City & State New York 10022017

HOW

ERIC BECAME A TRUMP CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

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October 2, 2017

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City & State New York

October 2, 2017

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EDITOR’S NOTE Shortly after Donald Trump won the Republican presidential nomination, his son Donald Trump Jr. said he would “love” to challenge New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The elder Trump shot down the idea, but earlier this year Donald Jr. reportedly expressed an interest in taking on another prominent New York Democrat: Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Ivanka Trump, the president’s oldest daughter and a prominent campaign surrogate, has also been eyed as an appealing candidate, possibly even for president in 2024, though she has repeatedly dismissed the idea.

The third Trump child, Eric, has rarely if ever been linked to such speculation.

And that’s no surprise, given his visceral dislike of politics, which sets him apart from his father and older brother.

Indeed, while Eric is just another Trump to much of the world, there’s more to the story. In this week’s cover profile, City & State’s Frank G. Runyeon explores who Eric Trump has become, from his formative years in boarding school to the powerful business executive he is today.

JON LENTZ Editor-in-chief

CONTENTS BOCHINCHE & BUZZ ... 6 Gossip on Jeffrey Dinowitz, Peter Lopez and Eric Adams’ successor

NEW YORK NONPROFIT MEDIA ... 28 A bill before Cuomo could give foster kids sorely needed stability

WINNERS & LOSERS ... 34

Who was up and who was down last week

ERIC TRUMP Friends from his school days say they barely recognize the president’s son today

... 10

COMMENTARY

Ross Barkan says it’s ludicrous when pundits call Donald Trump an “independent” ... 8

STATE BUDGET PREVIEW

State lawmakers on what might end up in Cuomo’s 2018 spending plan ... 20

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CityAndStateNY.com

The

October 2, 2017

Latest

ANOTHER CONVICTION OVERTURNED

CONSTRUCTION BILL SAFELY PASSED

Being a corrupt lawmaker in Albany has consequences – but they’re not always bad. Former state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, who was arrested alongside his son in 2015 on charges of extortion, bribery and fraud, had his corruption conviction vacated by a federal appeals court on Tuesday. Like the overturned conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in July, the ruling hinged on the U.S. Supreme Court decision McDonnell v. United States, which set new standards for defining corruption. The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that the Skeloses’ jury had been improperly instructed under the new standards. But the duo shouldn’t get comfortable – prosecutors intend to retry the case, which could lead to another conviction by a properly instructed jury.

The

Slant podcast

A Q&A with

Assemblyman

Rep.

Marcos Crespo Nydia Velázquez The

Kicker

The New York City Council unanimously passed a controversial bill on Wednesday requiring at least 40 hours of safety training for workers on most construction sites. The original bill introduced in January required 59 hours of training, but opponents argued it helped union workers and harmed smaller companies as well as minority- and women-owned businesses who might not be able to cover the costs.

C&S: Unlike Texas or Florida, Puerto Rico isn’t represented by voting members in Congress. How can the government provide aid when there’s no one with a direct interest in the territory’s survival?

NV: We have to stop this nonsense in terms of making a distinction between a U.S. territory and the rest of the states. These are American citizens.

We – the people in Puerto Rico – we lost 200,000 soldiers fighting our wars. So, today, this is a matter of fairness, it’s a matter of responsibility, it’s a matter of assisting our American citizens. I’m going to be in Congress … organizing meetings, I already spoke with (House Minority Leader) Nancy Pelosi. It is important for Democrats and Republicans to come to Puerto Rico and see, firsthand, the devastation, so that they can come back and make the case – that is, what is fair in terms of the type of resources that people need in Puerto Rico.

“Personally, I could think of a BETTER USE for the $ like FIXING THE SUBWAYS.” — New York City Transportation Commissioner POLLY TROTTENBERG, on the price tag of the MTA’s planned Gateway towers at the entrances to the city’s bridges and tunnels, via Politico New York Get the kicker every morning in CITY & STATE’S FIRST READ email. Sign up at cityandstateny.com.

The estimates are telling us that it could be between $40 and $50 billion.

MC: No matter what party you’re from and what position you run for – when you run for office, you’re there to serve everyone. Whether you are a Republican or not, whether you have a vested interest or not, this country owes it to every American citizen to give them everything they need.

Why are we spending billions of dollars for military efforts abroad if we can’t even protect our own?

I think the message is, it doesn’t matter if they have a direct relationship with this community.

This president ran to serve every American. He claimed he wanted to do that, and now he needs to step up. Some of the stuff that he’s been busy with – distractions or not – it’s an insult to American lives, to American citizens, that Puerto Rico has not been a priority.

58million,

ARMAN DZIDZOVIC; DARREN MCGEE- OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

NEW YORK OFFERS HELP TO PUERTO RICO New York continued its efforts to assist Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Rep. Nydia Velazquez and Assemblyman Marcos Crespo visited the island, and the governor announced a state aid effort headquartered at the Javits Center, where the New York National Guard will be managing donations – including a $1 million gift from Jennifer Lopez. Cuomo also announced a deployment of the guard and state police to Puerto Rico. Given the state’s strong ties, New Yorkers were eager to help with fundraisers held throughout the city.

ARMAN DZIDZOVIC; DARREN MCGEE- OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

City & State New York

October 2, 2017

Ups & Downs

The rise and fall of Anthony Weiner

From political dirty tricks to raucous speeches, Anthony Weiner often courted controversy in his two decades in public office. But in the later years of his political career, Weiner had gone from the talk of Capitol Hill to the talk of the tabloids, unable to kick an ugly habit of sexting other women until he broke the law. It never should’ve been this hard for Weiner.

Weiner follows in the footsteps of his old boss Charles Schumer, beating Melinda Katz – in the primary and the general – in a race to replace Schumer in the House.

Nov. 5, 1998

Weiner gets national attention for his fiery House floor speech berating Republicans for not supporting a 9/11 health care bill.

July 29, 2010

Weiner marries Huma Abedin, a senior aide to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in a wedding officiated by former President Bill Clinton.

July 10, 2010

November 1991

In his first election loss, Weiner concedes to Fernando Ferrer in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor.

Sept. 15, 2005

May 26, 2009

Weiner wins a newly created Brooklyn seat in the New York City Council. At the time, he became the council’s youngest member ever at just 27 years old.

Weiner admits he kept sexting women after his resignation. His mayoral campaign falls apart and he ends up in fifth place in the Democratic primary.

Troubles arise, as a picture of a man’s bulging underwear appears on Weiner’s Twitter account.

Weiner denies it’s him for more than a week.

After teasing a run for two years, Weiner declines to run for mayor – which was first reported

by City Hall, City & State’s predecessor publication.

May 27, 2011

May 22, 2013

Hoping for redemption, Weiner announces he’s running for mayor.

Despite some distaste from voters, Weiner tops several polls.

July 23, 2013

After admitting the picture was of him and that he had sexted with at least six other women, Weiner resigns from Congress under public pressure.

FBI Director James Comey publically reopens the investigation into Clinton’s emails after finding new evidence on a laptop seized from Weiner and Abedin.

June 16, 2011

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Aug. 28, 2016

Another story comes out that Weiner has continued to sext other women. Abedin announces the couple is separating.

A 15-year-old girl says that Weiner had sexted her for months, aware of her age. The FBI begins investigating.

Sept. 21, 2016

Oct. 28, 2016

Less than two weeks after his first divorce proceeding, Weiner is sentenced to 21 months in prison for transferring obscene material to a minor.

Sept. 25, 2017

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CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017

Exclusive scoops and insider gossip from

GERSON BORRERO

2018 $QUEEZE FOR STATE PAY RAISE There’s no doubt that Gov. Andrew Cuomo is worried about a Democrat challenging him in the gubernatorial primary next year. But what the controlling executive and astute político isn’t ready for is the demand for a pay raise from state legislators. According to various legislators – all Democrats with whom B&B has spoken recently – it’s all about timing. The consensus among the legislators I spoke to is that Cuomo knows his handpicked commission, a.k.a. the state Commission on Legislative, Judicial and Executive Compensation, is going to be ignored again if he revives it. The strategy is to squeeze Cuomo’s political cojones at every opportunity in 2018. He has a tough road ahead: a likely Democratic primary, a general election, an obvious desire for a spot in the 2020 presidential race and, of course, the state budget. I found it interesting that the handful of Democratic bochincheros I spoke with separately asked not to be quoted. That’s after I assured them I don’t name sources in this column. “He’ll know. Andrew will figure out who said it.” OK, chicos, RELAX. ANDREW CUOMO

ASSEMBLYMAN DINOWITZ: NOT SO QUERIDO? NEXT BROOKLYN BP? DIANA REYNA

Eric Adams hasn’t finished serving his first term as Brooklyn borough president and still hasn’t been re-elected – as is expected to happen on Nov. 7 – but there’s already some buzz of his likely successor in 2021. Early bochinche is that Diana Reyna has the inside track. That’s if the former member of the New York City Council stays on as deputy Brooklyn borough president. That move could work for Adams, who is known to harbor mayoral ambitions. As a Dominicana, Reyna could help Adams’ citywide run and make it uncomfortable for Rubén Díaz Jr., the Bronx borough president who also sees himself as future alcalde. Sí, my dear bochincheros, there’s already talk about the 2021 mayoral and municipal smorgasbord.

Within two hours of receiving Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s press release with the names and new leadership positions for the 2018 legislative session, I got the first negative reaction to one the designees. Several bochincheros expressed concern about the selection of Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz as chairman of the Judiciary Committee. When asked about which of Heastie’s other selections bothered them, the response went back to not trusting Dinowitz or some other trivial complaint. Except for one of the complainers who said: “I’m going to be sending you some stuff on him.” Muy bien. I’m waiting.

It could just be bochinche.

JEFFREY DINOWITZ

City & State New York

October 2, 2017

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NO CHANCE FOR ANOTHER LATINO With the designation of Assemblyman Peter Lopez as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 2 administrator – covering New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands – there is hope that, as a puertorriqueño, he will be more caring about the needs of the embattled island.

“Peter is a nice guy. And humble. Works very hard. But, he’s a Republican,” said a bochinchero who believes that with Trump at the helm of the federal government, there’s only so much the new designee can do. I asked, “What about another Puerto Rican replacing the Schoharie County Republican’s Assembly seat?” The bochinchero responded, “Tu estas loco?” and then asked: “How many Latinos do you think live and are active Republicans in that part of the state?” I guess there’s now one less Latino state lawmaker. :-( PETER LOPEZ

REMEMBER, GENTE, IT’S ALL BOCHINCHE UNTIL IT’S CONFIRMED.

Our Perspective Proposed Workers’ Comp Changes Would Hurt Workers

By Stuart Appelbaum, President, Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, RWDSU, UFCW

F

or over 100 years, our workers’ compensation system has protected workers injured on the job by providing immediate wage replacement and medical benefits without the need for a costly lawsuit. Now the obscure state agency that runs the workers’ compensation system in New York is proposing to cut benefits and eliminate essential legal protections for workers – changes that would devastate workers while lining employers’ pockets.

Recently, the Board released with little notice a set of proposals that would upend the system, stripping injured workers of their legal rights and drastically cutting the compensation they receive.

The first change would turn the routine medical examination, which must be done by an insurance-company paid doctor, into an adversarial interrogation. Up until now, an insurance company doctor was faced with two questions – was the worker injured on the job and if so what injuries did the worker sustain?

Under the proposed regulations, workers – who

may or may not speak or read English – would be required to answer a questionnaire that could force them to make statements that could hurt them in future legal proceedings. Yet, they would have no right to have a lawyer present.

What’s worse, a doctor could classify a worker who refuses to answer a question or fails to answer a question to the doctor’s liking as “uncooperative.” Based on this classification, the Workers’ Compensation Board could suspend a worker’s benefits. The right to remain silent could be used against you if you are an injured worker.

The Board was charged by the state legislature to suggest reforms to the guidelines that determine the level of benefits a worker might receive depending on the extent of permanent impairment resulting from the workplace injury. These reforms were supposed to be limited to “advances in medicine” that might alter the impact of a permanent impairment resulting from a workplace injury.

Instead, the Board completely rewrote key provisions of the guidelines, going well beyond the scope of their mandate and drastically cutting injured workers’ benefits.

The Workers’ Compensation Alliance examined potential outcomes based on real Workers’ Compensation claims to determine the impact of the new proposed regulations. Disturbingly, they found that only 18 percent of the claims would receive compensation under the new proposed guidelines. Under the current guidelines, 71 percent of these claims would be covered.

If the proposed changes are allowed to pass, there could be a three-fold increase in uncompensated workplace injuries. Under these changes, many injured workers won’t be able to pay their rent or feed their families, let alone pay their medical bills, and that is an outrage.

The Workers’ Compensation Board and Governor Cuomo should scrap these regulations and start again with a public, transparent process based on facts rather than a clear agenda to cut benefits to some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers: injured workers.

www.rwdsu.org

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CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017

COMMENTARY

TRUMP

THE

INDEPENDENT

Pundits say it’s a new, bipartisan era for the president.

Are they high?

By ROSS BARKAN

City & State New York

GUILLAUME FEDERIGHI

October 2, 2017

There’s a new narrative in the air intoxicating the Washington media elite: President Donald Trump is not a Democrat or a Republican. He is an independent, scuttling all party loyalty in the White House.

Navigating the corridors of pundit groupthink, you can practically touch and taste it. It is convenient and reassuring, proudly neglecting recent history. And it’s great for retweets.

“In spirit, Pres. Trump isn’t a Democrat or a Republican. He’s a freewheeling, transactional pol who looks for wins,” tweeted The Washington Post’s Robert Costa in September.

Echoing his media colleague, The New York Times’ Peter Baker tweeted, “In some ways, Trump is the first independent to serve as president in modern times.”

“Trump the independent,” The Associated Press chimed in. “The deal President Trump cut with Democrats seem to show a different kind of president.”

And so we have it: Since Trump cut a deal with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling and now appears to be collaborating with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi again to find a way, legislatively, to carve out a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants, he is officially a freewheeling nonpartisan. He is neither Democrat nor Republican. He is the mythical independent, here at last, beholden to nothing but his own gut instinct.

Except that’s not what’s really happening.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way.

Trump is not your typical Republican. He violated long-held GOP orthodoxies to win the Republican nomination. He is a former registered Democrat who has donated heavily to Democratic politicians. No one in the Republican establishment wanted him to win the party’s nomination, and he seized it anyway, rather easily.

So, taking all of that into consideration, Trump is still (with very few exceptions) governing like a very conservative Republican. He has assembled the wealthiest and most conservative Cabinet in recent memory. He has appointed Neil Gorsuch, a constitutional originalist in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia, to the U.S. Supreme Court, doing such a mitzvah for the hardline conservative cause that most complaints about his Democratic flirtations should be taken with a grain of salt.

His vice president is Mike Pence, whose politics are so retrograde conservative that he doesn’t want his wife dining with men alone. His attorney general is Jeff Sessions,

a man who seeks to crush a criminal justice reform movement that was actually attracting a modicum of bipartisan support, unlike most every other issue in this country.

His Environmental Protection Agency administrator, Scott Pruitt, does not believe in man-made climate change, and hopes to eventually end the very mission of the agency itself – environmental regulation. His education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is a billionaire opposed to the very nature of public school education in America.

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rarily shelved after failing to garner enough votes. Naturally, it had Trump’s blessing.

No flickering moments of bipartisanship can undo this record. They won’t change Trump’s predilection for stoking white nationalist fury. They won’t change the fundamental reality for so many that live in fear of what Trump will try to do next.

Yet journalists and pundits, caught chiefly in the New York-D.C. vortex, are willfully blind to this. For them, politics is a game, like taking in the Washington Nationals or

JOURNALISTS AND PUNDITS CAUGHT IN THE NEW YORK-D.C. VORTEX, FOR

POLITICS AFTER ALL,

A GAME.

IS

THEY HAVE

HEALTH Trump’s tax plan, which couldn’t have been written better by the Koch brothers themselves, is redistributionist in all the worst ways by drastically cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans. None of Trump’s working-class supporters will benefit.

And then, of course, there is health care.

It’s remarkable the same Washington journalists who have covered Trump’s ceaseless quest to shred and destroy the Affordable Care Act can also walk away thinking this man is not a right-wing Republican extraordinaire. Trump, the supposed independent allegedly beholden to no party, is happy to do the bidding of party leaders by slashing Medicaid and overall coverage for the sickest and most needy people.

The latest iteration of this health care disaster, pushed by U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, would’ve thrown block grants for health care at individual states and hoped for the best. It was a nonsensical approach that, thankfully, has been tempo-

COVERAGE. Redskins on a Sunday afternoon. There are winners and losers, but these pundit-reporters aren’t on the field of play. They are fans, observing passionately, thrilled by the competition. No matter what, they can go home and eat at night. After all, they have health coverage.

No regular person seriously believes Trump is an independent, willing to dole out goodies to the right and left equally. A Muslim immigrant, a criminal justice reform advocate, an environmental activist, a person with pre-existing conditions clinging to health insurance – for these kinds of people, the pronouncements of the pundit class must read like insanity. They know exactly who he is.

And for conservatives fretting that Trump is too mercurial, too unreliable, unwilling to toe the Paul Ryan-Mitch McConnell party line, they should look to the evidence. They should be heartened.

Donald Trump, the record shows, is their man.

■

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CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017

“M

Y BOY, I LOVE YOU. Come up, Eric, come up Eric! I love you, my boy!” the future president of the United States bellowed to a Cincinnati crowd of 7,000 in midsummer 2016. His son arrived next to him at the podium, smiling awkwardly.

“He was pushed into the world of politics not because he wanted it,” candidate Donald Trump said, “but because I said, ‘Good luck on television tonight! You’re doing the show.’ So, here’s Eric!”

For those transfixed by the bombastic circus that was the 2016 presidential election or those continuing to stare agape at the breaking news of this shock-and-awe administration, the president’s second son may be a familiar figure – but perhaps less so than his former fashion designer sister and firebrand brother.

You probably know him from his controversial soundbites. Waterboarding “is no different than what happens on college campuses and frat houses every day,” he told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News. Sexual harassment is a “no-go,” but his sister wouldn’t tolerate sexual harassment because “Ivanka’s a strong, powerful woman,” he told “CBS This Morning.” There’s so much hatred directed at his father by his political opponents that it’s like “they’re not even people,” he told Sean Hannity on Fox News.

To most of the world, that’s all there is to Eric Trump.

CRANKY SUBWAY car crawled along the tracks somewhere north of Franklin Street on July 11 at 9:17 p.m. I sat alone, catching up on the latest report detailing Donald Trump Jr.’s emails about meeting with a Russian attorney.

“Donald Trump Jr. was informed in an email that the material was part of a Russian government effort to aid his father’s –” An email alert blurted across my screen.

“Eric Trump: Frank, So great to hear from you buddy!”

The startling juxtaposition of my former classmate’s email with the explosive news about his brother was rattling.

Eric had agreed to the interview.

At 33, Eric now shares control of his father’s multibillion-dollar conglomerate with his brother Don Jr. Since their father left the company in their care after taking the presidency, he’s made clear that he expects them to do a good job while he’s

A

Long before his father was elected president, he was just “Eric.” Many who knew him then hardly recognize the man he’s become.

By FRANK G. RUNYEON

Photography by CELESTE SLOMAN

gone. Otherwise, he said, “They’re fired.”

The middle child to the president of the United States, Eric Frederic Trump grew up in the long shadow of his father’s New York City real estate empire amid a ceaseless parade of sensational tabloid headlines celebrating Donald Trump’s successes and failures on the city’s newstands.

I first met Eric 18 years ago when we attended a small, close-knit boarding school in the Pennsylvania Rust Belt.

Living in close quarters for a few years develops a certain familiarity. But looking back, I didn’t have strong feelings about Eric. We shared a class or two, but I had been largely ambivalent toward him back then. As many of our former classmates recall, he was pretty average. He was Donald Trump’s son, but that didn’t count for much at The Hill School.

Founded in 1851, The Family Boarding School, as it was first called, became one of the country’s elite preparatory schools.

Ivy-clad stone buildings and leaded glass windows were built to help mold brilliant young men, eventually sending them off to Princeton or its ilk.

When we attended, Hill wasn’t exactly a feeder school to the Ivies, but it was still

known for its rigorous academics and zero-tolerance discipline. Moreover, The Hill School was hardly chockablock with the progeny of the cosmopolitan elite.

Many students hailed from surrounding Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and obscure Podunks like it. Still, there were international students, and scholarship students from all over the country, in addition to legacy students – myself included – and the occasional son of a somebody.

In recent interviews with over two dozen Hill School classmates and teachers – friends, acquaintances and antagonists – I pieced together a portrait of a young Eric, from ages 13 to 18. Although The Hill School declined to provide any information or speak about the Trump family, yearbook quotes and photographs also help to illustrate that time. I have tried to lean on the collective memories of others, instead of my own.

Nearly all those Hill School classmates see Eric as deeply changed. The friends who remained close to Eric over the years have nothing but praise for him, often speaking of his deepened self-confidence and impressive public speaking skills.

October 2, 2017

City & State New York

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CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017

City & State New York

October 2, 2017

But the majority of his classmates I spoke to sensed that something is awry.

Listening to his speeches and interviews, they say he seems more Trump than Eric now. Less the young man they knew – kind, laid-back and gracious – and more the man they might expect to be President Donald Trump’s son: brash, combative and remorseless.

The Eric they knew was different.

N AUG. 14, I STEPPED inside an elevator in Trump Tower, headed for the executive suite.

A dim purplish light gave the mirror-encased space an eerie feel.

The elevator operator – wearing a bellhop’s coat outfitted with brass buttons – politely turned a key and selected “25.”

O

The last time I saw Eric and Lara in person was in 2012 at a Hill School alumni reception they hosted at the Trump SoHo New York hotel. I shook hands with Eric at the end of a long line. I told him I was a journalist. “Good!” he told me. “We could use more friends in the media.”

Lara joined us in the elevator as we headed down to have lunch at Trump Grill.

I commented that I was impressed she was so agile at eight months. Several inches above me, the friendly titans chuckled.

Eric said I didn’t know the half of it. The doors opened on the 20th floor, revealing a “Trump Pence 2020” logo on the wall.

“She’s running 2020,” Eric said as Lara strutted off the elevator with a warm smile and wave goodbye. The doors closed.

This power couple epitomized the warm, welcoming nepotism of the Donald Trump

“HE REALLY CAN’T PURSUE HIS OWN DREAMS. THERE’S NO REALITY IN WHICH HE WOULD BECOME A WOODWORKER.” — old friend DANIELLE ARNOLD The doors opened on a stark monochrome room with marble floors.

After a moment, Deborah Stellio appeared – a middle-aged woman with kind eyes who, I later learned, watched over Eric for a summer in upstate New York when he was 12. Now, she worked as his personal secretary. She led me past a Secret Service agent and buzzed me into the lobby, where two more agents, standing against floor-to-ceiling glass windows, appeared to float hundreds of feet above a stunning vista of Central Park.

Stellio asked me to wait a moment. A girl in a lacy blue cocktail dress loudly clip-clopped across the fine white marble in sky-high heels. It was cold in that way fancy Manhattan offices are on a hot summer day.

After a few minutes, Eric swung open a glass door with a smile. “Where’s Frank? There he is!” Dressed in a finely textured suit, he held the door for his wife, Lara. Then eight months pregnant, she somehow appeared svelte and graceful as she glided across the room in a form-fitting dress and high heels. I had forgotten how tall they both were.

era. All under one roof, the son was on the 25th floor, responsible for the father’s financial well-being – funneling Trump Organization profits into a trust. Five floors down, the daughter-in-law was directing the strategy to funnel votes into the father’s column, effectively running the campaign to re-elect him president. Nothing seemed to slow Donald Trump’s finely tuned business machine, not even his soon-to-be grandson, Eric Luke Trump, who would arrive four weeks later.

In the lobby, we breezed by clumps of tourists. No one appeared to notice Eric until we reached the restaurant, where a flurry of smiles cascaded, from the hostess, to the bartender, to the waitstaff, each of whom he greeted by name with a warm efficiency that was nevertheless disarming.

An elderly woman stopped mid-munch and nodded knowingly at the president’s son.

We slipped into a red leather booth at the back. He ordered his usual, chipotle chicken bowl and an iced tea. I made it two.

It was cold, unsweetened tea, the kind they serve at golf courses. Which reminded me.

Last spring, veteran golf reporter James Dodson recalled a conversation out on the

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links with Eric in 2013 when he asked how the Trumps were finding money to buy up golf properties. Eric’s response? “Well, we don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia,” according to Dodson. Eric denied he said that shortly after it was reported, telling the New York Post it was “categorically untrue,” and that “we have zero ties to Russian investors.” I couldn’t help but wonder what our conversation might reveal – perhaps about the ongoing drama surrounding the Russia inquiries, but also about himself.

As I watched Eric speak, repeatedly preaching the seriousness of “the division of church and state” – that is, keeping the Trump Organization separated from the Trump administration – his stiff posture and stately gestures seemed alien to me.

This slickly dressed, high-functioning businessman with an elegant life was a far cry from the Eric we knew back at Hill. But, of course, people change as they grow up.

The Eric Trump you meet in person is not quite the Eric Trump you see on TV, acting as his father’s fiery defender.

Nor is he really the buffoonish punching bag portrayed by late-night comedians, although many at Hill remember Eric’s tendency to talk first and think later. Talk TV is a tough medium for anyone and Eric seems to be trying his best to emulate and defend the president.

Today, it’s easy to see his father in him.

Before, no one ever did.

HE DAY ERIC MOVED in to Hill back in September of 1997, he arrived with Donald and Ivana, hauling just two duffel bags and a lamp stuffed in a hamper.

Like the rest of the Hill boys, he wore “academic dress” – coat and tie – throughout the six-day school week and ate group meals at long, crowded tables draped with cloth and surrounded by woodpaneled walls where N.C. Wyeth paintings hung beneath antique chandeliers fastened to imposing beams that framed a dining hall worthy of Hogwarts.

Eric lodged with the other eighth-grade boys, or second formers as the school called them, in a set of charming but rickety small houses opposite the headmaster’s house.

Twice weekly, the entire student body filed into the Alumni Memorial Chapel, a citadel of rough stone squaring off the main campus quadrangle, to sing hymns and listen to an inspirational speech by a professor, a senior student

T

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CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017

ERIC TRUMP’S YEARBOOK PAGE IN 2002, THE YEAR HE GRADUATED FROM THE HILL SCHOOL.

City & State New York

October 2, 2017

or visiting scholar. Speckled light filtered through stained glass onto rows of wooden pews, drawing attention to glass visages of history’s great academics lining the nave. Behind the altar was a biblical credo in gold leaf: “Watch ye – Stand fast in the faith – Quit you like men – Be strong.” Soaring above the entire sanctuary was a great stone arch with an inscription bearing the school motto: “Whatsoever Things Are True.”

The phrase comes from a letter by St. Paul to a church in Philippi asking them to be humble, stay united and focus their minds on what was true, honest, just, pure, lovely and commendable. Truth was The Hill School’s highest ideal, enshrined in a rigid honor code with the motto, woven into the fabric of the school’s navy blue blazers, fluttering below a sword and shield.

This was the school that Ivana Trump decided her husband should send their two boys to. Eric’s five-year span there is what he considers the most important time in his life.

From the beginning, Eric’s classmates remember him as a little quieter than his often raucous peers. He was earnest and awkward, goofy and unpretentious, gracious and sweet-spirited. Many said he didn’t stick out among Hill boys, except for his height. He was an average student and a decent athlete. He tried out for football, but that didn’t last long. He was a natural ice skater, but didn’t excel past the junior

statements. Eric was not dumb, classmate and close friend Taylor Handwerk remembered, but “he would say some stupid shit.”

During a school hockey game, Eric and other Hill boys were razzing their opponents, when all of a sudden the arena went silent and Eric shouted out, “No. 15 is a choad!”

It stuck. Eric’s friends would teasingly but lovingly call him “choad” for the rest of his time at Hill – a moniker featured at the top of his yearbook profile.

Despite his family’s vast wealth, Eric had little access to cash at Hill. When his dormmates ordered food from Hing San, he would haunt the doorway, looking for french fries. On excursions to the cineplex, classmates remember having to buy the billionaire’s son a movie ticket. His scavenging even earned him a yearbook superlative: “biggest mooch.”

The Hill School was a place of strictly enforced rules – mandatory meals, class times and chapel times, schoolwide study hall from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., and lights out at 11 p.m. There were demerits for a forgotten belt or missing socks, and the dreadful prospect of Saturday night and Sunday morning detentions for poor behavior.

The dormitories were a steam valve of pent-up teenage angst. Existence was an endless stream of pranks, taunts and foul language. Classmates tormented Eric by downloading pictures of his famous

“IT’S NOT MY JOB TO SPEAK OUT WHEN I DISAGREE. IT’S JUST NOT.” — Eric Trump varsity team in hockey. Eventually, he discovered an aptitude for golf.

During his early years at Hill, academics were not Eric’s strong suit. In particular, students mocked Eric for his clumsy grasp on Spanish – he once mistook a classmate’s wild gibberish for the language. Another time he earnestly asked his Dominican friend and classmate Oliver Jacquez, “Is Fidel Castro the king of Spain?”

Nevertheless, Eric worked hard to get higher grades.

“On one hand, he was silly, kind, trusting of the people around him,” Oliver recalled. “But sometimes, that led him astray.”

There was always a charming quality to his naive questions and half-baked

mother and sister, then posting doctored photos of them around the dorm or on his computer background. Eric would respond by tackling the giggling offenders and wrestling matches would ensue.

This was the jungle law of boarding school. Telling lewd jokes about someone’s sister was expected, but so was the requisite beatdown. However, Eric says he gave as good as he got, being taller and, perhaps, particularly well-motivated.

Outside of the pubescent roughhousing of the all-boys dormitories, in 1998 a new reality shifted the culture of the 150-year-old boarding school: girls. To make room, Hill eliminated eighth grade, making Eric’s class the last of the “fiveyear boys.”

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Classmates remember a gangly, blonde-haired boy that most often wore an old baseball cap, a crew neck shirt under a black fleece, and well-worn khakis. It was easy to forget his last name. At Hill, they say, Eric was not a Trump, he was just Eric.

Eric never sought the company of the cool kids, the prettiest people or even the other kids with money. He quickly became close friends with Danielle Arnold. She was a scholarship student, from a poor family in Montana, and she described herself as “physically larger than the other girls.”

After dinner one December evening, Eric approached Danielle and another friend, and without a word pulled two powder blue jewelry boxes from his pockets. Inside were matching Tiffany’s keychains.

“It was totally unexpected and so sweet,” Danielle said. “I have it to this day.”

Hollis Sherman-Pepe, a breathy-toned artist and self-described “hippy wild child,” vividly remembers first seeing Eric sitting on a stool alone happily eating a mookie – the Hill grill’s famously greasy ham and cheese sandwich. Eric had a crush on her and he asked her out again and again. “There was an honesty and an innocence and a sweetness to that when you tell a girl you like her and she says ‘Noo,’” Hollis recalled, her voice lilting in a girlish squirm. “We were just buddies.”

Generally, Eric hung out with the five-year boys – a brotherhood of misfits who numbered fewer than 20 in our graduating class of over 160. And among that quirky clique, a few of Eric’s closest friends could be particularly cruel. One of them, Nolan Evans, is best remembered by his classmates for his taunts, jeers and crude language.

When Nolan would mock another boy or girl, drawing laughter from his friends, no one seemed to remember a time when Eric asked him to stop. He would quietly come alongside someone afterward, to say he didn’t mean it, classmates recalled, but never stood up to a bully. Eric was a deeply loyal friend, no matter how flawed his choice of company.

Like most of his classmates, Eric slogged through school, but was unquestionably the most talented woodworker anyone could remember. Year after year, Eric won awards for his craftsmanship.

“I loved building. I was in woodshop any free minute that I had. It’s still my passion in the world,” Eric said.

He spent hours there carefully carving, cutting, shaving, sanding and finishing his projects with painstaking detail. A bench. A one-man rowing scull. Arched

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trusses for a bell that would be placed prominently on display at the center of campus.

“I remember feeling kind of sad that he really can’t pursue his own dreams.

There’s no reality in which he would become a woodworker,” Danielle said.

“I wonder – because I care about him, obviously – who would he be if he wasn’t in this family? Would he choose to be doing what he’s doing?”

OR A MAN SO often defined as his father’s son, students recalled that Donald Trump had been conspicuously absent from Eric’s life at Hill.

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created a need for the older Trump siblings to help raise their little brother Eric.

“I’ve always said he’s not the kind of conventional let’s go play catch in the backyard kind of dad,” Don Jr. told me from behind his cluttered desk, packed with outward-facing photographs of his kids.

Their father would instruct them in an allencompassing business education later in life, he explained, once they were old enough to understand and appreciate the cutthroat world of New York real estate. “He’s, he’s very welcoming, but it’s sort of on his terms,” Don Jr. said. “How he wants to do things, in the things he’s interested in.”

In his 1987 bestseller “The Art of the Deal,” Donald Trump wrote of his three young children that “as they get older, being a father gets easier. I adore them all, but I’ve

“IT LOOKS LIKE HE’S DONE A MASTER CLASS IN BELIEVING HIS OWN BULLSHIT.” — classmate Khoy Blasi-Diggs When Donald and Ivana dropped him off in 1997, as knowing parents whispered and giggled at the celebrity sighting, Donald Trump asked Eric’s 13-year-old roommate, “Are you going to take care of my boy?”

Students recall he wouldn’t return to Hill until Eric’s graduation day in 2002, an event his mother missed, apparently for the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix, a student recalled and news reports suggest.

Daniel May, a science teacher assigned to be Eric’s academic adviser – a role he considered “surrogate parent” – understood that Eric was raised largely by his nannies.

When May needed to speak with Eric’s parents, he spoke with a nanny who acted as intermediary.

Don Jr., or “Donny” as Eric called him, would take his younger brother off campus to go fly fishing or hunting in the nearby state park when he could. They were pastimes learned as children escaping the chaos of New York City and their parents’ tumultuous marriage. Infamously, a front-page New York Post headline boomed that Marla Maples said their stillmarried father was the “BEST SEX I’VE EVER HAD.” Eric was just 6 at the time, but Donny was 12, old enough to understand the news and hate it.

It was not so much the things their parents did, but rather what they left undone that

never been great at playing with toy trucks and dolls. Now though, Donny is beginning to get interested in buildings, and real estate, and sports, and that’s great.”

Throughout Eric’s childhood, Don Jr. said, “Perhaps I was able to fill some of that void for Eric because I had the benefit of maybe being a little bit older and having more time with my grandfather.” Ivana’s father, Miloš Zelníček, was a Czech electrician who taught young Donny how to fish and shoot guns in the rustic woods near the small industrial city of Zlín, Czech Republic. When their grandfather passed away, shortly after their parents’ divorce, Donny passed those skills on to Eric. Those moments in nature remain a respite from the chaos for the Trump brothers, who call Westchester County their real home now.

After graduating from Hill in 2002, Eric left the shelter chosen by his mother and began a new education – being groomed for his father’s business.

Eric had been accepted to Georgetown University, raising more than a few eyebrows at Hill, among other students who applied and among two Hill school employees with direct knowledge of Eric’s academic record.

Although, at graduation Eric had won the academic award for improvement, strength of resolve, character and a desire to achieve.

In his chosen fields of study, finance and management, he found it was much easier

than Hill and graduated from Georgetown with honors.

In college, Eric grew more confident – and taller – but retained his reputation for kindness among his peers. He joined the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity, or “B frat.”

“I’d see Eric at parties,” said Kevin Lundquist, a Hill School classmate who also attended Georgetown and kept in touch after college. But Eric didn’t go out to clubs or live in a showy way. “He was very comfortable just going to the B frat kegger type of atmosphere.” Despite his family owning an upscale apartment nearby, Eric chose to live in the freshmen dorms with everyone else.

After a few years working in investment banking, Eric says he took the advice of mentors and jumped into the red-hot 2006 U.S. real estate market, once again donning the coat and tie, required for admittance at the Trump Organization. The ensuing market crash, Eric said, led to “the greatest opportunity in the world for us as a company but more specifically me,” as they spent the next four years “buying up every piece of land we could get our hands on.”

Kevin stayed in touch with Eric while they were both in New York, through 2011, but he has noticed that the way his old friend communicates has changed even since then.

“The mannerisms and the messaging style is so similar,” Kevin said. “The use of hand gestures and the rapid-fire speaking style that he’s sort of adopted over the years just makes me think that it’s not just a result of who he is. I think it’s a result of training himself to communicate in a certain style.”

That is, his father’s style.

“One of the things about Donald that just drives me crazy is that he refuses to concede even the smallest of points,” Kevin added. “And I think Eric has adopted that too.”

FTER LUNCH, WE talked in his office high above Fifth Avenue, Eric perched in his chair at his wraparound desk. He repeatedly drew parallels between his hands-on woodworking craftsmanship and his real estate development deals, insisting that he remained “a builder.” A set of prefabricated shelves hovered above him filled with pictures and memorabilia from construction projects around the world.

Which of those things was he most proud of?

Without hesitating, he grabbed a photo off the far left corner. It was a picture of the

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City & State New York

October 2, 2017

Eric Trump Foundation’s first $1 million check to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, benefiting the leading pediatric cancer treatment center.

He created the organization just after college with a few friends. He’d heard about how many other charities had sky-high administrative costs, often throwing lavish parties where only a small percentage would go toward the cause.

Paige Scardigli, a college friend who volunteered early on and later became executive director for the Eric Trump Foundation, said Eric knew that with free access to his family’s golf courses he could throw tournaments to benefit a great cause with minimal expense, maximizing the good he could do.

But late last year, media organizations began questioning the charity’s practices.

On Dec. 23, The Associated Press’ headline blasted: “Eric Trump Foundation flouts charity standards.” The report said the foundation had financially benefited charities connected to the Trump family and members of the charity’s board. In an effort to allay concerns, in December Eric removed himself – and his name – from the foundation, now named The Curetivity Foundation. A New York Times headline on his birthday, Jan. 6, seemed to offer a measure of vindication: “Hospital Confirms Eric Trump Helped Raise $16.3 Million for It.” The respite was short. Forbes published a damning portrayal of the charity’s operations and continues to churn out follow-ups. “I’ve never seen him so upset,” Scardigli said.

In a family that famously loathes the press, Eric directs his ire squarely at Dan Alexander, the journalist behind the Forbes articles.

In Eric’s mind, Alexander’s reporting embodies everything wrong with American journalism. “There are elements of this world that are very perverse,” he said. “The company subsidized the charity by millions,” in terms of “donations, use of assets, etc,” Eric explained. “Honestly, the guy wanted to write a sensational article and he kills me for it.”

Alexander said he first wrote a very positive story about the Eric Trump Foundation, but the fact-checkers said Eric’s statements weren’t supported by the facts.

“Hey, this is a charity that’s done a lot of good work,” Alexander said. Nevertheless, he said documents and reporting showed a more complicated picture. “When you add all that up, I think the portrait that we

painted gave people a clear sense of that.”

But could he see Eric’s point that his stories may result in children with cancer receiving less funding?

“Look, if I had started a charity and my dad had made me pay his club for the charity (event) and then my dad ran for president and it was uncovered, I would not be happy,” he said. Alexander noted that New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is looking into issues raised by his reporting, which the attorney general’s office confirmed. “I think they started with good intentions and they made a mistake.”

The loss of his charity work is Eric’s gravest disappointment and doubtless, in his mind, the greatest personal cost of his father’s presidency.

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UT SOME OF THOSE who knew him best at Hill feel a sense of loss themselves. In a moment of terrible partisan divisions – amid a rise in white supremacy, a battle over the future of health care, fears of mass immigrant deportations, reversals of LGBT achievements and the specter of a nuclear showdown with North Korea – Eric is in a position to bring his graciousness to the national discourse and stand up for the school’s sacred values of truth and honor. But, they say, he has not. Instead, he dutifully steps into the bright lights to proclaim his father’s uncompromising message. But many classmates doubt he believes what he’s saying on camera.

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“It looks like he’s done a master class in believing his own bullshit,” classmate Khoy Blasi-Diggs said. “Anytime he talks about politics or his dad, it seems extremely disingenuous.”

Eric insists the views he speaks out on publicly are his own as well as his father’s.

“If I was on the opposite side of the aisle, believe me, I wouldn’t be out there,” he said.

“I do believe in him, I believe in the message, I believe in the platform, I believe in everything that he’s trying to accomplish.”

Moreover, he said he has never said anything he knew to be false to the press.

Instead of focusing on parsing the words in his father’s latest controversial statement, Eric says he walks into confrontational interviews to stridently defend the man he knows his father to be.

“That’s my biggest role. That’s my role that I complete better than any person alive. That’s speaking on behalf of a person I know. I know his heart and I know his soul and I know his values. And I probably wouldn’t have turned out to be the person I am if you didn’t have a damn good parent. I don’t think good kids pop out of awful parenting.”

When I told Eric that many of his classmates had indeed had fond memories of him, but feared that he had become the person they see on television, he fell silent.

“Huh,” he said, rocking back slightly in his chair. “That’s, that’s actually disappointing.” In his view, there’s nothing he has said that he has found controversial or wrong. He’s simply taken out of context or people are willfully misinterpreting his wellintentioned words – from waterboarding to sexual harassment.

But why did he not condemn his father’s “grab ’em by the pussy” comments on the “Access Hollywood” tape, as Ivanka and Don Jr. did? Was it excusable?

“I don’t think so,” Eric said, his words turning softer and reluctant, his fingertips absentmindedly plucking at each other in a frenzied silence. “I think there were comments that he apologized for and …” his voice trailing off, before regaining his footing. “Yeah, but he’s not that PC person.

Do I have to speak against every single thing that you see that could be slightly off? No.” “It’s not my job to speak out when I disagree. It’s just not,” Eric said, picking up pace. “I can get up and speak about the 99.5 percent of things that I’m totally in sync with and agree with. And I can also talk about the unbelievable man that he is, because he’s just a great person.”

Danielle, Eric’s onetime close friend and confidant, will now leave the room to avoid

October 2, 2017

“I PROBABLY WOULDN’T HAVE TURNED OUT TO BE THE PERSON I AM IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE A DAMN GOOD PARENT.” — Eric Trump seeing Eric on television. She says that his words just don’t seem like his own anymore.

“I don’t know if the person I know is still there – I’m sure he is, I’m sure he is – but,” she said pausing, “I don’t necessarily want to find out.”

Hollis, the girl Eric once chased after, is “disgusted” with his father. “I would really love to support my friend – well, he’s not anymore – but if Eric were to be the shining beacon of hope, I would be the first to jump up and say, ‘Listen to Eric!’” she said. “If he’s just going to be part of the machine, he’s just made himself irrelevant.”

Lara, Eric’s wife, sees another reason for his classmates’ disillusionment.

“Unfortunately politics divide a lot of people. I have it in my own life,” Lara said.

“Eric is always going to be a loyal person to his dad and truly believes what his dad is doing for this country. If people don’t agree with him, I can see how they think he’s changed, but Eric hasn’t changed from the guy I met nine and a half years ago, to the guy I married almost three years ago – he’s still the same humble, kind person.”

RIC BLAMES POLITICS itself – with its swampy politicians, shadowy political machines and dishonest political journalists – for distorting his image.

In the political world, Eric said, “The most innocent, purest, the best intentions are often muddied to the worst, most unthinkable. That happens. That’s the evil game that that system really is.”

“It’s a major sacrifice. And I don’t think it’s just a major sacrifice to you,” he said. “That’s one thing, but the sacrifice very much transcends to spouses, to the immediate family and you do very much need to sign up for that, otherwise it’s not a very fun ride. I think that’s why I probably would stay away from politics.”

Two doors down, however, his older brother has a very different take on political power.

“In terms of politics? It is fascinating.

It’s brutal. It sucks. It’s great. It’s a great

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roller coaster,” Don Jr. said, with a smirk broadening into a wry grin. “A presidential race. With a small underdog crew. It doesn’t get more intense than that. You go back from doing that for two years. It’s like, OK, go back to what you were doing for the last 10. It’s like, ‘Eh!’” he says playfully raising his voice to squeak.

“You’re in the greatest fight not actual war that there is. To say, all right go back to your old life – it isn’t that easy,” Don said.

For a man who testified just the day before in front of a closed-door U.S. Senate hearing into Russian meddling in the presidential election, Don Jr. was unbowed, and scoffed at the idea of any wrongdoing.

He declined to speak on the record about his emails related to meeting with a Russian attorney.

But, despite the rumors, Don Jr. said he has no plans to run for mayor or governor at the moment – he’s more interested in working behind the scenes to get others elected, for now.

Whether or not the Trump brothers want to be in politics, they are. Several family members make or influence the most consequential decisions on Earth from the West Wing of the White House, although Eric steadfastly maintains there is a division between the family business and the administration.

Nevertheless, by virtue of the blood in his veins and the business card in his pocket, Eric holds remarkable power.

Standing beside him, in front of the tall, tinted glass windows of Trump Tower, I asked if he understands how powerful he really is.

“I don’t know. That’s one of the hardest questions I’ve ever gotten,” he said. “Power could be channeled wisely into great things or negatively into bad things. So, I guess it depends on how you define power. I don’t know.”

Eric rattled off a list of things he cared about deeply – his own young family, his family’s legacy and the family company.

But he never really answered the question.

Once again, it seemed as if what Eric had left unsaid was what mattered most.

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October 2, 2017

City & State New York

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October 2, 2017

STATE BUDGET PREVIEW 2018

October 2, 2017

City & State New York

CAROL BELL/SHUTTERSTOCK

WHENEVER A CHAMPION is crowned in a major professional sports league, sports writers are quick to rush out their way-too-early lists of the favorites for the following season. Months before awards season, the entertainment industry begins buzzing about who might win an Oscar, an Emmy or a Grammy. And in the aftermath of presidential elections, pundits have been weighing in earlier and earlier with who they think will run in the next election.

But where the prognosticating is perhaps more worthwhile is in Albany, where planning for the next legislative session can begin as early as April, just after the state budget is finalized.

And some point to Labor Day as the turning point when the lobbying really begins to pick up.

Whatever the case, the second half of the year has long been a time to test the political winds, develop policy proposals and revise existing bills to improve their chance of passing next year. The Cuomo administration spends months putting together the top priorities to roll out in January, and legislators and lobbyists know that getting a bill in the governor’s budget can be just what’s needed to get it across the finish line.

And it’s increasingly critical to lay the legislative groundwork early. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is up for re-election next year, as are all of the state’s lawmakers, and everyone will be eager to get out of town and start fundraising and campaigning sooner rather than later.

In this special section, we look at a handful of proposals that are already on the table – and who’s pushing to get them in the state budget.

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CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017

DREAM ACT PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has roiled the immigrant community with his decision to end an Obama-era policy that allowed young undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. With the president shifting the responsibility to Congress to replace the program in the next six months, some state lawmakers say it’s critical that New York do what it can on its own for these young immigrants.

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, or DREAM Act, was aimed at protecting young immigrants who are vulnerable to deportation, but Congress has failed to pass the bill. The state’s version of the DREAM Act would allow these undocumented immigrants to qualify for state financial aid for college.

This state legislation, which passed in the Assembly, has found only 16 support-

ers in the state Senate, far short of the 32 needed for passage, said state Sen. Jose Peralta, a sponsor of the legislation, and member of the state Senate Independent Democratic Conference. “(The goal is to) include it in the state budget and make it a priority especially because of what’s going on at a federal level,” Peralta told City & State.

“Many of the mainline (Democrats) understand that we have become the front line of immigrant protection,” Peralta said.

“Now, we have to step up to the plate and help them do whatever we can to protect immigrants on a state level.”

However, Republicans who control the state Senate have blocked the legislation.

Early last year, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan reiterated his conference’s opposition to the measure.

“I’m going to put it in plain and simple

terms: There’s tons of middle-class families in the state of New York who are struggling,” Flanagan told the Times Union. “I met with college students who are working two and three jobs just to go to community college. So my primary obligation, and I think the position of our members is, let’s make sure we’re taking care of the hard-working middle-class taxpayers who are struggling right now.”

But after Gov. Andrew Cuomo included the state DREAM Act in his 2017 budget proposal, Peralta believes there is hope for the bill to be included in the final state budget next year.

“We’re going to ask him to include it again. Not only to include it in his executive budget, but to keep it in his budget so we can make it a reality, especially with what we see happening on a federal level,” Peralta said.

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IAN WARREN/SHUTTERSTOCK

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ETHICS AND ELECTION REFORMS

MIKE GROLL

IAN WARREN/SHUTTERSTOCK

City & State New York

October 2, 2017

A MONTH BEFORE last year’s presidential election, New Yorker staff writer Jeffrey Toobin told the site’s readers what many New Yorkers already knew: “The state with one of the worst records on voting rights is the nation’s great citadel of liberalism: New York.”

Since then, another state legislative session has passed in the great citadel of liberalism, and, although Gov. Andrew Cuomo highlighted some proposed voting reforms in his State of the State addresses, none of the major reforms became law.

Now, some lawmakers are hoping that Cuomo pushes harder for those same voting reforms in 2018 – and reforms campaign finance law while he’s at it.

“It’s long, long past time that we closed the LLC loophole,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger, a Democrat on the Elections

Committee. “It’s the worst-kept secret in Albany. Every year we pay lip service to reform, and every year we kick the can down the road.”

The “LLC loophole” allows limited liability companies to avoid the state’s campaign contribution limits. Cuomo included closing the loophole as one of his 2017 State of the State proposals, saying in a release that such a reform would “even the playing field so that rich and poor New Yorkers alike have their voices heard in our political process.”

But that proposal failed to become law in 2017, just as it failed in previous years, when Cuomo also called named it as a priority. Notably, Cuomo has benefited from the loophole, getting free rent for his campaign office and reportedly raising at least $1 million from other LLCs.

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The Democratic-led Assembly passed a bill that would’ve closed the LLC loophole last year, but the Republican-led state Senate never brought the bill to the floor for a vote. Krueger thinks that could change this year with enough of a push from Cuomo.

“Whether it’s through legislation, through the budget or through the state Board of Elections, we really have no excuse not to act this year,” she said.

“The governor should make closing the LLC loophole a line in the sand.”

Other reforms met the same fate last year. Cuomo included a package of voter reforms in his State of the State proposals, such as allowing early voting, automatic voter registration and registration on Election Day. Those bills passed the Assembly, but not the state Senate.

State Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan defended Republicans by arguing that a number of ethics reforms have already been implemented in recent years.

“In the last five or six years there’s been very, very significant ethics reforms in the state of New York in ways that people don’t even realize yet,” Flanagan said in March, according to New York State Public Radio. “We have more transparency and more disclosure for elected officials in the state of New York than any other state in the country.”

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October 2, 2017

SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE

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City & State New York

October 2, 2017

LAST MONTH, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the once and perhaps future presidential candidate, unveiled legislation to create a single-payer health care system.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, another potential presidential candidate in 2020, was one of 16 senators to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Medicare for All Act. And Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who’s also on short lists of likely Democratic presidential contenders, offered his support for the proposal as well.

In an interview on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show,” Cuomo called the federal plan, which would make health care universal and publicly funded by the taxpayer, “a good idea.”

But Congress isn’t the only route to obtaining single-payer health care in New York. Assemblyman Richard Gottfried has repeatedly introduced the New York Health Act, which would establish a single-payer system on the state level. The bill passed in the Assembly, but failed in the Republican-controlled state Senate.

However, Gottfried is optimistic that the state Legislature could pass such a measure, especially with the support of Cuomo.

Gottfried said that he was “delighted” by

the governor’s remarks, as they indicated he was moving forward on this issue.

“I believe as he looks at that set of issues, he will be favorably inclined,” the assemblyman said. “I’m certainly not speaking for him, but it’s enormously encouraging that he said the concept makes sense.”

One of the key arguments against the proposal, however, is the high price tag as patients shift from paying insurers and providers to covering costs through taxes. The state would need to raise significant funds – about $92 billion in tax hikes, according to one academic analysis – to pay for the act.

“I think if you look at it realistically, you’re going to dramatically increase costs,” Bill Hammond, the Empire Center for Public Policy’s director of health policy, said on a recent City & State podcast. “And that $92 billion tax increase – which by the way would more than double our total taxes in the state – that tax increase could be substantially more than that. I’ve seen estimates that may be triple that.”

The math could make it politically unpalatable for Cuomo, who said that state-level single-payer health care was “an exciting possibility,” but was more likely going to be

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achieved through “a federal play.”

But Gottfried believes his proposal has almost enough support to be passed in the state Senate, a task which would be even easier if Cuomo named single-payer health care a priority in his budget address.

Assuming that former state Sen. Daniel Squadron is replaced by another Democrat who supports the bill, Gottfried said that his bill would have 31 supporters in the state Senate – one shy of a majority.

“Being so close to the majority gives us enormous momentum,” he said.

Gottfried’s bill eliminates the need for private insurers and Medicaid, and would provide “all benefits required by current state insurance law” without any copays.

The assemblyman argued that single-payer would be cheaper for the average New Yorker, as they will be paying less in taxes than in payments to insurance companies, but the state would nonetheless have to absorb some costs.

And if the federal government reduces the funding for Medicaid in New York, Gottfried thinks that his proposal would be the most feasible path to providing health care for all.

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12 Sheridan Avenue | Albany, New York 12207 | (518) 436-6202 | ostroffassociates.com

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October 2, 2017

SCAFFOLD CONGESTION PRICING

City & State New York

October 2, 2017

A GROUP OF Democratic lawmakers hoping to take down the state Scaffold Law are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to join the fight by addressing the measure in his 2018 budget proposal.

In an open letter to the governor on Sept. 8, seven Assembly members argued that the Scaffold Law should be reformed.

The statute requires business owners and contractors to be held fully responsible when a worker is killed or injured in a fall or other similar danger working high above the streets.

Building contractors, developers, insurers and other opponents said the legislation has dramatically raised project costs while allowing workers to avoid responsibility for any role they may have played in an accident.

But the law’s supporters, including unions, trial lawyers and worker advo-

GUBIN YURY; KHANUNHAHA/SHUTTERSTOCK

D LAW

FACING GROWING FRUSTRATION over New York City’s deteriorating mass transit system, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is dusting off an old idea that stalled a decade ago: congestion pricing.

Albany lawmakers in recent years have pushed for congestion pricing as a way to reduce traffic in the Manhattan core and raise funds for needed infrastructure upgrades. Last year, Assembly lawmakers introduced a congestion pricing proposal called Move NY. The plan would charge a toll on crossing Manhattan’s four East River bridges, in addition to vehicles driving below 60th Street in Manhattan. This would reduce congestion during peak business hours and generate approximately $1.35 billion each year.

When the governor rolls out his latest state budget proposal in January, supporters of the bill hope he endorses their plan to address the city’s growing transportation woes.

Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez, who introduced the Move NY bill, said he’s hopeful that Cuomo will announce funds for the plan in his State of the State address. “So far, he’s only announced support for the idea, but this shows he understands the need for it,” Rodriguez said.

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cates, say that it is critical to ensuring the safety of construction workers.

Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, one of the lawmakers who signed the letter and the co-sponsor of a bill to change the policy, argued that eliminating this specific law would not harm other construction safety efforts.

“It’s been the law in New York state since 1885, at a time that predated workers’ compensation, OSHA and a whole host of safety measures that would be unaffected by reforming the Scaffold Law,” he said.

Cuomo has signaled support for reforming the Scaffold Law, but he also said that “you can’t change” the law due to the heavy support from building trades and trial lawyers. Schimminger believes that its financial cost will be enough to convince the governor to take action.

Even if Cuomo is reluctant to act, lawmakers aren’t, including at the federal level. Last month, Rep. John Faso introduced federal legislation that would negate the state law on all projects that receive federal funding.

Faso’s proposal came under attack by New York supporters of the Scaffold Law. State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento and New York State Building and Construction Trades Council President James Cahill said the congressman should focus instead on getting more infrastructure funds for the state instead of “fighting to tear down a worker safety protection that will only help insurance companies make even larger profits.”

“Those who place costs over the safety, health and well-being of workers should be ashamed of themselves,” Cilento and Cahill said in a statement.

“The Scaffold Safety Law is a vital worker protection, and we should not even consider rolling back its provisions and in turn workplace safety.”

Schimminger, however, believes that Faso’s approach does not go far enough, and that this problem is better tackled by the state.

“John Faso’s plan only deals with projects which involve federal funding,” he said. “The Scaffold Law in New York affects every construction project.”

Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, a co-sponsor of the bill, said, “There is significant pressure from MTA commuters disappointed with extensive delays and other daily sources of disruption to resolve this issue. I supported congestion pricing under the former Bloomberg administration and continue to do so now. We hope to reach a consensus in the Assembly soon and put the plan into action.”

Galef added that the worsening condition of the MTA would motivate both Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to throw their weight behind the plan. However, the mayor has publicly dismissed the idea, calling it “inconceivable” with Republican control of the state Senate. Instead, the mayor has proposed a tax on the wealthy to fund transit upgrades.

De Blasio added that while the Move NY plan is an improvement over former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s failed congestion pricing proposal, it still did not fully address his concerns about costs for outer borough residents.

“I still think there’s a huge number of outstanding issues particularly on equity,” de Blasio said at a press conference days after Cuomo announced his support for congestion pricing. “So I still don’t see a path forward on this, but if the governor comes

up with a different kind of plan, we will assess it at the time.”

In spite of the support for congestion pricing, lawmakers said it may not be the one-stop solution for transit woes that can also be attributed to years of mismanagement and operational faults in the MTA. “There needs to be a revamping of equipment and redress for operational missteps.

Congestion pricing is to fund the cost of doing that, but it’s definitely not going to singlehandedly solve the problem,” Galef said.

Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, another sponsor of the Move NY bill, called it a “good start,” but added that “we have been sitting on charging toll taxes for nine years now and the transit problem has gotten worse.”

“There is certainly an interest in the Independent Democratic Conference for the plan,” Benedetto said, “although it’s premature to speculate on funds for its implementation in the upcoming state budget.”

Referring to differences between de Blasio and Cuomo on congestion pricing, the assemblyman said it was vital for them to unite on this issue so as to not exacerbate the MTA’s condition. “Both of them have a vested interest in improving the subways,” he said.

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CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017

The must-read news source for New York’s nonprofits Edited by AIMÉE SIMPIERRE

PERSPECTIVES

ALL IN THE FAMILY A bill before Cuomo could give foster kids some sorely needed stability

R

ECENT LEGISLATION TO expand the Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program, or KinGAP, introduced by state Sen. Tony Avella and Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi, benefits foster care providers by supporting the agility and innovation needed to create stability that young people desperately need.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo should sign this bill.

Work in child welfare is fraught with complexity. From the beginning, our work at JCCA (formerly known as the Jewish Child Care Association) is divided between the push and pull of meeting families’ urgent needs and planning a future for them that is free of our involvement. To do our work well requires dedication, creativity and flexibility.

When a child comes into care, they are placed with a temporary foster caregiver who assumes responsibility for their needs while family court, children’s services and an organization like JCCA all work to explore options for a permanent placement.

Two common options are strengthening an existing family so that the child can come home, known as reunification, or adop-

LIDERINA/SHUTTERSTOCK

By KETURAH PIERRE

tion, finding a new family to take permanent custody of a child.

Adoption is ideal for many children in foster care, but requires a parent to terminate or surrender their parental rights.

This can be traumatic, and it can take years. And sometimes it doesn’t work out.

What happens when neither reunification or adoption will work?

Fortunately, we have a third option. For medical, legal and academic purposes, a guardian has all the same rights as a parent, but the parent retains the option to regain custody.

This may sound complicated, but so is life for our clients. Here’s a hypothetical example of how it works: Kaya lives with her godmother, Rhonda. Though Kaya’s mother, Rita, was never able to meet all the requirements for reunification, she continues to be present in Kaya’s life. As Kaya has gotten older, they’ve forged a new bond, encouraged

by Rhonda. Kaya is stable and happy, and Rhonda is satisfied with her relationship with both Kaya and Rita. Rhonda doesn’t

want to adopt Kaya and be “mom.” And for her part, Kaya doesn’t really want to be adopted either. This is called the “loyalty bind” – even in troubled relationships, many children don’t want new, nurturing connections to trump biological ties.

At JCCA, our team works together to explore every possible placement option among existing relationship connections because we know that our clients do better in “kinship homes.”

Luckily, the New York City Administration for Children’s Services recognized this in the late 1980s when it began reimbursing close relatives for the expenses of fostering their family members under kinship foster care. Later, ACS expanded the term “kin” to include those who were not related by blood, but had strong connections to the child, such as neighbors or teachers.

It’s paying off with faster, more stable situations for our youth. According to ACS, JCCA is one of the best organizations in the city when it comes to finding kin homes for our children within 45 days of placement in foster care.

ALI GARBER

LIDERINA/SHUTTERSTOCK

City & State New York

October 2, 2017

However, nonbiological kinship foster caregivers are currently only eligible for reimbursement while they are fostering. The proposed legislation would allow nonbiological kinship foster caregivers to continue to be reimbursed if they choose to become guardians.

Before KinGap, Kaya’s permanency plan would mean staying in foster care or disrupting her relationships with loved ones. But under Avella and Hevesi’s proposal, Rhonda could become a guardian – avoiding the lengthy adoption process and retaining the reimbursement payments previously available only to biological guardians. Kaya can continue to build a bond with her mother – and Rhonda can continue to collaborate with Rita without ever having to consider replacing her. Kaya, surrounded by people she knows and trusts, will be less likely to return to care.

The guardianship option improves outcomes by allowing children to remain with loved ones. The payments reduce poverty by making sure kids have the resources they need when staying with people they know in their own communities.

The expansion legislation was unanimously approved in the Assembly and state Senate and is awaiting Cuomo’s signature. We are already rigorously asking about kinship options, searching specialized databases and educating our families.

In 2017, about 40 percent of our foster homes were kin homes.

JCCA is proud to have worked with lawmakers in the creation of this legislation and we urge Cuomo to sign Senate Bill S4833A so that more successful kin home placements can become permanent resources for children who need it most.

This expansion is beyond anything I’ve ever seen before. After more than 25 years in child welfare, it’s gratifying to see legislators pushing policy shifts that support a full range of possible permanent and family arrangements for our young people.

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Did you miss it? MARKCON New York Nonprofit Media held its third annual Nonprofit MarkCon on Sept. 14 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, bringing together marketing and communications executives from across New York state to talk about how to help nonprofits stand out from the crowd. Topics included “The Best Methods for Engaging on Social Media” and “Using Research and Data to Help Organizations Tell Great Stories.”

MARKCON ATTENDEES.

RUTH RATHBLOTT, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE HARLEM EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FUND, MODERATES A PANEL ON DIGITAL MARKETING.

MARKCON ATTENDEES VISIT WITH VENDORS TO LEARN ABOUT AVAILABLE RESOURCES.

FROM RIGHT TO LEFT, TAMAYLA ROSS-SENGHORE OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR DISABLED YOUTH, SAFEENA MECKLAI OF CAPALINO+COMPANY AND GILLIAN EIGO OF CHARITY NAVIGATOR DISCUSS USING THE CLOUD, SOCIAL MEDIA AND MOBILE PLATFORMS FOR RAISING MONEY AND CREATING SOCIAL CHANGE.

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Keturah Pierre, senior vice president of community services at JCCA, oversees the organization’s foster care, preventive, educational and Jewish community programs.

MORE ONLINE

• NYN Media’s next set of workshops will bring together technology, information technology and executive leadership from nonprofits across New York to discuss the impact technology has on the nonprofit community. Our third Nonprofit TechCon will be held Tuesday, Dec. 5, at Convene in lower Manhattan. For updates and more about our upcoming 50 Over 50 awards, see the event page at nynmedia.com.

To see the full versions of these stories and subscribe to First Read Nonprofit, visit nynmedia.com.

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CityAndStateNY.com / PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES

October 2, 2017 TERRY SOUTHERLAND BOXING LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 6/21/17. Office loc: NY County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Terry Southerland, 1115 1st Ave #17A, NY, NY 10065.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

October 2, 2017

Notice of Qualification of Reynolds Construction, LLC. The fictitious name is: REYNOLDS CONSTRUCTION OF NEW YORK, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 9/6/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 3/1/16. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of STAFFING NETWORK HOLDINGS, L.L.C.. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 9/8/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/17/99. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE address of LLC: 160 Greentree Dr., Ste 101, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of NY Res REIT LP. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/17/17. Office location: New York County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 4/19/17.

SSNY is designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 555 Madison Ave, FL. 6, NY, NY 10022. DE address of LP: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805. Cert. of Limited Partnership filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. List of names and addresses of all general partners available from SSNY. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Beekman Tribeca 2, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 05/15/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 52 Vanderbilt, Ste 403, NY, NY 10017.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

SEAN MORRISON LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/05/2017. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 422 West 20th Street # 3F, NY, NY 10011. Reg Agent: Sean Morrison, 422 West 20th Street # 3F, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Qualification of RL Access Manager LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 05/16/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 4/13/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 280 Park Ave, Tower West, Fl. 35, NY, NY 10022. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of PROTON MANAGEMENT LLC. The fictitious name is: PROTON WEST LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 9/12/17. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 2/22/10.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 8403 Landers Development LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 01/23/13. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 202 Centre St, Fl. 6, NY, NY 10013.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of ATW Master Fund II, L.P. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/11/17. O f f i c e location: New York County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 5/2/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 325 5th Ave, Apt 38C, NY, NY 10016.

DE address of LP: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805. Cert. of Limited Partnership filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. List of names and addresses of all general partners available from SSNY. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of ATW Partners GP II, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/10/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 5/2/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 325 5th Ave, Apt 38C, NY, NY 10016. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805.

Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of WSP 975 Walton Owner LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/15/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 8/7/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of WK Flat LA Venture, L.L.C. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/10/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 9/4/14. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

YEMANY LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/10/2016.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 122 East 71st St, NY, NY 10021.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of CHS Marketing Solutions LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) 7/21/17.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: US Corp Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave., Ste 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Princ bus addr of LLC: 8 Spruce St., Apt 57H, NY, NY 10038. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

AARON HALEGUA, PLLC, a Prof. LLC., Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/13/2017.

Office location: NY County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 154 Grand Street, NY, NY 10013. Purpose: To Practice The Profession Of Law. Notice of Formation of LOGER REALTY LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/03/17. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: the Company, c/o Gallet Dreyer & Berkey LLP, 845 Third Ave., NY, NY 10022, Attn: David I. Faust, Esq. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of Kent Avon LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 7/25/17. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in Connecticut (CT) on 5/30/14.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 152 W 57th St, Fl. 22, NY, NY 10019.

CT address of LLC: 750 Old Main St, Ste 300, Rocky Hill, CT 06067. Cert. of Formation filed with CT Secy of State, 30 Trinity St, Hartford, CT 06106.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of VELA NYC, LLC filed with SSNY on 5/1/2017. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o US Corp Agents, 7014 13th Ave, Ste 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228.

Purpose: Lawful activity.

Notice of Qual of Capacity Coverage Company of New Jersey, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) 8/2/17 operating under the fictitious name of CCC of NJ LLC. Office loc: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) 1/25/17. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o C T Corporation System, 111 Eighth Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE addr. of LLC: c/o The Corporation Trust Company, 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form . filed with Secy. of State of DE, Div. of Corps 401 Federal St, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of ATW Partners II, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/10/17. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 5/2/17.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 325 5th Ave, Apt 38C, NY, NY 10016. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Gramercy 128-130 West LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 7/31/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 6/12/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 14 W 23rd St, Fl. 5, NY, NY 10010. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805.

Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Ridgewood Elmwood Owner, L.L.C. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/11/17. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 8/10/17.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801.

Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of NY Residential REIT, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/17/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/12/16. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 555 Madison Ave, FL. 6, NY, NY 10022. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of AC 4720 Third Ave LLC. Arts of Org. filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 9/21/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is National Registered Agents, Inc., 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES / CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017 Notice of Qualification of PB 23rd Street Manager LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 7/31/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 6/12/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 14 W 23rd St, FL. 5, NY, NY 10010. DE address of LLC: 1013 Centre Rd, Ste 403-B, Wilmington, DE 19805.

Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Karen R Gray, LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) 7/25/17.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to: c/o US Corp Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave. Ste 202 Brooklyn, NY 11228 Princ bus addr of LLC: 301 W 108th St Apt 9E NY, NY 10025 Purpose: any lawful act or activity Notice of Formation of HIGH VIOLET LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/06/17. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 15 Renwick St., Apt. 504, NY, NY 10013. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o U.S. Corp.

Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave., Ste. 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228, regd. agent upon whom and at which process may be served.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of BUNNY EARS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/24/17. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vassallo, P.C., 488 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10022.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

EURO TRIBECA LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 08/28/2017. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 718 Thompson Lane, Ste 108256, Nashville, TN 37204.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of Twenty A LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/25/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 25 Robert Pitt Dr., Ste 204, Monsey, NY 10952.

The name and address of the Reg. Agent is Vcorp Agent Services, Inc., 25 Robert Pitt Dr., Ste 204, Monsey, NY 10952.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Slow Design, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 8/10/17. Office location: NY County. Princ. bus. addr.: 134 10th Ave., Ste. #2/3, NY, NY 10011. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Michael D. Friedman, c/o Troutman Sanders LLP, 875 Third Ave., NY, NY 10022.

Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of Formation of 4700 SUNRISE OWNER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/30/17. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Cracking Up LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/17/17. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 205 West 76th St. #904, NY, NY 10023.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of TLM 34TH INVESTORS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/14/17. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 205 E. 85th St., Apt. 14H, NY, NY 10028. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of HourApp, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State: 8/18/17. Office location: NY Co. Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: Liana C. Silverstein, 85 East End Ave., Apt. 11JK, NY, NY 10028, principal business address.

Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of Qualification of Corvus Medicine LLC. App for Auth filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) 8/1/17. Office loc: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) 1/20/17. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: Attn: Michael Ventura, 353 W 12 St, NY, NY 10014. DE address of LLC: 300 Delaware Ave, Ste 210A, Wilmington, DE 19801.

Cert of Form filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. #4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

CAXTON ATLANTIC LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 8/23/2017.

Office in NY Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP, Attn: Jeff Slavet, 529 Fifth Ave., 9th Fl, NY, NY 10017.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of 236 Gramercy Fifth LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/17/17. Office location: New York County.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 14 W 23rd Street, Fl. 5, NY, NY 10010.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 73rd Park LLC. Arts of Org. filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 9/13/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of ARGENTUM PROPERTY HOLDINGS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/30/17.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/14/17. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Richard LeVine, Esq., Withers Bergman LLP, 15. Park Ave., 10th Fl., NY, 430 NY 10022. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of the State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of PPMT Medtech Partners I, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/14/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 1001 Ave of the Americas, Fl. 2, NY, NY 10018.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 26 W. 56 LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/25/17. Office location: New York County.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 29 W 56th St, NY, NY 10016.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice is hereby given a license, number 1304678 for on-premises Liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor at retail in a Restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 108 Greenwich St., New York, NY 10006 for on premises consumption.

Suspenders and Belt LLC D/B/A Suspenders Restaurant

KAISER ASSET DEVELOPMENT LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 08/29/17. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Louise Leung, 322 West 57th Street, #38UI, New York, NY 10019.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of DOUGHNUTTERY FRANCHISE, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/18/17. Office location: New York County.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 425 W 15th St, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

JENNIFER GEIGER, MD, PLLC, a Prof. LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 07/03/2017.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 201 E 86th St. #23F, NY, NY 10028. Purpose: To Practice The Profession Of Medicine.

Notice of Formation of FRACTAL FORUM LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 1/25/16. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 65 Broadway, Ste 825, NY, NY 10006.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

1. Publication Title: City & State New York 2. Publication No.: 19703 3. Filing Date: September 26, 2017 4. Frequency: Weekly except for week of New Years, July 4th, Thanksgiving & Christmas 5. Number of issues published annually: 48 6. Annual subscription price: $99.00 7. Complete mailing address of Known Office of Publication: 61 Broadway, suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2721 8. Complete mailing address of Headquarters: 61 Broadway, suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2721 9. Full Names & Complete Address of publisher, editor and managing editor: Publisher- Tom Allon, address: 61 Broadway, suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2721 Editor – Jon Lentz, address: 61 Broadway, suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2721 Managing Editor – Ryan Somers, address: 61 Broadway, suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2721 10.Owner If the publication is owned by a corporation, give the name and address of the corporation immediately followed by the names and addresses of all stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of the total amount of stock. If not owned by a corporation, give the names and addresses of the individual owners. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated firm, give its name and address as well as those of each individual owner. If the publication is published by a nonprofit organization, give its name and address.

City and State NY, LLC; Tom Allon- 61 Broadway, suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2721; Steve Farbman-61 Broadway, suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2721; Michael Steinhardt 61 Broadway, suite 1315, New York, NY 10006-2721 11. Known Bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities: None 12. The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes: Has not changed during preceding 12 months 13. Publication Title: City & State New York 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data below: September 26, 2017 Extent and nature of circulation

Avg. No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months

No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date

Notice of Formation of GOLDEN CITY 757 REALTY LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 07/20/16. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 139 Centre St, #310, NY, NY 10013.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

A. Total number of copies (net press run) B. Legitimate paid an/or requested distribution (by mail and outside the mail) B1. Outside County Paid/ Requested Mail Subscriptions B2. In County Paid/ Requested Mail Subscriptions B3. Sales through Dealers and Carriers Requested Copies Distributed by Other Mail Classes C. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation D. Non-requested distribution D1. Outside County Non-requested copies D2. In-County NonRequested copies D3. Non-requested copies distributed by USPS by other classes of mail Non-requested copies distributed outside of the mail Total Non-requested distribution Total Distribution Copies not distributed Total Percent Paid and/or requested circulation

Notice of Formation of Vicky Bijur Literary Agency, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 09/8/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 27 W 20th St, Ste 1003, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

16. No electronic circulation 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership for a Requester Publication is required and will be printed in the October 2, 2017 issue of this publication 18. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including multiple damages and civil penalties): Tom Allon, Publisher

Notice of Qualification of S&G Food Group LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 4/25/17. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in New Jersey (NJ) on 2/8/16.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 145 E 48th St, Ste 33D, NY, NY 10017. NJ address of LLC: 421 Ravine Ave, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ 07604. Cert. of Formation filed with NJ Secy of State, 225 W State St, Fl. 3, Trenton, NJ 08608.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

31

4110 4205

2415

2600

2

2

0

0

0

0

2417

2602

254

253

0

0

0

0

1279

1200

1533 3950 160 4110

1453 4055 150 4205

61.19%

64.17%

32

CityAndStateNY.com / PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES

CARE AND PROTECTION, TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION, DOCKET NUMBER 17CP0109LA, Trial Court of Massachusetts, Juvenile Court Department, COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS, Essex County Juvenile Court, 2 Appleton Street, Lawrence, MA 01840 TO: Any unknown or unnamed father of Faith Rhodes: A petition has been presented to this court by DCF Lawrence, seeking, as to the following child, Faith T. Rhodes, that said child be found in need of care and protection and committed to the Department of Children and Families. The court may dispense the rights of the person named herein to receive notice of or to consent to any legal proceeding affecting the adoption, custody, or guardianship or any other disposition of the child named herein, if it finds that the child is in need of care and protection and that the best interests of the children would be served by said disposition.

You are hereby ORDERED to appear in this court, at the court address set forth above, on 12/07/2017 09:00 AM Hearing on Merits (CR/CV) You may bring an attorney with you. If you have a right to an attorney and if the court determines that you are indigent, the court will appoint an attorney to represent you.

If you fail to appear, the court may proceed on that date and any date thereafter with a trial on the merits of the petition and an adjudication of this matter.

For further information call the Office of the ClerkMagistrate at 978-725-4900.

WITNESS: Hon. Mark Newman, FIRST JUSTICE Judith M. Brennan, Clerk Magistrate, DATE ISSUED: 07/26/2017

LEGALNOTICES@ CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Qualification of Internet-Journals, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/14/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in California (CA) on 7/28/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. CA address of LLC: 818 W 7th St, Ste 930, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Cert. of Formation filed with CA Secy of State, 1500 11th St, Sacramento, CA 95814. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Out to Lunch Productions, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/25/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 2/17/16. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Pauline’s Pets LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 09/21/17. Office location: New York County.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 1590 York Ave, NY, NY 10028.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of K&SCane LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/19/17. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: c/o Virtusa Corp., 14 Wall St., 28th Fl., NY, NY 10005. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Krishan Canekeratne at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

BEGED NYC LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 7/31/17.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, Attn: Isaac Chehebar, 170 Duane St, Apt 4, NY, NY 10013.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of Friend Request LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/30/17. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: c/o CT CORPORATION SYSTEM, 111 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

SAGACIO LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 1/24/2006.

Off. Loc.: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, c/o Janine D Dorsett, PO Box 230385, New York, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Formation of Designs

by Ellen LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) 8/28/17. Office loc: NY County. SSNY designated agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to: LLC, 40 Broad St., Apt 24E, NY, NY 10004. Purpose: Any lawful act.

October 2, 2017 STORAGE Midtown Moving & Storage Inc. will sell at Public Auction at 810 East 170 Street, Bronx NY 10459 at 6:00 P.M. on OCTOBER 10, 2017 for due and unpaid charges by virtue of a lien in accordance with the provisions of the law and with due notice given all parties claiming an interest therein, the time specified in each notice for payment of said charges having expired household furniture & effects, pianos, trunks, cases, TV’s, radios, hifi’s, refrigerators, sewing machines, washers, air conditioners, household furniture of all descriptions and the contents thereof, stored under the following names: -BALDWIN FAITH -BELBACHIR ABDELFATER -BENT KELSEY/HOFFSTEIN KAROL/ JACOB JESS -CHOWDRI SAMMI/HANQUE MOHAMMED -CELESTE TAMARAH -DOLMANS PIERRE/GROSJEAN AKA DALMAN/ AURORE EVE AKA AURORE EVE -DANIELS PETER -ERASMO SERRANO -GUZMAN YESENIA -MONDESIR MARC/SANCHEZ SONIA -MAKLICH DIMITRI -MARTINEZ DIEGO/MONTENEGRO DELMAR/ DOE JOHN/ DOE JANE -MARTE ANDERSON CARLOS -POLLARD ATIBA -PATRICK CHRISTINE -PAMNANI BRAD -ROJAS ALTAGRACIAS -RAPOLD SEBASTIAN -RAMOS MIGDALIA -SMITH JOANNA -SHANIN MEDHAT -SMITH TYESHA -JAFFERY WAJAHAT/JAFFERY ATTIYA -TAVAREZ SERGIO -WILLIAMS TYRONE -MIMS SHAVON -NEGRON MARITZA -POLICK GLENN/HOLLEY STEVEN -FISCHER RICHARD -TOMMY ADAMS Notice of Qualification of Qi Venture Partners II, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/21/17.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/20/17.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 16 East 40th St., 6th Fl., New York, NY 10016. Address to be maintained in DE: 2140 South Dupont Hwy., Camden, DE 19934. Arts of Org. filed with the Secy. of State, Division of Corporations, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

CITYANDSTATENY.COM Notice of Qualification of DIIO, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/25/16. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in California (CA) on 9/25/01.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

CA address of LLC: 818 W 7th St, Ste 930, Los Angeles, CA 90017. Cert. of Formation filed with CA Secy of State, 1500 11th St, Sacramento, CA 95814. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Civic Builders Sub-CDE 12, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/06/17.

Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: Civic Builders, Inc., 304 Hudson St., Ste. 301, NY, NY 10019.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Auction Sale is herein given that Access Self Storage of Long Island City located at 29-00 Review Avenue, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101 will take place on WWW.STORAGETREASURES. COM Sale by competitive bidding starting on October 9, 2017 and end on October 18, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. to satisfy unpaid rent and charges on the following accounts: Contents of rooms generally contain misc. Household goods and other effects. #102- Blanca Capone, #117- Cavier Coleman, #1702 - Quinsessa Harrison.

The contents of each unit will be sold as a lot and all items must be removed from the premises within 72 hours. Owners may redeem their goods by paying all rent and charges due at any time before the sale.

Notice of Auction Sale is herein given that Citiwide Self Storage located at 4555 Pearson Street, Long Island City, N.Y. 11101 will take place on WWW. STORAGETREASURES.COM Sale by competitive bidding starting on October 9, 2017 and end on October 18, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. to satisfy unpaid rent and charges on the following accounts: Contents of rooms generally contain misc.

Household goods and other effects. #3P44 – Howard Blumberg, #6P58 – Pierre Midy, #2A13 – David Williamson, #3L24 Andres Helm, #8P56 – Howard Blumberg & #9S01 – Raquel Sanchez.

The contents of each unit will be sold as a lot and all items must be removed from the premises within 72 hours. Owners may redeem their goods by paying all rent and charges due at any time before the sale.

Notice of Formation of 2 East 61st Street - 4th Floor, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 09/08/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 585 Stewart Ave, Ste 302, Garden City, NY 11530.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of American Cyborg, LLC filed with SSNY 5/24/17. Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 308 W. 73rd St., #B, NY, NY 10023. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of MAINFRAME HOLDINGS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/30/17. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/27/17. Princ. office of LLC: One Battery Park Plaza, NY, NY 10004. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Seward & Kissel LLP, Attn: Noelle P. Indelicato at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808.

Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., Federal & Duke of York Sts., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Horowitz PLLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 09/21/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 96 Greenwich St, NY, NY 10006. Purpose: Law.

Notice of formation of DON’T SLIP LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) 5/12/17. Office loc: NY County.

SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: LLC, 35 Henry St, Apt 1A, NY, NY 10002.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

MOUNTAINSIDE CHAPPAQUA LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 08/29/2017.

Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, C/O Artemis Partners LLC , 347 West 36th St., Ste 1601, NY, NY 10018.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Formation of 128-130 FIRST AVENUE LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 07/24/17.

Office location: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: Douglas Gladstone, Esq., Goldfarb & Fleece LLP, 560 Lexington Ave., NY, NY 10022.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of EnSys, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with New York Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/23/17. Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 W 128th St, Apt 4, NY, NY 10027.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

SIZS REALTY LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 08/22/2017. Office loc: NY County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 111 Fulton Street, Unit 808, NY, NY 10038. Reg Agent: Suhail Sitaf, 111 Fulton Street, Unit 608, NY, NY 10038.

Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

Notice of Qualification of COMMONWEALTH EQUITY SERVICES, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/21/17. Office location: New York County.

LLC formed in Massachusetts (MA) on 8/1/17. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. MA address of LLC: 29 Sawyer Rd, Waltham, MA 02453. Cert. of Formation filed with MA Secy of State, McCormack Bldg, 1 Ashburton Pl., FL. 17, Boston, MA 02108.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of MHL Capital Partners LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/15/17. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/31/16. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: Mortar, 243 W. 30th St., Ste 400, NY, NY 10001.

Address to be maintained in DE: 108 West 13th St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts of Org. filed with the Secy. of State, 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of MAD Creative Production Agency, LLC filed with SSNY 6/23/17.

Office: NY County. SSNY designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to LLC: 82 Irving Place, 1B, NY, NY 10003. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Authority of THOMPSON COBURN LLP. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 8/18/17.

Office location: New York County. LLP formed in Missouri (MO) on 2/23/99. SSNY is designated as agent of LLP upon which process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: C/O CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. Princ. Executive Office Add.: 157 E 86th St, Ste 204, NY, NY 10028. Cert. of Registration filed with MO Secy of State, 600 W Main St, Jefferson City, MO 65101. Purpose: Law.

PUBLIC and LEGAL NOTICES / CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017 WirelessCo, L.P. dba Sprint (SPRINT) proposes to modify an existing telecommunications facility on a 200’ building/rooftop (251’ overall) at 55 Vandam St in the Borough of Manhattan, NY (Project 35522.05).

In accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the 2005 Nationwide Programmatic Agreement, SPRINT is hereby notifying the public of the proposed undertaking and soliciting comments on Historic Properties which may be affected by the proposed undertaking. If you would like to provide specific information regarding potential effects that the proposed undertaking might have to properties that are listed on or eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places and located within 3 block radius of the site, please submit the comments (with project number) to: RAMAKER, Contractor for SPRINT, 855 Community Dr, Sauk City, WI 53583 or via e-mail to history@ramaker.com within 30 days of this notice.

Notice of Qualification of WOWZA MEDIA SYSTEMS, LLC. Authority filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 9/14/17. Office location: New York County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 2/22/12.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Formation filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St. Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. The name and address of the Reg. Agent is CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave, NY, NY 10011.

Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of GIVEWITH LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/04/17. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/31/16.

Princ. office of LLC: Corporate & Securities, 51 W. 52nd St., (19-13), NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

CWW LLC Art. Of Org. Filed Sec. of State of NY 5/10/2017.

Off. Loc.: New York Co. Business Filings Incorporated designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY to mail copy of process to The LLC, c/o BFI, 187 Wolf Road, Suite 101, Albany, NY 12205. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Qualification of CaptionMax LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/02/17. Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Minnesota (MN) on 05/04/17. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to: 111 Eighth Ave., NY, NY 10011, also the registered agent upon whom process may be served. Address to be maintained in MN: 2438 27th Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN 55406. Arts of Org. filed with the Secy. of State, 60 Empire Dr., Ste. 100, St. Paul, MN 55103.

Purpose: any lawful activities .

CITYANDSTATENY.COM

Notice of Qualification of ARNHOLD LP Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/24/17. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/14/17.

Duration of LP is Perpetual.

SSNY designated as agent of LP upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Arnhold GP LLC, c/o Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP, Attn: Christian Brockman, 575 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10022. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. DE addr. of LP: Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP filed with Secy. of State, State of DE, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Columbia REIT - 149 Madison, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on 8/15/17.

Office location: NY County.

Princ. bus. addr.: One Glenlake Pkwy., Ste. 1200, Atlanta, GA 30328. LLC formed in DE on 1/24/17. NY Sec. of State designated agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: CT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011, regd. agent upon whom process may be served. DE addr. of LLC: 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Sec. of State, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: all lawful purposes.

Notice of Qualification of AFW ASSOCIATES LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/16/17.

Office location: NY County.

LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 06/19/17. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

For more info. please email or call: 212-268-0442, ext. 2039 legalnotices@cityandstateny.com

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CityAndStateNY.com

October 2, 2017

CITY & STATE NEW YORK MANAGEMENT & PUBLISHING CEO Steve Farbman, President & Publisher Tom Allon tallon@cityandstateny.com, Vice President of Strategy Jasmin Freeman, Comptroller David Pirozzi dpirozzi@cityandstateny.com, Business & Operations Manager Patrea Patterson

Who was up and who was down last week

LOSERS DEAN SKELOS Anytime you can be convicted of corruption and have judges convinced not once, but twice that the evidence was sufficient to convict you for an old-fashioned quid pro quo, and still walk free?

You’re having a good week. But that luck may not last, as a new trial likely looms for Dean.

OUR PICK

OUR PICK

WINNERS

Washington may have a monopoly on government dysfunction, but New York isn’t giving up in the competition to be the most scandal-plagued place in the country. In the space of a couple days, a man who might have been New York City’s mayor was sentenced for his sleazy online behavior and yet another former legislative leader had his corruption conviction overturned – at least for now. But how do they stack up among the rest of the week’s Winners & Losers?

PRODUCTION creativedepartment@cityandstateny.com Creative Director Guillaume Federighi, Senior Graphic Designer Alex Law, Graphic Designer Kewen Chen, Junior Graphic Designer Aaron Aniton, Digital Content Coordinator Michael Filippi, Multimedia Director Bryan Terry

ANTHONY WEINER Weiner’s spectacular fall from progressive hero to sexting punchline made him one of our Losers of the Decade last year.

And somehow, his life has gotten even worse since then. Sentenced to 21 months in prison for sexting a teen – and some even blame him for costing Hillary Clinton the presidency – this will hopefully be the last time we see Weiner’s name on this page for a long while.

THE BEST OF THE REST

THE REST OF THE WORST

ROB ASTORINO

STEVEN BRISEE

BO DIETL

JARED KUSHNER

Westchester won’t become a “sanctuary,” after the county exec put his foot down.

Butter your popcorn and set your TiVo! Big Bird will have to debate Bo, after all.

This congressional hopeful allegedly tried to shoplift $1,500 of clothes from Kohl’s.

Personal email? Like Crooked Hillary?

Lock him up! Lock him up!

VINCENT GENTILE

DENISE MEJIA

GARY LABARBERA

KEITH WRIGHT

The City Councilman’s anti-hookah bill passes after 7 years. Put that in your pipe.

The construction safety law likely means fewer deaths, and more union business.

EDITORIAL editor@cityandstateny.com Editor-in-Chief Jon Lentz jlentz@cityandstateny.com, Features and Opinions Editor Nick Powell npowell@ cityandstateny.com, Editor-at-Large Gerson Borrero gborrero@cityandstateny.com, New York Nonprofit Media Editor-at-Large Aimée Simpierre asimpierre@nynmedia. com, Managing Editor Ryan Somers, Digital Editorial Director Derek Evers devers@cityandstateny.com, Senior Reporter Frank G. Runyeon frunyeon@cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Jeff Coltin jcoltin@cityandstateny.com, Staff Reporter Dan Rosenblum drosenblum@nynmedia.com, Copy Editor Eric Holmberg, Editorial Assistant Grace Segers gsegers@cityandstateny.com

Sounds like this Niagara Falls Human Rights commissioner had a blast.

The party turned on the Manhattan Democratic boss and his lobbying day job.

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Vol. 6 Issue 38 October 2, 2017

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ERIC BECAME A TRUMP CIT YANDSTATENY.COM

@CIT YANDSTATENY

October 2, 2017

Cover photo by Celeste Sloman Cover direction by Guillaume Federighi

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