Westchester County Business Journal 070317

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3 | SCHOOL BOARD TARGET JULY 3, 2017 | VOL. 53, No. 27

7 | WOMEN IN TECH

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Rival’s broker raid brings $4.75M jury award DOUGLAS ELLIMAN SUES WILLIAM RAVEIS IN WESTCHESTER BY BILL HELTZEL bheltzel@westfairinc.com

S Teen Scene

omething was drastically wrong in Armonk. In two days, six of Douglas Elliman’s top real estate agents abruptly resigned. All six went to work across Main Street at a rival firm, William Raveis Real Estate. Branch manager Lisa Theiss was vacationing in Puerto Rico and was seemingly unconcerned about the defections. Regional manager Gabe Pasquale went to Armonk and noticed that Theiss’ office, normally looking lived-in, was stripped of personal belongings

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Barry’s Bootcamp and other Scarsdale fitness studios have become popular workout destinations for teenagers.

and had become “extremely sterile,” he later recalled. Then an Elliman agent in Armonk told Stephen Kotler, then the firm’s COO, that Theiss had urged her and three others to leave the company during a secret meeting at Theiss’ house. An office manager told him she had heard that Theiss “wanted to decimate Douglas Elliman.” Eventually, 11 agents resigned in March 2015 and went to work for Raveis. Elliman fired Theiss and sued her and Raveis. A state Supreme Court jury in Westchester has ruled in favor of Elliman. On June 20, after a fourweek trial, Elliman was awarded » BROKER, page 6

Ride-sharing gets green light with fingerprint plan TWB Loan Decision BY ALEESIA FORNI aforni@westfairinc.com

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estchester County officials have unveiled a plan they believe will help ease some safety concerns regarding the expansion of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft into Westchester. Called “Thumbs Up,” the program will allow ride-share

drivers to voluntarily submit to fingerprint checks, an issue that had been a point of contention for many government officials. “Our goal was to find the right balance between safety and convenience,” Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino said at a press conference just days before a state law allowing ride-share companies to operate outside New York City went into effect on June 29. “Ride-sharing companies provide the public

Banner Ad with important transportation 6” wan x 1.5” h 2-23-16But if that convenient ride option. is not safe, it’s not really an option at all.” Drivers who pass the $90 fingerprint checks, which they must fund themselves, will be issued a decal by the county to be posted on their windshield. However, customers will be unable to see if their prospective driver has been fingerprinted through the Uber or Lyft apps. “Ride-sharing is not supposed

to be hitchhiking with an app,” Astorino said. “The public has the right to know that the driver picking them up has been fully screened for a criminal record.” Officials from Lyft and Uber, who were present at the June 27 press conference announcing the initiative, said they plan to encourage drivers in Westchester to participate in the program. “We feel this is a good compromise that balances the needs of the legislature and the county

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executive with the requirements of the state law,” said Uber spokesperson Josh Gold. The expansion of ridesharing companies into New York state was agreed upon by lawmakers and Cuomo as part of the state’s $153 million budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year. However, the state included a stipulation that allows county governments and four major cities – Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse » RIDE SHARE, page 6

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