AWARD WINNING EDITORIAL
INCLUDING THE HUDSON VALLEY MAY 9, 2022 VOL. 58, No. 19
BY PETER KATZ Pkatz@westfairinc.com
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We s tc he s ter attorney whose firm is based in Yonkers was instrumental in coordinating a real estate refinancing so significant that it was announced jointly on April 28 by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Congressman Jamal Bowman and U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge. Even without the fanfare from Albany and Washington, the dollar value of the deal was enough to make people sit up and take notice: $621.5 million. In addition, this was the second time the attorney shepherded putting in place a $621.5 million financing package for the property. Topping it
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WESTCHESTER ATTORNEY IS INSTRUMENTAL IN $621.5M REFINANCING off is that the refinancing makes it possible to spend $124 million on repairs and upgrades for an iconic residential property. The property is Co-Op City in the Baychester section of the Bronx, and the attorney is Jeffrey Buss, founding member of the law firm Smith Buss & Jacobs LLP, which is based in Yonkers and also has offices in Manhattan and Garden City. Buss has for the past 16 years served as general counsel for Co-Op City’s legal entity, Riverbay Corporation. Riverbay, or Co-Op City, has 15,372 residential units that are home to more than 45,000 people. Co-Op City is easily visible to drivers on the Hutchinson River Parkway and Interstate 95, as well as being so big it’s an easy landmark for flights into and out of LaGuardia Airport. There are 35 high-rise
buildings and 472 townhouses on the property. The tallest buildings have 33 stories with 384 apartments. Eight garages provide 10,790 parking spaces and city buses provide regular service along the roadways that wind through the property. Shoppers who reside in Co-Op City and come in from elsewhere take advantage of three separate large shopping centers that include numerous restaurants and the AMC Bay Plaza Cinema 13. Commercial offices are located on high-rise ground floors and a variety of recreational and community facilities are available along with a plethora of flowering trees, plantings and green lawns between the buildings. Co-Op City opened on Dec. 11, 1968. The Riverbay Corporation was formed
WESTCHESTER
Co-Op City - welcome sign. Photo by Peter Katz.
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Connecticut’s infrastructure conundrum persists amid renewed focus BY JUSTIN MCGOWN
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jmcgown@westfairinc.com uring the Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s (CBIA) recent 2022 economic update session held at the Trumbull Marriott, the watchword was arguably “infrastructure.” This was especially on display during the panel discussion titled “How Connecticut Should Spend Federal Infrastructure Funds.” Mark Boughton,
commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Revenue Services, moderated the discussion and was joined by Tom Santa, president and CEO of Santa Energy in Bridgeport; David DeMaio, president of the Pat Munger Construction Co. in Branford, and Tom Jensen, vice president of government affairs for UPS. Boughton, a former Danbury mayor, explained that his role was both to provide a single point of contact in the government
for concerned business leaders and to serve as the governor’s senior adviser on infrastructure matters. “People think we just have cash rain down on us in Hartford for stuff like roads, bridges, broadband, trains, things like that — and that’s not really true,” Boughton said, explaining that while there are roughly $5 billion which the state can direct toward already existing programs, the part he found most exciting was the $580 billion earmarked
for competitive grants. “That’s really where I think Connecticut will excel,” Boughton said. “But there’s a catch. The catch is we’ve got to be like Ricky Bobby in ‘Talladega Nights’ — if you ain’t first, you’re last. You have got to get those applications in fast.” Boughton then asked his interlocutors: “What does government need to get right to ensure that this bipartisan infrastructure law is transformative for generations to come? What
do we need to get right?” “Road construction is obviously the low-hanging fruit,” answered DeMaio. “If you think about what really needs to happen is you need to add lanes. However, that’s an almost impossible undertaking if you look at the effort that would take. So, we need to bolster our freight railways. The infrastructure’s there but it needs to be updated.” DeMaio added that shifting significant amounts of freight from
trucks to trains would benefit everybody remaining on the highway and would make for a generational change. DeMaio also said he would like to see improved utility infrastructure in currently underserved communities, like Guilford where the lack of a sanitary sewer has killed multiple development projects. Jensen agreed that adding lanes was unfeasible, but that interchanges
CONNECTICUT
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