Crain's New York Business, January 27, 2025

SPEED BUMPS

It probably seemed like a good idea at the time: Invest in the kinds of small, outer-borough rental buildings that are not ashy but ubiquitous.

But such housing has proved in many cases to be a losing bet for e Related Cos., sometimes in spectacular fashion.

In the past few years, the globally famous and usually deft rm — best known for snazzy condo towers, swanky hotels and skyline-altering megaprojects such as Hudson Yards — has been forced to unload nearly two dozen of these signature properties in

Brooklyn and the Bronx at massive losses, at times settling for about a quarter of what was paid a decade earlier.

Plans for the properties, which were technically owned by a Related a liate funded by public-employee pension funds, were perhaps scuttled by recent pro-renter laws, which have often torpedoed strategies for making money from this type of housing. High interest rates that made re nancing loans di cult was also likely a factor.

Lander, other candidates walk ethical line

City channels are used to spread message

By Nick Garber

For months, city Comptroller Brad Lander has centered his mayoral campaign on a promise to end street homelessness among severely mentally ill people. is month, he followed up on that campaign pledge by releasing a plan — through his government o ce, at an event sta ed by public employees. Mixing campaign activities with government work is illegal, since city employees are barred from working for outside interests while on the taxpayer’s dime. ere is no indication that Lander ran afoul of that rule by releasing his plan through o cial channels, but there is obvious overlap between the supposedly separate worlds. Although Lander’s document makes no mention of his City Hall bid, most of its recommendations could only be implemented by a sitting mayor. And within hours of its rollout on Jan. 13, Lander’s campaign

These

Hochul’s

GOTHAM GIG

Pediatrician in Harlem emphasizes reading to help kids stay healthy.

196 Sackett St., Carroll Gardens | BUCK ENNIS

Brad Lander released a plan addressing homelessness among people with mental illness — and put it in his campaign platform. OFFICE OF NYC COMPTROLLER

Since 2020 the (left) Stephen Ross-founded and (right) Jeff Blau-helmed rm has suffered losses of between 10% and 70% on the sale of about 20 rentals. | BLOOMBERG, GETTY IMAGES

| By C. J. Hughes

Hochul’s $252 billion budget calls for extension of millionaires tax and increased Medicaid spending

By Nick Garber and Amanda D’Ambrosio

Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed a $252 billion budget on Jan. 21 that calls for extending a tax hike on millionaires and increasing spending on Medicaid. But her plan omits specifics about how she will work with lawmakers to shore up the finances of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and declines to send the city any new funding for the migrant crisis.

Fueled by strong tax revenues, Hochul is proposing to grow the state’s spending by about $9 billion in fiscal year 2026 compared to the current financial plan that began April 1. Those new expenses include continued high spending on Medicaid as well as the tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners and $3 billion in “inflation refund” checks that Hochul has promised in recent weeks.

To cover some of those costs, the governor proposed extending an Andrew Cuomo-era “millionaires tax” that raised income tax rates by about 0.8 percentage points for filers earning over $2.2 million. Enacted in 2021 and set to expire at the end of 2027, Hochul’s budget would extend it five years through 2032.

EVENTS CALLOUT

Hochul’s executive budget will form the basis of negotiations with the state Legislature ahead of an April 1 deadline. This year’s talks may be dominated by the question of how to fund the MTA’s $68 billion five-year capital plan, which legislative leaders rejected in December based on concerns that no funding sources had been identified for nearly half of the program.

FEB. 12

POWER BREAKFAST

What’s better than looking out at Central Park from our Crain’s New York Power Breakfast series? A great conversation about the treasured park itself, featuring Elizabeth “Betsy” Smith, who has served as the president and CEO of the Central Park Conservancy since 2018. Smith will talk about the park’s history and future, projects in the works that will continue to add new amenities, and ways the park can play a critical role in boosting quality of life in the city, in a conversation with Crain’s New York Business Editor-in-Chief Cory Schouten.

DETAILS

Location: 180 Central Park S., 9th Floor,

Despite those question marks, the state will enter fiscal 2026 on fairly strong footing, with a surplus totaling $5 billion between 2025 and 2026 before any of the new policy proposals are factored in.

“We’re investing more in New Yorkers because we have more resources to do so, and we’re doing it responsibly,” Hochul said in a speech Jan. 21.

Still, gaps between future years’ spending and revenues stand at a respective $6.5 billion, $9.8 billion and $11 billion for fiscal years 2027 through 2029. State budget director Blake Washington called those gaps “manageable” during a briefing Jan. 21.

And Hochul’s office pointed to uncertainty on the horizon — most notably President Donald Trump’s promised tariffs, mass deportations and reductions to federal assistance that could hurt the state’s finances. Much like the city budget that Mayor Eric Adams proposed this month, however, the state is not taking any major steps to account for that changing federal landscape.

‘Unsustainable’ Medicaid spending; MTA in flux

The state expects to spend $35.4 billion on Medicaid in the up-

coming fiscal year, according to the governor’s plan — an increase of $4.3 billion from the current year. Medicaid spending has tripled in the last 15 years to “unsustainable” levels, largely because of high costs related to

hospitals and nursing homes and invest in safety-net facilities.

A portion of revenue from the MCO tax will fund the safety-net transformation program, an initiative launched in last year’s budget to offer financial incentives to financially stable hospitals to partner with safety-nets and improve their finances. The tax revenue will cover an additional $300 million in operating funds for the safety-net transformation program.

“The budget blows the opportunity to use billions of dollars to improve New Yorkers’ quality of life and stabilize the state’s finances.”

Andrew Rein, president, Citizens Budget Commission

long-term care programs including the growing consumer directed personal assistance program, as well as increasing enrollment in public insurance. Approximately 7 million New Yorkers are enrolled in Medicaid, an increase of 900,000 enrollees since before the Covid-19 pandemic, budget documents say.

Hochul plans to offset some of those spending increases with revenue from the newly approved managed care organization, or MCO, tax. In December the federal government greenlit New York’s plan to enact a tax on health insurers that will boost federal health care revenues, which is expected to bring in $3.7 billion to help balance the state budget. The state will use that funding over three years, spending $1.4 billion of the total in the upcoming fiscal year to fill Medicaid deficits, increase rates to

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s $252 billion budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2026 includes $35 billion in Medicaid spending and an extended millionaires tax hike to cover her proposed middle-class tax cuts.

ties already lead the nation in taxes and are second-highest in spending. The budget’s proposed extension of the 2021 ‘temporary’ personal income tax surcharge virtually guarantees that New York will be the tax and spending leader for much of the next decade,” Rein said. “The budget blows the opportunity to use billions of dollars to improve New Yorkers’ quality of life and stabilize the state’s finances.”

Other items in the governor’s executive budget include:

$160 million to create a 100-bed forensic inpatient psychiatric facility on Wards Island

$100 million in capital funding for local governments that have registered as “pro-housing communities” — an incentive program she first launched in 2023

$58 million to help New York City pay for police deployments on the subway system (the state’s contribution will reach $77 billion over two years)

$6.5 million to help create welcome centers at five city subway stations, where mobile outreach teams can offer services to unhoused people

Extending a pandemic-era tax credit for musical and theatrical productions in New York City for two years to 2027, and expanding it from $300 million to $400 million.

Hochul’s budget leaves uncertain how the state will pay for the MTA’s 2025-2029 capital plan — saying only that she will “work closely with the Legislature” to figure out funding. Although Hochul has pledged to support the $68 billion plan to modernize the region’s mass transit, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have withheld their support after noting that some $33 billion relied on yet-to-be-identified funding sources.

Hochul’s plan received low marks from the hawkish Citizens Budget Commission. The group’s president, Andrew Rein, said in a statement Jan. 21 that the proposal “balloons spending, fails to restrain unaffordable Medicaid and education spending growth,” and relies on overly broad “affordability” programs rather than offering more narrowly targeted relief.

“New York state and its locali-

Legislation to advance other parts of her 2025 housing agenda, including banning the use of price-fixing software by landlords, discouraging private equity firms from buying homes and reducing taxes for affordable Mitchell-Lama developments

Lowering income taxes for joint filers earning below $323,200, as Hochul announced in her Jan. 14 State of the State address

Adding $1 billion annually to the state’s rainy day fund over the next four years, to guard against future risks

The $1 billion that Hochul committed in December to city housing programs as part of negotiations on Mayor Eric Adams’ City of Yes plan

No new aid to New York City for the migrant crisis, which has cost the city some $6.9 billion through 2024. The state has already committed a total of $4.3 billion in its last two budgets — covering the cost of three large-scale shelters — and while Adams has asked for additional help, Hochul said only that the state will “maintain support” through the previous allocations.

Caroline Spivack contributed reporting.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Smith

These are New York’s 2025 James Beard Award semifinalists

By Jack Grieve

The James Beard Foundation announced the semifinalists for its 2025 awards on Jan. 22, and New York names are up for honors in every major category.

Among the notable semifinalists are the West Village's Don Angie and Williamsburg's The Four Horsemen, both contenders for the outstanding restaurant award. Jungsik Yim, whose namesake Korean finedining restaurant earned its third Michelin star last year, is up for the outstanding chef award, as is Gabriel Kreuther of his eponymous Midtown restaurant. In the coveted outstanding restaurateur category, New York's semifinalists are Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr of Frenchette fame and Simon Kim of Gracious Hospitality Management. Winning, or even just being nominated for, a James Beard Award is often a big business boost for restaurants. Per the award's own estimates, two-thirds of all semifinalists see a spike in dining activity just for making the first cut. The Jan. 22 announcement is the first narrowing of names that could win this year’s awards. Finalists will be announced in April, with winners awarded at a glitzy ceremony in Chicago in June.

More than a dozen New York names made the semifinalist round. Here are the preliminary nominees:

Emerging chef

Danny Garcia, Time & Tide

Daniel Garwood, acru

Best new restaurant

Café Carmellini

Corima Kisa Penny

Outstanding bakery

Fan Fan Doughnuts

Outstanding pastry chef or baker

Camari Mick, raf's

Outstanding hospitality

atomix Melba's

hospitality

Outstanding wine and other beverages program

Hawksmoor

Outstanding bar

Leyenda

Best new bar

Bar Contra Sip & Guzzle

Outstanding professional in beverage service

Cassandra Felix, Daniel

Outstanding professional in cocktail service

Ignacio Jimenez, Superbueno Takuma Watanabe, Martiny’s

Beyond the national awards, the James Beard Foundation also honors chefs on a regional basis. For New York, it's a statewide honor.

The semifinalists for best chef in New York state are:

Fariyal Abdullahi, Hav & Mar (Manhattan)

Nasim Alikhani, Sofreh (Brooklyn)

Ayo Balogun, Dept of Culture (Brooklyn)

Giovanni Cervantes, Carnitas ramirez (Manhattan)

Chris Cipollone, Francie (Brooklyn)

Suzanne Cupps, Lola's (Manhattan)

Clare de Boer, Stissing House (Pine Plains)

Aretah Ettarh, Gramercy Tavern (Manhattan)

Ryan Fernandez, Southern Junction (Buffalo)

Marcus Glocker, Koloman (Manhattan)

Efrén Hernández, Casa Susanna (Leeds)

Eiji Ichimura, Ichimura (Manhattan)

Brian Kim, Oiji Mi (Manhattan)

Hooni Kim, Meju (Queens)

Atsushi Kono, Kono (Manhattan)

Vijay Kumar, Semma (Manhattan)

Shaina Loew-Banayan, Café Mutton (Hudson)

Kwame Onwuachi, Tatiana (Manhattan)

Hillary Sterling, Ci Siamo (Manhattan)

Emily Yuen, Lingo (Brooklyn)

Penny, a seafood restaurant in the East Village, is on the short list for best new restaurant. | TEDDy WOLFF/MICHELIn

Outstanding

goes to Melba’s. BuCK EnnIS

Danny Garcia BraVO Daniel Garwood | rESIDEnT

One of Manhattan’s oldest houses is for sale

West Village building, dating back to 1800, being sold by the former owner of Cherry Lane Theater

By C. J. Hughes

One of Manhattan’s oldest homes is looking for a new owner.

The clapboard-and-brick building on Bedford Street in the West Village, which preservation officials say dates to 1800, has come to market for $12 million, according to a listing that appeared on Jan. 15.

of millions of dollars, according to the report from the Landmarks Preservation Commission, to advance the 1969 creation of the historic district that covers the neighborhood. Joshua Isaacs was Hendricks’ father-in-law.

$12M

Sale price for house on Bedford Street in the West Village

And the sellers of the four-story, 3,600square-foot city landmark are longtime fixtures of downtown Manhattan themselves: Angelina Fiordellisi, the former owner of the nearby Cherry Lane Theater playhouse, and her husband, Matt Williams, a creator of TV shows including Roseanne

The deal could be a big hit. The couple paid $7.4 million for the four-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath corner property in 2013 through a limited liability company, though Fiordellisi’s signature appears on the deed, according to the city register.

Still, some townhouses have taken many months and a few price cuts to sell, even some with similar pedigrees, a likely result of a lending climate that continues to be dogged by high interest rates.

The property, which features six fireplaces, wide-plank floors and a primary suite with a small terrace, is known as the Isaacs-Hendricks House, named in part for early occupant Harmon Hendricks. A copper magnate who prospered during the War of 1812, Hendricks amassed a large fortune, by 19th-century standards,

The 1920s saw the house’s roof raised to accommodate the floor where the primary suite is now located; that decade also resulted in the permanent shuttering of some ground-level windows, the commission says.

Unlike some very old Manhattan houses, such as the 1784 Dyckman farmhouse in Inwood, which the city acquired in 1916 and later turned into a museum, the IsaacsHendricks House appears to have mostly functioned as a home since its construction.

Still, establishing that the site has been continuously inhabited can be tricky. Indeed, in the 1920s the home was “purchased by a group of villagers to preserve the character of the block and to prevent the erection of an apartment house on the site,” says the Landmarks report, a move that could have taken it offline for a bit.

Older residences

In any case, the IsaacsHendricks House is not the city home that has been lived in the longest. The East Village’s 44 Stuyvesant St. has served as a home since its construction in 1795, according to a preservation report. And there are even older still-lived-in residences in the outer boroughs, including the private-

ly owned Riker–Lent–Smith Homestead in East Elmhurst, Queens, whose oldest section dates to 1656.

Property records for Bedford Street are clearer from the 1960s onward. In recent decades, business executives with ties to Greenwich, Connecticut, owned the property. Wall Street banker Desmond FitzGerald had it from 1981 to 1983, according to the register, followed by lawyer Jerry Friedman from 1983 to 1989.

Next arrived Jacqueline Thion de la Chaume, a French translator once married to actor Yul Brynner, who snapped up the 25-foot-wide site for nearly $1.5 million and began an extensive renovation, according to a deed and newspaper reports from the time. In 2013, De la Chaume’s estate sold the house to Fiordellisi’s shell company, M&A Bedford Properties LLC, the register shows.

Embattled mall owner scoops up four Midtown properties for $85M

By Julianne Cuba

An embattled mall owner with a number of troubled shopping centers across the country appears to be behind the acquisition of four Penn District office buildings, records show.

ping malls and retail spaces, signed the deeds for 341, 343 and 345 Seventh Ave., plus 167 W. 29th St., for a total of $85 million, according to the transaction report, which appeared in the city record on Jan. 16, and information from the buyers.

The buildings, bought in collaboration with other firms, are 341, 343 and 345 Seventh Ave., plus 167 W. 29th St.

Mehran Kohansieh, who also goes by the name Mike Kohan and founded the Long Island-based firm Kohan Retail Investment Group, which specializes in shop-

Kohansieh apparently purchased the Manhattan properties in partnership with SoHo-based developer Katan Realty Group and Ilya Mikhailov, the founder of an investment firm in Forest Hills, Queens.

Kohansieh and crew purchased the four buildings under a limited liability company based in Great Neck — where Kohansieh's company is located — and named after one of the addresses. Their previous owners were Igal Namdar, of Nam-

dar Realty Group, also based in Great Neck, and Abraham Khalilim, who bought the buildings for $107 million in 2021, records show. Neither Namdar nor Khalilim responded to a request for comment by press time.

Possible conversions

One of the buildings included in the transaction is 345 Seventh Ave., the 25-story office tower that's likely poised for residential conversion, Crain's previously reported. The other three — 341 and 343 Seventh Ave. plus 167 W. 29th St. — stand just three or four stories tall and sit adjacent to No. 345. Eric Katan of Katan Realty Group told Crain's Friday, however, that the smaller, neighboring buildings also have the potential to be developed into a

Fiordellisi, a former actress whose credits include a touring Annie production, bought the Cherry Lane Theater in 1996 for $1.7 million soon after she and Williams reportedly relocated from Los Angeles in response to the area’s devastating 1994 Northridge earthquake. She then invested $3 million to renovate the dilapidated Commerce Street building, which once counted artist Pablo Picasso and musician Bob Dylan as performers, and turned it into an Off-Broadway venue focused on up-and-coming directors such as Rainn Wilson, who later became a star of the series The Office In 2023, Fiordellisi sold Cherry Lane, which contains two stages, to burgeoning movie studio A24, producers of the Oscar-winning film Moonlight, for $10 million.

Joining A24 in the deal was private equity giant Taurus Investment Holdings. The theater has not yet announced any new shows. Besides Roseanne, Williams, who has worked in Hollywood as a writer, producer and showrunner, helped craft major shows of the 1980s and 1990s, such as Home Improvement, The Cosby Show and A Different World, according to a June 2024 profile in The New York Times Mary Vetri, the Brown Harris Stevens agent representing the property, declined to comment.

40-story residential or commercial tower.

Kohansieh is apparently delinquent on $1.7 million in unpaid taxes on his personal income, according to state records, and either has been wrapped up in foreclosure or other legal trou -

bles at several of the nearly 50 malls he owns across the country, including in Iowa, New Jersey and Louisiana, according to reports from local papers in recent years.

Attempts to reach Kohansieh were unsuccessful by press time.

Living room of the Isaacs-Hendricks House | BROWN HARRIS STEVENS

Bedford Street in the West Village | BUCK ENNIS

167 W. 29th St. | BUCK ENNIS

UES prep school that inspired ‘Gossip Girl’ to expand into East Harlem

By Julianne Cuba

The exclusive all-girls prep school on the Upper East Side that inspired the book series and TV show Gossip Girl is planning to expand into East Harlem, records show.

Nightingale-Bamford, where tuition for its 716 students from kindergarten through 12th grade is $64,470 a year, has plans to con-

Nightingale, which was founded in 1920, signed the deed to acquire the 11 parcels of land that the facility will be built on for a total $17.2 million, according to three separate transactions that hit city records on Jan. 21.

Ten of the 11 lots — 157, 159, 161, 163, 165, 167, 169, 171, 173, and 175-179 E. 108th Street — are vacant, records show, while 181 E. 108th St. is occupied by a four-story building with art galleries and studios taking up all four floors. Artist Julio Valdez, whose studio, JVS Project Space, occupies three of the floors, said he has plans to move elsewhere.

Nightingale-Bamford has plans to construct a state-of-the-art athletic facility on East 108th Street, about 10 blocks north of it’s longtime campus.

struct a state-of-the-art athletic facility on East 108th Street between Third and Lexington avenues, about 10 blocks north of its longtime campus at 20 E. 92nd St. Paul Burke, head of school at

The private school, which has a $100.1 million endowment, acquired the properties from East Harlem-based landlord Ross & Ross. Derek Cohn, whose position at the real estate firm is unclear, signed the deed on behalf of the seller, records show. Attempts to reach Cohn were un-

successful by press time.

The proposed facility will feature a high-performance indoor turf field to accommodate a number of sports such as lacrosse, soccer and softball; a play yard for tennis, pickleball and golf; competition and practice gyms; and studio space for other types of fit-

ness, including Pilates, cardio and weight training.

"We are building an urban athletics center — that emphasizes girls' team sports — like you'll find nowhere else in the world," Burke said in an announcement shared with the school community.

Construction is slated to start this year.

Nightingale-Bamford, between Fifth and Madison avenues, is what inspired the notorious fictional private school in the Gossip Girl series — Constance Billard School for Girls — and is where the book's author, Cecily von Ziegesar, attended.

A rendering of the new athletic facility for Nightingale-Bamford School. Inset: Nightingale-Bamford School at 20 E. 92nd St. rEnDEr nG

Hochul’s executive budget proposes expanding Broadway’s ‘temporary’ Covid-era tax credit to $400M

By Nick Garber

Four years ago, New York state began offering tax breaks to the city’s theater productions in what was described as a temporary pandemic lifeline. Now, as Gov. Kathy Hochul seeks to extend and expand the measure, it is set to become the latest industry handout to entrench itself in the state budget despite considerable cost and questionable benefit to taxpayers. In her executive budget released on Jan. 21, Hochul proposed extending the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit for two years through 2027, and growing its allocation from $300 million to $400 million over those years. The benefit allows large Broadway shows to receive as much as $3 million in annual subsidies, and nearly two dozen shows received the maximum amount last year — including popular productions like “The Lion King,” the New York Times reported.

If approved by the Legislature in the coming weeks, it would be the third time the credit has been extended or expanded since thenGov. Andrew Cuomo first placed it in the 2021 state budget during a moment of peril for the theater industry. At that time, it was budgeted at $100 million and was supposed to expire in 2023.

The initial program also included language that would shrink the $3 million cap to $1.5 million during the tax break’s second year of existence, unless an analysis of hotel occupancy and travel metrics showed that the city’s tourism industry had “not sufficiently recovered” from the pandemic. Over the next two years, lawmakers extended the program twice more

of Broadway helped revive the city’s restaurant and hotel industries in hard-to-measure ways.

‘Gut analysis’

Hochul herself told the Times last year that the tax credit was “not a permanent situation” and characterized it as “temporary assistance” — although it now appears set to last for a minimum of six years.

Despite questionable benefit, the Theatrical Production Tax Credit may be extended to 2027.

and expanded it to $300 million — and, in 2023, quietly removed the provision that would shrink the tax break if the tourism industry recovered.

Theater owners and producers have advocated for the program, which they have credited with helping Broadway return to about 84% of its pre-pandemic revenue levels.

But the deepening investment also coincides with questions about the tax break’s effectiveness: In 2023, a state-commissioned report found that the credit had directly generated just 23 cents for every dollar the state invested, and auditors noted that the program tends to give the biggest awards to large shows without accounting for whether they really need the help. Still, the report concluded that the tax break may have been a net benefit, since the return

Sean Campion, director of economic development studies at the Citizens Budget Commission, said it was “perfectly reasonable” for the state to give Broadway a lifeline during the depths of the pandemic. But he questioned the wisdom of renewing the benefit as Broadway sales rebound and the city’s hotels are packed.

“It’s even less certain now that Broadway needs those incentives, in order to either encourage productions to restart or just to be profitable,” Campion told Crain’s The hawkish think tank has long urged Albany lawmakers not to renew tax incentives unless they can prove that the programs generate a return on investment.

Hochul’s budget director, Blake Washington, offered a muted defense of the incentives on Jan. 21, when a reporter asked about the Broadway benefit as well as another proposal to extend the state’s generous film tax credit. Washington acknowledged the unflattering 2023 state study, but said the governor was relying on a “gut analysis.”

“Maybe sometimes on paper, they don’t score as well for the academicians that look at this,” Washington said during a press conference. “But we all know deep inside — the Legislature’s seen in their wisdom, certainly the governor — she looks at some of those investments as being essential to the culture of the state of New York, the city of New York,” Washington said.

He added that Hochul had been “alarmed” by talk in the theater industry that some productions were taking their business to London, since they found it easier to

start up a show abroad.

“Taking away a tax credit this time and fueling that growth overseas would be a dagger in the governor’s heart,” Washington said.

In its current form, the theatrical tax credit offers two levels of benefits. Broadway theaters — venues between 41st and 54th streets in Manhattan with at least 500 seats — are eligible for the full $3 million credit. Off-Broadway venues, located elsewhere in Manhattan with at least 100 seats, can receive no more than $350,000.

Theater owners can apply to be reimbursed for up to 25% of their

production costs. The Shubert Organization, a major theater owner, reported lobbying Hochul’s office about the tax credit last year, and the trade group the Broadway League said in a statement it was pleased with Hochul’s proposal. “All the people who work on Broadway are deeply appreciative of Governor Hochul supporting the industry’s jobs and economic impact,” Broadway League President Jason Laks said in a statement. “There is no question there would be fewer productions on Broadway right now without the direct support of this benefit.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to extend the New York City Musical and Theatrical Production Tax Credit through 2027 and expand it to $400 million, despite previous claims that the program was temporary. | BUCK ENNIS

The theatrical tax credit allows large Broadway shows to receive as much as $3 million in annual subsidies, and nearly two dozen shows received the maximum amount last year. | BUCK ENNIS

Landlord offers discounted child care as a return-to-office perk

By Aaron Elstein

In an effort to lure workers back to the office, developers have invested millions to create fitness centers, party spaces, golf ranges and even Michelin-starred restaurants. But Jeffrey Gural, one of the city’s biggest commercial landlords, noticed that a lot of these goodies go unused.

“I see a lot of empty amenities,” he said.

Gural began offering more than a year ago an amenity he’s confident office tenants actually want: discounted child care. Anyone

“It’s real savings,” said Gural, who said “a few” parents have signed up so far.

The uptake might be subdued because Gural said Buckle My Shoe’s tuition is about $30,000 a year, depending on how much time a child is signed up for. That means parents are still on the hook for around $15,000 in annual costs, which isn’t far below the average cost for child care, according to state data. Buckle My Shoe, open to children from infancy through pre-K, describes itself as a Reggio Emilia-inspired playbased educational program.

Parents are still on the hook for around $15,000 in annual costs, which isn’t far below the average cost for child care, according to state data.

who works in one of his 57 buildings is eligible for 50% off tuition at a West Village preschool, Buckle My Shoe.

Gural appears to be the first landlord in the city to offer tenants a preschool discount, according to Maya Kurien, vice president of advocacy at the Real Estate Board of New York, who described the benefit as “innovative” and “meaningful.”

Jodi Pulice, CEO of JRT Realty Group, said Gural’s child-care benefit could be a game-changer for working families. She hopes other commercial landlords will follow his lead.

“This I think will bring people

back to the office,” she said. Return-to-office is a top-of-mind topic again after President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 ordered federal agencies terminate remote work arrangements. JPMorgan and Amazon have also told workers to come to the office five days a week.

Finding affordable options

One reason parents work from home when they can is the difficulty of finding affordable child care. More than 80% of families with children under five years old cannot afford child care in New York City, according to a 2023 report by the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York. In neighborhoods such as East Flatbush and East Tremont, 1% of families can afford child care, which on average costs $20,000 a year for children two or younger and $17,000 for ages three to five, according to the New York state Office of Children and Family Services.

In 2022, the Adams administration created a tax credit for landlords who convert vacant commercial property into child care centers. But the existing benefit,

equal to $35 per square foot in Manhattan, is too small to nudge property owners to create more space, Kurien said.

“It doesn’t cover a fraction of what it costs to convert a space into a daycare,” she said, adding REBNY is petitioning for the tax break to be extended and expanded when it sunsets later this year.

A spokesman for the city Department of Finance, which administers the tax benefit, didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

Gural created the preschool discount after concluding his mostly pre-war office buildings are too small to set aside space

for gyms, restaurants and other new-fangled amenities. He offered a lower rent to Buckle My Shoe’s founder for space at 80 Eighth Ave., on the condition she accept discounted tuition from tenants at buildings owned by his firm, GFP Real Estate, which has nearly 14 million square feet of commercial space.

Another innovative perk from GFP is suites to New York Giants or Jets football games and concerts at MetLife Stadium. Gural, who operates the nearby New Meadowlands Racetrack, last year provided 90 Taylor Swift tickets to workers who received entries by showing up at the office.

Workers in landlord Jeffrey Gural’s buildings are eligible for 50% off tuition at the Buckle My Shoe preschool in the West Village. | BuCK EnnIS

It’s time for the pandemic-era Broadway production tax credit to exit stage left

Broadway’s pandemic-era tax credit is due for its nal curtain call — but instead Gov. Kathy Hochul is calling for the show to go on, with even more taxpayer funding in the years ahead.

Implemented in 2021 under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and intended to temporarily help the Great White Way weather Covid’s storms, the New York City musical and theatrical production tax credit was included in Hochul’s latest executive budget, released Jan. 21, with a proposed extension through 2027 and a jump in its allocation from $300 million to $400 million over the next two years.

But in 2025, with Broadway having rebounded to 84% of prepandemic revenue totals, the question is why Hochul wants to continue to hand over taxpayer dollars to an industry that does not seem to need them. e Legislature should not let the tax credit continue.

As reporter Nick Garber detailed recently, if approved by the Legislature, this would be the third time the credit, which started as a $100 million allocation to struggling Broadway productions and was

PERSONAL VIEW

set to expire in 2023, has been extended or expanded. e bene t allows large Broadway shows to receive as much as $3 million in annual subsidies, and nearly two dozen shows received the maximum

amount last year — including wildly successful productions like “ e Lion King.”

In 2023 a statecommissioned report found that the credit generated just 23 cents for every dollar New York invested, and auditors noted that the program tends to give the most funds to large shows without accounting for whether they really need the help.

Broadway is of course a major thread in the fabric of the city, but New York also has much more pressing issues to attend to. e $400 million might be better used to pay o cers assigned to keep the subway safe, fund supportive housing and care for homeless New York-

ers experiencing mental health issues, and feed the 1 in 4 children in New York City who are experiencing food insecurity, according to City Harvest. Making sure the gira es in “ e Lion King” continue to have top-of-the-line pelts seems like the least of our worries.

To be sure, the governor’s concern that productions that can’t a ord to get o the ground in New York City will choose other locations, like London, is valid. But one of the beautiful things about Broadway is its survival-of-the- ttest atmosphere. e people largely decide which shows stay and which ones go, casting their vote through ticket sales.

Crain’s has flagged “zombie” tax abatements in the past and also noted that the state’s film tax credit, seemingly meant to ensure “Law & Order” stays on the air for decades to come, has largely been a dud in terms of generating revenue for New York’s coffers. The Legislature should think twice before allowing the state to give more dollars to Broadway, especially to shows that don’t in fact need them.

Why Queensbridge deserves better amid Long Island City’s housing divide

Hunters Point, Court Square and Queens Plaza are vibrant places to live, work and play. ere are Class A o ce buildings, restaurants and cafes reective of Queens’ cultural diversity, and an array of retail, from mom-and-pop shops to national brands. ere are schools for students of all ages and a worldclass waterfront park.  Against the backdrop of a city-wide housing shortage, Long Island City has led the way. Housing is built here, including critical rent-regulated apartments, allowing working New Yorkers a better chance of living in this amenity-rich neighborhood. Finally, these highly desirable areas are tied together by the 7-train, which boasts the MTA’s most up-to-date signal technology and enviable rush hour service. Conversely, if you walk north under the thunderous Queensboro Bridge and dart west across 21st Street, you will nd a much di erent reality. is is where you will nd the Queensbridge Houses. Consisting of 96 buildings, this NYCHA community is the largest public housing development in the

Western Hemisphere and the main bastion of a ordable housing for long-time and working-class residents of Long Island City.

Queensbridge is a part of Long Island City. Yet tragically, residents of this community remain excluded from the development and investments that have occurred in more a uent portions of the neighborhood. North, south, and east of the Queensbridge Houses are vast swaths of land set aside for industrial uses: warehouses, manufacturing spaces, and parking lots.

Bodegas and fast food restaurants are abundant along commercial corridors, while grocery stores are scarce. Sidewalks are cracked, and with few homes or apartments, the streets become dark and isolated once the work day concludes. Rather than serve as a walkable and amenity-rich extension of the Queensbridge community, these blocks that surround the development only create a physical barrier between the haves and the have-nots.

is reality is in large part a legacy of environmental injustice that marginalizes black and brown communities: redlining,

harmful infrastructure placement, and restrictive zoning. But not all setbacks can be attributed to policies made in previous decades. Notably, under the previous City Administration, a decision was made to site a 200-bed shelter at the corner of 40th Avenue and 11th Street, right across the street from the Queensbridge Houses. is decision, which was made wholly without community input or noti cation, has only come to residents’ attention in recent weeks, as plans to construct the facility advance.

e planned shelter has drawn strong opposition from Queensbridge residents. is is not due to a lack of compassion for the unhoused, but instead, because this neighborhood already shoulders a disproportionate share of the City’s temporary housing facilities.

Within a one-mile radius of Queensbridge, there are 34 shelters — an overwhelming concentration that far exceeds what other neighborhoods are asked to accommodate. is pattern re ects a systemic inequity: decision-makers site shelters in marginalized communities like Queensbridge to avoid opposition from more a uent areas that have the resources and political in uence to block such developments.

e result is a community stretched to its limits. Schools, healthcare facilities, and social services are already overburdened,

struggling to meet the needs of both longterm residents and those in temporary housing.

Queensbridge’s infrastructure, from its public safety measures to its recreational spaces, has su ered from decades of underinvestment. Adding another shelter will only exacerbate these challenges, further straining resources and eroding the quality of life for everyone in the community.

While shelters may o er a short-term solution to homelessness, they do not address the root causes of housing insecurity or provide the stability that families need to thrive. Permanent a ordable housing, by contrast, creates long-term opportunities for individuals and families to build lives with dignity. It also fosters a more stable and cohesive community, with access to amenities, services, and infrastructure that bene t all residents.

It is for these reasons that we call on the Department of Homeless Services to right this wrong imposed on us by the previous Administration. e time is now to advance a ordable housing for New Yorkers of all backgrounds, rather than build another shelter that the Queensbridge community does not have the resources to support.

“The Lion King” on Broadway | BLOOMBERG

Laura Rothrock is the president of Long Island City Partnership, and Bishop Mitchell G. Taylor is the CEO of Urban Upbound.

The Queensbridge neighborhood in Long Island City | LIC PARTNERSHIP

PERSONAL

VIEW

Anchor days are the key to hybrid work success

The rapid shift to remote work, initially born out of necessity, has inadvertently led to a diminished workplace culture while enhancing the flexibility employees crave. To manage costs, some companies have turned to “hoteling” (employees reserve a desk only when needed) and “hybrid-at-will” (employees choose which days to come in) office models.

Although these approaches appear to save on real estate, they risk sacrificing valuable in-person interactions that build vibrant company culture, employee engagement, and trust among colleagues. A better solution? A hybrid work model with structured “anchor days,” on which all employees are in the office, while remote work remains an option for others. Anchor days are typically two to four in-office days each week, tailored to what best suits the company’s business and culture.

Alan Tarter is the founding partner and managing partner at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin. Elizabeth Yasny is the special projects manager/team liaison at Tarter Krinsky & Drogin

The pitfalls of purely cost-driven real estate strategies

Structuring return-to-office plans around real estate cost savings can feel like the “tail wagging the dog.” If you are al-

PERSONAL VIEW

ready committed to paying for physical space, utilize it effectively by supporting the human aspects of work that drive success — interactions that fuel innovation and accountability and generate moments for growth. Companies on an upward trajectory should not shy away from expanding their offices, even if their space is only occupied for three to four anchor days per week. While cost efficiency matters, it shouldn’t overshadow the company’s culture and operational needs.  Reducing office space or adopting hoteling models may cut overhead, but these strategies foster a disconnected, transient environment, ultimately hindering engagement and employee satisfaction. Spontaneous conversations — those unplanned “watercooler chats” — spark creative brainstorming and create touchpoints for effective mentoring, career development, and team bonding. As business leadership author Simon Sinek notes, “Trust is what is built between the meetings.”

Why anchor days work

A hybrid model with anchor days strikes

the right balance by designating certain days every week for everyone to be onsite. Employees enjoy autonomy on remote days, while the anchor days offer a predictable rhythm for teamwork and relationship-building. Regular in-person time can significantly cultivate trust, collaboration, and purpose while boosting engagement and business outcomes in client service and innovation. Team members feel more connected and invested in their work, and, as a result, retention rates can improve.

Real estate implications and the New York market

Anchor days also have positive implications for commercial real estate, particularly in dense urban markets like New York City. Rather than reducing office space needs, anchor days encourage companies to maintain or expand their real estate footprint to accommodate their full workforce. This consistency provides a predictable flow of employees through office districts, boosting foot traffic for surrounding local businesses and contributing to a more vibrant urban environment.

Commuter rail ridership is now at 88% of pre-pandemic levels, and Tuesdays through Thursdays see nearly 100% of pre-pandemic volume, per a recent report by CBRE Research. In 2024, several large companies increased their real estate footprint in New York City to support hy-

How to keep New Yorkers safe from vehicle attacks like the one in New Orleans

Recent vehicle ramming attacks in New Orleans and Germany have reignited discussions on pedestrian safety and hostile vehicle mitigation in urban environments. These tragic events underscore the importance of proactive measures to protect public spaces. While New Orleans and Germany continue to recover from these attacks, New York City and other urban centers must also confront their vulnerability to such incidents.

New Yorkers are not unfamiliar with the devastation caused by hostile vehicle attacks. The 2017 Hudson River Park incident, where a terrorist used a rented truck to kill eight people and injure 11 others along a bike path, remains a chilling memory. Similarly, the Times Square incident in the same year left one person dead and over 20 injured when a car sped onto a crowded sidewalk. These events highlight how densely populated urban centers are vulnerable targets.

eas in Manhattan, particularly those adjacent to subway infrastructure, utility conduits and vaults, or basements directly beneath sidewalks, present unique difficulties for installing permanent vehicle barriers. Traditional deep foundations required for high-strength bollards and barriers are often impractical, if not impossible, in these locations. Off-theshelf tested assemblies are not appropriate for these constrained conditions either, where the in-situ geometry differs drastically from the idealized test scenario.

Matt Calo, P.E., is a New York-based protective design engineer with Integral RSG.

While New York has a strong history securing high-risk areas — installing bollards in places like Times Square and the World Trade Center site — significant opportunities for hardening remain. One of the most pressing challenges for urban centers is the issue of below-grade conditions. Many ar-

Temporary barriers, such as unanchored modular or deployable systems, have been used effectively in events like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or New Year’s Eve celebrations. However, these are not a long-term solution. Deployable systems require extensive planning, logistical coordination and storage, and maintenance to ensure they are functional when needed. Furthermore, they are not dependable for daily protection of high-foot-traffic areas or spontaneous gatherings.

Cities like New York must strike a delicate balance between enhancing security and maintaining urban functionality. A forest of bollards, for instance, may not be feasible on every block, nor desirable in a

city known for its vibrant and open streetscape. Yet, failing to act leaves pedestrians exposed to risks that could potentially be mitigated.

The solution lies in developing a comprehensive pedestrian safety plan that incorporates a combination of permanent and deployable HVM infrastructure. Such a plan should:

1. Assess and prioritize vulnerabilities: Conduct ongoing citywide risk assessments in conjunction with building owners to identify areas most vulnerable to vehicle attacks, including popular tourist destinations, public plazas, and major transit hubs to prioritize hardening.

2. Integrate security with urban design: Collaborate with architects, urban planners, and security experts to design barriers that are both functional and aesthetic. Reinforced benches, planters, or artistic installations can blend into the urban landscape while serving as effective protective measures.

3. Develop permanent infrastructure for temporary barriers: Install infrastructure that permits temporary barriers to be attached to a fixed foundation in high risk gathering areas, such as parade routes or seasonal pedestrian zones. This design philosophy mirrors the approach used with some deployable flood mitigation strategies.

4. Coordinate nationally: Work with

brid models with structured in-office attendance. Bloomberg, for example, expanded its offices at 919 Third Avenue, bringing its total office commitments to nearly 2 million square feet to accommodate a growing workforce. Similarly, Bain & Company and Ares Management recently committed to new Midtown leases. This commitment reflects a broader trend: companies recognize the importance of in-person work and invest in spaces that can support this.

A winning strategy for workplaces and urban centers

The case for anchor days is strong. It’s a strategy that supports a thriving workplace culture and aligns with the flexibility that today’s workforce values. While reducing overhead is an important consideration, it should not come at the cost of team engagement and retention. Rather than choosing extremes—full-time office attendance or unstructured remote work—companies should explore hybrid solutions that bring their people together regularly, with flexible remote work. Hybrid work with anchor days is a powerful way to rebuild the vibrancy and commitment of a pre-pandemic workplace. And for cities like New York, this approach offers a path to revitalizing the commercial real estate market, creating a dynamic, thriving urban environment for businesses and workers alike.

other municipalities to share best practices, drive the industry forward, and ensure consistent security measures on a national scale. New York can lead the way for other locales and has a responsibility to continue to evolve solutions for a shifting threat landscape.

The incidents in New Orleans, Germany, and here in New York serve as stark reminders that hostile vehicle attacks are a persistent threat. As one of the world’s most iconic cities, New York has both the resources and the responsibility to lead by example in pedestrian safety and hostile vehicle mitigation. By adopting a forward-thinking approach that combines innovation with practicality, the city can create an environment where residents and visitors alike can enjoy public spaces without fear.

Ultimately, the goal is not just to mitigate the impact of potential attacks but to send a clear message: our public spaces are places of community and connection, not fear. New York’s resilience is renowned—now is the time to ensure that resilience extends to the security of its streets and the safety of its people.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

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ACCOUNTING

CBIZ

Xixi Dong is a Director in the Not-for-Profit and Government Group at CBIZ who was promoted to Shareholder in CBIZ CPAs. A CPA with more than 15 years of experience, she is a national expert in planning and supervising audit engagements for a variety of nonprofit organizations, including large social service organizations, third-party funded organizations, educational institutions, charitable organizations, and fundraising and membership organizations.

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Berkowitz Pollack Brant

COMPANIES ON THE MOVE

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CBIZ

Pamela Fischer was promoted to Director in the Real Estate Group at CBIZ and Shareholder in CBIZ CPAs. A CPA with 15 years of experience, she provides expert accounting, auditing, and tax services to real estate entities and private businesses, including retailers, hotels, manufacturers and distributors, construction contractors and equipment leasing companies. She specializes in GAAP audits, employee benefit plan (401k) audits, reviews and compilations. Pamela is based in New York City.

Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs has promoted Heath Standorf, CPA to director in the Family Office Services practice. Standorf provides consulting and advisory services to high-net-worth individuals, families and closely held businesses. He specializes in family governance and structuring; treasury management; financial reporting; income tax planning and consulting; financial and estate planning; and trust, gift and family entity planning.

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Early Warning Services, LLC

To place your listing, visit crainsnewyork.com/ company-on-the-move

Grassi

Ben Chance, a recognized leader in financial services and fraud prevention, has been named general manager, identity and payments risk, at Early Warning Services. Chance will report directly to CEO Cameron Fowler and lead the company’s core business, leveraging data intelligence and advanced analytics to help banks and credit unions reduce fraud, expand access to financial services and safeguard transactions. Chance previously served as chief fraud risk management officer at Early Warning.

Grassi, a leading provider of advisory, tax, and accounting services, has joined PrimeGlobal, an association of over 300 independent member firms across 113 countries. “Joining PrimeGlobal marks an exciting new chapter in our firm’s growth journey,” said Louis Grassi, CEO and founder. “As part of this dynamic global association, we’re expanding our capabilities to serve clients wherever their business takes them.” As businesses look beyond their current markets and expand internationally, working with an organization that understands the many nuances of operating in a global marketplace is essential. Through PrimeGlobal, Grassi can serve all international business needs, providing quality accounting, tax and consulting expertise abroad.

PROMOTE

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

Andrew Nasuti was promoted to Managing Director in the Private Client Tax and Accounting Group at CBIZ. A CPA, he is a national expert in high-net-worth individual tax consulting and compliance, as well as estate and trust planning. Andrew is based in New York City.

Portage Point Partners

Peter Mangan joins Portage Point Partners as Managing Director on the Investment Banking team. Peter has more than 15 years experience advising large corporates, middle market and emerging growth companies and private equity sponsors on strategic acquisitions, sale transactions, divestitures, leveraged buyouts, debt and equity financings, recapitalizations and restructuring transactions. Peter has deep expertise in the food, beverage, retail, e-commerce and consumer products sectors.

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• New Hires • Promotions • Board Appointments • Retirements • Special Acknowledgements

Workers accuse youth homeless services provider of intimidation during contract negotiation process

By Ethan Geringer-Sameth

More than 100 workers at the city’s largest youth homeless services provider have initiated proceedings against their employer over alleged union busting activity.

1199SEIU, the biggest union in the city, which represents 190 health workers at Hell’s Kitchen-based Covenant House New York, has filed a federal complaint claiming the nonprofit violated national labor laws by intimidating workers who participated in union activity and refusing to come to the bargaining table in contract negotiations. The regional branch of the National Labor Relations Board has ordered both parties to appear before a federal administrative law judge in Manhattan on March 11.

Covenant House is an international nonprofit with seven locations in the city providing housing, health and social services to homeless and runaway youth. The New York arm brought in $32.6 million in revenue in 2023, of which $19.1 million came from government grants, according to its latest tax filing. The employees

in the complaint, who include social workers, nurses, kitchen staff and other clinical and administrative positions, have been without a contract since they unionized in 2022.

Talks have stalled

The filing accuses Covenant House of scuttling negotiations by refusing to provide information about its employees, including an up-to-date list of bargaining members and their seniority, details the union claims are essential to negotiating a contract — even after recognizing the union. Talks have stalled since February 2024 after a series of meetings in 2023 and early 2024, according to the hearing notice reviewed by Crain’s

The discord escalated in June 2024, when senior Covenant House New York executives allegedly threatened to discipline employees who interacted with or discussed the union, the notice states. A month later, administrators said they would refuse to bargain under any circumstances, the letter claims.

“You would hope that they would…just come to the table and

bargain with your workers,” said Patricia Marthone, executive vice president of 1199SEIU. “Nobody is saying to give people everything they want, because that’s not what bargaining is about.”

Meanwhile, Covenant House accused the union of unlawfully including members in its bargaining committee who served in managerial roles with access to confidential employee information, a prohibition intended to avoid conflicts of interest. In December, the National Labor Relations Board rejected that complaint citing a lack of evidence after an investigation revealed the members all held titles that the employer and union both agreed to include in collective bargaining.

The regional board is seeking the administrative judge to order Covenant House to negotiate in good faith, including holding mandatory bargaining sessions

and providing requested information.

Covenant House declined to comment through a spokesperson.

Workers represented by 1199SEIU alleged Hell’s Kitchen-based nonprofit Covenant House has engaged in unfair labor practices in a recent federal complaint. BuCK EnnIS

Hochul approves 7 partnerships, cash infusion for struggling safety-net hospitals across state

By Amanda D’Ambrosio

Gov. Kathy Hochul has greenlit seven hospital partnerships across the state in an attempt to help struggling safety-nets turn around their finances.

The initiative, first announced in last year’s state budget, is designed to incentivize financially stable institutions to help cashstrapped medical institutions to improve the quality of care and their financial sustainability.

For example, the state will infuse up to $188 million to Memorial Sloan Kettering and Jamaica

patients to Memorial Sloan Kettering for advanced treatment or participation in clinical trials, the governor’s office said.

Behavioral health services

Memorial Sloan Kettering and Jamaica Hospital will get up to $188 million to create a Queens cancer

center.

Hospital to create a comprehensive cancer center in Queens. The Upper East Side oncology center will help Jamaica Hospital build a radiation and infusion therapy center on its campus, and in exchange the new center will refer

St. Barnabas Hospital, a safety-net institution in the Bronx, will also team up with Downtown Brooklyn-based startup Cityblock Health and Union Community Health Center in the Bronx to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and improve access to behavioral health services in the Bronx, the state said. The plan includes an upgrade to St. Barnabas Hospital’s emergency department, which sees 75,000 patients each year, and a new value-based insurance contract to manage behavioral health needs for 35,000 members of the Medicaid plan HealthFirst.

Montefiore’s New Rochelle Hospital will also partner with Westchester Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center, to modernize its neonatal intensive care unit and improve maternal and child health care.

The governor’s office did not an-

Hospital for Special Surgery to expand Florida footprint

By Ethan Geringer-Sameth

Hospital for Special Surgery is following the herds south.

The Upper East Side-based orthopedic health system is expanding its footprint in Florida to try to grab a bigger market in one of the fastest-growing states. The system is partnering with the University of

The Upper East Side-based orthopedic hospital is opening a new program in North Miami in partnership with the University of Miami.

Miami Health System to open a musculoskeletal program within the university’s new hospital, being built as part of a $1.2 billion development in North Miami.

Dubbed UHealth SoLé Mia, the new facility will sit on 184 acres of mixed-use development near Bal Harbor and is expected to be the area’s largest ambulatory facility when it opens later this year. Hospital for Special Surgery will colead an orthopedic program with the University of Miami, which

swer a question from Crain’s about how much funding is earmarked for other safety-net hospital partnerships.

Hochul allocated $300 million

will offer physician practices, outpatient surgery and imaging and rehabilitation services. While University of Miami doctors will provide direct patient care, Hospital for Special Surgery will help recruit physicians, including from its extensive network of alumni trained at its facilities, said Tara McCoy, chief executive officer at HSS Florida. The program will also adopt a number of surgical protocols that the health system has honed in areas like joint replacement and sports medicine.

Hospital for Special Surgery has most of its facilities in the city, New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island. In recent years, the health system ventured outside the tristate area into Florida, opening a 60,000-square-foot hospital in West Palm Beach in 2020, followed by outposts in Wellington and Naples, Florida. The new facility in Miami will be 370,000 square feet and seven stories tall, of which a portion will be dedicated to the orthopedic partnership.

The new partnership brings Hospital for Special Surgery into the Sunshine State’s biggest population center, and one of the big-

to the health care safety-net transformation program in last year’s budget, but demand for the program outpaced available funding in its first year, according to the

governor’s office. Hochul said she plans to increase funding for the program in her 2026 executive budget, which she released last week.

gest recipients of New Yorkers since the pandemic. From 2020 to 2022, net migration from New York to Miami grew more than any other metro-to-metro path compared to pre-pandemic figures, according to a Brookings Institute analysis of tax filings.

“It’s better to grow with multiple sites in one location so that you can really teach the community

about your care delivery and your brand than it would be to do it in places that are all separate,” McCoy said.

The cross-pollination

The cross-pollination means Hospital for Special Surgery can provide more continuous care for its New York patients who spend

part of the year in Florida or who have moved there entirely, McCoy said. The systems will share electronic medical records between the two poles to further smooth the process. The partnership will also allow the hospital to treat a larger aging population in Florida, where musculoskeletal disorders are particularly prevalent, she said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul | MIKE GROLL/OFFICE OF GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL

Empire State Building’s success leads to $50M tax bill

By Aaron Elstein

In a city full of ultra-expensive properties, the most valuable of them all is the Empire State Building observatory. The tourist attraction on the 86th and 102nd floors is worth more than $20,000 per square foot, or double the amount paid for sky-high apartments on Billionaires Row. Beneath the observatory, the tower’s office suites are 94% leased.. Tax assessors have taken note. They determined the Empire State Building’s market value jumped by 10% in the past year, according to data released Jan. 15 by the city Department of Finance. Thanks to its higher value, the city proposes to raise the tower’s annual property tax bill by 3%, to $50 million. The increase isn’t a done deal because owner Tony Malkin could dispute his building’s new assessment. A spokesman had no immediate comment.

Boom times at the landmarked tower symbolizing New York are part of a broader recovery in Manhattan office buildings, one that may go some way to putting to rest lingering fears of a “doom loop” that would wreck the city financially.

Average market values for office properties rose by 2.7% last

year, and assessed values rose by 2%, according to tentative data released by the Finance Department. That’s welcome news because property taxes are the city’s biggest source of revenue, and commercial buildings account for 40% of that, according to the Independent Budget Office.

Not all sharing good times

Not all office towers are sharing in the good times, of course. The Chrysler Building’s estimated market value fell by 5% last year, a consequence of elevated vacancies and litigation between landlord Cooper Union and tower operator RFR Holding. CBS last year finished moving out of its longtime home at 51 W. 52nd St., and the building, known as Black Rock, saw a 3% decline in its market and assessed value. A spokesman said the building is 80% occupied, and owner Harbor Group has completely renewed the tower since acquiring it in 2021 for $760 million.

But, broadly, the Finance Department’s data shows the Manhattan towers are thriving as workers regain the office-going habit.

Another building to see a 10% jump in estimated market value was St. John’s Terminal at 550 Washington St., which last year

became a home for Google. The MetLife Building’s value rose by 5% after a new tenant filled much of the tower’s vacant space.

Valuations for tax purposes are reached using a complex formula based on a property’s net operating income and tend to adjust

slowly, often no more than a percentage point per year. This means assessed values are often much lower than market values. The benefit of that is when market conditions turn hostile, property tax collections hold steady.

In a report last year, city Comp-

troller Brad Lander emphasized this system protects New York from the “doom loop” scenario in which falling property tax revenues destroys quality of life in the city and drives out residents. Eddie Small contributed to this article.

The Empire State Building BLOOMBErG

Developer buys Park Slope Starbucks building ahead of longtime shop’s closure

By C. J. Hughes

A developer has snapped up the site of a longtime Brooklyn Starbucks a few weeks before the coffee shop location is set to permanently close.

Union Square-based DNA Development has bought 166 Seventh Ave. in Park Slope, according to a deed that appeared in the city register Jan. 17. The 4-story, mixed-use property and nextdoor 164 Seventh, sold for $6.8 million, according to the filing,

several subsequent extensions, according to Landmarks Preservation Commission maps.

But DNA, which focuses on “ground-up development, value-add repositioning opportunities and adaptive re-use conversions,” according to its Linkedin profile, appears to be planning not a demolition of the 40-footwide property between Garfield Place and First Street but a makeover.

According to an application submitted to the city’s Department of Buildings Dec. 9, DNA is seeking to renovate the site’s six apartments, though officials have filed objections to the plan and not yet issued a permit, records show.

A founder of local toy shops unloaded the Seventh Avenue property and the one next door for $6.8 million to DNA Development.

which also indicates the deal for the prewar property went into contract Sept. 17 and closed Jan. 13.

The building, whose spacious and popular three-decades-old Starbucks will serve its last latte Jan. 31, does not sit in the neighborhood’s historic district or its

The site’s seller is a Park Slope fixture, Allen Brafman, the founder and former owner of the Little Things Toy Store, which launched in 1977 on nearby Berkeley Place before relocating about a decade later to 166 Seventh, according to an account by the local advocacy group Park Slope Civic Council. Brafman, who has owned Nos. 166 and 164 since 1986, according

to the register, relocated his shop in the 1990s before leasing No. 166’s retail space to Starbucks, the council said.

Though Brafman has retired from the toy business, store employees said, Little Things endures with two locations, a corner offering at 159 Seventh geared toward younger children and a larger shop at 146 Seventh, whose classic board games take aim at an older crowd.

In line with a gathering national movement among Starbucks stores, the baristas at the Park Slope site voted in October to form a union to push for higher wages. Though Starbucks has apparently closed dozens of other stores in recent years, allegedly in retaliation for unionization efforts, it does not appear that the Seventh Avenue closure, which reportedly comes as its lease expires, fits the same pattern. The contract date of the building sale suggests a deal was in the works before its union approval.

Starbucks declined to discuss specifics about the closing but said it would try to find its baristas similar jobs. “We continually evaluate our store portfolio, using various criteria to ensure we are

Management completes Astoria office project

By Eddie Small

Stellar Management has completed its first real estate project since founder Laurence “Larry” Gluck passed away in June.

The developer announced Jan. 21 that it has finished work on Astoria Pointe and landed the coworking firm IWG as its anchor tenant. The mixed-use office project at 35-01 36th Ave. in Queens stands 9 stories tall and spans about 54,000 square feet, split between roughly 50,000 square feet of office space and 3,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Amenities at the project, located at the intersection of 35th Street and 36th Avenue, include a roof deck and a bike room.

IWG’s lease is for 8,041 square feet, according to Stellar’s announcement. Mitchell Arkin, Joshua Branham and John Peters of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord in the deal, and move-ins at the building should begin during the second quarter of the year.

Stellar purchased the site in 2019 for $5 million, property records show. A representative for the firm did not immediately respond to questions about the total cost to develop Astoria Pointe or the asking rent for the IWG lease, although typical office rents in the neighborhood appear to be in the $40s per square foot.

meeting the needs of our customers,” said Starbucks spokesman Jay Go-Guasch in a statement.

“We have engaged Workers United to discuss transfer options, for the 14 partners currently employed at this location, to continue working at nearby stores.”

Not in retreat

Although some high-profile Starbucks shops have shuttered recently, including the July closing of a longtime outpost at Manhattan’s Astor Place, the coffee company hardly seems to be in retreat.

The coffee giant actually increased its total number of city locations in 2024, according to December’s annual State of the Chains report from the policy group Center for an Urban Future. Indeed, the chain’s total count last year numbered 328, up six from 2023, the report said, making Starbucks the second-most-prevalent chain in New York after Dunkin’, it said.

A phone message left for Brafman at Little Things was not returned. A message left for DNA principal Alexander Sachs, who signed documents in the deal, went unreturned as well.

Gluck, who died at age 71 following a battle with ALS, founded Stellar Management in 1985 with developer Steve Witkoff, who was recently tapped to serve as the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy. The firm, which has faced multiple controversies with tenants over the years, has a portfolio of more than 12,000 apartments across more than 100 buildings, along with more than 2 million square feet of office space and more than 1 million square feet of retail space.

IWG was founded more than 30 years ago and operates brands including Regus, Signature, HQ and Spaces. The firm is based in Switzerland and has almost 3,300 locations across more than 110 countries overall.

166 Seventh Ave., Park Slope GOOGLE STREET VIEW

Brooklyn bakery soft-launches new West Village location

By Julianne Cuba

A hugely popular Brooklyn bakery made its Manhattan debut this month with a soft launch in a West Village storefront it signed a lease for last year.

L’Appartement 4F, which since its 2022 opening in Brooklyn Heights has had lines wrapped around the block for its handrolled croissants, started testing

between Sixth and Greenwich avenues — the former home of late food industry heavyweight James Beard. He bought the brick rowhouse, built in 1899, in 1959 and used the kitchen for his cooking school, according to information from the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. The famous chef sold the building in 1974 and moved to 167 W. 12th St., which now serves as the headquarters for the James Beard Foundation.

The owners of L’Appartement 4F, signed a 10-year lease last year to occupy the ground floor of the downtown building.

out its new kitchen at 119 W. 10th St., selling and handing out samples of freshly baked goods from the window.

The owners of the bakery, husband-and-wife duo Ashley and Gautier Coiffard, inked a deal last year to occupy the ground floor of the 3-story West Village building

Records show that the property’s current owner is private equity firm Derby Copeland Capital, headquartered in Midtown South. Jesse Hutcher, managing partner and chief investment officer, signed the deed in 2022, acquiring the building for $4.5 million.

Coiffard told Crain’s Jan. 16 that she and her husband don’t yet have a grand-opening date or hours of operation for their West Village location. For now they are just doing “test bakes” at random. There’s no sign yet adorning the nondescript building, which sits

within the Greenwich Village Historic District, that identifies the bakery, but customers already seem to be lining up.

“The cat’s out of the bag a little bit,” she said. “We’re technically not really open. We’re just saying hi to the neighborhood and getting to know the community.”

Coiffard declined to say how

much she and her husband are paying in rent for the duration of their 10-year lease, or how much they spent to renovate the space to accommodate a proper commercial kitchen, but retail space in the neighborhood appears to go for anywhere between $60 and $582 per square foot, according to the independent commercial real es-

tate website LoopNet.

The new bakery, which sits below a duplex apartment on the second and third floors, will be for takeout only and offer the same fare as the original Brooklyn shop, Coiffard said.

Derby Copeland Capital did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

L’Appartement 4F at 119 W. 10th St. | BuCK EnnIS

LARGEST EXECUTIVE RECRUITERS IN THE NEW YORK AREA

ResearchbyDavidNusbaum(david.nusbaum@crain.com). NewYorkarea includesNewYorkCityandNassau,SuffolkandWestchestercountiesinNewYork,andBergen,Essex,HudsonandUnion countiesinNewJersey. Crain'sNewYorkBusiness usesstaffresearch,extensivesurveysandthemostcurrentreferencesavailabletoproduceitslists,butthereisnoguaranteethatthelistingsare complete.Informationwasprovidedbythecompaniesunlessotherwisenoted.RecruiterfiguresareasofJan.1.Inthecaseofatie,firmsareorderedalphabeticallybycompanyname.N/A-notavailable 1. New York-area office. 2. Crain's estimate based on research from the company's website. 3. Previously listed as The Execu|Search Group. Download the data behind this list, and much more, at crainsnewyork.com/data.

Greenwich Village restaurateurs savor a slight profit on sale of their Waverly Place two-bedroom apartment

By C. J. Hughes

Restaurateurs Rita Sodi and Jody Williams, who helped turn some blocks west of Seventh Avenue into a gastronomic go-to in Greenwich Village, have said goodbye to their apartment in the neighborhood.

The chefs and business owners, whose spots include I Sodi, Via Carota and Commerce Inn, have sold a two-bedroom, two-bath coop on Waverly Place for about $3 million, according to a tax record that appeared in the city register Jan. 21.

The spouses had forked over $2.5 million for the 1,200-squarefoot prewar corner unit in 2016 and so can savor a slight profit at a time when some units are trading at discounts to what they sold for a decade ago.

The apartment, which features a living room with a fireplace, a primary suite with a walk-in closet and, naturally, a well-appointed kitchen—offering a wine refrigerator, open shelving and marble counters—also sold for more than Sodi and Williams first sought.

They listed the unit in September at $2.95 million, according to

Streeteasy, and so also managed to pull off the rare as-of-late feat of selling for more than they asked— and quickly at that. Indeed, the Waverly Place place went into contract after a speedy 18 days and was purchased with cash, said Tami Kurtz, the broker with the firm The Agency who marketed the property. She said the unit’s celebrity-chef cachet helped its buzz.

Buyers knew

who lived there

“We didn’t promote the apartment with Rita and Jody’s names out of respect for their privacy,” said Kurtz, though magazine articles had previously linked the coop and the couple. “Buyers already knew who lived there.”

Kurtz added that the buyer, Peyton Evans, a Florida resident, attended the closing Jan. 7 using FaceTime and without once setting foot in the home.

Whether Sodi and Williams are relocating nearby, leaving the Village for elsewhere in the city or venturing farther afield is unclear.

A search of property records did not turn up any new home purchases in their name, and Kurtz de-

clined to comment on their plans.

But the couple’s mini empire of eateries, whose first outpost arrived in 2008 when Sodi opened I Sodi at 105 Christopher St. (though it expanded into bigger digs at 314 Bleecker St. in 2023) and which today also includes Buvette and Bar Pisellino, shows no signs of shrinking or slowing down.

In fact, Pisellino, which first opened its doors in 2019 in a flat-

iron-shaped site at Grove Street and Seventh Avenue, expanded last month into two additional storefronts on its block.

Likewise Buvette, in addition to its original 14-year home at 42 Grove St., today has sister locations in Paris, Tokyo and Seoul.

Sodi, an ex-Calvin Klein executive, and Williams, who once

worked as a chef at nearby Morandi, reportedly met when Williams stopped in at I Sodi for a meal that included a plate of fried artichokes. The couple nabbed a James Beard award for best New York chefs in 2019.

Waverly Place, West Village. Inset, one of the bedrooms | THE aGEnCy

The well-known landlord’s inexperience in this slice of the rental market may have also played a part.

But the fact that a firm that’s among the best capitalized in the world would dump sites instead of hanging on may also be a telltale sign that Related was a bad fit for the sector.

“This was a niche they were not capable of dealing with,” said Fred Slater, a real estate accountant who has worked for decades with rental landlords. “But you’ve got to give Related credit for taking the loss and getting out, because so many big shots are unwilling to say, ‘It’s not for us.’”

Unloading, but at a cost

Related, which controls $60 billion in assets worldwide, according to its website, can probably afford a couple of soured deals, especially with smaller-scale projects.

And to be fair, Related still owns the majority of the nearly 100 rental properties purchased for hun-

Sackett St. in Carroll Gardens; and a collection of sites on Colgate, Wheeler and Watson avenues in Soundview in the Bronx, the analysis found.

More regulations for renters

The most logical explanation for Related’s dramatic exit is the recent sea change in laws affecting rent-stabilized tenants, which apply to some of the Related properties.

In a bid to protect renters from unreasonable increases, the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 made it harder to raise rents on empty units once rent-stabilized tenants vacate; it also became tougher to pass on the cost of renovations through rent increases.

And market-rate tenants got their own pro-tenant boost in 2024 with the state’s passage of “good cause” eviction protections. Landlords had previously snapped up rental buildings with the expectation that they could jump rents quickly, a proposition that is now more in doubt.

Related could have possibly based its whole business model on deregulating units, and bailed out when that approach became hard. And there’s evidence from other players to support that take.

“It is quite possible they have done well. Losses are not always losses. There are so many things involved that you cannot really ever know.”

Fred Slater, real estate accountant

dreds of millions of dollars starting in 2013, according to a Crain’s analysis of public property records. And the firm actually did manage to score a profit on a batch of rentals that it sold along the way, the analysis found.

But for a seasoned player active in New York since the 1980s, and whose roots are in nonluxury affordable housing, the misses are notable. And they’ve recently piled up. Since 2020 the Stephen Ross-founded, Jeff Blau-helmed firm has suffered losses of between 10% and 70% on the sale of about 20 rentals, from low-slung postwar complexes in the Soundview section of the Bronx, to mixed-use sites on bustling blocks in Williamsburg, to stoop-lined Italianates in Prospect Heights.

Building size doesn’t seem to have mattered. In fact, the developer offloaded 141 Meserole Ave., a tiny 4-story prewar site in Greenpoint, to Long Island investor Elliot Sohayegh for $2.6 million, more than 40% less than the $4.6 million Related paid in 2015. And hip surroundings couldn’t reverse fortunes: In November at 181 Havemeyer St., a 6-story prewar corner site with 25 apartments and retail storefronts in Williamsburg, landlord Palladium Property Group paid Related $5.3 million, more than 70% below the $18 million Related had paid eight years before, according to the city register.

Fire-sale-style transactions have also led to Related shedding Nos. 315, 319, 323 and 329 Lincoln Place in Prospect Heights; 196

mortgage on the properties, a hurdle also likely faced by Related. “It was a perfect storm.”

But there is not a lot of evidence to suggest Related aggressively rehabbed buildings with the intention of squeezing new revenue out of them, as some critics said was the case with the huge portfolio of prewar walkups owned by Kushner Cos. in the East Village.

In fact, investors who have purchased some of the Related sites say there’s little evidence any notable upgrades were undertaken. Also, unlike with Kushner tenants, who accused their landlord of trying to evict them by creating unpleasant living conditions, there does not seem to be a long trail of court clashes clouding the Related properties.

More likely, some analysts say, is that a big fish like Related had trouble fitting into the smallish pond that’s the rent-regulated submarkets in Brooklyn and the other boroughs.

In 2016, as part of a wider Bronx push, Related bought six buildings on Decatur Avenue in the Norwood neighborhood that reportedly were entirely occupied by rent-regulated tenants for $12 million. Two years later the firm unloaded them to Taconic Investment Partners for nearly $20 million, a notable profit. But in 2023, well after the new renter laws had kicked in, Taconic offloaded the well-kept walkups for just $10 million, a major loss.

“Taconic is a great operator, and they did nothing wrong,” Cushman & Wakefield agent Eric Roth told Crain’s at the time, adding that high interest rates, which began their spike in 2022, had also driven up the cost of refinancing a

Prewar walkups that have stood on blocks for a century often depend on a personal connection with superintendents to, say, fix lights or adjust plumbing. Filing a repair order with a massive company, which might offer a response only after a few days, could breed bad vibes.

“Managing a rent-stabilized building involves a lot of details, requires lots of hands-on attention to ensure proper compliance,” said Nathan Obstfeld, the managing principal of Palladium Property, which besides 181 Havemeyer also recently purchased Williamsburg properties 164 Havemeyer St. and 442 Lorimer St. from Related at similar discounts. His properties are about 70% market rate, 30% rent-stabilized.

“I don’t think Related was really doing anything wrong,” he added.

“It’s just that corporate management of these types of buildings does not usually work.”

In contrast, the Carlyle Group, a global private equity firm that has been gobbling up small prewar rental buildings in Brooklyn in recent years, often teams with smaller firms on these kinds of buys, such as Manhattan-based Greenbrook Partners, others explained, though Caryle also tends to zero in on buildings unencumbered by rent-regulated tenants.

Branching out

The losses may not just hurt Related’s bottom line but could also sting the city’s police officers, firefighters and teachers.

Several of the rental buildings were purchased by the investment entity Related Fund Management, which was founded in 2009 to target buildings reeling from the Great Recession. It was once an arm of Related (it’s not uncommon for big development firms to operate affiliated investment

funds) but since 2016 has supposedly operated independently.

In 2013 Related Fund Management stockpiled a pool of money, the NYC Related Superstorm Sandy Rebuilding Fund, which included more than $300 million from the city’s five pension accounts, according to data from the city comptroller’s office. The biggest chunk, or $156 million, came from teachers, data shows; city employees kicked in the next largest piece, about $80 million. Related contributed $10 million to the enterprise, which was intended to both rebuild flooded homes and also invest in properties for displaced New Yorkers, according to news reports from the time. It was also supposed to generate returns for city workers of as much as 12%, Comptroller John Liu said at the time.

Early investments for the company were in Astoria, near the East River at 11-15 Broadway, which cost $34 million in 2013, and 30-50 21st St., for $26 million. Related flipped both rental sites for double-digit profits two years later, the analysis shows.

But the Sandy focus didn’t last long. By 2014 Related had renamed the fund with a more neutral moniker, NYC Asset Investor #2, while also possibly giving it a broader mandate. Investments that followed were in areas far from Sandy’s wrath, such as in Bronx neighborhoods including Castle Hill, Norwood and Bedford Park.

And entire enclaves seem to have been targeted, such as a long row of prewar buildings on Carpenter Avenue near Woodlawn Cemetery in Wakefield and along Bolton Street by the Bronx Zoo. Even though many of the entities that bought the properties were hidden behind shell companies, the Crain’s analysis was able to uncover the myriad Related deals by examining entities whose names contained variations of the word “Sandy,” as in 2012’s Superstorm Sandy.

How much daylight exists be-

4002 Carpenter Ave., Wakefield BUCK ENNIS

164 Havemeyer St., Williamsburg BUCK ENNIS

tween the fund and the firm is unclear. And as a private company, Related doesn’t have to adhere to a level of transparency that could help untangle the two. A Related spokeswoman declined to answer detailed questions about Related Fund Management, whose managing principal since 2009 has been former investment banker Justin Metz.

But the signature appearing on many of the properties’ deeds for years has been that of Matthew Becker, a Related senior vice president. And the spokeswoman conceded that some Related executives are Related Fund Management investors too. In any case, it’s probably fair to describe the lines between the two groups as blurred, analysts say.

Still, the Sandy fund seems to have fallen far short of its initial goal. By the end of June 2024, the rate of return for NYC Asset Investor #2 had plummeted a hefty 17%, according to quarterly reporting from the comptroller’s office, one of the sharpest declines of the dozens of funds that include pension money.

To be sure, most Related funds have ended up in positive territory over the years, a natural expectation. But the one tied to the Brooklyn properties has tanked.

The Related spokeswoman, Kathleen Corless, had no comment about the fund’s performance and emphasized that the fund and not Related is behind many of the money-losing Brooklyn rental deals.

Of course, losses can become gains where taxes are concerned. Whether overtly or through its affiliate, Related could be unloading properties for a song to offset profits elsewhere, analysts say. That may just deepen the sense of mystery about what went wrong for a firm with $60 billion in assets and successes.

“It is quite possible they have done well. Losses are not always losses,” said Slater. “There are so many things involved that you cannot really ever know.”

ETHICS

sent a fundraising email that described the plan as something he would implement “as mayor.”

Three ethics experts told Crain’s they saw no problems with the way Lander released the set of policies. But the process is an example of how sitting elected officials can use the channels of city government to spread their message in a way that benefits their privately-funded campaigns — with a blurry line sometimes separating the two.

“It’s tricky for a public official who also has responsibilities that are adjacent to the campaign,” said Richard Briffault, a Columbia Law School professor and former chair of the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, who noted that Lander’s day job as comptroller involves auditing city agencies and recommending improvements. “But especially as we move into campaign season, if he’s talking about something that he doesn’t actually have responsibility over, it looks a lot more like a campaign statement.”

Of course, Lander is not the only incumbent officeholder running in this year’s mayoral election. The June 2025 Democratic primary field also includes three state lawmakers — state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos, and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani — as well as Mayor Eric Adams himself. The similarities between candidates’ official statements and their campaign rhetoric can be less than subtle.

For example, when Myrie was appointed this month to chair a powerful Senate committee overseeing criminal justice, his government office released a statement that wouldn’t have been out of place on the campaign trail given this year’s emphasis on safety.

“As a born and raised New York-

er, I know our city and parts of our state feel less safe than they used to,” Myrie said. “New Yorkers deserve leaders at every level of government who give public safety the focus it deserves.”

The greatest power of incumbency belongs to Adams, who commands dozens of city agencies and a vast $115 billion government that he can use to remind voters of his accomplishments. At the end of 2024, many of the departments under his command blasted out press releases touting their work from the prior year, saying they had met their commitment to “Get Stuff Done” — a slogan Adams has also used as a candidate.

The campaign vibe was hard to miss at Adams’ most recent State

But Zornberg abruptly left her City Hall job weeks later — after reportedly urging Adams to fire aides who were swept up in federal probes — and the ban on political questions seemed to vanish with her, leaving reporters free to quiz the mayor about politics.

‘New leadership at City Hall’

Lander, for his part, has never been an ally of Adams’, and his job requires him to scrutinize City Hall. But the comptroller’s rhetoric has grown noticeably sharper since he announced his mayoral candidacy in July. Following Adams’ State of the City speech, Lander called for “new leadership at City Hall” in a statement sent by his government office.

“It’s tricky for a public official who also has responsibilities that are adjacent to the campaign. If he’s [Lander] talking about something that he doesn’t actually have responsibility over, it looks a lot more like a campaign statement.”

Richard Briffault, Columbia Law School professor

of the City speech this month, where he packed the venue with political allies and chided his rivals for their past support for cutting the police department budget.

Adams also freely discusses his campaign at government events, including his weekly City Hall news conferences where he speaks from behind a mayoral lectern. That changed for a brief moment in August, when Adams’ thenchief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, cautioned reporters against asking political questions — citing guidance she had received from the Conflicts of Interest Board.

“New Yorkers want honest, effective leadership, not pomp and circumstance and empty promises,” Lander added.

“They want a mayor who is focused on their problems, not his own.”

Chloe Chik, a spokeswoman for the comptroller’s office, said that the homelessness plan released Jan. 13 “builds upon several years of audits” that the office has done on similar topics.

“The charter-mandated role of the comptroller is to perform oversight and hold mayoral agencies accountable especially when City Hall is not meeting goals to serve New Yorkers, no matter the officeholders or election calendar,” Chik said.

Lander’s government scheduler is also doing the same work for his mayoral campaign in a paid capacity, while several other government employees are volunteering for the campaign, Chik said. Such

personnel overlaps are not uncommon — Adams’ 2021 campaign manager Frank Carone went on to serve as his chief of staff and was long expected to spearhead the mayor’s 2025 re-election bid, although his current role has not been specified.

Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, and John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, said they took no issue with how the comptroller’s office handled the Jan. 13 report.

“I take it for granted that elected officials do things, as officeholders, that help their chances at getting re-elected,” Kaehny said. “That’s the way it’s supposed to work in a democracy.”

When politicians have gotten in trouble for mixing campaign and government work, the transgressions have tended to involve clearcut uses of city time and money for campaign business. Charles Hynes, the Brooklyn District Attorney who was unseated in 2013, later came under federal scrutiny over whether he had used money seized by criminal defendants like drug dealers to pay a political consultant. (That investigation was later dropped without charges being filed.)

The Conflicts of Interest Board also fined Hynes $40,000 for using his government account for campaign purposes, and penalized one of his deputies for doing campaign work from her government office.

And just this month, former Mayor Bill de Blasio was ordered by a judge to repay $475,000 in taxpayer money spent by the New York Police Department on security for his ill-fated presidential campaign in 2019. De Blasio had ignored guidance from COIB that the city would not cover the travel costs for officers who accompanied him to campaign stops in Iowa, Illinois and South Carolina, The City reported.

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Associate, Corporate Credit Underwriting (Apollo Management Holdings, L.P.

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Notice of Qualification of JFK T8 F&B LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/16/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/03/24. Princ. office of LLC: 1 Meadowlands Plaza, E. Rutherford, NJ 07073. 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 DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Airport operator of retail stores.

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Barry Singer, city’s ‘worst landlord’ of 2024, is new to the list but not to building neglect, public advocate says

By Julianne Cuba

Building owner Barry Singer is making his debut on the public advocate's annual "worst landlords" list in spectacular fashion — by taking the top spot.

Singer racked up a total of 1,804 violations in 2024, according to the list of the 100 landlords with the most citations issued by the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development, released on Jan. 22 by the office of Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

Six of the seven most-troubled buildings Singer owns are in the Bronx, with the seventh in Brooklyn, encompassing nearly 200 units. The most egregious on the list, with 532 violations, is 620 E. 178th St., a five-story apartment building between Hughes and Arthur avenues that contains 47 residential units. Its tenants in the past few years have complained to the city's Housing Department most frequently about pests, peeling paint and a lack of hot water and heat, city records show. Singer's second-worst is 265 E. 181st St., a five-story, 25unit building between Valentine and Ryer avenues that amassed 292 violations from December 2023

through November 2024, according to Williams' office.

Long, documented history ‘dating back decades’

This may be Singer’s first time making the ranking, but as a landlord, he has a “long, documented history of egregious neglect and misconduct dating back decades,” Williams said. Singer was already making headlines back in 2001 for a number of violations at his buildings in the Bronx and his alleged malicious attempts to evict tenants he didn't think were paying enough in rent, the New York Post reported at the time.

After Singer, Alfred Thompson, with 1,285 violations; Karen Geer, with 1,193; Melanie Martin, with 1,132; and Claudette Henry, with 1,130, round out the top five.

"The people on this list are at best dangerously negligent and at worst actively choosing to profit off the pain of New Yorkers living in unsafe, deplorable conditions," he said.

Some of the 100 names on the list may be unfamiliar to tenants — as is their goal. Many purposely shield their identity through

CLASSIFIEDS

opaque shell companies. Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a watereddown bill in 2023 to help increase transparency with those kinds of limited liability companies, although only law enforcement officials have access to the owners' names, not the public.

Notably absent from the latest list is notorious landlord Daniel Ohebshalom, who found himself

behind bars for the second time in September after failing to fix dangerous living conditions at two of his long-dilapidated apartment buildings in Washington Heights, Crain's previously reported.

In his place, however, is Martin, the fourth-worst landlord of last year. She functions as Ohebshalom's "head officer" for much of his portfolio, Williams said. In

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2023, in a similar reshuffling, it was Jonathan Santana, one of Ohebshalom's business partners, who made the list instead of the notorious landlord himself.

“Last year’s worst landlord has been to jail twice since the list was published,”  Williams said, “a clear message to owners of what their tenants deserve and the consequences of their inaction.”

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620 E. 178th St. | GOOGLE STrEET VIEW

New York hospital association quietly advises members on potential ICE raids

By Ethan Geringer-Sameth

Local hospitals are bracing for the impact of President Donald Trump’s new executive order authorizing unbridled immigration enforcement in their facilities.

On Jan. 20, the Trump administration rescinded an Obama-era policy that deterred immigration raids in schools, hospitals, houses of worship, public demonstrations and other so-called “sensitive locations.” In response, Greater New York Hospital Association, a powerful trade group representing roughly 280 hospitals and health systems in the northeast, issued guidance to its members informing them of their rights and suggesting protocols for dealing with the new federal enforcement regime.

The guidance lists the criteria for when hospitals must comply with an agent from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the main entity tasked with enforcement and deportation orders, and when they do not.

“They may use persuasion and even intimidation at times,” the guidance, obtained by Crain’s, reads. “When dealing with any law enforcement agent, it is important

to be professional and calm.”

The five-page memo encourages hospitals to designate a liaison to serve as a gatekeeper and first point-of-contact in interactions with immigration officers. Liaisons are instructed to sequester ICE agents in a private room and ask for any documents for executing the raid, like a warrant or subpoena. Without a warrant that specifically names the facility as a location for a search or arrest, hospitals are not required to comply with authorities, the guidance states.

Hospitals were also advised that they are allowed but not required to share patients’ personal health information with law enforcement in certain circumstances.

The group’s general counsel has been in contact with hospitals’ legal teams about statutory requirements when ICE agents arrive, said GNYHA spokesman Brian Conway.

“We hope ICE will continue to exercise discretion when it comes to hospitals and health care facilities,” Conway said. “Our hospital staff are consummate professionals, and their number one concern is that the delivery of safe, high-quality care is not interrupt-

ed, and that every person inside a hospital feels as comfortable as possible being there. We will continue to work closely with our members as this new landscape evolves.”

Entering sensitive areas

Since Obama’s order in 2011, ICE enforcement in hospitals and medical settings has been rare but not impossible. While those types of actions from ICE and other federal agencies were discouraged under the policy, they were still authorized when the case was deemed a matter of national security or when there was a risk of death or injury. Under Trump’s order, those restrictions have been lifted giving greater discretion to agents to enter sensitive areas.

The administration “trusts them to use common sense,” said the Department of Homeland Security in a statement Jan. 21.

New York’s biggest health systems did not respond to requests for comment about how they are approaching the executive order or GNYHA’s guidance. Those that did have not provided details about their protocols for dealing

with federal immigration agents.

The city’s public hospital system, Health + Hospitals, is the health facility most likely to be impacted by ICE raids given its position as a safety net provider serving a large population of un- and underinsured patients. Christopher Miller, a spokesperson for the publicly-funded health system, referred inquiries to GNYHA.

Maimonides declined to say what specific steps the Borough Park-based health system was taking to protect immigrants and their families receiving services, but said the system was working with GNYHA.

“Protecting the health of our immigrant communities is at the core of our mission at Maimonides Health,” said spokesman Sam Miller. “Working with our industry and community partners, we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that every patient receives the care they need when they visit us, regardless of their immigration status.

“SUNY Downstate Medical Center, another safety-net provider, also did not provide specific details about its policy toward immigration enforcement. “Our top pri-

ority at SUNY Downstate is ensuring that all patients can receive the care that they need, and we uphold strict policies in accordance with the law to protect patient privacy and confidentiality,” said spokeswoman Dawn Skeete-Walker in a statement. “As a trusted healthcare provider, SUNY Downstate proudly serves a diverse population and we remain committed to providing a welcoming and secure environment for all members of our community.”

Upper East Side-based Hospital for Special Surgery and Bedford-Stuyvesant-based One Brooklyn Health declined to comment. Montefiore Health System, Mount Sinai Health System, New York-Presbyterian, Northwell Health and NYU Langone Health did not comment by press time.

Pediatrician in Harlem emphasizes reading to help kids stay healthy

Dr. Genna Ableman has pushed to make early child literacy skills a large part of her pediatric practice

Pediatrician Dr. Genna Ableman juggles the usual clinical tasks at every wellness visit: measuring a child’s vitals, administering vaccines and talking about nutrition. But she also makes time for what she says is one of the most critical ways to improve a child’s health: reading. Ableman, director of population health at the community-based medical center Settlement Health in East Harlem, runs an early child literacy program aimed at improving reading levels among her patients. e clinic gives out books to children under 5 years old and encourages parents to read at home.

“ at’s what you do when you work at a community health center,” Ableman said. “I often say that I focus on the social aspects of kids’ lives more than just straight medicine.”

More pediatricians have begun to use literacy to assess kids’ health in the past decade. Research shows that reading to younger kids can reduce the likelihood of poverty and stress later on in life, prompting leading medical group the American Academy of Pediatrics to recommend last September that doctors counsel parents to read aloud to their kids as

By | Amanda D’Ambrosio

early as infancy.

Ableman, the child of two educators, grew up in Sheepshead Bay surrounded by books, prompting her to merge her interests in literacy and health care when she was a medical student. She joined the Reach Out and Read program at New York City Health + Hospitals/ Bellevue Hospital early in medical

“I often say that I focus on the social aspects of kids’ lives more than just straight medicine.”

school, not only encouraging children and families to read, but also providing health literacy guidance to parents that helped them understand medication labels and navigate the health care system.

“I knew it was something I wanted to bring wherever I worked,” Ableman said.

Growing literacy work

Ableman joined Settlement Health in 2016 and quickly became the associate medical director of a residency program that trains early-career doctors from

Mount Sinai. Her residents already participated in a Reach Out and Read program, but they wanted to grow literacy work at Settlement Health.

In 2022 Ableman partnered with the United Hospital Fund on its early child literacy program to build up reading resources for the approximately 1,600 younger patients at the clinic. Settlement Health received a $7,500 grant to equip its waiting room with culturally appropriate books and mini reading couches, hold book drives and develop tools for parents. e clinic hands out bookmarks to families that list common literacy milestones for kids, including when they might be able to ip the pages of a book on their own or say certain words.

Although a lot of Ableman’s work has focused on literacy among her youngest patients, she tries to set the stage for older kids and teens too. Settlement Health, a federally quali ed health center, primarily serves families from low-income households and people of color, and Ableman tries to give out books that re ect kids’ race, religion, sexuality or culture. Ableman says reading can become a refuge for her patients, es-

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Age 37

Title Director of population health at Settlement Health; associate program director of the meds-peds residency program at Mount Sinai Grew up Sheepshead Bay Resides Dobbs Ferry, New York

Education Bachelor’s in government with a minor in health care policy, Harvard University; doctor of medicine, New York University

Family life Ableman lives with her wife and son.

Off the clock Ableman enjoys spending time outdoors with her family and especially loves hiking.

pecially kids who experience at-home stressors or trauma. “ ey are able — through books and libraries — to get out of that mindset and explore other cultures, ideas and experiences,” Ableman said. “ ey can be an architect; they can be a doctor. ey may not be seeing that in their everyday life.”

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Dr. Genna Ableman

Dr. Genna Ableman with her patient, 5-year-old Zhavia Sepulveda. BUCK ENNIS