bronx and an 8-acre cluster in Manhattan’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, controls 3.1 million square feet of developed real estate, a portfolio that the city assesses at $444.5 million. Fordham, a Jesuit institution with more than 16,000 students, pays property taxes on only $2 million, records show. Similarly, the New School for Social Research is responsible for taxes on about $25 million of its $116 million Greenwich Village campus. Meanwhile, St. John’s, which has a fairly traditional, everything-in-one-place campus in Queens and buildings that seem solely used for education, has an assessment value of $278 million, all of which is exempt, records show. (St. John’s Staten Island campus will close next year.) Of course, real estate portfolios are not always static. Cooper Union, which owns four buildings on Astor Place, appears to have unloaded several sites in recent years. It once owned 153 W. 12th St., a red-brick townhouse near Seventh Avenue South, but unloaded it in 2002 for $4.1 million. The actress Ellen Barkin was its owner later. Also, in 2004 Cooper parted ways with a longtime gas station at 358 Bowery for $5.5 million. The site, at East Fourth Street, next gave way to a restaurant and nightclub called B Bar and Grill. Developer Eric Goode is now redeveloping the corner site at East Fourth Street with a high-rise office building. A Cooper spokeswoman did not return an email seeking comment.

Paying anyway It’s clear that colleges are increasing their grip, with tax expenditures rising in tandem. Between 2014 and 2023, the number of tax-exempt properties owned by education groups climbed from 1,140 to 1,234, an 8% jump, according to an analysis from the watchdog group Citizens Budget Commission. The amount of foregone tax revenue increased on an even bigger scale, from $435 million to $788 million, the commission said. Nationally, cities have begun to pressure large non-taxpaying institutions to chip in at least something for the municipal services that they benefit from, like sanitation and security. For their part, seven of the eight Ivy League schools do shell out some of this

money, known as payments in lieu of taxes, or pilots, with Yale’s $13 million being the largest in the country, according to research from Davarian Baldwin, an urbanism professor at Trinity College and the author of “In the ]Shadow of the Ivory Tower: How Universities Are Plundering Our Cities.” But as Baldwin points out, Yale otherwise would be on the hook for more than $130 million in property taxes for its New Haven campus and hospital, so $13 million is like small change. Baldwin declined to comment. The only Ivy to not make any kind of pilot payments is Columbia. Pressuring it to join the club could seem like low-hanging fruit for city officials. But the reality is more nuanced, some analysts say. Unlike in some European countries where certain services are state-owned and -run, say, American cities usually outsource essential tasks like health care to nonprofit organizations. Eliminating tax breaks for a major hospital, then, such as Columbia’s New York-Presbyterian Hospital, could be like biting the hands that take care of you, according to a lawyer and veteran of City Hall who asked to remain anonymous to talk about institutions that have enormous influence. Besides, there was a time not so long ago, in the 1970s, when a cash-strapped Columbia considered leaving its then-rough neighborhood for the suburbs. The city’s conciliatory approach in part may stem from that era, the source said. Forcing pilots upon the schools could also create financial hardships for less-capitalized institutions, such as the city outpost of Long Island University in downtown Brooklyn, which serves 11,000 students on Flatbush Avenue on a 15-acre campus. And city leaders may feel that an indirect subsidy like property tax relief is preferable to direct help down the road, the source said. But there are also economic benefits of having world-known colleges in the city’s backyard, a point that school administrators could dutifully point out if leaders began clamoring for fewer tax expenditures and a clawback of a tax break they have enjoyed for more than 200 years. “These colleges recirculate their money through New York, and that’s a very good thing,” the City Hall vet said. “They are truly economic engines.”

26 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 23, 2023

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GOTHAM GIGS

CrainsNewYork.com President and CEO KC Crain Group publisher Jim Kirk (312) 397-5503 or jkirk@crain.com Publisher/executive editor Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. Editor-in-chief Cory Schouten, cory.schouten@crainsnewyork.com Managing editor Telisha Bryan Assistant managing editors Anne Michaud, Amanda Glodowski Director of audience and engagement Elizabeth Couch Audience engagement editor Jennifer Samuels Digital editor Taylor Nakagawa Opinion editor Jan Parr opinion@crainsnewyork.com Creative director Thomas J. Linden Associate creative director Karen Freese Zane Digital design editor Jason McGregor Art directors Kayla Byler, Carolyn McClain, Joanna Metzger Senior digital news designer Stephanie Swearngin Photographer Buck Ennis Notables coordinator Ashley Maahs SENIOR REPORTERS Aaron Elstein, C.J. Hughes, Eddie Small REPORTERS Amanda D’Ambrosio, Nick Garber, Mario Marroquin, Jacqueline Neber, Caroline Spivack CONTACT THE NEWSROOM editors@crainsnewyork.com www.crainsnewyork.com/staff

Dr. David Langer and his assistant | BUCK ENNIS

Neurosurgeon turned reality star on taking risks, learning from mistakes The founder of Playback Health says his mission is doing hard things well and breaking rules | By Jacqueline Neber

r. David Langer is the first to admit his career trajectory has been “pretty abnormal.” But the nonlinear structure and mistakes made along the way have led him to important lessons. In the early 2000s, the facility where he had been trying to build a neuroscience institute, then known as the Beth Israel Hospital Singer Division, closed and was sold to developers, throwing a wrench into what he went to New York to do: make a difference for patients. “There’s not one person I know in my field that’s thought of as a leader whose hospital closed except me,” Langer said. “Because where does that happen, other than New York?” But the closure was the latest in a series of issues plaguing Langer’s work at that hospital. He had gone to the institution from the University of Pennsylvania without giving it enough thought, he said. Although he was ambitious and ultimately wanted to help patients, he quickly realized even before the closure that would be an arduous task. His work at the hospital had become a case of chasing “shiny objects” instead of being there for the right reasons, he said.

To return to his roots, Langer made a few more moves before he found himself back in the city at Lenox Hill Hospital, trying to create a neurosurgery department once again–a move that was “insane” in retrospect, given the competition, but one he accomplished beginning in 2013. “That’s the last thing that New York City really needed,” Langer recalled. “But I just saw the way I think and the culture I wanted to create. . . .I knew I was going to do something special in the way we treat people, patients and providers, and ended up here out of just wanting to be back in New York City.”

Took chance on reality TV Meanwhile, he was nurturing an interest in technology. A self-described “Apple fanboy,” he would make recordings of MRI sessions and burn them onto CDs for patients to watch when they got home. As he worked his day job as the chairman of the department of neurosurgery at Lenox Hill on the Upper East Side, he turned the concept into Playback Health, which he co-founded in 2018. Providers can use the platform to document appointments and in-

structions for patients, making it easier for them to understand their care. Langer also took a chance on reality TV, driven by his desire to show more people what doctors do. He helped persuade Lenox Hill leadership to move forward with an eponymous reality show, which premiered on Netflix in 2020. And now he is one of the stars of Emergency: NYC, which premiered on the streaming service this past spring. The focus of both shows was to document medical professionals trying to balance their intense work lives with their also-intense personal lives. For Langer, that included having Emergency: NYC show the aftermath of when he broke his neck in a skiing accident. That experience taught Langer about a new level of vulnerability, he said, on a show where he had removed a clot from an opera singer’s brain and helped a toddler with seizures. The impact of Lenox Hill and Emergency: NYC encapsulates why he wanted to make them, Langer said. About 17,000 students signed up for virtual internships in two summers during the pandemic, which he attributes to the popularity of Lenox Hill, and he regularly gets mail from peo-

Dr. David Langer Grew up: Cherry Hill, New Jersey Resides: Upper East Side Education: Bachelor’s in biology and M.D., University of Pennsylvania Slopes fan: Langer broke his neck while skiing, and his recovery was documented on the Netflix show he stars in, Emergency: NYC. Despite his injury, Langer said skiing remains one of his favorite things to do. Calming activity: Another one of Langer’s favorite activities is yoga.

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ple who have gone into medicine or want to visit the hospital because they saw one of the shows. Throughout all the roles he’s held and risks he’s taken, Langer’s mission remains doing hard things well and breaking rules, which will continue as he heads into the last trimester of his career. He can’t operate forever, the 60-year-old says, but you won’t soon find him on a beach in Florida. “I don’t need a big party at the end,” Langer said. “But I’m sure it’ll be nice down the road when I’m done to look back and say, ‘Wow, that was a great ride.’”

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