Crain's New York Business, October 30, 2023

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CRAINSNEWYORK.COM I OCTOBER 30, 2023

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VOTING REIMAGINED

Turnout for elections in New York is terrible, but fixing it is not impossible. We look at four ideas for increasing the number of people who come to the polls, including bringing back party machines and voting by phone. PAGE 13

INSIDE: COMMENTARY The Early Mail Voter Act is legal and right thing to do. PAGE 17 Public and private sectors must prepare for election attacks driven by AI. PAGE 18

SROs, once a housing staple, poised for comeback Mayor pitches relaxed zoning rules allowing more single-room units to relieve city’s affordability crisis

By Nick Garber and C. J. Hughes

Ray Ray Soto’s apartment on the Upper West Side has hardwood floors, ceramic counters and city views. At first blush, it’s not so different from many other units in newly built towers.

“This is a beautiful building,” said Soto, 66, who moved there in March after a years-long search. “I love the place I’m living in. I really do.”

Her studio, however, is not inside a conventional rental development. It’s actually located in a single-room occupancy hotel,

commonly referred to as an SRO, one of the few remaining examples of a once-common type of dwelling that served as a lifeline to generations of New Yorkers without much money. But their often dark, drecky and dangerous conditions led to a ban on SROs decades ago and prompted officials to allow most of the remaining ones to be razed.

But as homelessness and housing costs hit record levels, Mayor Eric Adams is considering allowing the controversial See COMEBACK on Page 22

Ray Ray Soto, 66, lives in one of the city’s few remaining single-room occupancy hotels, which served as a lifeline to generations of New Yorkers but were largely banned decades ago. | BUCK ENNIS

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THE CONVERSATION Catherine Rinaldi, who just finished a stint as interim LIRR head, on ‘fixing what was broken’ for riders.

ON POLITICS Former aide Melissa DeRosa can’t redeem Andrew Cuomo’s soiled legacy.

PAGE 23

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New rules spell out future designs for outdoor dining.

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10/27/23 5:21 PM

Manhattan DA sued by Cleveland museum in saga of seized statue

THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART

The statue was seized in September by New York officials as part of an investigation into ownership claims made by the Turkish government

By Paige Bennett and Marcus Gilmer, Crain’s Cleveland Business

The Cleveland Museum of Art has filed a lawsuit against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the latest development in an ongoing dispute over a statue that New York authorities confiscated from the museum last month.

The statue, “Draped Male Figure,” was seized at the beginning of September by New York officials as part of an investigation into claims by the Turkish government that the CMA was in possession of over 20 artifacts originally found at archaeological sites in that country. Turkey claims those objects,

serts that when it obtained the statue in 1986 for $1.85 million, the seller—the Edward H. Merrin art gallery in New York, “made a series of representations and warranties to CMA, including, without limitation, that the seller was the lawful owner, that the Philosopher (the statue) was free from all encumbrances, and that the seller had good right to sell the Philosopher.”

Questioning jurisdiction

The museum also mentions that Turkey first inquired about the statue in 2009, that the museum responded, asking for more specifics regarding the inquiry and that Turkey never responded and “has never initiated a proceeding of any kind to declare the true ownership of the Philoso— From a Cleveland Museum of Art statement pher.”

The lawsuit further plus dozens of others at other mu- claims that Bragg’s office used a seums across the U.S., were illegal- “criminal process to seize” the ly obtained. statue—questioning the court’s The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. jurisdiction in the seizure—and District Court’s Northern District that evidence that the statue actuof Ohio, Eastern Division. Attor- ally belongs to Turkey has “fallen neys from Hahn Loeser & Parks short of persuasive proof.” are representing the museum in In response to a request for Ohio. comment from the attorneys repThe statue is estimated to have resenting the museum, the attorbeen created between 150 BCE neys sent Crain’s a written stateand 200 CE. ment from the museum.

In the lawsuit, the museum as“The Cleveland Museum of Art

“The Cleveland Museum of Art takes provenance issues very seriously . . . .”

takes provenance issues very seriously, as is apparent both from our long track the Metropolitan record of enMuseum of Art gagement that had been around cultural looted from property issues Rome, Greece and the forthand Egypt. That right way that same year, the J. works are interPaul Getty Musepreted in our um in Los Angegalleries,” a les returned spokesperson three statues to for the museItaly. In August, um wrote. “The the U.S. returned CMA has filed to Italy nearly 300 an action with antiquities worth respect to the tens of millions bronze statue that had been of a philosolooted and sold pher and the to museums and complaint is a collectors. public record. The “Draped Male Figure” statue at the Last month, As a matter of center of the dispute. | CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF the Manhattan policy, the ART District AttorCMA does not ney’s office seized artworks from discuss pending litigation.”

A message left for Bragg’s com- the Art Institute of Chicago, the munications team was not re- Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and the Allen Memorial Art Museturned Oct. 19.

In recent years, western muse- um at Oberlin College that were ums have faced increasing pres- believed to be stolen from a Jewish sure to return stolen artifacts to art collector during the Holocaust.

Reuters reported in 2008 that their places of origin. Law enforcement probes have led museums the Cleveland Museum of Art had across the country to return pieces agreed to return 14 artifacts to Itafrom their collections. In 2022, in- ly. Among the items were an anvestigators seized 27 artifacts from cient vase and a cross that had

been stolen from a Siena church, according to Reuters.

Following law enforcement seizures, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced in May plans to expedite and intensify its research into works that came from art dealers who have been under investigation. In a statement posted on its website, the museum estimated that the examination would include several hundred or more items.

The Manhattan DA’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit has made a number of seizures of stolen or looted work from various U.S. museums.

The unit has recovered and returned more than 1,000 antiquities from 27 countries and valued at more than $215 million under Bragg’s leadership, according to a news release issued by the office Oct. 10.

Since its inception in 2017, the Antiquities Trafficking Unit has recovered more than 4,600 antiquities and returned more than 2,500, with 1,600 scheduled to be returned in the coming months, the news release says.

News of the lawsuit was first reported by Cleveland.com.

This article originally appeared in Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Embattled HFZ developer Ziel Feldman sued by neighbors in his UES apartment building

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Talk about awkward run-ins in the mail room.

Embattled developer Ziel Feldman, who has faced a long list of lawsuits in recent years from jilted investors and upset creditors from around the city, now must face off against neighbors in his own building.

The condo board at the Marquand, a building on the Upper East Side that Feldman developed, has sued Feldman for creating conditions that could pose “catastrophic risk” and harm “their health, safety and well-being,” according to a complaint filed Oct. 17 in New York County Supreme Court.

Specifically, Feldman never got final sign-off on the development from Department of Buildings officials for nearly two-dozen construction items involving elevators, fire protection and electrical systems. And the delays have dragged out for nine years, since the first buyer moved into the con-

do, which is at 11 E. 68th St. Without the approvals, the Marquand lacks a proper certificate of occupancy, which could lead to residents having to vacate the building, according to lawyers for the board, who want Feldman to complete the work or fork over $500,000. The board is also seeking $100,000 in damages.

“It is extremely unfortunate for the residents that it has taken this long,” said attorney Jared Paioff of

mined number of unsold with a disconnected numunits in 2022. But lawyers ber. for the condo board say But Feldman does apthey believe the law repear to live in the six-bedquires the principal of the room western penthouse original sponsorship in the 13-story, prewar group—that is, Feldformer rental building at man—to be on the hook Madison Avenue, accordfor any problems now ing to the city register. that his group has been When Feldman won state Ziel Feldman dissolved in favor of a approval to sell apartments at the site, he put the value of new owner.

The Feldman-created situation the 6,200-square-foot unit at $37 million, according to its of- at the Marquand “compromises fering plan. No price is re- the quality of life of residents,” the corded for the apartment suit says, and represents a “derein the city register, which liction of duty.”

In addition to a cascade of lawsuggests that Feldman took possession of the unit suits over unpaid bills, Feldman has lost several properties in recent for his development fee.

That offering plan, ac- years over missed debt payments— cepted in 2013, anticipated CIM Group acquired four alone $328 million in sales at the build- through foreclosure—with the ing, which went from 41 to 28 most prominent probably being apartments as part of the conver- the XI, a two-towered, $2 billion sion. The first closing occurred May complex on 11th Avenue now owned by the Witkoff Group. As a 23, 2014.

Feldman no longer controls the company, HFZ, though, is apparproperty, after a mezzanine lender ently still solvent, in that it does not moved to take over an undeter- seem to have declared bankruptcy.

GETTY IMAGES

By C. J. Hughes

“It is extremely unfortunate for the residents that it has taken this long.”

— Attorney Jared Paioff of Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenburg Atlas the firm Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenburg Atlas, which has sued Feldman before. “We look forward to validating their rights by this legal action.”

Feldman has not yet filed a legal answer in the case. And a call to his firm, HFZ Capital Group, was met

2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 30, 2023

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A diagram released by the city shows a prototypical roadway dining setup under the new design rules. | NYCMAYORSOFFICE

No more sheds: The future of outdoor dining designs spelled out in new rules Restaurants can build only lightweight, open-air seating once the new design rules take effect owners and residents, and repeated an estimate that it saved more than 100,000 industry jobs by giving restaurants a lifeline in the worst months of the pandemic. More than 13,000 restaurants have participated in the program.

By Nick Garber

The city this month released eagerly awaited design rules for New York’s permanent outdoor dining program, requiring future setups to be open-air, set apart from crosswalks and subways, and filled with lightweight furniture.

The rules had been eagerly anticipated since the City Council passed a law creating the permanent program in August, with Mayor Eric Adams’ support. That legislation provided a framework by controversially limiting street seating to eight warm-weather months and setting a fee structure for restaurant owners—but left it up to the city’s rulemaking process to settle details about how future dining structures would look.

As expected, the rules will not allow for the fully enclosed, four-walled “sheds” that popped up around the city starting in 2020 and have attracted derision in some quarters for growing dilapidated and attracting rodents. Instead, roadway setups will need to be open-air, filled with lightweight, easily moveable furniture, and be level with the curb or provide a ramp for wheelchair access.

In response to concerns that dining structures can block pedestrian sightlines, the future setups will need to be at least 8 feet away from marked crosswalks. Barriers will need to be less than three-and-a-half feet tall and be filled with water, unless the Department of Transportation grants an exemption.

Similar rules will govern the design of

Personalized designs

A street-seating barrier as tall as this one may no longer be allowed under the new design rules. | BUCK ENNIS

sidewalk cafes, like those that existed before the pandemic, which will be allowed year-round under the permanent program.

Sidewalk seats must provide a clear path for pedestrians—eight feet wide on some streets, or 12 feet on busier ones—and be at least 15 feet from subway staircases, for example.

A 30-day public comment period is now underway, and the mayor’s office said the

first setups under the new rules will begin appearing in spring 2024. Existing structures that don’t comply with the new rules can stay up until November 2024. The program is also getting something of a rebrand: initially known as Open Restaurants, the permanent version has been dubbed Dining Out NYC. Mayor Adams, in a statement, said the rules were developed alongside restaurant

Sara Lind, co-executive director of the streets-oriented nonprofit Open Plans, is among the advocates who criticized the decision to make the program seasonal, which is expected to reduce the number of participants given the difficulty of storing materials in the off-season. But she credited the new guidelines for preserving restaurants’ ability “to express their unique personality” through personalized designs.

Other provisions in the law passed in August will require setups in historic districts to be approved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, force owners to get a license every four years, and set lower fees in the outer boroughs and Manhattan above 125th Street.

More than half of the participants in the current Open Restaurants program are in the outer boroughs—a far cry from the old sidewalk cafe program, whose roughly 1,000 restaurants were overwhelmingly within Manhattan. A report last year by NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service found that 41% of participants in Open Restaurants were based in neighborhoods with majority-nonwhite populations, and that low-income neighborhoods had nearly doubled their rate of outdoor restaurants.

OCTOBER 30, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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10/27/23 4:48 PM

RESIDENTIAL SPOTLIGHT

Townhouse with ties to an Iranian princess sells for the second time in three years The British government bought the seven-level, 12,000-square-foot home at 29 Beekman Place Parkchester section of the Bronx.

Chimienti was also the person he troubled townhouse at 29 who signed the deed on behalf of Beekman Place has changed the shell company when it picked up the townhouse in 2020. Meshands again.

The 12,000-square-foot resi- sages left at Chimienti’s and Findence, once a home of Iranian klestein Timberger’s offices were princess Ashraf Pahlavi, has sold not returned by press time. And to the British government for Paul Del Nunzio, the agent with Brown Harris Stevens $27.5 million, according who marketed the to a deed that appeared property, had no comin public records this ment. month.

Sale price for 29 The buyer of 29 Three years ago the Beekman Place Beekman this time townhouse traded for $11.5 million, which means the around was technically the Unitseller more than doubled their ed Kingdom Mission to the Unitmoney without appearing to do ed Nations, according to the city much work on the interior, whose register. Missions, which are officseven levels include eight fire- es for a country’s employees at the places and sweeping East River U.N., are typically located in East Side townhouses, though Enviews.

Why the property sold so sud- gland’s mission is currently based in an office building at Second Avenue and East 48th Street. The townhouse at 29 Beekman will presumably become England’s new mission, though a message left at the mission’s office was not returned by press time.

The deal is the latest denly, and who might have bene- dramatic chapter for a property fited from the huge flip, are a bit of that can seem inextricably ena mystery at an address that has twined with international intrigue.

Pahlavi, the twin sister of debeen entangled in court battles for years. Officially, the seller is a posed shah Mohammad Reza shell company, FCF Beekman Re- Pahlavi, appears to have purchased alty, whose address is an office the shutter-lined red brick property building in Scarsdale that’s home in 1975, records show, around the to the company Finkelstein Tim- time Islamic revolutionaries overberger East Real Estate, which threw her family’s ruling governowns and manages rental build- ment and forced her brother into exile. The princess was often in the ings.

Signing the paperwork on be- crosshairs herself. She escaped an half of the seller in the deal, which assassination attempt, when two closed Oct. 10, was Nick Chimien- gunmen opened fire on her Rollsti, a real estate broker based in the Royce in Cannes, France, in 1977.

By C. J. Hughes

T

$27.5M

The deal is the latest dramatic chapter for a property that can seem inextricably entwined with international intrigue.

29 Beekman Place, in an earlier era | BROWN HARRIS STEVENS

The Manhattan house was one of several homes she owned worldwide. In 2016 she died at 96.

The dispute around 29 Beekman stems from a $2.7 million inheritance apparently promised by Pahlavi to her longtime employee Azadeh Nasser Azari upon Pahlavi’s death. Another former employee in charge of Pahlavi’s affairs, Gholam Reza Golsorkhi, has challenged that inheritance for years, apparently believing that Azari, who formerly worked for Iran’s consulate general, was entitled to nothing.

Built in 1934 But after a string of suits and countersuits, authorities in 2020 scheduled a sale of 29 Beekman to ensure that Azari would receive her money.

But the entity that owns the townhouse, the Wansdown Prop-

erties Corp., a company that Pahlavi created decades ago and that Golsorkhi currently runs, filed for bankruptcy protection the day before the planned sale over concerns the house would sell for too little. But Azari’s lawyer at the time called the move a brazen ploy by Golsorkhi to avoid paying Azari the $2.7 million.

The house did end up selling for considerably less than the owners originally sought. In 2014, when it was first listed, its asking price was $50 million, though that price dropped in the following years as it cycled through almost every city brokerage, including Douglas Elliman, Compass, Corcoran Group, Sotheby’s International Realty and Brown Harris Stevens (twice).

Along the way, 29 Beekman went into contract twice, though it failed to close both times. The legal cloud hanging over it ultimately soured buyers, analysts say.

It finally traded in August 2020 at $11.5 million. Then, almost exactly three years later, it returned to the market at $36 million before selling for $27.5 million this month.

Built in 1934 by CBS executive William Paley, 29 Beekman features a wine cellar, inlaid hardwood floors and multiple terraces, as well as an entire level dedicated to the primary suite.

For its part, the nation of England owns another prominent property nearby: a 6,000-squarefoot penthouse at the condo tower 50 United Nations Plaza purchased in 2019 for $16 million for England’s consulate general. The consulate general, who is currently Emma Wade-Smith, previously lived in a four-bedroom penthouse at 351 E. 51st St. After failing to find a buyer for years, that condo unit sold earlier this year through an auction for $5.2 million, records show.

Developer to turn office building in SoHo into luxury apartments

By Eddie Small

The city is getting one of its much heralded office-to-residential conversions in SoHo. Astral Management, a developer based in Chelsea, recently purchased the 6-story office property at 40 Wooster St. from Ran Eliasaf’s Midtown-based Northwind Group for about $14.8 million and plans to convert it into a luxury rental building, according to property records and Compass broker Ryan Garson, who represented Astral in the deal.

The property will have retail on

the ground floor, while the second, third and fourth floors will each be home to a two-bedroom apartment, Garson said. The fifth and sixth floors will house a duplex penthouse with a private pool. Astral hopes to start work right away and be done with the project in about 18 months, according to Garson.

Astral did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Meridian’s Abie Kassin and Brian Gladstone represented the seller in the deal, and Handler Real Estate’s Darell Handler helped arrange the deal as well.

The city has been dealing with a huge surplus of office space and a severe housing shortage coming out of the pandemic, and converting some of these office buildings to residential buildings has emerged as a popular idea for confronting the twin crises even as the mechanics of how they would actually work remain murky. Such conversions are at the center of Mayor Eric Adams’ effort to rezone more than 40 blocks in Midtown to allow for up to 20,000 new homes over the next decade.

The de Blasio administration pushed through a rezoning of

40 Wooster St., SoHo | GOOGLE MAPS

SoHo itself in late 2021 in an effort to allow for up to 3,500 new homes in the neighborhood, 900 of which would be affordable. Although 40 Wooster St. is in the section of SoHo that the city rezoned, this was not a factor in its recent sale,

according to Garson.

The property, located between Broome and Grand streets, was built in 1896 and spans about 14,000 square feet, according to the commercial real estate database CoStar.

4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 30, 2023

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10/27/23 1:46 PM

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10/25/23 11:28 AM

ON POLITICS

Melissa DeRosa, once the state’s most powerful woman, can’t redeem Cuomo’s soiled legacy A new memoir by the ex-governor’s top aide has notable revelations, but it won’t give her boss the redemption he seeks

M

elissa DeRosa, who as against him.

The Times, in turn, claimed “inAndrew Cuomo’s secretary was once the most dependent, external investigation powerful woman in New York did not substantiate Ms. DeRosa’s state, is back in the public eye. Her characterization of the events.” new memoir, “What’s Left Un- McKinley’s conduct may have said,” is billed as a scorching de- been troubling, but none of it fense of her old boss as well as an changes the reality of Cuomo’s indictment of those, like Attorney legacy in New York—either around General Letitia James, who helped the allegations lodged against him or his broader governing failures. bring about his downfall.

This is what DeRosa Cuomo’s inner circle and the rest of the blincan’t quit him. Richard kered Cuomo loyalists Azzopardi, his old govdon’t understand. They ernment spokesman, recan whine all day about mains his media mouthJames and #meToo alpiece.

DeRosa, as legedly run amok, but evidenced from her Cuomo’s resignation did memoir, is as loyal as not occur in a vacuum. He ever, and believes Cuoleft office because the mo was unfairly railroadstate Assembly was preed by politicians and the Ross Barkan pared to impeach him. press when he was forced And he knew, in those fito resign two years ago following multiple sexual harass- nal days, he would not survive a trial in the state Senate, also domment and assault allegations.

There is at least one notable rev- inated by Democrats, many of elation: DeRosa claims Jesse them tired of him.

If he didn’t leave, he was going McKinley, the New York Times reporter who covered Albany at the to be forcefully removed. Resignatime, made drunk, inappropriate tion saved him from that fate.

Had Cuomo never been acadvances on her in 2020. McKinley would go on to break the first cused of sexual harassment and stories on the sexual harassment assault, his legacy would have allegations against Cuomo. He been, at best, checkered. New York was eventually reassigned to a dif- suffered mightily in the early ferent beat, which seemed tied to weeks of the pandemic because the complaint DeRosa lodged Cuomo initially downplayed the

threat of Covid and blocked the city from initiating a shutdown sooner than he wanted. He sent Covid patients back to nursing homes, fueling outbreaks there, and then manipulated the data to hide a gruesome death toll.

He commissioned top aides, including DeRosa, to write a self-congratulatory memoir about the pandemic while New Yorkers were getting sick and dying. He had no genuine policy successes in that period; he was simply popular because people were terrified and wanted a reassuring presence on television.

It helped that Cuomo wasn’t Donald Trump. Had Joe Biden been president then, Cuomo would not have become a national hero.

New York does not need Cuomo now and there is no genuine path to political redemption. He didn’t launch a primary campaign against Kathy Hochul last year because he knew, deep down, he’d lose. Hochul is not term-limited and will likely be governor for a long time. Even George Pataki, an understated Republican, got to run the state for 12 years.

Cuomo and his allies have nothing but their own grievance. Cuomo’s new podcast isn’t popular.

DeRosa’s book is not going to dominate the discourse. There is

The new memoir by Melissa DeRosa, once known as the most powerful woman in New York state, cannot rehabilitate the soiled image of her former boss, Andrew Cuomo.

GOVERNORANDREWCUOMO/FLICKR

no place for Cuomo anymore, and that’s something they will all have to accept.

Quick takes ◗ The chaos in the House has only

strengthened Hakeem Jeffries’ hand, should the Democrats win the majority next year. Restive progressives, seeing how Republicans overthrew Kevin McCarthy, may be wary of challenging Jeffries or withholding votes for greater policy concessions.

◗ Will the City Council expel Inna

Vernikov? The Republican lawmaker, from southern Brooklyn, was arrested for openly carrying a gun to a pro-Palestinian rally at Brooklyn College. If the Democrat-dominated body moves to eject her, she will be the second consecutive council member from that district to face the boot: Chaim Deutsch, a conservative Democrat, was expelled after he pleaded guilty to a tax fraud charge.

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

Local governments join push against bill that would expand damages allowed in wrongful-death lawsuits

By Nick Garber

Local governments including New York City have joined the business and medical groups urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a bill that would expand the kinds of damages people could obtain from wrongful death lawsuits.

The Grieving Families Act, which passed the Legislature in June, would allow people to be

ning her support.

Those changes have not placated the bill’s opponents, such as the Business Council of New York State and a slew of insurance, legal defense and medical groups, all of whom joined a letter sent to Hochul this month. They anticipate the bill being sent to her desk before the end of the year. Also speaking out against the bill is the state’s Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officers, who fear it could strain the bottom lines of small local governments.

New York City’s Law Department has also submitted its own memorandum in opposition to the current bill, as it also did in 2021 and 2022, an agency spokesperson confirmed.

“As cities and villages across New York navigate workforce shortages and strained finances, the last thing they need to worry about is increased litigation and liability insurance costs,” said Barbara Van Epps, the Conference of Mayors’ executive director, in a

The Grieving Families Act would allow people to be compensated for emotional anguish. compensated for emotional anguish from the loss of their loved ones, not only lost income that can be easily quantified as damages. Hochul previously vetoed a version of the bill in January, citing its potential to raise insurance premiums and harm small businesses, but lawmakers later narrowed its scope in hopes of win-

statement. “Perceived as ‘deep pockets,’ local governments are already pulled into a disproportionate number of lawsuits even when they have no real connection to the case.”

More than a decade In addition to causing higher health care premiums, critics say the bill would increase the cost of other kinds of insurance purchased by governments and small businesses.

The bill’s sponsors, including Manhattan State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, have said they resolved the governor’s concerns that led to her previous veto. The sponsors clarified which family members are eligible for damages, reduced an extension of the statute of limitations, and limited the kinds of damages that can be recovered.

Supporters say the legislation is needed to reform the baked-in bias that currently governs malpractice claims. Women, young people and the elderly, people of

State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal sponsored the bill to expand wrongful-death damages, which business groups want Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto. | NYS SENATE MEDIA SERVICES

color and those with disabilities are all likely to earn less income; their families therefore have weaker claims for lost income.

Forty-one other states compensate relatives for emotional loss,

proponents note. State lawmakers have introduced versions of the Grieving Families Act dating back more than a decade but did not succeed in passing it until last year.

6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 30, 2023

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10/27/23 1:42 PM

New York partners with Facebook founder on biohub The $270 million CZ Biohub NY will focus on biomedical research to advance early disease prevention, detection and treatment

By Jacqueline Neber

A $270 million biomedical research facility to advance early disease prevention, detection and treatment is coming to the city, Gov. Kathy Hochul, Mayor Eric Adams and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative announced Oct. 18.

CZ Biohub NY will bring together researchers from Columbia University, the Rockefeller University and Yale University to focus on preventing and finding ovarian and pancreatic cancers and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s through engineering immune cells. The

fore they become untreatable.

The CZI, co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, will invest $250 million in the hub over the course of a decade, while the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Empire State Development will each kick in $10 million.

Will be part of network The New York facility will join the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network, which includes institutes in San Francisco and Chicago. The city’s initiative was one project among 58 letters of intent from more than 170 institutions that CZI received when it decided to embark on creating another hub, according to Stephen Quake, head of science at CZI. New York was chosen by a panel of experts after becoming a finalist.

Hope Knight, the chief executive of Empire State Development, told Crain’s that New York chose to work with the CZI because its goals of curing, preventing and managing disease align with the state’s

The project represents the city and state’s latest investment in the life sciences to stimulate the economy and modernize the sector. ultimate goal of the hub, according to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, is to create disease-specific “cellular endoscopes” to detect early stages of disease in cells, monitor changes and resolve diseases be-

own life science initiative. “[We] thought that would create opportunities for the New York research community to build upon what already is happening here in terms of research in life sciences—and knowing that life sciences is a significant economic driver for the state’s economy,” she said.

The city has a variety of life science-focused spaces that could house the facility, but the institutions have not yet chosen where it will be based, Knight added. Neither she nor Quake could Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have said their goal is to cure, manage or provide details on eradicate all disease by the end of this century. | ASSOCIATED PRESS when they expect the The project represents the city plans for a $50 million lab in Midhub to be up and running or its exand state’s latest investment in the town that will focus on expediting act location.

According to Quake, the CZI has life sciences to stimulate the econ- drug discovery. Earlier this month, invested more than $1 billion total omy and modernize the sector: Hochul announced a $98 million into its biomedical hub network Last year Hochul and Adams re- cell and gene therapy manufacturand more than $6 billion total to vealed plans for a $1.6 billion cam- ing facility will be housed at Rosaccelerate science initiatives over pus to be built in Kips Bay, and this well Park Comprehensive Cancer past spring the governor unveiled Center in Buffalo. the next 20 years.

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OCTOBER 30, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 7

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EDITORIAL

Y

ou can find crowds of New Yorkers lined up for lunch in Midtown or to get into a sample sale in Union Square. But where won’t you find them?

The voting booth on Election Day. As reporter Nick Garber explains in this issue’s Crain’s Forum on voter engagement, New York has a longstanding pattern of low turnout in local elections, especially in comparison to other U.S. cities. There are a few reasons why this may be, including New York’s failure to allow same-day voter registration, but the consequences reverberate throughout the state and the city. For example, residents who are young, Latino or disabled, or who only recently became citizens, all are less likely to vote in New York City, according to Campaign Finance Board research—limiting their voice in local governance.

A disengaged electorate can hurt large and small businesses alike. Concerned about the cleanliness and safety of your neighborhood and what they mean for your customers and employees? The best way to make sure something is done is to

get involved, read up on where your local representatives stand on the issues and then vote them in or out of office according to how they plan to address your needs. Companies that encourage their employees to take part in local elections, including for mayor, can help to drive up community investment, making the neighborhoods where they do business places where staff want to come to work

Workers who get involved in local elections are invested in their community. and that attract prospective talent.

And this doesn’t just apply to the neighborhood in which a company has an office. As businesses grow and expand, and aspiring young professionals flock here from across the globe, what will keep them here is a high quality of life. Civic involvement is a quick way to make new transplants to the city feel as if this is their home. Having the city contin-

ue to be a place where residents want to live, work and play is key to making sure they stay here for the long haul, raising families and starting their own companies that then attract the next generation of New Yorkers.

This is not to mention, of course, that the policies and laws that govern how companies are allowed to do business here are set by local officials. So it’s essential that employers take an interest in who represents them in city government and what their priorities are so companies can make their voices heard.

To help expand voter turnout, employers should make sure their staff has time to vote on Election Day. And they can advocate for reforms that experts agree would boost turnout, such as same-day registration and shifting city contests to even-numbered years, when state and federal elections are held.

Just as employees with stock options are invested in the success of their work-

BLOOMBERG

Businesses can play a role in encouraging their employees to get out and vote

place, workers who get involved in local elections are invested in their community. And this civic engagement can make New York City a more attractive place to live and do business for years to come. So it’s imperative for the business community to set the tone for workers, making it clear that companies stand behind everyone being up to date on and active in matters of local government.

PERSONAL VIEW

We need to double down on climate resiliency efforts

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he flash flooding that struck New ports detailed the urban heat island effect York City early this month was an- which amplifies temperatures and is parother shocking illustration of our ticularly prevalent in low-income comnew climate reality. With rainfall measure- munities and communities of color.

We need to take more aggressive and ments topping 7 inches in some neighborwidespread action to catch up, hoods — and nearly 9 inches reand this month, the City Council corded at JFK International took a strong step in the right diAirport — our infrastructure was rection by unanimously adopting simply no match for the volume the first citywide Urban Forest of water. While this month’s Plan, which will require the city to storm, the remnants of Tropical reach 30% tree cover, up from Storm Ophelia, was much less 22% today, and requires regular destructive than Sandy, the dismonitoring of the urban forest. ruption and damage it caused The legislation gives priority to shows that we are not keeping plantings in low-income neighpace with the increasing frequen- Samara cy and power of extreme weather Karasyk is the borhoods and communities of color that have the least tree covevents. We are still running a very president and er. Planting more trees helps proserious climate resiliency deficit. CEO of the The numbers don’t lie. In the Hudson Square vide shade to offset the heat island effect and helps absorb 1980’s, the U.S. experienced Business stormwater. roughly three extreme weather Improvement In the Hudson Square neighevents per year, according to the District. borhood, we know the challenges National Centers for Environmental Information. That number had of adapting the urban landscape to a new more than tripled by the 2010’s to 13.1 per reality. Our history as the home to the year. Since 2020, the U.S. has experienced city’s printing industry means we have long, concrete-filled blocks and one of the 20 extreme weather events per year.

Those figures include extreme heat lowest ratios of green space in the city. events, which are also increasing and may When our Business Improvement District be even more threatening to city residents. was formed in 2009, our neighborhood In July, as a heat wave gripped the city, re- was best known for gridlocked streets fun-

neling cars into the Holland Tunnel.

We have been engaged in an aggressive campaign to fix that by redesigning Hudson Street and planting more than 500 trees. We’ve planted trees following a new method — known as the Hudson Square Standard — that maximizes the trees’ ability to thrive in the urban environment. Using a combination of larger tree beds and permeable paving stones, our new trees provide shade to busy sidewalks and can capture 5.6 million gallons of stormwater per year — that’s more than eight Olympic-sized swimming pools and 40% more than trees planted in traditional beds.

BIDs have an important role to play as a liaison between the public and private sectors on resiliency projects. Our new

plantings are done hand-in-hand with city agencies, and we have worked directly with private landowners in the neighborhood to retrofit trees with new tree beds.

Tree canopy The increasing climate impacts mean that we must use every square inch of real estate to prepare the city for a changing future. Increasing the city’s tree canopy, and maximizing the benefits of those trees with the Hudson Square Standard tree design, is essential. Increasing resilience will not eliminate all the problems related to extreme weather, but it is clear we need to double down on our resiliency investments.

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 30, 2023

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PERSONAL VIEW

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ust over a year ago the Inflation Reduc- ing the system or imposing undue costs on tion Act was signed into law, making consumers.

New York has been leading the energy $370 billion available for clean energy and climate programs nationwide. Re- transition well before the IRA was passed. cent data from the White House states that The state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act of 2019, the IRA, combined with complewhich mandates 70% renewables mentary programs like the by 2030, immediately jump-startCHIPS and Science Act, have ed investment in a decarbonized spurred billions of dollars in U.S. grid, and our interconnection manufacturing while acceleratqueue grew virtually overnight. In ing growth in new renewable en2019, 275 projects were under ergy technologies. consideration. Today, the queue In New York, we see real world holds more than 500. examples. In October 2022, MiLike other grid operators, we are cron Technology announced plans to build a 1,400-acre semi- Rich Dewey is challenged by this growth. The grid was built over many decades to reconductor manufacturing plant the president near Syracuse, and site prepara- and CEO of the liably connect sources of power to consumers and balance growth in tion is underway. Perhaps the New York demand with necessary supply. best example of a response to Independent Reconfiguring the grid to accomnew public policies is the influx System modate new renewable resources of renewable energy projects en- Operator. cannot be rushed without disrupttering the New York Independent System Operator’s interconnection queue. ing that balance. In addition, the complexThe interconnection queue is where re- ity of new proposals is increasing and often newable energy projects and major manu- requires specialized analyses to accurately facturing facilities seek approval to con- determine reliability impacts.

Interconnecting resources at the scale nect to the grid safely and reliably. As the wholesale electricity market administrator necessary to meet CLCPA goals requires a and grid operator, NYISO leads the pro- concerted effort by the state, utilities, decess for New York. This requires significant velopers and the NYISO. Our recent studcoordination between utilities, develop- ies predict that 20 gigawatts of new renewers, and state and local governments. The able resources will be needed by 2030 to process was established to make sure proj- reach the goals of the CLCPA while mainects can connect to the grid without harm- taining electric system reliability. To meet

these challenges, the NYISO is working hard to improve the interconnection process.

In 2022, we implemented efficiencies to shorten the time it takes to study impacts to the grid — making it easier for projects to progress through the queue. More recently, we held numerous forums and focus groups with developers, utilities, regulators and other stakeholders to identify necessary transparency improvements.

Those enhancements are under active development.

We’re optimistic on goals We also recently made significant investments in our interconnection team and technology used by developers and utilities to track progress and provide deliverables. We have hired more planning engineers to perform system analyses as well as project managers and customer service agents that help guide developers through the process steps. This combination of people, process efficiencies, and upgraded technology is essential to our continued progress.

While we work to enhance the interconnection process, it is important to understand there are other factors that can delay or ultimately determine if clean energy projects are completed. The International Energy Agency and the American Clean Power Association have reported that dis-

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An efficient interconnection process is essential to the grid of the future

ruptions in the global supply chain have contributed to project delays.

Many projects have also been affected by inflation. The Alliance for Clean Energy New York recently petitioned the New York State Public Service Commission to adjust the funding provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority for certain Clean Energy Standard contracts. The alliance’s petition pointed to “unforeseen and severe market disruptions” to justify the contract adjustments. Some of these external factors were also identified in a recent report from the New York State Comptroller’s office. Like Tom DiNapoli, we remain optimistic that New York’s energy goals are within reach.

Maintaining a reliable electric system through this unprecedented grid transition is essential. We also know that delivering a cleaner, greener grid of the future is just as important for all New Yorkers.

Working together, we can achieve both.

PERSONAL VIEW

Don’t fight NY’s future as a global climate tech capital

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Passed in 2020, Local Law 97 requires ust three days after The Business Council of New York State and Partnership owners of city buildings larger than 25,000 for New York City announced a mil- square feet to comply with carbon caps of lion-dollar campaign to slow down the increasing stringency beginning in 2024, state’s climate plan, New York City flood- and ramping up every five years until ed. Subways, streets and Metro-North ser- 2050. The law is smart policy that will make a huge dent in meeting our vice shut down, and schools and statewide carbon emissions rehomes had to be evacuated. duction mandates under the CLThis campaign by the business CPA, since buildings account for council is misguided. Not just bemore than two-thirds of New York cause the impacts of climate City’s greenhouse gas emissions, change continue to disrupt our but it’s also been a boon for the lives, but because it ignores a climate tech industry. growing segment of New York businesses. Here in New York, we have a burgeoning climate tech Over 100 startups industry that’s positioned to Tom O’Keefe challenge Silicon Valley and is a climate tech Since 2020, $4.6 billion in inmake New York the climate tech angel investor vestment has flowed into climate capital of the world. This industry and #TechFor tech in the city, and there have depends on New York State’s LocalLaw97 been more than 100 new climate commitments to fighting climate organizer. tech startups founded here. The change, and it’s poised to bebulk of these startups focus on come a major economic engine for New tech crucial to reducing emissions from York City and state. buildings, like energy efficiency and clean Already, the New York metropolitan heat and cooling. But other startups have area leads the U.S. in the creation of clean nothing to do with buildings, and were simenergy jobs. In 2022, the state had 166,014 ply attracted to New York because of the workers in the clean energy sector, thanks growing climate tech community and conin no small part to strong policies like the ducive policy and business environment. statewide Climate Leadership and ComIt’s understandable that some business munity Protection Act and New York City’s interests are afraid of bold progress toward Local Law 97. fighting climate change. But the reality is,

climate progress is driving an industry that will create new jobs at all skill and education levels. As the rest of the country catches up to New York’s bold policy and increases demand for the products and innovation New York is leading, we’re already in position to be the nation’s central

climate tech hub. The Business Council has a choice: continue fighting against its own interests in a desperate attempt to stay behind in the 20th century, or support the policies that will ensure New York stays at the forefront of business’s future well into the 21st.

OCTOBER 30, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

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PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

Advertising Section To place your listing, visit www.crainsnewyork.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING

INFORMATION / DATA TECH

REAL ESTATE

Goldman Copeland

Goldman Copeland

Arthur

Lincoln Equities Group

Jonah Allaben has been named a Principal at Goldman Copeland, the New York Citybased consulting engineering firm. He will continue as Senior Mechanical Engineer and Program Manager to deliver energy-efficient engineering designs. Working closely with the firm’s Energy Services Department, he converts findings of energy studies into energy-saving mechanical, electrical, and plumbing solutions, generating both energy and financial savings for some of the tri-state area’s largest property owners.

Daniel Galarza has been named a Principal at Goldman Copeland, the New York Citybased consulting engineering firm. He will continue as Senior Mechanical Engineer and Executive Account Manager to focus on delivering superior HVAC design solutions to commercial and institutional facilities. Dan has successfully designed HVAC systems for millions of square feet of commercial and retail space, while maintaining a dedication to incorporating sustainable ecofriendly strategies and occupant comfort.

Eric Liou, a seasoned product executive with over 20 years of experience bringing innovative technology products to the market, has joined Arthur as its Vice President of Product. Prior to Arthur, Eric was Chief Product Officer at Sprockets and Onna, both AI-native companies, where he led product vision and strategy and helped evolve their product platform.

Lincoln Equities Group, a prominent leader in real estate development and investment, announced longtime Managing Director Lance Bergstein was named CEO and will oversee the firm’s day-to-day operations in his new role. His prior role as managing director saw him spearhead hundreds of millions of dollar projects across all asset classes, including the acquisition of a 1.2 millionsquare-foot life science campus in Hopewell, N.J. Joel Bergstein, former CEO, will transition to Executive Chairman.

ENGINEERING

FINANCE

Jaros, Baum & Bolles (JB&B)

Calamos Investments

JB&B welcomes Nora Swanson, PE, as the Director of Digital Innovation & Knowledge Management. With 20 years of experience, Nora’s expertise will drive innovation.

She was formerly Director of Design Technologies at AKF Group and recognized for her achievements. She will work closely with BIM and IT directors, enhancing digital technologies and sharing knowledge across the industry.

Marc Ordona joins Calamos Wealth Management as vice president and senior wealth consultant.

He brings over 20 years of experience in investment and wealth management, investment banking, and global capital markets advisory. Ordona joins Calamos from Lido Advisors, where he served as a director and senior wealth manager, growing Lido’s presence within the New York metropolitan region.

LAW

Hodgson Russ LLP Hodgson Russ LLP has named Michael J. Hecker Practice Area Leader of the firm’s Real Estate, Environment, Energy & Finance Practice Area. He will lead a team of more than 50 nationally recognized attorneys, along with other business professionals, who work as part of multi-disciplinary teams to serve client needs. Mike is regularly recognized by various professional organizations, including being ranked as Tier 1 by Chambers USA, and being listed in “Best Lawyers in America” and “Super Lawyers.”

LEGAL

Benesch

ENGINEERING / ARCHITECTURE

FOOD / BEVERAGE

The LiRo Group

Crafty

The LiRo Group welcomes Bernard McNeilly as Executive Vice President.

Previously as President-Northeast Region WSP USA, he was responsible for the continued growth of one of the leading engineering firms in New York.

At LiRo, he is responsible for the delivery and growth of the design capabilities of the firm including civil, structural, MEP, telecommunications, architecture and sustainable design, GIS/ survey as well as BIM/virtual design and construction services for public and private clients.

Jordan Christopher joins Crafty as the SVP of Sales & Client Success. With 20+ years of enterprise sales and executive leadership experience, he will be responsible for scaling and executing the company’s global sales strategy. Before Crafty, he served as the SVP of Global Sales at Glia, where he grew sales by 7800%, propelling the company through unicorn status. Jordan has also held leadership roles at Sisense and MicroStrategy. He will work from Crafty’s NYC office.

Geetika GuptaRoongta has joined Benesch as a Practice Attorney in the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice Group.

Roongta Geetika is an immigration attorney with more than 6 years of experience with non-immigrant and immigrant visa petitions Rosenfield for individuals & corporates in major economic sectors. Dylan M. Rosenfield has joined Benesch as an Associate in the firm’s Corporate & Securities Practice Group. Dylan has a wide range of experience in the Corporate, Finance, and Pro Bono practice areas. He has conducted due diligence for over two dozen middle market acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures in energy, hospitality, insurance, batteries, technology, storage and healthcare industries.

SHOWCASE INDUSTRY LEADERS AND THEIR CAREERS MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT Debora Stein / dstein@crain.com

COMPANIES ON THE MOVE To place your listing, visit www.newyorkbusiness.com/companymoves or contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com COMPANY LAUNCHES

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Brick Underground New York, NY 646.701.7038 brickunderground.com

The Bachrach Group New York, NY 877.279.7779 bachrachgroup.com

Founded in 2009 by CEO Teri Karush Rogers, a real estate journalist and former contributor to The New York Times, Brick Underground helps 3 million buyers, renters, sellers, and renovators every year make smarter decisions about NYC real estate.

In October 2023, the company launched its “Boards & Buildings” resource for co-op and condo boards, signifying its expansion and providing practical information on various topics to help them navigate the industry’s evolving regulations and requirements.

The Bachrach Group is proud to launch their newest recruiting division, TBG Cyber, through the acquisition of SecureRecruit – a fully female-led startup developed by Amy Knoell & Lisa Saurs that has grown to become a powerhouse in the cybersecurity recruiting sphere. With the introduction of TBG Cyber, TBG is excited to expand further in the technology field with the goal of being the complete, one-stop-shop for any technology staffing needs.

For more info, email: AmyK@bachrachgroup.com.

STAY AHEAD OF WHAT’S NEXT IN INDUSTRY NEWS RECOGNIZE TOP ACHIEVERS IN NEW YORK’S PREMIER PUBLICATION

Mergers & Acquisitions / Name Changes / Business Launches New Office Locations / Funding Announcements / Industry Honors Anniversaries

MAKE AN ANNOUNCEMENT Debora Stein / dstein@crain.com CrainsNewYork.com/COTM

6 IN 10 READERS BELIEVE CRAIN’S GIVES THEM A COMPETITIVE EDGE

10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 30, 2023

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THE LIST TOP TECH UNICORNS Ranked by valuation

COMPANY

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 14 16

amanda.glodowski@crainsnewyork.com

PHONE/ WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE(S)

FOUNDER(S)

VALUATION (IN BILLIONS) TOTAL VENTURE CAPITAL RAISED TO DATE (IN MILLIONS)

TYPE OF ORGANIZATION

YEAR FOUNDED

1,000 Cloud security platform

2020

FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES

Wiz One Manhattan West New York, NY 10001

wiz.io

Assaf Rappaport Chief executive

Assaf Rappaport

$10.3 $801

Chainalysis 114 Fifth Ave. New York, NY 10011

517-213-3180 chainalysis.com

Michael Gronager Chief executive

Michael Gronager Jonathan Levin

$8.6 $536.72

850 Blockchain data platform

2014

Fireblocks 500 Seventh Ave. New York, NY 10018

347-977-5401 fireblocks.com

Michael Shaulov Chief executive

Michael Shaulov Pavel Berengoltz Idan Ofrat

$8 $1,037.87

1,000 Digital asset custody and settlement solutions company

2018

Consensys 49 Bogart St. Brooklyn, NY 11206

347-217-4003 consensys.net

Joseph Lubin Chief executive, board member

Joseph Lubin

836 Blockchain platform

2014

Ro 116 W. 23rd St. New York, NY 10011

415-342-6467 ro.co

Amy Vezzetti Chief people officer Melynda Barnes Chief medical officer

Saman Rahmanian Rob Schutz Zachariah Reitano

831 Direct-to-patient health care company

2017

Grafana Labs 29 Broadway New York, NY 10006

212-812-4179 grafana.com

Raj Dutt Chief executive

Raj Dutt Anthony Woods Torkel Ödegaard

$6 $570

900 Productivity software

2014

Ramp 71 Fifth Ave. New York City, NY 10003

805-223-3307 ramp.com

Eric Glyman Chief executive

Eric Glyman Gene Lee Karim Atiyeh

$5.8 $1,722.9

930 Finance automation platform

2019

Ava Labs 1177 Sixth Ave. New York, NY 10036

206-876-0134 avalabs.org

John Wu President Emin Sirer Chief executive

Kevin Sekniqi Emin Sirer

$5.25 $356

233 Blockchain platform

2018

WellFound 1 228 Park Ave. South New York, NY 10003

wellfound.com

Avlok Kohli Chief executive

Naval Ravikant Xinran Xiao Caroline Graham

$4.1 $168

130 Recruiting service

2010

Wonder 4 World Trade Center New York, NY 10007

wonder.com

Marc Lore Founder, chief executive

Marc Lore

$3.85 $850

1,900 Cloud kitchen platform

2018

Dataiku 902 Broadway New York, NY 10010

646-568-7477 dataiku.com

Daniel Brennan Chief legal officer Bridget Shea Chief customer officer Edward Bush Chief operating officer

Clement Stenac Florian Douetteau

$3.7 $851

1,399 AI data science platform

2013

Via 160 Varick St. New York, NY 10013

ridewithvia.com

Daniel Ramot Co-founder, chief executive

Oren Shoval Daniel Ramot

$3.5 $886.88

1,200 Ridesharing e-hail

2012

Axonius 41 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10010

716-296-6487 axonius.com

Dean Sysman Co-founder, chief executive

Avidor Bartov Ofri Shur Dean Sysman

$2.6 $395.09

623 Cybersecurity asset management platform

2017

AlphaSense 24 Union Square East New York, NY 10003

646-783-1995 alpha-sense.com

Jaakko Kokko Co-founder, chief executive

Rajmohan Neervannan Jaakko Kokko

$2.5 $626.98

1,436 Financial and company search engine

2011

Spring Health 251 Park Avenue South New York, NY 10010

332-246-0075 springhealth.com

April Koh Co-founder, chief executive

April Koh Adam Chekroud

$2.5 $366.89

996 Personalized mental health benefits platform

2016

Gympass 30 Irving Place New York, NY 10003

866-642-7917 gympass.com

Cesar Carvalho Co-founder, chief executive

Joao Barbosa Cesar Carvalho

$2.4 $710.97

$7 $733

$6.6 $1,026.1

2,867 Corporate wellness platform

2012

New York area includes New York City and Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties in New York, and Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties in New Jersey. Data is from PitchBook. Companies are excluded from the list if they have not had an updated valuation after January 1, 2022. To qualify for this list, companies must be headquartered in the New York area or have a significant presence and have a valuation of more than $1 billion. Ranking is based on unrounded numbers. If there is a tie, then companies are ranked alphanumerically. Research by Amanda Glodowski. 1--Formerly AngelList Talent.

WANT MORE OF CRAIN’S EXCLUSIVE DATA? VISIT CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/LISTS. OCTOBER 30, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 11

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Fresh off expanding the controversial film and TV tax credit, a bill could broaden it to more productions

By Nick Garber

Months after New York increased its annual subsidy to the film and television industry by $280 million, watchdogs are urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to veto a bill that could stretch the program to cover more productions.

The state budget approved in May increased New York’s film tax credit from $420 million to $700 million annually, and boosted it to cover 30% of production costs, up from 25%. State officials called the expansion necessary to ensure that lucrative film productions

2004.

Meanwhile, as legislators prepared to wrap up their session in June, lawmakers passed another, little-noticed bill that would ensure the credit covers productions retroactively. The bill would extend the credit to films whose applications were pending when the budget passed weeks earlier. That legislation was delivered to Gov. Kathy Hochul this month, and watchdogs are now urging her to veto it.

Those critics say there is little need to offer incentives to producers who had already picked New York as a home base.

“These are productions that already chose to film in New York, had already applied in the previous program, and didn’t need this richer credit to induce them,” said Sean Campion, Director of Housing and Economic Development Studies at the Citizens Budget Commission.

Along with Reinvent Albany, the commission co-authored a letter sent to Hochul on Oct. 16 that urges her to reject the bill.

It’s unclear how many productions would benefit from the retroactive change, or how much the state would dole out as a result— although a total of 28 productions applied for the credit during the

Watchdogs want the governor to veto a bill that would ensure the tax credit covers productions retroactively. continue to choose New York instead of competing states like New Jersey and Georgia, which offer their own incentives.

But watchdog groups strenuously objected, arguing the credit amounts to a giveaway to well-off producers and should be shrunk.

Critics say there is little evidence that New York has received a return on its investment in the film industry, which has totaled $6.5 billion since the credit began in

first quarter of 2023, making them eligible for $32 million in credits under the old program, according to figures published by the state. (The bill would not raise the total amount of money being allocated to the program, and any retroactive recipients would only receive the old 25% benefit.)

‘Technical fix’ The June bill was sponsored by Michael Gianaris, the deputy state Senate majority leader, who described it in a memo as a mere “technical fix.” It passed both houses on A bill passed by the state Legislature would revise the film tax credit to cover productions that had mostly party-line votes applied for it before its recent expansion. | BLOOMBERG over opposition from Republicans; one of the few Demo- budget will grow the film industry York’s credit in place—the Motion cratic dissents came from state and keep New York competitive in Picture Association of America Sen. James Skoufis of the Hudson this very important sector of our spent upwards of $160,000 on lobValley, who has criticized the tax economy,” according to Henry’s byists through June of this year, statement, which said the industry including an explicit focus on tax credit for its dubious returns.

Hochul strongly supported ex- had created 57,300 direct and in- incentives.

The film and TV industry’s impanding the credit, and appears to direct jobs in the state from 2019 pact on the local economy is conback the retroactive bill. Hochul to 2020.

Lobbying records show siderable, generating $81.6 billion spokesman Justin Henry said in a statement that she is “focused on NBCUniversal included the retro- in the city alone in 2019, accordgrowing industries and opportuni- active bill in its efforts in Albany ing to a study by the mayor’s ofties across the state and the film and this year, albeit only for “monitor- fice. That activity has slowed considerably in recent months, ing.” television industry is no different.”

More generally, the film indus- however, due to strikes by writers “The enhancement of the film tax credit passed in this year’s try has pushed hard to keep New and actors.

Connecticut cuts some weekday Metro-North Railroad service on New Haven line because of funding reductions

By Caroline Spivack

Connecticut commuters along Metro-North Railroad’s New Haven line were in for some weekday service reductions beginning Oct. 29.

The schedule changes are a result of funding cuts approved by nutmeg state Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget, which was adopted in June. For the New Haven line the adjustments decrease service by two trains on Monday through Thursday, siphon eight trains from Fridays, and scale back weekday service along the New Canaan and Danbury branch offshoots.

“For New York customers no changes in service with respect to their frequency on the New York side of the line, unless of course, they’re traveling from New York into Connecticut,” Rinaldi said in an interview. “For the reverse commuters there’s going to be a change, but one that we think given ridership levels is not going to be problematic.”

‘Fridays remain very quiet’ The rail service changes include:

◗ A decrease in Monday through

Thursday service on the New Haven Line from 239 trains to 237 trains.

A reduction in Friday service on the New Haven Line from 241 trains to 233 trains. ◗ Less weekday service on the New Canaan Line from 41 trains to 39 trains. ◗ A scale back on weekday service on the Danbury — Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi Line from 28 trains to 26 trains.

Metro-North President CatherThe reduction in service comes ine Rinaldi said the changes won’t at the same time as Connecticut impact Westchester station stops riders are set to pay more for their along the New York side of the New rides—following New York fare inHaven line, which is the busiest of creases that took effect in August.

Metro-North’s three main routes.

Under Connecticut Metro-North

“For the reverse commuters there’s going to be a change, but one that we think given ridership levels is not going to be problematic.”

fare increases set to take effect Nov. 1, a one-way peak ticket on the New Haven line would rise between $0.50 to $1 ($0.25 to $0.50 for off-peak), a pack of 10-trip peak tickets would jump between $5 and $10 and monthly tickets would go up between $9 and $18, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

The Connecticut-centric service cuts on the main A train arrives at the Metro-North Railroad station in Stamford, Connecticut. | BLOOMBERG New Haven line target trains that make stops in the would get [Connecticut transporta- serve or expand service on the New state and run express between tion officials] where they needed to York side of its operations, with Grand Central Terminal. That in- be,” Rinaldi said, “but that would Gov. Kathy Hochul kicking in $35 cludes paring back 5:55 p.m. peak not do anything to really do dam- million in April’s state budget totrains to New Haven that run ex- age to the service levels in a way ward boosting subway service.

“Mondays are starting to come press from Grand Central to Stam- that would drive people away from back, Fridays remain very quiet,” ford, and 6:20 p.m. trains from New the railroad.”

Connecticut transportation offi- said Rinaldi. “So there’s sufficient Haven that stops at the Greenwich station before going express to cials have said in budget docu- frequency and capacity on Fridays ments that the rail changes are for us to be able to trim the schedManhattan.

“We had a lot of back and forth meant to reflect shifts in post-Covid ule down a bit.”

“I think it’s a place where everywith them, for I want to say maybe commuting patterns and come as four or five months, trying to land the Metropolitan Transportation body was comfortable with where on some schedule changes that Authority has mostly sought to pre- we landed,” she added.

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CRAIN’S VOTER ENGAGEMENT

Voter turnout is abysmal here.

It doesn’t have to be this bad.

Few New Yorkers are likely to vote this fall, but finding a solution may not be impossible

BY NICK GARBER

D

CRAIN’S PHOTO ILLUSTRATION WITH GETTY IMAGES PHOTOS

id you know New York City is holding elections next week?

If not, you aren’t alone—a vast majority of residents are unlikely to vote.

Only about 7% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the June primary elections for City Council and a slew of other local races, according to initial results—one of New York’s worst showings in recent memory.

Turnout may well be similar in the Nov. 7 general election, which will feature just a handful of competitive races along with dozens of long-shot challenges to incumbents.

It’s part of a longstanding pattern for New York, which consistently sees paltry participation compared to other major U.S. cities.

See TURNOUT on Page 14

Four ways New York can increase voter turnout

Bring back the machines The decline of party machines could explain lower turnout. Page 14

1

Move elections to even years The shift has worked in other cities. Page 15

2

Vote by phone Voter turnout could increase, but is it secure? Page 16

3

Improve people’s lives Those with a better quality of life vote more often. Page 16

4

INSIDE MARIO CILENTO: Unions engage in elections and mobilize.

PAGE 17

SUSAN LERNER: Let’s allow voting by mail in New York.

PAGE 17

LORI ESPOSITO MURRAY: We must prepare for AI. PAGE 18

ZELLNOR MYRIE: Public financing improves democracy.

PAGE 18

JOANNA ZDANYS: Donor matching system gives people a stake.

PAGE 19 OCTOBER 30, 2023 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 13

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VOTER ENGAGEMENT

TURNOUT

governance. Geographic areas that tend to see low turnout—such as the South Bronx, South Brooklyn and Eastern From Page 13 Queens—are also at risk of having their “We have, by pretty much every met- needs ignored by those in power.

New York is not a total outlier among ric, extremely low turnout,” said Allie Swatek, director of policy and research its peer cities. Houston, Los Angeles at the New York City Campaign Finance and Philadelphia all saw even lower avBoard. That’s true for local contests, erage turnout than New York in their mayoral elections statewide races and from 2007 to 2021, aceven national elections cording to an analysis that tend to draw more by the good-governinterest. ment group Citizens The reasons are manUnion. ifold. New York has At the same time, failed to institute rethere is reason to forms like same-day think the problem is registration and no-exnot intractable. Sevcuse absentee voting — Allie Swatek, director of policy eral cities—including that other states have and research at the New York Los Angeles, last enjoyed for years. (A City Campaign Finance Board year—have seen ma2021 referendum that would have enacted both policies was jor jumps in turnout by implementing unexpectedly rejected, after the state reforms, such as shifting elections from Democratic Party did little to promote odd- to even-numbered years (more on them). Meanwhile, Democrats’ relative that later). And New York itself had far dominance—Eric Adams beat Curtis higher turnout not too long ago, sugSliwa by 40 points in the last mayor’s gesting there’s nothing in the tap water race—makes most general elections that makes New Yorkers incapable of casting votes. feel predetermined.

Rather than recap every potential The worsening disengagement has real consequences for representation. proposal for improving turnout, Crain’s People who are young, Latino, disabled, is using this forum to spotlight a handor only recently became citizens are all ful of ideas—some that are popular and less likely to vote in New York City, ac- backed by ample evidence, and others cording to Campaign Finance Board re- that are lesser-known or more unconsearch—limiting their voice in the city’s ventional.

“We have, by pretty much every metric, extremely low turnout.”

Citywide voter turnout in 2022 In the 2022 general election for governor, neighborhoods in Manhattan and Northwest Brooklyn voted at higher rates than places like Eastern Queens and the South Bronx.

Percentage of registered voters who voted in 2022 < 21%

21%–41%

41%–60%

60%–80%

Th oth rem of

80% +

By N

Note: Some areas have been omitted due to data inconsistencies from redistricting.

Source: New York State Board of Elections, The City’s data repository

IDEA 1: BRING BACK POLITICAL MACHINES

Party clubs could rekindle a lost political culture The decline of clubs and party machines could explain lower turnout

By Nick Garber

Grappling with New York City’s turnout problem requires accepting a confounding truth: It wasn’t always this bad.

In 1993, 57% of registered voters cast ballots in the general election where Rudy Giuliani unseated David Dinkins.

In 1953, when Robert F. Wagner won his first term, turnout was 93%. By 2021, it had plummeted to 23%.

The percentages are skewed slightly by the smaller pools of registered voters in prior years, but the overall trend is clear: 1.5 million fewer New Yorkers voted for mayor in 2021 than in 1965, even as the city’s population has grown by about 1 million. (Turnout for other races, like presidential elections, has also declined, albeit less steeply.)

How can turnout have dropped so severely, even as the city has invested far more resources in educating voters— from mailed election guides to online poll-site locators? Some explanations point to broad, structural factors, like growing distrust of government and the nationalization of our politics that has resulted in less attention to local issues.

But there may be explanations at the local level, too. Most notably, the demise of the political machine and the slow decline of the party clubs that replaced it.

Manhattan’s Tammany Hall machine,

The 1868 Democratic convention was held in New York’s Tammany Hall building. | LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Pros • Political machines pulled people into politics and got them involved.

Cons • Machines have historically fostered corruption.

• Little appetite in state party to rekindle clubs.

• Machines helped immigrant groups ascend in New York government.

and its equivalent in Brooklyn, dominated city politics for about a century until the 1950s. They remain infamous for the corruption they fostered, which helped bring about the machines’ demise at the hands of reformers in the mid-20th century.

In recent years, however, some scholars have begun to look upon the machine more favorably—“as something that drew people into the political system and got them involved,” said Daniel Soyer, a professor of history at Fordham University.

Working from neighborhood-based clubhouses, party leaders would offer social services to marginalized New Yorkers, especially new immigrants, in exchange for votes at the ballot box—a blatant quidpro-quo that nonetheless succeeded in creating a vibrant political culture, reflected in the sky-high turnout numbers.

“The clubhouses absolutely drove turnout,” said Terry Golway, an adjunct professor at College of Staten Island and author of a book on Tammany Hall. “They had get-out-the-vote operations that lit-

erally were block-to-block, apartment house to apartment house.”

The nail in Tammany’s coffin was driven in the 1960s by the Village Independent Democrats, a downtown political club helmed by future mayor Ed Koch, which seized control of the Manhattan Democratic Party. Ironically enough, the reform clubs that rose to prominence in the 1950s and ‘60s did so by basically mimicking the machines’ grassroots approach, Golway said.

Those local clubs that succeeded the machine continued to exert some influence in the ensuing years, but their visibility has waned drastically since then.

Dozens still exist, from Greenwich Village to Harlem to Bay Ridge, but few would argue they are capable of driving large numbers of people to the polls.

What would it take to bring them back?

Leaders of both state and local Democratic Party organizations have been criticized for not investing heavily in turnout operations, and there is little sign that they want to commit resources to rekindling neighborhood clubs. Golway also raised the non-trivial issue of skyrocketing rents, which makes it harder for small-scale political groups to maintain the storefront clubhouses that were once visible around the city.

But recasting local parties as drivers of democracy, instead of the organs of corruption that their critics reduced them to, might be a first step in rebuilding some of New York’s lost engagement.

“Nothing takes the place of human interaction,” Golway said. “That’s what politics is all about.”

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IDEA 2: MOVE ELECTIONS TO EVEN-NUMBERED YEARS

Moving city elections to even years would boost voter turnout. Why hasn’t it happened?

The shift has worked in other cities, but roadblocks remain for implementation of the idea in New York

By Nick Garber

Of the many competing ideas for improving turnout in New York, one proposal stands out for its sheer simplicity and likelihood that it would prove successful: shifting local elections to even-numbered years.

Since the start of the 20th century, New York has held its municipal contests in odd-numbered years, like 2023—separate from state and federal races that occur in even years. Good-government groups pushed for that separation as a way to weaken the Tammany Hall political machine, since reform-minded voters could exert greater influence in low-turnout, off-year races. Reformers got the shift enshrined in the state constitution in 1894.

But the reformers may not have anticipated how drastically the pendulum would swing: Turnout in local elections has dropped far below that of even-year races—a gap that has only widened in recent decades.

In 1969, for example, 81% of New Yorkers voted in the general election for mayor, higher than the 73% who voted in the next presidential election in 1972. But by 2021, only 23% of New Yorkers cast votes in the election that crowned Eric Adams as mayor, compared to 62% who voted for president in 2020.

“The gap is substantial, and it repeats itself cycle after cycle after cycle,” said Ben Weinberg, policy director at Citizens Union, which has called for aligning local elections with state or federal ones.

Other cities that hold odd-year elections see similarly feeble participation.

Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia and San Antonio all reported average turnout between 10% and 38% from 2007 to 2021, according to an analysis that Citizens Union released in January. Fellow New York municipalities like Yonkers, Rochester and Buffalo report similarly low turnout in their odd-year contests.

Odd-year elections also tend to attract a less representative pool of voters, with research in California showing that

GETTY IMAGES

icting.

ository

VOTER ENGAGEMENT

Pros

Cons

• Boost turnout by aligning local elections with state or federal ones.

• Republicans fear it would only help Democrats win.

• Attract a more representative pool of voters.

• Could confuse voters by forcing them to read up on a long list of races.

off-cycle voters tend to be disproportionately white.

But cities that have moved local races back to even-numbered years have seen remarkable results. In Baltimore, mayoral election turnout surged from 13% in 2011 to 60% in 2016, its first even-year race— an astonishing 361% increase. Similar jumps occurred in Austin (from 10% in 2012 to 44% in 2018), Phoenix (21% in 2015 to 77% in 2020), and Los Angeles (20% in 2017 to 44% in 2022).

Some momentum is building to make the same shift in New York. In June, the state Legislature passed a bill that will move some non-city contests, such as town supervisor and county executive, from odd to even years. The bill, which was opposed by Republicans over fears that higher turnout would aid Demo-

crats, is now awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.

It would be a heavier lift to change the timing of elections in New York City, requiring an amendment to the state constitution and a statewide referendum.

Reformers might also encounter another obstacle: political consultants, who, as City & State reported in May, tend to oppose the shift since they benefit from our fractured electoral calendar, which provides them with clients every year.

Still, a growing chorus within the city is pushing for the change, including the Campaign Finance Board, which formally endorsed even-year elections in a May report. More than a dozen City Council members have also signed on to a resolution that would call on the state Legislature to take action.

“The greatest gains will go to communities of color and young people—exactly the voters that are not as engaged in our local elections as other communities are,” Weinberg said.

The consultant class has leveled other criticisms, suggesting that a shift to even-year elections would only confuse voters by forcing them to read up on a long list of races all at once, leading to a less informed electorate. But Allie Swatek, the Campaign Finance Board’s director of policy and research, dismissed that argument as “elitist,” saying it stems from the same low esteem for voters’ intelligence that prompted reformers to push for odd-year elections in the first place.

“It’s not like it’s a new argument,” she said.

Voter turnout by year Voter turnout in New York City has declined for decades, especially in mayoral elections, which occur in odd-numbered years.

100% 80%

62%

2020 President 60%

38%

2022 Governor

40%

23%

2021 Mayor

20% 0% 1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

Source: Citizens Union

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VOTER ENGAGEMENT IDEA 3: VOTE BY PHONE

Could cellphone voting give centrists a voice?

Former Bloomberg aide Tusk is pushing for mobile voting despite security concerns Could turnout grow if New Yorkers were allowed to cast votes on their cellphones? The concept, already a controversial long shot, would seem even unlikelier were it not for the influential man who’s pushing it: Bradley Tusk.

Tusk, the strategist and investor who helped re-elect Michael Bloomberg to a third term and got Uber entrenched in New York, has lately focused his energy on “mobile voting,” which he wants to make available to every Bradley Tusk American. His campaign aims to overcome widespread skepticism from experts about whether internet voting could be done securely.

While improving turnout would be nice for democracy’s sake, Tusk says his goal is more explicitly ideological: encouraging more centrists to vote in primary elections, which can currently be swayed by small groups of committed voters due to their consistently low turnout.

“I work on the assumption that every politician makes every decision solely based on re-election,” Tusk said in an interview. For example, he attributes the 2019 defeat of Amazon’s Queens headquarters, which he laments, to pressure applied by progressive politicians afraid

GETTY IMAGES

By Nick Garber

Pros • Make voting more convenient, possibly raising turnout

Cons • Experts worry voting by phone isn’t secure.

• Trust in voting systems is already declining.

• Create a more ideologically diverse pool of voters

of losing their next primary.

A 2015 battle with then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, in which Tusk staved off new regulations on Uber by enlisting everyday app users to speak out on the company’s behalf, crystallized his belief that phones could be engines of democracy, especially for young people.

“It finally hit me—the people who were advocating for Uber, a for-profit company, were people who probably never voted in a state Senate primary. They weren’t going to not take their kids to school on a Tuesday so they could vote in that,” he

said. “But what if they could do it on their phone?”

Tusk has since funded 21 internet voting pilots in seven states. No problems emerged in those trial runs, which were small-scale and focused on overseas voters, people with disabilities and military members.

The next step will come early next year, when he aims to release a voting software that his nonprofit, Tusk Philanthropies, has spent three years and $10 million constructing. Legislators in New York have shown some interest in the concept,

with bills introduced in both the state Senate and Assembly this year that would allow absentee ballots to be submitted electronically.

But mobile voting has come under harsh criticism from cybersecurity experts, who say electronic ballots could be easily manipulated to alter results. In 2020, a group of federal agencies including the FBI deemed online voting “highrisk.” Indeed, many states have moved more decidedly toward paper ballots in recent years. (Tusk strongly disagrees, and says his forthcoming software will assuage those concerns.)

The idea seems more perilous as growing segments of the country lose trust in our voting systems following the election-denying efforts of former President Donald Trump and his allies. Much of that skepticism has been directed specifically at voting platforms, such as the baseless claims about the corporation Dominion Voting Systems that resulted in Fox News paying out a $788 million settlement in April.

Still, Tusk’s persistence—not to mention his influence and considerable wealth—make him hard to underestimate. He is leaving little to chance, hiring lobbyists in New York and other states to push for mobile voting.

Among the people intrigued by his campaign is Betsy Gotbaum, the executive director of Citizens Union and a former New York City Public Advocate, who praised the concept despite opposition from some peer good-government groups.

“I think it’s a very interesting and creative idea,” she said. “Do I think it’s going to happen? Not really.”

IDEA 4: IMPROVE PEOPLE’S LIVES

Bettering New Yorkers’ lives could be the best fix of all As long as the city remains unequal, people living in wealthy neighborhoods may continue to vote more often Voting reforms can be tantalizing for anyone interested in improving New York City’s woeful turnout rates. But to some extent, those small policy tweaks might be missing the forest for the trees.

It’s no secret that the neighborhoods with the highest turnout rates tend to be wealthy and white: enclaves like the Upper West and East sides, Northwest Brooklyn, and Staten Island’s South Shore. The lowest-turnout areas include swaths of the South Bronx, South Brooklyn and Eastern Queens, where residents tend to have higher poverty rates, longer commutes and less education, according to research from the city’s Campaign Finance Board.

The same is true across the country, where research has shown that rich people tend to vote the most. Taken to-

GETTY IMAGES

By Nick Garber

gether, the evidence points to a conclusion: large-scale efforts to reduce inequality might be the only lasting way to get more people to vote.

Allie Swatek, the CFB’s director of policy and research, pointed to an analysis that the board undertook in April 2020, which found that ZIP codes with

low voter turnout in November 2019 ended up having some of the highest rates of Covid-19 in the early weeks of the pandemic.

The link suggested that turnout, rather than simply showing a neighborhood’s interest in politics, represents something more fundamental.

“Voter turnout is not a public health metric, but it is a metric of the health of a place,” Swatek said.

The cost of rent has climbed steeply in the city over the last few decades, and poverty rates are higher in most of the city than they were in the middle of the 20th century. It may be no wonder that New Yorkers are unable to devote time to studying the ballot when their more pressing concern is staying housed and fed.

Elected officials who propose solutions to those problems rarely describe them as ways to boost participation in local elections. But that could be an unexpected benefit.

“People always want to say, ‘How do we improve voter turnout’?” Swatek said. “Maybe we should make sure that everybody has food and access to health care.”

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COMMENTARY | VOTER ENGAGEMENT

Unions educate, engage our members and play an outsize role in elections

T

The same winning strategy paid off a he union movement has a long and proud history in New York few years ago with the extraordinary deState, and we are a force to be reck- feat of the constitutional convention ballot proposal. Early polls showed close to oned with when it comes to elections.

We know our opponents will always 70% support for a constitutional convenoutspend us, but we prevail by leveling tion. We flipped that to win 83% to 17%, the playing field with our ability to join resoundingly defeating the proposal.

The union movement victotogether from Buffalo to Long ries, whether legislative or poIsland and mobilize our memlitical, leave us well-positioned bers on the issues and concerns to successfully advocate on beimportant to working people. half of all working men and Our movement is made up of women. As our opponents 3,000 affiliated unions from the know, when the labor movepublic sector, private sector ment is thriving, we not only and building trades, and our raise the wages, benefits and strength comes from being able conditions of employment of to speak with one voice. union members; we raise the We educate and engage our Mario Cilento standard of living and quality of 2.5 million members, retirees is the president life of all working people. and their families through of the New York And make no mistake, the member-to-member meetings, AFL-CIO. union movement is thriving. town halls, letters to the editor, With each passing day, more op-eds, phone banks, labor workers are recognizing that. In New walks and social media.

We don’t just start talking to our mem- York, the union movement has always bers a few months before Election Day. It been strong, and we are growing. But it is a year-round effort that has proven goes beyond New York. Support for unions in this country is increasing. The time and again to be successful.

Union households already vote at a 5% most recent Gallup poll shows the aphigher rate than the general public. proval of the union movement continues When we run comprehensive la- to be high at 67%. Union activity is surgbor-to-labor campaigns consisting of ing as well. And the solidarity is inspirdoor-to-door engagement, phone banks ing.

You see that support on the picket and mailers, our members turn out 13 percentage points higher than other vot- lines right now as members from all sectors show solidarity for our United Auto ers.

That is why unions play an outsize role Worker members and members of in elections and why candidates want SAG-AFTRA out on strike. There was a tremendous show of support for the our support.

Writers Guild of America members who But first, they must earn it.

Our endorsement process is layered just went back to work.

A Gallup poll recently found that but begins and ends with our members.

Rank and file members interview and Americans wholeheartedly fall on the screen candidates to determine who will side of workers over corporations with best represent them. Voting records are 75% of those polled supporting the UAW compiled to determine if a candidate in their labor dispute with auto compashares our values and can demonstrate nies, and the numbers were nearly the that they are pro-worker. And those can- same for support of television and film didates who advance and win our sup- writers and actors.

Working people are fired up and ready port know that unions deliver.

Just recently, it was union members to fight for a better quality of life. Our who played a pivotal role in helping to lift members are more motivated than ever Sam Berger to victory in a special elec- before and eager to ensure that their voices will be heard on Election Day. tion for the 27th Assembly District seat.

SAG-AFTRA out on stirke in Times Square | BLOOMBERG

Mail-in voting | BLOOMBERG

New York’s new Early Mail Voter Act is legal and also the right thing to do

I

t’s easy to fall into what I refer to as munities that are more difficult to reach. the “turnout trap” — focusing on one A comprehensive study on the 2020 elecpolicy switch that will boost turnout. tion found that states where vote by mail In reality, there’s no silver bullet for in- was introduced saw higher turnout than creasing turnout in New York (or the na- those that did not, and a review of voting tion) — and if we use turnout as the sole in Colorado concluded that the state’s metric of success, we set ourselves up for all-mail voting led to increased particifailure. What we can, and should, do is pation — specifically among younger, less wealthy and more diverse focus on pushing our lawmakcommunities — voices that are ers to continue their effort to often underrepresented even expand access to the ballot here in New York. box.

In states that have introSince 2019, New York lawduced mail voting, it has not makers have steadily passed led to any partisan advantage and signed into law bills that while also expanding overall dramatically expand voting turnout. So why are some lawrights, including early voting, makers suing to stop the bill automatic voter registration, from happening? pre-registration of 16-year-olds Susan Lerner Your guess is as good as and electronic poll books. is the executive mine.

These laws brought New York director of In Pennsylvania, state courts in line with many states and re- Common Cause/ have repeatedly sided with votsulted in greater engagement NY. ers and upheld their right to from voters than ever before.

And now, New York is staged to again ex- vote by mail. We’re confident that the pand access with the passage of the New courts will side with democracy, and rule York Early Mail Voter Act: legislation in favor of the New York Early Mail Voter Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law just Act before the upcoming 2024 elections. recently that will set up a universal vote- As a nonpartisan, voting rights organizaby-mail system available to any and all tion with decades of experience, we know that not only is this absolutely legal registered voters.

It’s simple. All voters will have to do is under our constitution, but it is the right request a mail ballot either online or thing to do.

There are many things that can affect through a paper application. After a standard voter verification process, the whether or not a person decides to Board of Elections will send them a bal- make it to their poll site — like if it’s lot. And then, voila! Once the person re- raining or if there’s a candidate they are ceives their ballot, they’ll fill it out, safely excited to vote for. For years, New York and securely, fold it into a prepaid enve- held two different primaries, exhausting lope, and drop their ballot off in the mail. voters even before they got to the generVoting by mail isn’t new — many New al election. Currently, a bill is sitting in Yorkers took advantage of it during the front of Hochul that would further conCovid-19 pandemic. And 27 other states, solidate elections from odd years to along with Washington, D.C., already of- even years in counties other than New fer a similar way to vote. Voters like it be- York City, in the hopes this will lead to cause it’s easy and simple: It remains greater participation and less voter fapopular both here in New York and na- tigue.

There’s no cure-all when it comes to tionally, and more than 35 million voters around the country cast their ballot by turnout. Instead, we should prioritize how we can get more New Yorkers to mail in the 2022 midterm elections.

Where introduced, vote by mail has vote. Fix the issue at the source, not apcontributed to higher turnout rates and ply Band-Aids to the wound and hope for helped boost participation among com- the best.

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COMMENTARY | VOTER ENGAGEMENT

S g

Public and private sectors must prepare for election attacks powered by AI

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A

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s the 2024 presidential election approaches, election security faces compounding threats. The war in Ukraine and other geopolitical flashpoints have increased U.S. adversaries’ motives for interfering in our elections, while aging election infrastructure makes voting systems susceptible to cyberattacks.

The next threat is generative artificial intelligence. The 2024 presidential election will be the first in which this enhanced technology will be widely available. It ber and AI tools will help these actors raises the stakes by empowering bad ac- bolster their malign information camtors to further find ways to sow confu- paigns by enabling the creation of lowsion, barrage systems with exponentially cost, synthetic text-, image-, and aumore cyber incursions, and erode trust, dio-based content with higher quality,” especially through deepfakes — realistic the report said.

There is bipartisan consensus in Conyet fabricated images and videos using gress on the need for AI safeguards, parAI algorithms.

Elections serve as the cornerstone of ticularly when it comes to elections. One democracy, and the trust of the Ameri- bill with bipartisan co-sponsors, for excan people in this fundamental aspect of ample, would prohibit distributing mathe democratic process is essential to the terially deceptive AI-generated video, functioning of our democratic institu- images or audio related to candidates for tions and the long-term strength of our federal office. It would also allow federal candidates targeted by decepnation’s economy. Leaders in tive content to have it taken the public and private sectors down and to seek damages in alike must work now to prepare federal court. But the legislavoters for these AI-powered attive process may not move tacks, or they will further unquickly enough to make a difdermine confidence in our sysference in next year’s elections. tem.

In the meantime, it will fall to We must build strong pubbusiness leaders — as trusted lic-private partnerships ahead employers and important of the 2024 presidential elecmembers of their communities tion. Doing so will help to im- Dr. Lori — to play an important role in prove trust in our election ad- Esposito restoring trust in our elections. ministration, strengthen Murray is the Resistance to misinformation resilience against disinforma- president of the and disinformation starts with tion, increase confidence in the Committee for an informed citizenry. vote count, ensure access for Economic To push back on deceptive all eligible voters, and maintain Development, secure, updated election infra- the public policy practices, businesses should provide employees with truststructure in the face of signifi- center of The ed voting information resourccant challenges.

Conference es and encourage employees to Some top priority changes Board. register to vote and to vote earinclude: All voting machines ly, provide information on should be required to produce a paper record to give voters confidence how, when and where to register and to that the vote they cast is the vote record- vote, give time off to vote and volunteer ed. Additionally, federal funding for elec- at the polls, as well as communicate best tion security should be robust and keep practices for identifying synthetic media. pace with national security threat levels.

Efforts are already underway to better Election administrators should rigorously test voting equipment for security understand how the public interprets risks, and they should publicize the elec- AI-generated media as well as methods tion security measures they undertake in to best identify deepfakes. Detect Fakes, order to build public trust and provide an MIT Media Lab research project, is best practices for states to adopt. And all examining how humans distinguish auelection stakeholders, including election thentic media from synthetic media onadministrators, should use the Cyberse- line. We must prioritize such efforts.

The threat is growing, and the consecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) cybersecurity tool kit to under- quences of failing to address it now are stand the range of risks they face and clear. Unless we move swiftly to mitigate learn how to prioritize mitigation efforts. these threats, we risk public trust in the The Department of Homeland Securi- selection of our nation’s leaders deterioty warned in its annual Homeland Threat rating further. Our political system canAssessment report for 2024 that foreign not survive once it permanently loses its adversaries will likely use AI tools to en- citizenry’s faith, and AI will only boost hance their capabilities and maliciously our adversaries’ efforts to achieve that influence campaigns, sharpening their end. The business community, alongattacks on our democracy. “The prolifer- side government, has an essential role to ation and accessibility of emergent cy- play to stop them.

Improving democracy through public financing

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ith the news that more than tics.

As chair of the Senate Elections Com100 candidates for New York State Senate and Assembly mittee, I’m proud of the work we’ve done have signed up for the new small donor to make our elections more fair and more accessible. From creating early public matching funds system, voting to the landmark John R. we’ve hit a new milestone in Lewis Voting Rights Act, we’ve the evolution of creating a truly done so much to improve votmulti-racial, inclusive democing and elections in New York. racy at the state level.

The new campaign finance sysMany of us from here in New tem is a natural extension of York City are accustomed to the that work. And I know that the idea of our small donations for system will continue to evolve local candidates being ampliand be refined over time. fied by public dollars to fund In 2022, one billionaire spent our city’s elections. It’s an idea Sen. Zellnor that stemmed from countering Myrie represents $10 million to influence the gucorruption that characterized New York’s 20th bernatorial race, and other big-money influencers have city government generations State Senate sought to sway campaigns at all ago. Dozens of election cycles District, which later, it’s a regular part of the includes parts of levels of government. But because of the new public camNew York City ecosystem and Brooklyn, and paign finance option, state Ashas allowed many new voices he chairs the sembly and Senate candidates state Senate to serve in our government. can count on small donations The new system at the state Elections and public matching dollars to level will now get its chance. Committee. fund competitive campaigns Starting now for the 2024 elecwithout having to rely on the tion, legislative candidates can benefit from the similarly designed sys- support of the super-rich, whose intertem that the city knows so well. The sys- ests often run counter to the needs of the tem was designed to amplify the smallest working families I represent.

I’m heartened to see that many of my contributions from in-district constituents, valuing those everyday New York- colleagues, even a good number of Reers more than any lobbyist in the halls of publicans who opposed the creation of the state capitol. Candidates who’ve the program, have now signed up as parsigned up are out and about in their dis- ticipants in the system. Challengers are signing up, too. Indeed, a crucial element of a healthy democracy is competitive elections that give voters a choice at the ballot box.

The public financing system, coupled with our other reforms, will go a long way to create a more equitable, fair and open system of elections in New York. As our democratricts, engaging with constituents and cy remains under constant threat and asking for their support, shifting the attack in many states nationwide, New fundraising focus to the people candi- Yorkers should be proud of our far-reachdates will represent and away from big ing progress in creating a more demodonors and lobbyists who have histori- cratic New York. This is the path from cally had oversized power in state poli- worst to first.

The public financing system, coupled with our other reforms, will go a long way to create a more equitable, fair and open system of elections in New York.

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COMMENTARY | VOTER ENGAGEMENT

Statewide donor matching system could give more people a stake in elections

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ew York consistently ranks in the gave more than all 206,000 small donors bottom half of states for voter combined. It’s not hard to see why nine turnout. And the problem has out of 10 New York voters say wealthy dogotten worse. Fewer New Yorkers cast nors have more influence on state politiballots in the 2022 elections than did four cians than the average voter, or why a majority of New Yorkers don’t trust years earlier, with the biggest Albany to represent their interdrop-off in New York City. But a ests. It’s also not hard to see transformative change in how why many voters might turn state-level political candidates away from the political process can fund their campaigns has altogether. the potential to boost voter en“Our campaign finance sysgagement and give New Yorkers tem affects democratic engagemore reason to turn out to vote. ment,” New York State’s MoreNew York’s small donor publand Commission to Investigate lic financing program launched last year and is available for do- Joanna Zdanys Public Corruption concluded 10 years ago. The commission nors and candidates in the 2024 is senior counsel found that “[o]rdinary New election cycle. The voluntary in the Elections program matches donations of and Government Yorkers . . . justifiably feel left out of one of the most meaning$250 or less from district resi- Program at the ful ways to participate in polidents with public funds at a ra- Brennan Center tics and affect our government’s tio of up to 12 to one. That for Justice at agenda.” The commission means $10 can be matched NYU Law. therefore recommended that with $120, making it worth $130 the state adopt a system of to a campaign — and giving donors of modest means far more clout in small donor public campaign financing “to bring ordinary citizens into the politistate politics.

The program responds to big money’s cal process.”

Experience elsewhere shows the podominance in New York elections. In the 2022 state elections, the top 200 donors tential to improve New Yorkers’ political

engagement. A study published this month found that Seattle’s public financing program has increased voter turnout by 4.9 percentage points. In the 2021 elections, that program boosted donor participation most significantly among Black, Latino and young voters.

And after public financing went into effect in Portland, Ore., small donors were more evenly spread across low-income and wealthier neighborhoods.

By increasing the importance of small donations to campaigns, New York state’s program will give candidates a new and powerful incentive to engage with the communities they serve. A Brennan Center study of New York City’s longstanding public financing program found that publicly financed candidates attract more donors from within their own districts and raise a greater portion of their funds from in-district donors, compared to non-publicly financed candidates.

That program has been a major factor in making city government more diverse and more representative of the city’s population.

To be sure, many factors can affect voter turnout. Public financing by itself will

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not magically solve New York’s problem overnight, any more than the city’s program has solved it for local elections.

That’s why it’s critical for our state’s leaders to deliver on other vital democracy reforms, including implementing the state’s long-delayed automatic voter registration system, moving low-turnout, odd-year elections to even-numbered years, and strengthening election administration practices.

But by giving everyday New Yorkers a powerful incentive to get involved in political campaigns as donors and candidates, and by encouraging politicians to spend more time in their communities, the state’s small donor program promises to strengthen ties between elected leaders and voters. And if more New Yorkers feel they have a voice and a stake in a government that truly represents their interests, we have every reason to expect they’ll be more likely to turn out on Election Day.

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

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POSITIONS AVAILABLE Quantitative Research Engineer (Citadel Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Collab with research teams to design and implement quant tools and strat for trading innovations across asset classes. F/T. Reqs a Bachelor’s degree (or foreign equiv) in Comp Sci, Stat, Eng’g, Math, Physics or a related field.

Edu, trng or exp must incl the following: End-to-end software dev; Distributed Computing, Machine Learning, Platform Dev, Networking or Sys Design; Big data analytics; Programming with C, C++, C#, Java, Python, Perl, SQL or Kdb+/q; Stat pkgs incl R, S-PLUS, Matlab, SAS, Pandas, NumPy, SciPy, SciKit-Learn, statsmodels, or sim; Object-oriented programming; and Working with data structures, algorithms and comp arch paradigms. Salary range $150,000 to $225,000/yr. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7311720.

Data Engineer (Citadel Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Coord the design, devmt and maintce of complex data ingestion processes and data prod that assist in the invstmt research proc. F/T. Reqs a Bachelor’s degree in Comp Science, Info Tech, Eng’g Physics, Math, Stat, Econ or a related field. Edu, trng or exp must incl the following: Software eng’g; Performing data mining and transformation as well as Web data extraction; Systems design incl translating bus reqmts into systems functionalities and bldg clear user interfaces; Prog’g in Python or sim; Data structures, algorithms or comp arch; Big data proc and cloud technologies incl Spark, Hadoop, AWS S3 or sim; and Database devmt in MS SQL Server, HP Vertica, Snowflake, MongoDB or sim. Salary range is $150,000 to $225,000/yr. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7311710.

Quantitative Developer (Citadel Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult.

Pos. Avail. Collaborate with res teams to design and implement quant tools and strat for trading innovations across asset classes. F/T. Reqs a Bachelor’s degree (or foreign equiv) in Comp Science, Stat, Eng’g, Math, Physics, or a related quant field.

Edu, trng, or exp must incl the following: Working in software dev; Stat modeling tech incl time-series analysis, Stat Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, pattern recognition, or sim; Data collection, cleansing, and processing; Big data analytics; Programming with C, C++, Java, Python, SQL, R, or Kdb+/q; Objectoriented analysis and design; and Data structures, algorithms, and comp architecture paradigms. Salary range $160,000 to $200,000/yr. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7311713.

Quantitative Research Analyst (Citadel Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Analyze and solve complex mkt prob through the use of tech, math and stat modeling, and comp sys. F/T. Reqs a Bachelor’s degree (or foreign equiv) in Stat, Comp Science, Eng’g, Math, Physics, Ops Research, or a rel quant field. Edu, trng, or exp must incl the following: Conducting data-intensive investment-related research and analysis; Advanced math and stat modeling incl time-series analysis, cross-sectional analysis, Stat Machine Learning, Natural Language Proc, pattern recognition, or sim; Performing computations and research with programming languages incl Python, R, C++, Matlab, Julia, or similar.

Salary range $150,000 to $190,000/yr.

Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7311717.

Site Reliability Engineer (Citadel Enterprise Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Collab with cross-functional teams, incl trading, quant, and software eng’g teams, to support and enhance Citadel's core suite of trading apps with the latest, most cutting-edge tech in order to proactively diagnose and resolve prod issues. F/T. Reqs a Bachelor’s degree (or foreign equiv) in Comp Science, Computer Eng’g, Elec Eng’g, Math or a related tech field. Edu, trng, or exp must include: Unix/Linux based sys; Shell scripting; SDLC workflows; Programming with SQL; and Supporting large-scale distributing apps. Salary range $175,000 to $250,000/yr. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7311728.

Site Reliability Engineer (Citadel Securities Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Collab w/ cross-functional teams, incl trading, quant, and software eng’g teams, to supp and enhance Citadel's core suite of trading apps w/ the latest, most cutting edge tech in order to proactively diag and resolve prod issues. F/T. Reqs a Bach degree (or foreign equiv) in Comp Sci, Comp Eng’g, Elec Eng’g, Math or a rel tech field. Edu, trng, or exp must incl: Unix/Linux based sys; Shell scripting; SDLC workflows; Prog with SQL; and supporting large-scale distributing apps. Salary range $175,000 - $250,000/yr.

Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7311691.

Software Engineer (Citadel Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Design, dev, test, and deploy next gen software sol for research, trading and bus ops activities across the firm. F/T. Reqs a Bach degree (or foreign equiv) in Comp Sci, Eng’g, or a rel field. Edu, trng, or exp must incl the following: End-to-end software dev; Object-oriented program’g and design; C, C++, Python, C#, or JavaScript; Data struct and algorithms; and Distributed Computing, Natural Language Proc, Machine Lrng, Platform Dev, Networking, Sys Design, or Web Dev tech. Salary range $150,000 to $225,000/yr. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com. JobID: 7311723.

Software Engineer (Citadel Enterprise Americas Services LLC – New York, NY); Mult. Pos. Avail. Des, dev, test, and deploy next gen software sol for various bus ops activities across the firm. F/T. Reqs a Bach degree (or foreign equiv) in Comp Sci, Eng’g, or a rel field. Edu, trng, or exp must incl the following: End-to-end software dev; Object-oriented prog and design; C, C++, Python, C#, or JavaScript; Data structures and algorithms; and Distributed Computing, Natural Lang Proc, Machine Learning, Platform Dev, Networking, Sys Design, or Web Dev techniques.

Salary range $150,000 - $225,000/yr. Resumes: citadelrecruitment@citadel.com.

JobID: 7311732.

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 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.

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 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.

Credit Research Analyst (Pacific Investment Management Co., LLC (PIMCO) – New York, NY); Mult. pos. avail. Salary of $113,000 - $360,000 per year. Provide fundamental & relative value research on existing holdings & generate credit driven investm’t ideas specific to the sector.

Proactively communicate investm’t ideas by initiating discussions w/ portfolio managers & participating in group meetings. F/T. Apply w/ resume to Lupe.Rubalcaba@pimco.com.

Ref. Job ID: 7028116.

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 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

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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Advertising Section

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 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.

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 SUTTON GROWTH ADVISORS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/12/23.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 20 Sutton Pl S, Apt. 20C, NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Andrew J. Byrne at the princ. office of the LLC. 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 204 FORSYTH HOLDINGS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/16/23.

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

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of KIERAN ANDREW BOTH, ATTORNEY AT LAW PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/06/23.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 225 BROADWAY, SUITE 2018, NEW YORK, NY 10007-3739. 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 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 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

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 BOUNDLESS IMAGINATIONS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 400 E. 90th St., 12D, NY, NY 10128.

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: Film production.

Notice of Qualification of EGMF GP LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/16/23.

Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/11/14. Princ. office of LP: 230 Park Ave., 8th Fl., NY, NY 10169.

NYS fictitious name: EGMF GP L.P. Duration of LP is Perpetual.

SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State, State of DE, Dept. of State, Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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.

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COMEBACK From Page 1

properties, with their unusually small unit sizes and shared kitchens or bathrooms, to be built for the first time since the Eisenhower era. Soto’s digs could be a glimpse of things to come.

“We have to try something new, and that’s when old ideas become new again,” said Muzzy Rosenblatt, chief executive officer of the Bowery Residents’ Committee, a nonprofit housing provider that operates a handful of the city’s few surviving SROs. But several housing providers who support the mayor’s SRO push said they would tweak a few details this time around, such as getting more buy-in from nonprofits and insisting on regular inspections to make sure living conditions stay up to code. “When SROs were run by private landlords, it was very hard to make them a successful business, because their customers were the poorest of the poor,” Rosenblatt said.

The set of pro-housing zoning changes that Adams proposed in September includes measures that would eliminate rules that have long prevented the construction of new SROs. Specifically, the mayor would amend zoning laws that set a minimum average size for apartments in new developments to encourage more studios and, the thinking goes, more small-unit apartment buildings.

In the push to get more shared

City Council member whose Upper West Side district was the epicenter of the SRO fight in the middle of the last century, told Crain’s she “absolutely” supports the mayor’s idea.

So does City Planning Commission Chair Dan Garodnick. “Zoning should not act as a bar to different types of housing that meets the needs of lots of current and future New Yorkers,” he told Crain’s. “We want to allow for a level of creativity within buildings and to explore new ways of living.

How SROs emerged

SROs may still be a lightning rod.

A preview of the possible resistance came in March, when some observers reacted with outrage when Adams hinted at his eventual plan by floating the idea of allowing bedrooms without windows.

But if the City Council were to vote for the reforms, it would represent a remarkable full-circle moment for a type of housing once seen as an island of affordability in a pricey metropolis.

Instead of shelling out for a fullsize apartment, tenants—especially single men—with reduced means could fork over much less money for a private bedroom alone and then share a bathroom and kitchen with their neighbors, a model not dissimilar to the increasingly popular co-living communities of the past few years.

A sort of precursor to what is known today as affordable housing, SROs emerged from shared housing models that proliferated during the Great Depression. More than 11% of urban families reported they housed boarders in the 1930 census, according to Diana Lind, a Philadelphia-based urban policy expert.

Packed into neighborhoods from the Bowery — Mark Jennings, executive director of Project Find to Times Square to Morningside Heights in Manhousing in general, City Hall hattan, SROs became even more would also loosen rules that pre- popular after World War II as a vent developers from adding solution for the housing crunch rooming-house-style units in prompted by waves of returning low-density areas and converting GIs. offices into the properties.

By the middle of the 20th centuAlthough the City Council ry, roughly 200,000 such apartwould have to approve these zon- ments existed in New York, acing changes and likely pass addi- cording to estimates by the tional legislation for SROs to make Supportive Housing Network of a full-fledged return, the need for New York, some of which were cheap housing options no longer squeezed into converted apartseems as controversial as it had ment buildings or hotels. been for decades. Gale Brewer, a But around the same time, crit-

“We need to create choice for those who are less fortunate, because choice humanizes individuals.”

The Belleclaire, once a dingy SRO, was converted in the 1990s into an upscale hotel. | BLOOMBERG

ics began to pile on the properties as being substandard, owing to their reputation for violence, drugs and unsanitary conditions, and New York City banned the construction of new ones in 1955.

Many endured for decades. But as the city emerged from its ’70s funk and developers began circling, wrecking balls spelled the end of many sites.

Just 52,000 units were reportedly left by the mid-1980s, mostly on Manhattan’s West Side. But as they declined, official sentiment about them reversed. Mayor Ed Koch’s administration tried to protect the remaining ones as research emerged suggesting a connection between the loss of such housing and the rise of homelessness: Surveys showed that up to 45% of shelter dwellers at the time once lived in such units.

But courts ultimately ruled against the city, paving the way for real estate interests to bulldoze properties or redevelop them.

“They were largely outlawed across the country in a bid to gentrify downtowns and stop the bleeding from white flight,” Lind said.

Now, with only about 20,000 such units surviving citywide, according to landlords and social services providers (the city does not specifically track them), some city leaders are trying to switch gears again, convinced that wiping out the low-cost housing was a colossal mistake.

“The usher, the dishwasher— people who had menial jobs and a bathroom down the hall” were typical tenants, Brewer said. The demise of SROs, she said, is “one of the reasons we’re in such a mess today.”

Under 300 square feet Hiding in plain sight, former SRO buildings still stand around the city, many of them now serving luxe clientele. The Belleclaire, a 10-story landmark on West 77th Street and Broadway, spent decades as an SRO and was the site of a mass shooting in 1983 that killed four people, before it reopened in 1999 as a boutique hotel.

Across the street sits the former Manhattan Towers Hotel, an ornate building that grew infamous in the 1970s for its constant crime.

Converted to co-ops in the 1980s, which reduced its unit count from 530 to 113, the building is now called The Opera and lists apartments starting at $1 million.

Along the same lines, buildings that have resisted gentrification often look much different than before. At Soto’s building, a prewar former hotel at 117 W. 79th St. near the American Museum of Natural History, all the units contain a bathroom and an efficiency kitchen, which would have been an unusual sight along the Bowery in the 1950s.

Much of this shift in design has to do with funding, owners say.

For years developers who wanted to improve existing SROs had a hard time securing loans to pay for the work due to the banned status of the building class. Money that was available was designated for traditional affordable housing, encouraging developers to convert their properties in order to qualify.

Mark Jennings, executive director of the nonprofit Project Find, has partnered on SRO housing projects. | BUCK ENNIS

The 79th Street building, which no longer has shared amenities, is an example, said Mark Jennings, executive director of Project Find, a nonprofit services provider and a partner on the project.

In 2020 Jennings’ group and the developer Fairstead paid $27.6 million for the prewar, midblock building, which had been fined repeatedly for renting to tourists instead of long-term tenants. A gut renovation reduced its 122 units to 78, with those private bathrooms eating up much of the space.

Soto’s apartment in the building, which opened last year, clocks in at less than 300 square feet, a size that would not be allowed in a conventional residential building; studios there also lack closets. Soto’s official rent is $3,290 a month, although she pays $290 under Section 8 rules.

But rents might be even lower under Adams’ plan. Legalizing SROs could open up proper funding sources, relieving developers of the burden of costly reinventions, which in turn could lead to savings for tenants, analysts say.

And by keeping the buildings as they were, unit counts may not have to shrink as much, protecting a larger affordable housing stock.

“Everything is relative to everything else,” Rosenblatt said.

Would be on cutting edge Resistance to Adams’ plan may be strong. Some members of a block association near the West 79th property initially resisted it over fears the site would merely be used as a shelter, though some of those critics have apparently warmed to their new neighbor after seeing that large groups of people are not amassed in a single room but housed more humanely.

Similarly, the Adams administration has pointedly avoided using the term “SRO” when describing its plan, saying the move won’t unleash any sudden wave of shared-housing development.

Indeed, even if the changes are enacted, any new shared housing would be limited at first to certain

uses, including as student dorms, religious convents or supportive housing overseen by the government. For market-rate SRO housing to become available to the general public, the City Council would need to pass a companion bill amending the housing code—something that administration officials have hinted they could propose once the zoning package reaches lawmakers for review next year.

If New York were to once again embrace SROs, it would be on the cutting edge nationally.

Philadelphia is exploring bringing back SROs across the city. And San Diego says it hopes to combat homelessness by loosening codes to incentivize the construction of the buildings, as it did in a much-lauded program in the late 1980s—although that effort fell apart a decade later amid a rental and office tower development boom. But otherwise, widespread national support so far seems lacking.

Jennings of Project Find, who has also operated housing programs in Los Angeles and Boston, says market forces are still an obstacle, especially when housing markets are hot. A few years ago his group was preparing to buy a mostly-vacant 125-unit SRO hotel on West 101st Street in hopes of renovating the prewar building into a modernized, 80-unit offering. But an investor who did not work in the affordable housing industry swooped in at the last minute with an all-cash offer.

Missed opportunities like that are a shame, Jennings says, because SROs fill a critical need by offering more community than is usually available in a traditional apartment building. “Tenants benefit from having people around them and not feeling isolated,” he said, “and that can help prevent recidivism.”

“We need to create choice for those who are less fortunate, because choice humanizes individuals,” Jennings added. “The tenant can be enriched, the community can be enriched, and New York can be enriched.”

22 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | OCTOBER 30, 2023

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THE CONVERSATION

LIRR’s former interim leader on ‘fixing what was broken’ for riders

O

ct. 18 was Catherine Rinaldi’s last day of her nearly two-year stint as the interim president of the Long Island Rail Road, a post she undertook while also running Metro-North Railroad. Rinaldi has formally passed the reins to LIRR veteran Robert Free, but she will be staying on as president of Metro-North, a role she began in 2018.

Her time at the LIRR was nothing short of dynamic: occurring just as the decades-long Grand Central Madison project crossed the finish line. Formerly known as East Side Access, the new LIRR service got off to a bumpy start and caused more than a little upheaval for riders. Rinaldi also worked to knit the region’s two commuter networks closer together, helping to launch a combo ticket to encourage travel between Long Island and Metro-North.

On a recent weekday afternoon Rinaldi spoke with Crain’s, looking back at her time with the LIRR, toward the future of MetroNorth and assessing the state of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s commuter rail.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. | By Caroline Spivack

Grand Central Madison service changes have obviously been huge for LIRR. Can you talk through the thinking and challenges there?

“I think it was a huge change for Long Island. A huge change for Long Island commuters. It was a 40% increase in service, which is phenomenal, but ingrained, 180-year-old patterns with respect to how to travel were just upended overnight. I think there were big adjustments not only for the customers but also for the railroad in terms of how to get that many more people through Jamaica [Station], in terms of figuring out what the appropriate service levels were. Penn vs.

GMC? Are as many people going to come here as we expected? We didn’t know.

The past few months have been a real effort to try to analyze, understand what those issues were and address them to the extent we could, given the fact that we were increasing service by as much as we were. So we did some schedule adjustments earlier in the year, right after we launched GCM, and then a more comprehensive schedule adjustment at the beginning of September right around Labor Day. And that has actually gone relatively well. A lot of the issues that we were seeing in terms of people complaining about lack of express service, people complaining about the lack of through trains, where the Brooklyn through trains were stopping—there were a number of issues that this schedule addressed.”

What were the biggest lessons learned? Things that you might have done differently?

“I think that the whole Jamaica experience was really difficult for our customers—the “up and over.” People were used to coming in on one platform and having the Brooklyn train right across the platform. So we’ve really taken tremendous steps toward rationalizing that, eliminating the up and overs where we can, trying to maximize and add to the number of through trains to Brooklyn, having them come from the right branches so that the people who have Brooklyn

there, [which] caused us to really, really focus on the condition of this 100-plus-year-old asset and recognize the importance of replacing that.”

Catherine Rinaldi, former interim president of the Long Island Rail Road, rides the escalator down to the train platforms at Grand Central Madison. | BUCK ENNIS

as their final destination are minimally inconvenienced. I would say that is an area that’s been a tremendous area of focus: How can we improve the Jamaica experience for our customers?”

You dealt with a lot of political forces weighing in. How did you think about juggling those perspectives?

“Change is hard for everybody, and change is hard for Long Island. And I think that this was a very dramatic change in terms of the way the railroad serves its customers. And I gotta tell ya, it is what it is. Politicians have opinions and points of view with respect to leadership. I respect that, and I was really just focused on fixing what was broken and trying to make it a better experience for our customers.”

How much of an existential threat are the shifts in commuting patterns?

“I don’t want to call it an existential threat, I mean, I think it’s an imperative and an opportunity to start thinking about how we provide the service. The good news is, this is a glass-half-empty glass-half-full conversation. I tend to be a glasshalf-full person about ridership generally, because I remember what it was like to carry 5% of my ridership. In April of 2021 I was literally carrying 5% of my ridership. I’m now carrying on some days 80% of pre-pandemic ridership. A lot of people have come back on both railroads.

So for a year-and-a-half I’ve been saying both railroads are kind of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday railroads—Monday is coming back in a big way. And on Long Island all five days are coming back, and Long Island with all the summer destinations, the weekends are very strong.

So we’re not necessarily seeing people ride the same way, at the same time, but we’re trying to be thoughtful and deliberate with respect to how we message why commuter rail is a choice for you, even if you’re not necessarily going to the office five days a week.”

Shifting to Metro-North, the system needs a lot of investment. What are some of the top priorities there?

“From the Metro-North perspective, [it’s] all about “state of good repair,” because there’s just a lot of investments in MetroNorth territory that … they’re not sexy, they’re not exciting, but they are so important to being able to continue to provide reliable service. Metro-North is at 97%, 98% [on time performance] pretty much every day. We run an incredibly reliable service and I think because of that people lose sight of the infrastructure investments that we’re going to need to make going forward to be able to keep the service safe and reliable. So that’s replacing the Park Avenue viaduct. We’ve been monitoring the conditions of the viaduct for many years, but we had this very serious fire

What would you say you’re most proud of during your time leading the LIRR? “I grew up on Long Island. I grew up riding the Long Island Rail Road. As I’ve said to my family, who would have thought that this nerdy kid from South Huntington would actually run the rail road someday?

As a Long Islander, to be in that position was enough. But then I got to be in that position when we brought online this historic, major investment that completely revolutionized travel on Long Island and into and out of the city.

Being the boss upstairs and the boss downstairs [holding leadership posts on both of the commuter rails at once], I sort of had a perspective I think with respect to not only the best practice stuff that we talked about a little while ago, but how can we sort of spur that crossrailroad travel? How should we talk about that? How should we market that? Is there more we should be doing to spur that?

Because I think everybody’s focus post-Covid is: Who do we bring back? How many can we bring back? How can we get more people wanting to ride? So it’s not like that connection to the railroads is going to be the end-all, be-all but it is just one more arrow in our quiver with respect to bringing people back to the commuter rails.

[MTA CEO] Janno [Lieber] has said for a while that when I was in the job, I was like one woman doing the work of two men, and it was a nice line that I’ve heard more than a couple of times now. But railroading is a very male-dominated industry.

It probably will be for the foreseeable future. It’s a tough job for a woman. I’m the first woman president of MetroNorth, I was not the first woman president of Long Island [Rail Road]—Helena Williams was. To be a woman leading these two railroads at this historical point in time was incredibly satisfying to me.”

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Crain’s New York Business is published by Crain Communications Inc. Chairman Keith E. Crain Vice chairman Mary Kay Crain President and CEO KC Crain Senior executive VP Chris Crain Chief Financial Officer Robert Recchia G.D. Crain Jr. Founder (1885-1973) Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. Chairman (1911-1996) Editorial & Business Offices 685 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017 (212) 210-0100 Vol. 39, No. 38 Crain’s New York Business (ISSN 8756-789X) is published weekly, except for no issue on 1/2/23, 7/3/23, 7/17/23, 7/31/23, 8/14/23, 8/28/23 and the last issue in December by Crain Communications Inc. at 685 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4024. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. © Entire contents copyright 2023 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial content in any manner without permission is prohibited. ©CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement.

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