Crain's New York Business

ASKED & ANSWERED Krueger on expanding the Equal Rights Amendment

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PANDEMIC PERK Goodwill now able to place more candidates in good jobs PAGE 3

MARCH 28, 2022

POLITICS

Hochul embraces bail reform changes, risking Dem mutiny

BY BRIAN PASCUS

sioner Keechant Sewell laid bare the city’s year-to-date statistics: ov. Kathy Hochul’s deci- Homicide arrests are up 20%, rape sion to push for amend- arrests are up 40%, felony assault ments to Albany’s bail-re- arrests are up 18%, and car theft arrest are up 42%. form law comes at a time As elected officials, when public perceptions criminal justice experts of rising crime might outand the public try to weigh the cost of sparking make sense of the divisions among DemoMURDERS IN crime wave, many have crats.

2021 were the pointed to the controNew York City has been highest total versial bail-reform law jarred by a series of violent, in 10 years passed in 2019 as one often deadly attacks on ciplace to begin making vilians and police officers this year. New York’s 485 murders policy changes. in 2021 were the highest total in Two of the highest-profile inci10 years. And the crime wave dents this year—the killing of hasn’t seemed to abate so far this Christina Lee in Chinatown and year. During a City Council hear- the striking of a woman with feces ing before the public safety committee March 18, Police CommisSee BAIL on page 30

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TECHNOLOGY

NY losing salary edge to remote tech jobs

BY RYAN DEFFENBAUGH REMOTE WORK IS closing the gap in average pay for tech workers between New York and smaller cities with a lower cost of living, according to a new report from industry-focused jobs website Hired.

The Big Apple ranks third behind San Francisco and Seattle when it comes to salaries for software engineers, according to the report, which solely focused on

Salvation in the sky

As congregations dwindle, churches turn to developers who covet their air rights PAGE 14

engineering roles. Software engineers in New York City working in remote roles earned $152,000 on average last year, according to the report, compared with $151,000 for local roles, for which workers are expected to live in the same area as a company’s office.

Both numbers were about even with the average salary last year, while pay is increasing quickly in See REMOTE on page 30

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NONPROFITS

BUCK ENNIS

GARCIA found her job at a Magnolia Bakery warehouse with the help of Goodwill NYNJ.

Silver lining of the Great Resignation

Goodwill NYNJ is finding it easier to place qualified workers with disabilities and other issues in jobs across the region

BY BETH TREFFEISEN

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afts of frosting, sugar and butter swirled in the air on a recent Thursday morning as loud mixers roared in the background. In the corner, Jasmine Garcia, 33, of Flushing, Queens, wearing an oversize green sweater, a white apron, gloves and a hairnet, carefully placed delicately decorated cupcakes in plastic containers.

Working five hours a day, four days a week at a Magnolia Bakery warehouse in Queens is a release for Garcia, who has a 2-year-old son at home.

“I’m happy here,” she said.

She started the position with Magnolia in October. She had worked for retailer TJMaxx before she took time off to have her child.

Garcia is one of the hundreds of workers across the region who has received job-placement assistance from Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey. The nonprofit has helped her with career training for about eight years, and it orchestrated her most-recent spot with Magnolia.

Since last spring roughly 33 million Americans quit their jobs, a phenomenon that has been dubbed the Great Resigna-

tion. As a result, employers have been on the hunt for workers and are looking deeper into a pool of candidates they might have otherwise overlooked.

That’s where Goodwill NYNJ steps in.

No talent left behind Goodwill Industries International is a human services nonprofit that most people know from its retail stores, where one can drop off household goods and clothes as donations.

However, its local chapters provide internships, career training, coaching and job placement. For example, Goodwill NYNJ works to help underemployed residents like Garcia, as well as people with a mental illness or disabilities, find employment.

“We believe in not leaving any talent on the sidelines,” said Katy Gaul-Stigge, the local organization’s president and CEO. In 2020 Goodwill NYNJ helped train and mentor 14,000 residents and placed 700 in positions with employers such as hospitals, drugstores, warehouses, and tech and accounting firms.

Last year it placed 821 in jobs, including 549 individuals with disabilities, a 17% increase from the previous year.

Once a person with a disability gains employment, the retention rate is 92%, Gaul-Stigge said, because of the structure that working provides.

“People with disabilities are proud and excited to be [at a job], and like all of us, they like the routine, the social impacts and the power,” she said.

Already this year, candidates are thriving in positions across the region, said Karaneh Ashourizadegan, senior job developer at Goodwill NYNJ. She has placed workers at Red Rabbit, a school food-management program, and HomeGoods. One job was at Cricket’s Candy Creations, a pop-up experience that uses confections as a tool to engage children in learning.

Now working hard at Magnolia Bakery, Garcia credits Goodwill for providing her with training. Amy Tamulonis, Magnolia’s general manager, said Garcia is a terrific employee.

“She is very thorough and efficient,” Tamulonis said. “We are thrilled she’s on our team.”

It can be difficult to fill handling and packing roles in fulfillment centers, said Victoria Keough, vice president of human resources for the bakery, which began working with the nonprofit last summer. It hired two employees through Goodwill NYNJ and hopes to continue the relationship.

The jobs “are hard to fill, and there is high turnover,” she said.

“The fact that we were able to hire through Goodwill and have long-term employees we can develop along with the support of a coach has proven successful for us.” ■ MARCH 28, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3

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SUSTAINABILITY

City to resume work on more than 100 pandemic-stalled parks improvement projects The $417 million investment is designed to modernize green spaces with sustainable infrastructure

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he city will resume construction this spring on more than 100 parks projects stalled by the pandemic, with the bulk of the projects serving neighborhoods that have a historic lack of green space, officials said.

The $417 million investment aims to make 104 of the city’s parks and playgrounds more sustainable

Brooklyn, Jackson Heights in Queens and Mott Haven in the Bronx.

The projects are expected to take 12 to 18 months.

“Parks can be the great equalizers—which is why every New Yorker, regardless of ZIP code or color, deserves access to a park,” Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement, going on to call the investment “a major milestone in our recovery that will pay dividends for generations to come.”

Parks advocates and city lawmakers welcomed the project restart, but many see the move as one step forward and two steps back. They say Adams is backtracking on a campaign promise to boost the Parks Department budget to 1% of the city’s total operating budget—which would amount to $1 billion annually. Instead, in the preliminary budget plan unveiled last month, Adams allocated roughly half that

“PARKS CAN BE THE GREAT EQUALIZERS. EVERY NEW YORKER DESERVES ACCESS.” and accessible. New rain gardens, tree plantings and the use of recycled and resilient materials are among the upgrades, city officials said. Some 62% of the projects are located in underserved neighborhoods, as identified by the city’s Task Force on Racial Inclusion and Equity. They include Brownsville in

amount—$557.1 million—to the agency. That’s $62.8 million less than the parks budget for the current fiscal year allocated by the de Blasio administration.

Seeing green At a City Council hearing Tuesday on Adams’ preliminary budget proposal, Parks Commissioner Susan Donoghue acknowledged the deficit and attributed it to the city’s economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This year’s preliminary budget remains relatively cautious in light of the ongoing economic impacts faced by the city,” Donoghue said.

“However, it still gives our agency the resources we need to continue getting the job done.”

The budget has not been finalized and parks advocates said they are hopeful that the city will commit to additional funding. Millions more dollars could mean more reliable maintenance of the city’s 30,000 acres of parkland and open space through hiring more full-

BLOOMBERG

BY CAROLINE SPIVACK

time staff instead of relying on seasonal workers.

Emily Nobel Maxwell, cities director with the Nature Conservancy in New York, stressed that the pandemic has laid bare the city’s openspace inequities. The Adams administration must invest in better park maintenance and growth in underserved communities, she said.

“Our parks, open spaces and urban forests are critical infrastructure and should be funded as such,” Maxwell told Crain’s. “If we want a more equal city, we know that we need to not only maintain the assets that we have but expand our green spaces and our urban forests into communities that have less to advance equity, health and community resilience.” ■

TRANSPORTATION

What you need to know about the surprising new Uber-taxi partnership JOIN US

THURSDAY, MAY 5 CRAIN’S HEALTH EQUITY FORUM EVENT The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated health disparities in New York City. Providers and public officials have made great strides to remedy those inequalities, from prioritizing hard-hit communities for the vaccine rollout to expanding telehealth services, but New Yorkers continue to slip through the cracks. Join us on May 5 to hear from stakeholders representing hospitals and community health clinics, public policy experts, entrepreneurs, and advocates to discuss how to make the health care system more equitable and ensure New Yorkers get the care they need.

NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB 180 Central Park South, 9th Floor New York, NY 10019 Time: 8:30 to 10:00 a.m.

CrainsNewYork.com/mayforum

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ber once waged war against the taxis of New York City— now the ride-hail giant is joining forces with the city’s fleet.

On Thursday, Uber announced a city-wide partnership that will allow passengers to hail a taxi through its app. Here’s what to know about the deal and the implications for passengers, drivers and the city’s network of cabs.

How will the Uber-taxi partnership work?

The city’s existing yellow cab apps, Arro and Curb, will integrate their software with Uber’s app under the partnership. Passengers will have the option to select one of roughly 14,000 licensed taxis directly from their phones. Uber says it expects to pilot the offering this spring and launch a full roll out over the summer.

When will the Uber-taxi partnership launch?

Uber says it expects to pilot the offering this spring and launch a full roll out over the summer.

How did the market react to the Uber-taxi deal?

Uber shares rose 2.5% to $33.87 af-

ter the partnership was announced, according to Bloomberg.

Why is the Uber-taxi partnership such a big deal?

In the words of Matthew Daus, a former chairman of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission: “This is huge because we have arch enemies that just cut a deal.”

It’s no exaggeration to say that for a decade New York served as a battleground for Uber’s fight with the taxi industry. Taxi medallion prices took a nosedive. Thousands of owners lost their savings and filed for bankruptcy, and at least six yellow cab drivers died by suicide due to the crisis.

Now some transit experts are hailing what would have been an unthinkable partnership only a few years ago as a win-win for both sides. The city’s struggling taxi drivers get access to a huge pool of commuters through the Uber app, while practically overnight the rideshare company gains thousands more drivers across the five boroughs.

How will the Uber-taxi deal affect ride price?

Uber says customers should expect to pay roughly the same amount for taxi fares booked through their app

as for Uber X rides.

Will the Uber-taxi deal change how much taxi drivers earn per fare?

Yes and no. Taxi drivers who accept a rider through Uber’s app will be paid under the same model as Uber drivers, which uses a minimum time and distance rate set by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission.

That’s different from taxi fares that are metered, meaning taxi drivers may earn less or more on an Uber ride depending on the trip.

Uber says taxi drivers will see the anticipated fare for a trip in the app and will have the option to decline a ride they don’t feel is worth their time. But, as the New York Taxi Workers Alliance noted on Twitter, it's unclear how the deal will shake out in practice.

What does the Uber-taxi deal mean for Lyft and other rideshare apps?

Lyft, for its part, says it does not have plans to expand taxi service to

BUCK ENNIS

BY CAROLINE SPIVACK

its app. “We remain committed to offering the best transportation choices available, and we're focused on the options we already provide New Yorkers—from a wide variety of rideshare modes to our iconic Citi Bike network,” Lyft spokesperson Katie Kim said in a statement.

But a source tells Crain’s that Lyft was exploring options to expand taxi service to its app—but Uber beat them to the punch. “They missed the boat,” the source said. “I think Lyft is going to play some catch up here but I don’t think they have a choice. It makes sense that we get everyone in one platform.

It’s the future.” ■

CORRECTION ■ Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel was married in 1984. The year was incorrect in Asked & Answered, published March 7.

Vol. 38, No. 12, March 28, 2022—Crain’s New York Business (ISSN 8756-789X) is published weekly, except for no issue on 1/3/22, 7/4/22, 7/18/22, 8/1/22, 8/15/22, 8/29/22, 11/28/22 and the last issue in December. Crain Communications Inc., 685 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Crain’s New York Business, Circulation Department, PO Box 433279, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9681.

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4 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | March 28, 2022

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IN THE MARKETS

Pop the bubbly: Wall Street bonuses jump 20% to average a record $258K per person WHILE BONUSES HAVE 20% NEARLY DOUBLED,

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180K

HOUSEHOLD INCOME HAS RISEN BY JUST A THIRD

BUCK ENNIS

of the bonus bounty are hree months ago I confi- gency measures taken in the 180,000 New Yorkers dently predicted 2021 Wall 2020, unleashed a borin the securities industry, Street bonuses would aver- rowing and trading binge BONUS JUMP a sliver of the total city age a record $210,000 per that gave Wall Street toll from 2020’s workforce of 4.4 million. lucky recipient. collectors plenty to colrecord high Was I ever wrong! The actual lect.

Looming declines number was $257,500, according to The interest-rate policy a report last week from stabilized New The bonus money has the state comptroller’s ofYork’s economy a multiplier effect beduring the cause much of it is spent fice. That was a 20% jump NEW YORKERS Covid-19 panon apartments, restaubeyond 2020’s record in the securities high. rants, theater tickets, atdemic, because industry, just Bonus figures don’t intorney fees and bar tabs. taxes from Wall 4% of the city’s But while bonuses have Street activities clude salaries. On averworkforce offset steep denearly doubled during age, Wall Streeters likely the past 10 years, real were paid about $500,000 clines in tourmedian household ineach in total last year. The ism-related revcomptroller’s office averenue.

The securities come in New York City has risen by AARON ELSTEIN industry accounts for a just a third, from $50,000 to $67,000. ages bonus payouts for fifth of all private-sector There are lots of anecdotal stories everyone from CEOs to junior analysts. Like the song goes: wages paid in the city and a similar about wealthy people leaving the amount of state tax collections, city, but more often it’s the middle nice work if you can get it.

The bonanza is thanks to the Fed- meaning budgets for schools, li- class that gets squeezed out.

Combined profits at Goldman eral Reserve, which since the finan- braries, police and other vital serSachs, Morgan Stanley and other cial crisis has mostly set interest vices have held up. rates at zero. The policy, plus emerThat said, the prime beneficiaries New York Stock Exchange member

firms were the highest or second-highest ever, though final results for 2021 aren’t in yet. The record of $61 billion was set in 2009, a year after the firms got bailed out and the Fed slashed interest rates to zero.

But now that the Fed is raising rates and the war in Europe looks like it’ll last a while, the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget forecasts Wall Street profits to decline by 43% this year. The Independent Budget Office forecasts a 56% drop. Jefferies Group next week is

expected to be the first Wall Street firm to report financial results since Russia invaded Ukraine, and analysts said they expect earnings will be 67% lower than last year.

“Recent events are likely to drive near-term profitability and bonuses lower,” state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a statement. “In New York, we won’t get back to our pre-Covid economic strength until more New Yorkers and more sectors—retail, tourism, construction, the arts and others—enjoy similar success.” ■

ON POLITICS

This is getting really old: In an oft-recurring ritual, the mayor must beg Albany for control of city schools schools or find them space for free.

Hochul has been more amenable to the city than Cuomo was, pitching a four-year extension of mayoral control—de Blasio would get as little as a single year. But Democrats in the Legislature have been less keen on such a time frame.

Adams, a former state senator, had a tumultuous tenure in Albany and has not foregrounded education issues in his first few months at City Hall.

Not everyone views him as a reliable actor.

Although their criticisms are fair, New York City should not be made to suffer because of them.

State lawmakers will renew mayoral control—they always do. It will be a question of what strings are attached. Because city Democrats have power in the Legislature instead of suburban Republicans, they are likely to be less punitive— which would be a welcome change.

There is no need, though, to subject Adams to the process again or make future mayors go through it.

The whole exercise is a profound waste of time. If state lawmakers or the governor wants to make changes to the city’s school system, they

ADAMS

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nce again a New York City ized than it used to be, and the mayor must beg state chancellor is empowered to guide lawmakers and the gov- policy in a productive manner. Even ernor for the power to the most furious detractors of maycontrol his own school system. The oral control concede that the curritual is stale and needless but has rent DOE is superior to the old persisted through Republican and Board of Education. No one wants Democratic administrations alike. to go back to the 1990s—not conserMichael Bloomberg had to do it. So vatives, not progressives, not anydid Bill de Blasio. Now Eric Adams, one who pays attention to educanewly elected, hopes the tion matters. state Legislature listens to The catch is that the his plea. city’s school system reUnlike other localities, mains a creature of AlbaNew York does not have ny. At any time, state lawan elected school board. makers can revoke control Instead, a centralized Defrom the mayor. What’s been consistent across partment of Education Republican- and Demostaffed by professionals and accountable to the cratic-controlled state mayor dictates policy in Senates is the unwillingROSS BARKAN ness of most legislators to America’s largest school system. The mayor apend the spectacle of a New points the schools chancellor and is York mayor begging them for reaccountable for the successes and newed authority over the schools. failures in the public schools. Two In June mayoral control expires decades ago, Bloomberg pioneered again, and Adams is in the same pothe approach, winning permission sition de Blasio and Bloomberg from Albany to dissolve the old found themselves in—beseeching school boards and end the Albany for another extension. long-running experiment in poliMayoral control should be made permanent. State lawmakers should tics-infused decentralization.

Mayoral control, as it’s known, stop using it as a cudgel over New has its flaws, like too little input York City. When de Blasio was mayfrom parents and communities af- or, Republicans in the Senate and fected by DOE decisions. But it is Gov. Andrew Cuomo tormented clearly superior to a system that al- him, demanding various conceslowed de facto politicians to make sions, including an onerous law, school districts their own corrupt still on the books, that forces the fiefdoms.

Department of Education to pay the Education is far more standard- rent of all privately run charter

should propose bills and try to pass them. That’s how democracy is supposed to work.

Quick takes ● Andrew Cuomo can run in the Democratic primary and lose to Kathy Hochul or run as an independent in the general election and possibly help a Republican win.

Whatever he does, he will cause plenty of chaos for a comeback almost no one actually wants. ● Eric Adams made another dubious hire, picking Laurie Cumbo, a former City Council member, to

head the Department of Cultural Affairs. Cumbo was a controversial, alienating lawmaker, railing at times against both Latinos and Asians. ● The city’s private-sector vaccine mandate has come to an end, to the benefit of Major League Baseball. Yankees and Mets players will not need to be fully vaccinated to play homes games, which start next month. Bonus: The Nets’ Kyrie Irving will get to end his holdout. ■ Ross Barkan is a journalist and author in New York City.

March 28, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 5

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ASKED & ANSWERED New York state Senate INTERVIEW BY BETH TREFFEISEN

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s a state senator for more than two decades, Elizabeth Krueger has worked as an advocate for tenants’ rights, affordable housing, improved health care and more equitable funding for public education. Now she aims to update the state constitution’s Equal Rights Amendment to broaden discrimination protections. The state currently bans discrimination based on religion and race.

Krueger’s update would open these protections to include one’s gender, ethnicity, pregnancy status, disability status and sexual orientation. She expects the updated law to pass both chambers of the Legislature by the end of the year. The earliest it could be brought to a referendum is 2024.

Why update the Equal Rights Amendment now?

Because we are living in a country where our courts have shifted to the right, and they are doing away with rights and protections we actually thought we had for decades.

We are watching, state by state, legislatures challenging rights and protections that we assumed were almost simply facts of life in this country.

Have you heard from residents who thought they were protected under the current law and were surprised when they found out they weren’t?

WHO SHE IS State senator representing the 28th District, which runs from the Upper East Side down to Union Square AGE 64 GREW UP Ridgewood, New Jersey RESIDES Upper East Side EDUCATION Bachelor’s in social policy and human development, Northwestern University; master’s in public policy, the University of Chicago’s Harris Graduate School of Public Policy NONPROFIT WORK Before being elected to the Senate in 2002, Krueger worked for 20 years in the nonprofit world. For 15 years she was the associate director of the Community Food Resource Center, where she directed efforts to expand access to government programs for low-income New Yorkers. Before that, she was the founding director of the New York City Food Bank.

THEATER BUG When Krueger is not working on legislation, she attends the theater, opera or live music events with friends.

be done about it.’ That is outrageous. There are lawyers who have submitted case after case to prove that our constitution is out of touch with the realities of our time and is in conflict with our own statutes.

Why is the Equal Rights Amendment important to all New Yorkers?

It’s an attempt to cover almost everyone. Let’s say you are a straight, white male, and you say, ‘Nobody is really trying to discriminate against me anyway.’ But your best friend might be Black or Latino. You may have had incidents where you saw discrimination go on in your own company, and yet you weren’t in a position to do something about it. So I don’t think there’s any of us who don’t have skin in this game.

Is it easier being a woman legislator in Albany now than when you started?

Yes, I do find it easier. There are far more women in positions of power in Albany.

I serve under a woman, Andrea StweartCousins. I have a woman governor. I have a woman attorney general.

I chair what is considered the most powerful committee in the Senate, the finance committee, and I don’t think any of those things could have been possible when I started 20 years ago.

What advice do you give women legislators who are just starting out?

Yes, I’ve definitely heard from people who had no idea, and I’ve also heard from people who were like, ‘Yes, that’s what happened to me, and everyone said nothing could

You’re stronger and more ready for this than you think. ■

OFFICE OF SEN. KRUEGER

ELIZABETH KRUEGER

DOSSIER

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How can the healthcare system be more equitable? How can we ensure New Yorkers get the healthcare they need?

Join us on May 5 to hear from stakeholders representing hospitals and community health clinics, public policy experts, entrepreneurs, and advocates to discuss how to make the health care system more equitable and ensure New Yorkers get the care they need.

Featured Speakers

Kamini Doobay, MD Founder NYC Coalition to Dismantle Racism in the Health System

Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD Commissioner The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Cesar Herrera Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Yuvo Health

Learn more at CrainsNewYork.com/MayForum 6 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | MARCH 28, 2022

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chief executive officer K.C. Crain senior executive vice president Chris Crain group publisher Jim Kirk

EDITORIAL

publisher/executive editor

Adams falls short of campaign promise to boost parks budget to $1 billion

Frederick P. Gabriel Jr. EDITORIAL editor-in-chief Cory Schouten,

cory.schouten@crainsnewyork.com managing editor Telisha Bryan

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data editor Amanda Glodowski digital editor Taylor Nakagawa audience engagement editor Jennifer Samuels art director Carolyn McClain photographer Buck Ennis senior reporters Cara Eisenpress,

Aaron Elstein, Eddie Small reporters Ryan Deffenbaugh, Maya Kaufman,

Brian Pascus, Natalie Sachmechi, Shuan Sim, Caroline Spivack op-ed editor Jan Parr,

opinion@crainsnewyork.com executive assistant Brittany Brown NYCMAYORSOFFICE FLICKR

ayor Eric Adams last week heralded a $417-million investment in 104 parks projects stalled by the pandemic, mostly in underserved neighborhoods like Brownsville in Brooklyn, Jackson Heights in Queens and Mott Haven in the Bronx.

Parks advocates welcomed the news, and correctly so, as it will bring sustainable and accessible green space to communities of high need. But the move does little to salve what is shaping up as a disappointing season for the city’s parks: during his campaign for mayor Adams had pledged to boost the Parks Department budget to 1% of the city’s total operating budget—which would amount to $1 billion annually.

The proposed plan he unveiled last month allocated roughly half that, just $557.1 million. Instead of the big boost in funding Adams had promised, the Parks Department is on track to see $62.8 million less than for the current fiscal year allocated by the de Blasio administration.

Parks Commissioner Susan Donoghue blamed the lower-than-expected funding on the city’s slow economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, and said

assistant managing editor Anne Michaud

ADAMS (left) announces new investments in New York City’s Parks at Saratoga Park in Brooklyn.

its allocation would be enough to “continue getting the job done,” as reporter Caroline Spivack writes on Page 4.

The city needs more ambition–and more funding–for expanding, maintaining and equalizing its parks network as a piece of critical infrastructure.

During the worst waves of the pandemic, those 30,000 acres of parks, forests and open spaces provided a needed

respite and health benefit for city residents.

Parks advocates eager for more

funding “If we want a more equal city, we know that we need to not only maintain the assets that we have but expand our green spaces and our urban forests into communities that have less to advance equity, health and community resilience,” said Emily Nobel Maxwell, cities director with the Nature Conservancy in New York. ■

THE CITY NEEDS MORE AMBITION– AND MORE FUNDING–FOR EXPANDING, MAINTAINING AND EQUALIZING ITS PARKS NETWORK reliable maintenance and updated amenities are hopeful budget negotiations will yield more parks

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senior manager of events Michelle Cast,

The proposed replacement for 421-a is an expensive subsidy for luxury developers

michelle.cast@crainsnewyork.com REPRINTS director, reprints & licensing Lauren Melesio,

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Simone Pryce

BY JUDITH GOLDINER, ZELLNOR MYRIE AND LINDA ROSENTHAL

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rose by any other name would smell as sweet—or rotten if it’s the 485-w program, proposed in the state’s 20222023 executive budget to replace the controversial 421-a tax abatement program.

Despite a new name and set of numbers, the proposed 485-w hasn’t shed the stench of its predecessor; it is an unjustifiably expensive subsidy for luxury real estate developers that would not provide enough truly affordable housing to justify its hefty price tag.

That’s why we have long advocated allowing 421-a to sunset in June, and we have rejected the inclusion of the “421-a lite” program from the one-house budgets (S260A/A1931A) in Albany. We can and should use the savings realized to build truly affordable housing and stable communities.

The Legal Aid Society serves

thousands of clients facing unlawful evictions, living in unsafe housing conditions or struggling to find a home their family can afford. As an affordable housing subsidy, 421-a would be nearly the largest affordable housing program in the state, but neither the original program nor its replacement will help the New Yorkers most in need.

Fueling the housing crisis Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal would offer developers building rental housing three options to qualify for a decades-long, taxpayer funded tax break. Option A would require developers building an apartment building with more than 30 units to set aside at least a quarter of them as affordable housing, a 10th at 40% of the area median income, another 10th at 60% of AMI and 5% at 80% of AMI. That translates to housing for four-person households with incomes of $47,720, $71,580 and $95,440, respectively.

Option B would apply to buildings with fewer than 30 apartments and would require a fifth of the units to be affordable at 90% of AMI (an income around $107,370 for a family of four).

Option C would offer a full 40-year tax exemption for cooperative and condominium projects.

Of The Legal Aid Society’s clients, 87% are under 200% of the federal poverty line. Few would be able to afford even the small number of apartments created at the lowest AMI tier. Nearly 70% of renters who earn less than $35,790 for a family of four must dedicate half their income to rent. The proposed program clearly would be unaffordable for the many New Yorkers facing housing insecurity.

Rather than using public resources to create permanently affordable housing for thoss who need it most, the state would be fueling the housing crisis by building units that become investment vehicles rather than stable homes.

We must make better use of our affordable housing dollars.

New York City forgoes approximately $1.9 billion in property tax revenue every year under the 421-a program, yet not a single unit subsidized by the current program or its proposed replacement would be affordable to one of the 50,000 homeless adults and children living in the city’s shelters.

Reforms to 421-a do not change the broken, underlying framework of subsidizing what sometimes is obscenely expensive luxury housing in exchange for a small amount of relatively affordable housing.

We must end the expensive program and refocus our solutions to prioritize deep, lasting affordability and neighborhood stability.■ Judith Goldiner is attorney-incharge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at the Legal Aid Society.

Zellnor Myrie is a state senator.

Linda Rosenthal is a member of the Assembly.

media services manager Nicole Spell SUBSCRIPTION CUSTOMER SERVICE

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Entire contents ©copyright 2022 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. ©CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement.

CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. chairman Keith E. Crain vice chairman Mary Kay Crain chief executive officer K.C. Crain senior executive vice president Chris Crain editor-in-chief emeritus Rance Crain chief financial officer Robert Recchia founder G.D. Crain Jr. [1885-1973] chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. [1911-1996]

8 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | MARCH 28, 2022

P008_CN_20220328.indd 8

3/25/22 3:35 PM

OP-ED

Here’s a radical proposal: Let’s make ‘yes’ the objective in every Buildings Department interaction

N

ew York City is troubled by homelessness, gentrification, income inequality, structural racism and a lot of other big problems. All—and more—are exacerbated by the indecently high cost of creating new housing here.

Mayor Eric Adams can help by fixing the administrative process.

The city Department of Buildings enforces standards and livability guidelines, ensuring that our homes and offices are safe, energy-efficient and appropriate to their neighborhood. But the process of obtaining approvals to build is flawed.

Academic studies repeatedly identify a causal relationship between the complexity of building

OUR REGULATIONS IN NEW YORK CERTAINLY CAN BE IMPROVED regulations and procedures in any city and the cost of housing there.

Our regulations in New York certainly can be improved: a bottomless topic on its own. But the review system itself contributes uncertainty, delays, frustration and chaos

to every construction effort.

The uncertainty carries a high price for anyone who wants to build anything. A process with so many hidden opportunities for derailment and disapproval undermines your confidence that you can do what you plan to do at all, even if you navigate dutifully through the process.

‘No’ is the default The result is a department that seems to say no as a default. But the mayor can change the incentive structure at the Buildings Department to make it an enabler of construction, rather than an inhibitor.

The goal is to make “yes” the objective of every interaction there, to work with applicants to find ways to do what they want, within the law and in adherence with the codes.

A change to “yes” would have remarkable effects: • More time for Buildings Department staff to work collaboratively with applicants to find solutions that are acceptable and meet the rules.

• Staff attorneys who would see their job as enabling safe, responsible development through clear, consistent, logical, transparent regulations, and to seek ways to pro-

tect the city while meeting its desperate need for affordable housing.

• The department could simplify the now-complex, dense application process and root out obstacles to responsible approvals.

The department’s examiners now have an impossible job. They must master a dozen relevant code books; deal with professionals and homeowners with varying degrees of expertise (and patience); and surf an unceasing flow of new regulations, forms, requirements and memoranda that govern decisions.

Many are newer hires, retained to respond to the recent flood of applications and forced to learn on the fly under extreme pressure.

Change is possible Implementing changes could ease their job, encouraging them to be helpers instead of taskmasters, and giving them more time and leeway—and rewards—to solve problems.

Could such changes really happen here? Yes. I saw it happen. In 2011 I went to the Brooklyn Department of Build-

ISTOCK

BY MICHAEL GOLDBLUM

ings to try out the Get It Done Together pilot program. I felt as though I had stepped through the looking glass. Friendly, relaxed, congenial staff worked together— supervisors and examiners—to remove obstacles and solve problems. I left smiling, incredulous, and with approvals in hand.

If we are to try to solve the housing crisis and its pernicious offshoots, we might have to bite the

bullet and become an easier, friendlier place to build safely and well. Reforming the plan-review process could be one of a series of changes, deep in the weeds of government bureaucracy, that would meaningfully improve the future of New York. ■ Michael Goldblum is a partner with Building Studio Architects in Manhattan.

OP-ED

BY BEN MANDEL

E

missions from the transportation sector are harming our climate and the health of New Yorkers. To meet New York’s climate and equity goals, outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, cleaning up our transportation sector must be a priority.

Transforming the largest greenhouse-gas contributor—the transportation sector accounts for 35% of New York’s emissions—might sound daunting, but we already have the policy and technology tools to make an impact.

Adopting a clean-fuel standard

land use.

More polluting fuels would generate deficits, while cleaner fuels would generate credits, resulting in a market signal that would reward the production and use of cleaner fuels including hydrogen, electricity and biofuels. It also would make it easier and more affordable for transportation operators in New York to transition to cleaner alternatives.

Locking in reductions The emissions standard would decline each year, effectively locking in a continuous reduction in transportation emissions while generating millions in revenue as polluters purchase credits to cover their deficits.

Those revenues could fund transportation priorities, helping to make cleaner technologies such as electric cars and trucks more attainable for New Yorkers.

A clean-fuel standard could reduce life-cycle emissions from existing combustion engines, as vehicles can be adjusted to use alternatives including renewable natural gas, biodiesel and renew-

WE CANNOT OVERLOOK THE ROLE FOSSIL FUELS HAVE PLAYED IN GETTING US HERE would help facilitate our transition to cleaner, safer energy sources and put New York on the path to electrification.

A clean-fuel standard assigns a carbon-intensity score to transportation fuels based on their life-cycle emissions, including impacts on

able diesel.

In a white paper released last month, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry found that such alternative fuels achieve substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing emissions from vehicles currently on the road is key to meeting New York’s climate goals.

Our reliance on fossil fuels has caused significant harm to communities across the state. Low-income populations and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by vehicle emissions, creating devastating health impacts in some of our most vulnerable communities. Prioritizing transportation electrification, however, would help alleviate the health issues and complications caused by harmful emissions. A study conducted by the American Lung Association found that zero-emissions transportation solutions would save thousands of lives while avoiding tens of thousands of asthma attacks and billions of dollars in health costs.

We can’t afford to wait Adopting a clean-fuel standard in New York would provide the

GETTY IMAGES

A clean-fuel standard will lead to cleaner options

necessary support to transform the state’s transportation sector. For this reason, the Climate Action Council included a clean-fuel standard in its draft as one of the highest-impact potential tools to clean our transportation sector and reduce our reliance on harmful fossil fuels. As we look to create cleaner, safer communities across the state, we cannot overlook the

role that powering our transportation needs with fossil fuels has played in getting us to this place.

It’s time to prioritize clean transportation and adopt a clean-fuel standard. New Yorkers cannot afford to wait. ■ Ben Mandel is Northeast senior director at Calstart and a Clean Fuels New York Coalition member.

Write us: Crain’s welcomes submissions to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@CrainsNewYork.com. Send op-eds of 500 words or fewer to opinion@CrainsNewYork.com.

Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. Crain’s reserves the right to edit submissions for clarity.

March 28, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 9

P009_CN_20220328.indd 9

3/24/22 4:39 PM

1 1 1 1

THE LIST LARGEST HEALTH CARE NONPROFITS New York–area organizations ranked by 2020 total operating expenses

RANK

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 2020/ 2019 (MILLIONS)

% OF EXPENSES ALLOCATED TO PROGRAM SERVICES

% OF EXPENSES USED FOR FUNDRAISING

2020 TOTAL ANNUAL INCOME (MILLIONS)

14.5%

$559.3

ORGANIZATION/ ADDRESS

PHONE/ WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE/ FY 2020 COMPENSATION

Doctors Without Borders USA Inc. 40 Rector St. New York, NY 10006

212-679-6800 doctorswithoutborders.org

Avril Benoit Executive director

$499.4 $454.3

84.6%

New York Blood Center 310 E. 67th St. New York, NY 10065

212-570-3100 nybloodcenter.org

Christopher Hillyer President, chief executive $2,028,479 2

$491.1 3 $375.5

94.2% 3

0.0%

$554.7 3

Catholic Medical Mission Board Inc. 100 Wall St. New York, NY 10005

212-242-7757 cmmb.org

Mary Beth Powers President, chief executive

$464.1 $587.0

97.7%

1.3%

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 3 International Drive Rye Brook, NY 10573

914-949-5213 lls.org

Louis DeGennaro President, chief executive $825,885

$394.0 $367.3

77.6%

Planned Parenthood Federation of America 123 William St. New York, NY 10038

212-541-7800 plannedparenthood.org

Alexis McGill Johnson President, chief executive $269,845 4

$337.3 $302.5

Public Health Solutions 40 Worth St. New York, NY 10013

646-619-6400 healthsolutions.org

Lisa David President, chief executive $367,836

Services for the UnderServed 5 463 Seventh Ave. New York, NY 10018

212-633-6900 sus.org

YAI Inc. 220 E. 42nd St. New York, NY 10017

100.0%

Community blood bank

$473.3

97.0%

Providing medical and developmental aid to remote, poverty-stricken communities

11.4%

$496.2

100.0%

72.5%

16.4%

$293.8

93.2%

Reproductive and complementary health care services

$249.3 $240.1

96.7%

0.2%

$252.3

7.4%

Health services for the city's most vulnerable neighborhoods

Donna Colonna Chief executive $416,498

$233.6 $229.8

99.7%

0.3%

$249.2

10.3%

212-273-6100 yai.org

George Contos Chief executive

$232.0 $202.5

88.5%

n/d

$240.7

n/d

Services for the intellectual and developmental disabilities community

Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services Inc. 135 W. 50th St. New York, NY 10020

212-582-9100 jewishboard.org

Jeffrey Brenner Chief executive

$229.8 $232.8

88.3%

0.6%

$224.4

9.5%

Mental health and social services

Project Orbis International Inc. 520 Eighth Ave. New York, NY 10018

646-674-5500 orbis.org

Derek Hodkey President, chief executive $142,111

$228.2 $378.6

91.9%

4.3%

$232.9

n/d

Prevention and treatment of blindness

ADAPT Community Network 80 Maiden Lane New York, NY 10038

212-683-6700 Edward Matthews adaptcommunitynetwork.org Chief executive

$215.1 6 $172.1

88.4% 6

0.4% 6

$218.2 6

JDRF International 200 Vesey St. New York, NY 10281

212-785-9595 jdrf.org

Aaron Kowalski Chief executive $700,811

$192.3 $208.5

71.0%

18.0%

$210.2

93.0%

Type 1 diabetes research and advocacy

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research P.O. Box 4777 New York, NY 10163-4777

212-509-0995 michaeljfox.org

Deborah Brooks Chief executive, co-founder

$170.3 $136.7

87.6%

7.8%

$202.3

100.0%

Accelerating a cure for Parkinson's disease and improved therapies through research

National Multiple Sclerosis Society 733 Third Ave. New York, NY 10017

212-463-7787 nationalmssociety.org

Cynthia Zagieboylo President, chief executive

$159.9 $182.9

73.0%

18.0%

$155.6

99.7%

Finding a cure for MS while empowering people affected by MS to live their best lives

Children's Aid 117 W. 124th St. New York, NY 10027

212-949-4800 childrensaidnyc.org

Phoebe Boyer President, chief executive

$146.3 $139.3

83.0%

2.0%

$146.0

33.0%

Promoting lifelong success for children and youth from high-poverty NYC neighborhoods

Developmental Disabilities Institute 99 Hollywood Drive Smithtown, NY 11787

631-366-2900 ddiny.org

John Lessard Chief executive $302,761

$107.8 $104.4

96.9%

0.4%

$113.1

0.9%

Services and programs for people with autism and developmental disabilities

WellLife Network 142-02 20th Ave. Queens, NY 11351

718-559-0516 welllifenetwork.org

Sherry Tucker Chief executive

$103.3 $108.9

90.0%

1.0%

$115.5

0.0%

Wellness for New Yorkers with disabilities, mental illness and addiction

Lifespire 1 Whitehall St. New York, NY 10004

212-741-0100 lifespire.org

Thomas Lydon President, chief executive $330,657

$93.1 $97.7

96.3%

7.1%

$98.2

0.1%

Assistance and support to help people with disabilities to live independently

American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science Inc. 633 Third Ave. New York, NY 10017

212-895-7900 weizmann-usa.org

David Doneson Chief executive $455,197

$89.8 $90.3

82.0%

13.0%

$133.2

65.0%

Orchestrating support for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Feinberg Graduate School in Israel

Jewish Child Care Association of New York 858 E. 29th St. Brooklyn, NY 11210

917-808-4800 jccany.org

Ronald Richter Chief executive $518,185

$87.4 $81.7

88.0%

1.2%

$85.5

4.0%

Smile Train

212-689-9199

Susannah Schaefer President, chief executive $549,021

$80.7 $76.2

70.5%

4.4%

$98.3

93.7%

Corrective surgery for children with cleft lips and palates

800-932-2423 crohnscolitisfoundation.org

Michael Osso President, chief executive

$74.9 $75.0

80.0%

7.0%

$76.2

99.0%

Finding cures for inflammatory bowel3/24/22 disease and improving quality of life for patients

New York, NY 10017

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation 733 Third Ave. New York, NY 10017

P010_P011_CN_20220328.indd 10

RAN

Emergency medical aid to those affected by conflict, epidemics or disasters

0.6%

10 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK 633 Third Ave. BUSINESS | March 28, 2022 smiletrain.org

2 12 2 32 42 52 6 7 8 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

% OF INCOME FROM PRIVATE SUPPORT 1 ORGANIZATION PURPOSE

Cure leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients

Ne non unr sup

Services for people with disabilities, in poverty or facing homelessness

2.6% 6 Programs and services for people with disabilities

Behavioral health, education and child welfare services for vulnerable children and families

4:33 PM

2 2 2

to ct,

n

ma

ife

h or

ies

al

nt

for

ch

d

ple

d y

rs l

t to

or of erg ael

d

ts

16 17 18 19 20 121 222 323 424 525 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 RANK

Smithtown, NY 11787

$302,761

WellLife Network 142-02 20th Ave. Queens, NY 11351

718-559-0516 welllifenetwork.org

Sherry Tucker Chief executive

Lifespire 1 Whitehall St. New York, NY 10004

212-741-0100 lifespire.org

American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science Inc. 633 Third Ave. New York, NY 10017

and developmental disabilities $103.3 $108.9

90.0%

1.0%

$115.5

0.0%

Wellness for New Yorkers with disabilities, mental illness and addiction

Thomas Lydon President, chief executive $330,657

$93.1 $97.7

96.3%

7.1%

$98.2

0.1%

Assistance and support to help people with disabilities to live independently

212-895-7900 weizmann-usa.org

David Doneson Chief executive $455,197

$89.8 $90.3

82.0%

13.0%

$133.2

65.0%

Orchestrating support for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Feinberg Graduate School in Israel

Jewish Child Care Association of New York 858 E. 29th St. ORGANIZATION/ Brooklyn, NY 11210

917-808-4800 jccany.org

Ronald Richter Chief executive $518,185

$87.4 $81.7

4.0%

PHONE/ WEBSITE

TOP LOCAL EXECUTIVE/ FY 2020 COMPENSATION

Smile Train Doctors Without Borders USA Inc. 633Rector Third Ave. 40 St. 10017 New York, NY 10006

212-689-9199 212-679-6800 smiletrain.org doctorswithoutborders.org

Susannah Avril BenoitSchaefer President,director chief executive Executive $549,021

Crohn's ColitisCenter Foundation New York&Blood 733 E. Third Ave. 310 67th St. 10017 New York, NY 10065

800-932-2423 212-570-3100 crohnscolitisfoundation.org nybloodcenter.org

Catholic Medical Mission Board Inc. HelenWall Keller 100 St. International 1 DagYork, Hammarskjöld New NY 10005 Plaza New York, NY 10017

88.0%

1.2%

$85.5

% OF EXPENSES ALLOCATED TO PROGRAM SERVICES

% OF EXPENSES USED FOR FUNDRAISING

2020 TOTAL ANNUAL INCOME (MILLIONS)

$80.7 $499.4 $76.2 $454.3

70.5% 84.6%

4.4% 14.5%

$98.3 $559.3

Michael OssoHillyer Christopher President, chief executive $2,028,479 2

$74.9 3 $491.1 $75.0 $375.5

80.0% 94.2% 3

212-242-7757 212-532-0544 cmmb.org hki.org

Mary Beth Powers Kathy Spahn President, chief executive President, chief executive $417,797

$464.1 $71.9 $587.0 $75.0

97.7% 83.8%

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 5 Care Inc. 3Cancer International Drive 275Brook, Seventh Rye NYAve. 10573 New York, NY 10001

914-949-5213 212-712-8400 lls.org cancercare.org

Louis DeGennaro Patricia Goldsmith President, chief executive Chief executive $825,885

$394.0 $69.7 $367.3 $59.4

Planned Parenthood Federation Breast Cancer Research Foundation of America 28 W.William 44th St. 123 St. 10036 New York, NY 10038

212-541-7800 866-346-3228 plannedparenthood.org bcrf.org

Alexis McGill Johnson Myra Biblowit President, chief executive President 4 $269,845

Public Health Solutions

646-619-6400

463 Seventh Ave. New York, NY 10018

ADDRESS

TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 2020/ 2019 (MILLIONS)

Behavioral health, education and child % OF INCOME welfare services for FROM PRIVATE vulnerable children and SUPPORT 1 ORGANIZATION PURPOSE families 93.7% 100.0%

Corrective surgery Emergency medicalforaid to children with cleft lips those affected by conflict, and palatesor disasters epidemics

$76.2 3 $554.7

99.0% 0.6%

1.3% 14.2%

$473.3 $81.8

97.0% 51.2%

77.6% 92.9%

11.4% 4.2%

$496.2 $70.4

100.0% 100.0%

$337.3 $57.9 $302.5 $82.1

72.5% 80.5%

16.4% 13.2%

$293.8 $76.2

93.2% 97.0%

Finding cures for bank Community blood inflammatory bowel disease and improving quality of life for patients Providing medical and Saving and improving developmental aid to the sight of vulnerable remote, poverty-stricken populations around the communities world Cure leukemia, lymphoma Providing free and and myeloma, professional supportof life improve the quality services to anyone of patients affected by cancer Reproductive and Advancement of health research complementary to prevent and cure care services breast cancer

Lisa David

$249.3

96.7%

0.2%

$252.3

7.4%

sus.org

Chief executive $416,498

$229.8

212-273-6100

George Contos

$232.0

88.5%

n/d

$240.7

n/d

Services for the intellectual and developmental disabilities community

Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services Inc. 135 W. 50th St. New York, NY 10020

212-582-9100 jewishboard.org

Jeffrey Brenner Chief executive

$229.8 $232.8

88.3%

0.6%

$224.4

9.5%

Mental health and social services

Project Orbis International Inc. 520 Eighth Ave. New York, NY 10018

646-674-5500 orbis.org

Derek Hodkey President, chief executive $142,111

$228.2 $378.6

91.9%

4.3%

$232.9

n/d

Prevention and treatment of blindness

ADAPT Community Network 80 Maiden Lane New York, NY 10038

212-683-6700 Edward Matthews adaptcommunitynetwork.org Chief executive

$215.1 6 $172.1

88.4% 6

0.4% 6

$218.2 6

JDRF International 200 Vesey St. New York, NY 10281

212-785-9595 jdrf.org

Aaron Kowalski Chief executive $700,811

$192.3 $208.5

The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research P.O. Box 4777 New York, NY 10163-4777

212-509-0995 michaeljfox.org

Deborah Brooks Chief executive, co-founder

$170.3 $136.7

National Multiple Sclerosis Society 733 Third Ave. New York, NY 10017

212-463-7787 nationalmssociety.org

Cynthia Zagieboylo President, chief executive

$159.9 $182.9

Children's Aid 117 W. 124th St. New York, NY 10027

212-949-4800 childrensaidnyc.org

Phoebe Boyer President, chief executive

$146.3 $139.3

Developmental Disabilities Institute 99 Hollywood Drive Smithtown, NY 11787

631-366-2900 ddiny.org

John Lessard Chief executive $302,761

WellLife Network 142-02 20th Ave. Queens, NY 11351

718-559-0516 welllifenetwork.org

Sherry Tucker Chief executive

Lifespire 1 Whitehall St. New York, NY 10004

212-741-0100 lifespire.org

American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science Inc. 633 Third Ave. New York, NY 10017

7.0% 0.0%

Health services for the

40 Worth St. New York City and Nassau, Suffolk healthsolutions.org $240.1 city's most vulnerable New York area includes and Westchester counties inPresident, New York,chief and executive Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties in New Jersey. To qualify for this list, organizations must be tax-exempt 501(c)(3) health care New York, NY 10013 $367,836 neighborhoods nonprofits headquartered in the New York area. Hospitals, health systems, home health care, rehabilitation centers, medical practice groups, research institutions and universities are excluded. Data from some organizations includes work in areas unrelated to health care. Executives without a listed salary in most cases took the position after the organization issued its Form 990 for the fiscal year ending in 2020. Information is from the companies or 2020 Forms 990. 1--Nongovernmental support. 2--Figure from J part 5II, column D and E. 3--Figure from 990. 4--ActingDonna president during this period. 5--Includes data from 990s for two99.7% affiliated organizations. annual report.

Services for990 theschedule UnderServed 212-633-6900 Colonna $233.6 0.3%6--From 2020$249.2 10.3% Services for people with

20 21 22

YAI Inc. 220 E. 42nd St. New York, NY 10017

disabilities, in poverty or facing homelessness

yai.org MORE OF CRAIN’S Chief executive $202.5CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/LISTS. WANT EXCLUSIVE DATA? VISIT

WE’RE RAISING OUR VOICES TO SAY: THANK YOU, DOCTORS

2.6% 6 Programs and services for

NATIONAL DOCTOR’S DAY IS MARCH 30 people with disabilities

71.0% 18.0% $210.2 93.0% Type 1 diabetes research To the more than 16,000 Northwell doctors who have and advocacy tirelessly dedicated themselves to treating, protecting $202.3 not just 100.0% a cure for and87.6% being there 7.8% for New Yorkers, thisAccelerating past year, Parkinson's disease and but always. We thank you wholeheartedly. improved therapies through research

Along with our entire continue 73.0% 18.0% frontline $155.6staff, you 99.7% Finding ato cure for MS while empowering people do the important work of ushering in a new tomorrow affected by MS to live and raising our sights to brighter days ahead. their best lives 83.0%

2.0%

$146.0

33.0%

Promoting lifelong success for children and youth from high-poverty NYC neighborhoods

$107.8 $104.4

96.9%

0.4%

$113.1

0.9%

Services and programs for people with autism and developmental disabilities

$103.3 $108.9

90.0%

1.0%

$115.5

0.0%

Wellness for New Yorkers with disabilities, mental illness and addiction

Thomas Lydon President, chief executive $330,657

$93.1 $97.7

96.3%

7.1%

$98.2

0.1%

Assistance and support to help people with disabilities to live independently

212-895-7900 weizmann-usa.org

David Doneson Chief executive $455,197

$89.8 $90.3

82.0%

13.0%

$133.2

65.0%

Orchestrating support for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Feinberg Graduate School in Israel

Jewish Child Care Association of New York 858 E. 29th St. Brooklyn, NY 11210

917-808-4800 jccany.org

Ronald Richter Chief executive $518,185

$87.4 $81.7

88.0%

1.2%

$85.5

4.0%

Smile Train 633 Third Ave. New York, NY 10017

212-689-9199 smiletrain.org

Susannah Schaefer $80.7 70.5% 4.4% $98.3 93.7% Corrective surgery for March 28, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS President, chief executive $76.2 children with cleft lips | 11 $549,021 Northwell_1113401_Doctor’s Day 2022_Print Ad_Crain’s New York Business_10.25x7 and palates

800-932-2423 crohnscolitisfoundation.org

Michael Osso President, chief executive

Crohn's & Colitis Foundation 733 Third Ave. P010_P011_CN_20220328.indd 11 New York, NY 10017

$74.9 $75.0

Michael J. Dowling President & Chief Executive Officer

80.0%

7.0%

Behavioral health, education and child welfare services for vulnerable children and families

Size: 10.25” x 7”, HP 99.0% Finding cures for Publication: Crain’s New York Business inflammatory bowel3/24/22 $76.2

disease and improving quality of life for patients

4:34 PM

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Suffolk

KeyBank

Suffolk appointed Tom Giordano as General Manager of the New York Region.

He is responsible for supporting the company’s mission and vision, enhancing internal organization processes and infrastructure, and driving future growth in the metro area. Mr. Giordano’s hiring demonstrates Suffolk’s strong momentum, significant gains in market share, and commitment and promising future in the city as it prepares to move its NY team - nearly 160 employees up from 4 in 2015 - to 50 Rockefeller Plaza.

Ashley Sarokhan joins KeyBank as Middle Market Sales Leader, leading a team of commercial bankers serving clients in New York City and Northern and Central NJ. She has 15 years of commercial lending leadership experience from prior roles at Capital One, M&T Bank, Morgan Stanley and Prudential Financial. She serves on the boards of the CRO Leadership Council, Rutgers NJ/NY Center for Employee Ownership, and The Family Center in Brooklyn. She holds a BS from Penn State and MBA from NYU.

DIGITAL MEDIA SOLUTIONS

Hybrid Theory Ava Moran, a seasoned ad-tech sales leader, has been named to the new position of SVP, Sales, North America at Hybrid Theory, a customized audience-discovery and managed-services platform for ad agencies and brands. She will lead the expanding North American sales team focusing on key verticals including multicultural, political, 21+, healthcare, and travel. With nearly 15 years experience, she has a proven record driving revenue growth, advancing client relationships, and managing teams.

ENGINEERING / ARCHITECTURE

P012_CN_20220328.indd 12

Nixon Peabody LLP Nixon Peabody LLP is pleased to announce that Kevin Grant and Daniel Belostock have joined the firm’s Corporate practice as Grant partners, both of whom have a particular focus on middle-market M&A and private equity transactions. Kevin advises multi-national corporations, financial Belostock sponsors, family investment offices, and private companies in connection with a broad range of strategic transactions. He earned his JD from Northeastern University School of Law. Daniel represents buyers, sellers, investors, and companies in financial and strategic transactions in a variety of industries, including life sciences, technology, financial services, and consumer goods.

He earned his JD from Harvard Law School.

LAW HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY

New York eHealth Collaborative David Horrocks, new CEO of New York eHealth Collaborative, had been CEO/President of CRISP, Maryland’s Health Information Exchange.

Now he’ll guide NYeC and the Statewide Health Information Network for NYS (SHIN-NY).

Horrocks: “I’m eager to build on NYeC’s work improving healthcare outcomes, reducing costs, and serving SHIN-NY’s stakeholders.” He holds a BS from Penn, an MBA from Penn’s Wharton School of Business and an MPH from Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health.

AECOM Robert Yori, Associate AIA, joins AECOM as digital solutions studio leader for its Buildings + Places business in Metro New York. He will serve as a Digital AECOM consulting leadership team member for the U.S. East & LATAM region and facilitate the strategic delivery of AECOM’s digital solutions across the region. He will also direct teams involved with BIM to develop software applications that more efficiently manage projects to better serve clients’ emerging business needs.

LAW

MARKETING / ADVERTISING

Gratitude Sound Based in New York City, Jeff Turlik will work as a Composer and Creative Director within Gratitude Sound’s roster of composers. In addition, he will interact with New York-based advertising agency and brand clients, help with artist relations, and work closely with company owner Bryan Hinkley on overall company management and business development.

Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP Windels Marx promoted Jonathan Kret to Partner, resident in the New York office.

His corporate practice includes all aspects of business law, including M&A, joint ventures, corporate restructurings, corporate governance and private financing. He also counsels on the registration and maintenance of intellectual property. He received his JD from Fordham Law (2008) and his BA, magna cum laude, from City University of New York, Queens College (2003). He is admitted in New York.

COMPANIES ON THE MOVE To place your listing, visit www.newyorkbusiness.com/companymoves or contact Debora Stein at 917.266.5470 / dstein@crain.com ANNIVERSARIES

Shawmut Design and Construction New York, NY 212-920-8900 https://www.shawmut.com Shawmut, a $1.3 billion construction management firm, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Founded in 1982 as a small carpentry contractor with a handful of employees, Shawmut built its reputation on a willingness to complete the most complex projects.

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In recent years, the firm has taken steps to prepare for an aggressive growth trajectory driven by an exponential increase in market share of large projects and enhanced diversification across the commercial, education, healthcare, and life science sectors.

INDUSTRY ACHIEVERS ADVANCING THEIR CAREERS Recognize them in Crain’s

For listing opportunities, contact Debora Stein at dstein@crain.com or submit directly to

CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/PEOPLEMOVES

LAW

TRANSPORTATION

ZRG Partners

Wheels Up

Sharon Mahn, Esq. was hired as the Global Head of Law Firm Strategy and Managing Director at ZRG Partners, a newly created position based in New York City. Sharon has facilitated some of the largest law firm acquisitions in the world, and she has placed hundreds of law firm partners into Law Firm, Corporate Board and General Counsel positions domestically and internationally. She was previously a Managing Director at Major Lindsey & Africa and owned her own firm for over a decade in Manhattan.

Wheels Up (NYSE: UP) announced that long-time Delta Air Lines senior executive Dave Holtz has joined the company as its Chairman of Operations.

In this newly created role, Holtz will spearhead the creation of an industry-leading Member and Operations Center that will deliver best-in-class service for Wheels Up members and customers. Holtz is a 43-year veteran of Delta Air Lines where he served the last 11 years as Senior Vice President of its Operations and Customer Center.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

BluShark Digital / Price Benowitz LLC Washington, DC 202-871-1548 / 202-600-9400 https://blusharkdigital.com https://pricebenowitz.com Renowned expert and keynote speaker in marketing, brand building, social media, and customer service, Peter Shankman, will be joining both BluShark Digital, a leading digital marketing agency, and Price Benowitz, a top personal injury law firm, as a futurist – someone whose specialty is to systematically explore predictions and possibilities about the future of a company and its industry. Peter Shankman will help the agency and firm innovate to better serve their clients and continue to grow.

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Weaver New York, NY 212-486-6768 https://weaver.com National accounting and advisory firm, Weaver, announces a deal to combine with New York-based accounting firm, Levine & Seltzer LLP, effective April 1, 2022. Located in the heart of New York City, Levine & Seltzer was founded in 1992

by Elliot Levine, CPA and Philip Seltzer, CPA to provide accounting, audit, and advisory services, as well as structuring advice in connection with acquisitions and divestitures across all industries.

This combination expands Weaver’s New York practice by 24 team members, including two partners, two managing directors and several other professionals in the tax and assurance practices. By the end of 2022, all of Weaver’s New York City operations will be at 500 Fifth Avenue. Learn more at www.weaver.com.

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3/25/22 9:50 AM

Churches pray for a lifeline

T

BUCK ENNIS

AIR RIGHTS

COMMUNITY CHURCH, in the shadow of the Empire State Building, has a new owner.

Centuries-old congregation collects $70M for its crumbling church and four adjacent brownstones Next challenge: Finding a new permanent house of worship

BY KEITH J. KELLY

A

Unitarian church that traces its roots to 1825 may soon be without a permanent home. It has reached a nearly $70 million deal, pending state approval, to sell its crumbling building and four adjacent brownstone rental apartment buildings in Murray Hill to a real estate developer who plans to raze the structures and build up to 150 luxury condos.

Since 1948 the Community Church of New York has been at 40 E. 35th St., a short walk from the Morgan Library and in the shadow of the Empire State Building.

The 700-seat church has long been an active center of charitable and civil rights causes in the city.

When Nelson Mandela was freed from prison and came to speak at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx in 1994, it was his only stop in Manhattan.

For years the church gave folk singer Pete Seeger free practice space. The singer behind such ballads

as “This Land Is Your Land” and “If I Had a Hammer” eventually joined the congregation in the 1990s.

In July 1962 the church was the site of a memorable debate between the fiery Malcolm X and the nonviolent Bayard Rustin, an associate of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s.

Instead, the site will soon host 185,000 square feet of condos, with prices starting around $2.5 million.

The new owner, the Continuum Company, headed by Bruce Eichner, beat out two other finalists bidding for the prime real estate. The company agreed to pay $69.9 million.

A majority of the church’s 200 remaining members (down from 1,500 a decade earlier) approved the sale to Eichner in October. About a third of members voted against it. The congregation, like many others, has seen its flock shrink as religious affiliation declines. Covid-19 didn’t help.

“I THINK THE STORY IS UPLIFTING. I DON’T KNOW WHAT IS SO TERRIBLE ABOUT GETTING $70 MILLION”

See COLLECTION on page 16

HE STRUGGLES of owners of office and retail buildings since the pandemic’s onset are well documented and very real.

But for another category of property owner, the threat is existential.

For years churches have been shedding members; just 47% of Americans belonged to a church in 2020, down from 70% a decade earlier.

The pandemic piled on a suspension of in-person religious services, driving away more members and leaving churches chronically behind on budgets for building maintenance and critical community services, such as feeding the homeless.

Now struggling churches are hoping to tap a lifeline. Religious institutions are among the largest property owners in the city; in Manhattan alone, churches control 13% of all land.

The most valuable asset for the city’s 3,800 houses of worship are the air rights above them, as senior reporter Aaron Elstein writes in this week’s Crain’s Forum story (pages 14 and 15). Developers covet air rights and are willing to pay up to acquire the opportunity to add density to their projects.

Typically such sales can be made only to the developer of an adjacent property. But recent eye-popping deals, including a $40 million sale by Christ Church on the Upper East Side and a $20 million deal by St. Bartholomew’s in Midtown East, have inspired churches to lobby the city for a more permissive approach to air-rights sales.

One institution, the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, figures it could sell its 137,000 square feet worth of rights for up to $68 million. That would make a big dent in the $25 million repair bill for the 125-year-old landmarked building.

— Cory Schouten, Editor-in-Chief

INSIDE ANDREW BERMAN Easing rules citywide for air rights would be complicated and carry some major pitfalls.

PAGE 16

ANN-ISABEL FRIEDMAN

ANDREA GOLDWYN Churches’ contributions toward social services, education and the arts merit support in the real estate realm. PAGE 16 REV. DR. DONNA SCHAPER Diversifying the usage of sacred spaces is helping more churches stay afloat.

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AIR RIGHTS

Churches look for salvation in Religious institutions serving shrinking flocks are among the city’s largest property owners.

Now they’re pushing to unlock some of that value

BY AARON ELSTEIN

P

astors at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew are looking heavenward for salvation of the financial kind. The Methodist institution needs $25 million to fix the church’s roof, romanesque arches, medieval buttresses, terra-cotta angels and other flourishes that make the 125-year-old landmarked building a prime example of 19th-century “scientific eclecticism.”

“We can’t afford the upkeep,” the Rev. K Karpen, senior pastor, said from his church’s basement food pantry, which distributes thousands of meals per day. “This place provides a real service for the city, anchors the Upper West Side, and is a public good—which is why it was designated a historic landmark in the first place.”

Yet religious institutions remain among the city’s largest property owners. Thanks in part to colonial-era bequests to the Archdiocese of New York, Trinity Church Wall Street and others, churches control 13% of all land in Manhattan, according to nonprofit Bricks and Mortals, which advises houses of worship on real estate matters.

Urban planners more than 50 years ago invented a way for churches and the owners of other low-rise buildings to cash in on the untapped value of their land by selling air rights, also known as transferable development rights. Between 2003 and 2011, there were 421 sales, according to New York University’s Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy.

Most of the city’s 3,800 houses of worship would happily sell their air today to ensure their future.

Yet there’s a reason everyone isn’t wheeling and dealing air rights: New York law decrees that air usually can’t be sold to a developer with plans farther away than for an adjacent property. St. Paul and St. Andrew, however, is proposing to sell air so a developer could construct a new building down the street—or even blocks away.

If the church can pull that off, other worthy but struggling religious institutions surely would follow. It could help them better serve communities recovering from the pandemic’s economic toll. But more

“WITH AIR RIGHTS, YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY CREATING SYNTHETIC LAND” large size. Sold church air is the invisible force behind the supertall skyscrapers reaching ethereal heights south of Central Park.

“Churches are the holy grail,” said Stuart Klein, a Manhattan zoning lawyer.

Air has become more important to houses of worship because membership dues and contributions were falling even before the Covid-19 pandemic prevented congregations from meeting in person. In 2020, 47% of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, according to Gallup, down from 70% in 1999. A third of New Yorkers seldom or never attend religious services, Pew Research found.

THE REV. K KARPEN says the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew needs cash for repairs, including to its crumbling roof.

BUCK ENNIS

To raise money, the congregation at West 86th Street and West End Avenue is prepared to part with its most valuable worldly possession: its air rights.

Air in the right places is some of the most valuable stuff in the city. Developers who buy rights to enough of it can build bigger than they otherwise could. Church air is especially prized because the buildings have so much to offer thanks to their

air-rights sales could exact a heavy cost on the rest of the city by creating more places where developers can build bigger.

“There is a vast cloud of air rights hovering over New York,” said Carl Weisbrod, former City Planning Commission chairman. “Many would love to sell theirs anywhere they can. That would be unacceptable to most people.”

The current regime in City Hall seems more receptive to expanding the boundaries for air-rights sales than predecessors, pumping oxygen into a decades-long debate. Mayor Eric Adams’ faith adviser, Pastor Gil Monrose, said the administration is open to new ideas to help houses of worship, and that could include extending how far they can sell their air rights, a privilege the city already has granted to a few houses of worship.

“This is something the mayor would consider,” Monrose said. “It’s hard for churches to sustain landmark buildings.”

BUCK ENNIS

Something in the air

AT JUDSON MEMORIAL CHURCH, “because of the beauty of the building, I don’t think people know how we’re struggling,” said the Rev. Micah Bucey, here with the Rev Roy Atwood.

For houses of worship, air-rights sales can prove as transformative as transubstantiation, the doctrine in which bread and wine become Christ’s body and blood.

In 2013 Christ Church on the Upper East Side sold its air rights, appraised by the city at $7 million, to Zeckendorf Development for $40 million, according to brokerage firm Tenantwise. The Real Estate Board of New York called the transaction ingenious because a small nonprofit got a record sum per square foot. The deal was beneficial for Zeckendorf, which built a 64-story tower with 35 condos. Gross proceeds from apartment sales are 15 times higher than the cost of the air rights.

With housing prices sky-high and demand through the roof, air rights might be even more valuable than before.

“Construction has exploded because people want new space,” said Tenantwise Chief Executive Myers Mermel, who represented Christ Church and is the city’s leading broker of air rights involving religious institutions. “With air rights, you are essentially creating synthetic land.”

Loopholes have riddled the market since air rights were cooked up in an urban planner’s lab in the 1960s, in part as a preservation measure for historic buildings. In 1972 the city extended how far Grand Central Terminal could sell its air rights, and in 1998 it did the same for Broadway theater owners so buildings could rise up blocks away on Eighth Avenue. In 2005 Hudson Yards and the High Line were looped in, followed by Coney Island and Columbia University’s recent northwest expansion.

“If it’s good enough for Hudson Yards, how about for a fragile religious institution?” asked the Rev. Donna Schaper, co-chairwoman of Bricks and Mortals.

Actually, a handful of religious institutions already have been given a bite at the apple.

As part of the 2017 rezoning of East Midtown, the city granted St. Bartholomew’s Church, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Central Synagogue the power to sell their air rights for developments blocks away. St. Bartholomew’s, at Park Avenue and East 51st Street, sold 50,000 square feet of air rights to JPMorgan Chase for $20 million.

Those rights, along with those from Grand Central, cleared the way for the bank’s new 70-story headquarters.

The halo effect The pandemic has also been hard on houses of worship. At the Church of St. John the Baptist on West 30th Street, half of worshippers and volunteers were commuters who haven’t returned.

14 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | MARCH 28, 2022

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“When they do come into the city, they don’t have time for a break to come to Mass,” said the Rev. Francis Gasparik, the church’s pastor.

Time may be running out for St. John the Baptist because it stands where Gov. Kathy Hochul has proposed to build 10 new towers to pay for rebuilding Penn Station. Between 2010 and 2020, almost 100 houses of worship were demolished or converted to other uses, according to a Hunter College study. That’s not only lost history and common meeting space: Houses of worship typically serve communities 30 times larger than membership, said Ann Friedman, director of the Landmarks Conservancy’s Sacred Sites program.

“It’s called ‘the halo effect,’” she said.

The pandemic is testing halos at institutions such as Judson Memorial Church, where the mission includes providing space for all in the neighborhood surrounding Washington Square Park. Pews were removed in the 1950s, and the sanctuary was turned over to artists, performers, filmmakers and protesters. In 2019 the Museum of Modern Art held an exhibition honoring the Judson Dance Theater, and more people come for music Monday nights than Sunday worship.

“Martin Luther King called it ‘the beloved community’ that makes the world more divine,” the Rev. Roy Atwood said.

But the basement floor was warped by flooding last year, and the church recently spent $1.5 million repairing the roof, part of the landmarked exterior designed by legendary architecture firm McKim Mead & White. The ceiling is cracking, and a new elevator is needed, while pandemic financial relief from the government is winding down.

“Because of the beauty of the building, I

Should Judson go down the air-rights road, it would need buy-in from neighbors. Some are still upset about how a posh apartment building rose after the nonprofit God’s Love We Deliver on Spring Street sold its air rights.

Andrew Berman, executive director of Village Preservation, said air-rights sales are inefficient because only a fraction of the money goes to the house of worship.

“Air-rights transfers as a means of funding religious or other nonprofit institutions still means that in the end most of the money and profit goes to the real estate developer,” Berman said.

Christ Church’s $40 million air-rights sale illustrates his point. StreetEasy data show Zeckendorf has reaped nearly $600 million in gross proceeds from selling 22 apartments in the new tower at 520 Park Ave. for an average of $27 million per unit.

The proceeds exclude construction costs.

Zeckendorf didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Gale Brewer, Manhattan borough president during the East Midtown rezoning, supports more government assistance to help churches provide social services. But she said extending their air rights could unleash forces that would be hard to control.

“The question is, where would these buildings land?” said Brewer, now a City Council member.

Yet a targeted extension of air rights for churches could be a justifiable way of fomenting development in poorer neighborhoods. Air-rights sales have taken place mostly in Manhattan because that’s where developers want to build. The Flatbush Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in Brooklyn, founded in 1654, expressed interest in extending its air rights about 10 years ago, but nothing came of it, according to a lawyer who worked with the institution.

Even though outer-borough air rights probably wouldn’t be as valuable, extending the program for religious institutions there could help spark the development of affordable housing, schools and commercial space.

“There’s nothing about air rights that must result in high-rise apartments,” Mermel said.

Once granted, loopholes tend to last forever, so Adams can’t just open the skies to

Brooklyn: 1,508 SOURCE: Department of City Planning

houses of worship. Flooding the market would depress the value of the rights. And religious institutions must resist the urge to spend their money, because the same air can’t be sold twice.

The Park Avenue institutions illustrate what it takes to win the extended air-rights lottery. They cultivated public officials since the days of George Washington Plunkitt and found a way to link their fundraising aspirations to the city interest, which was adopting a building plan that by law must be “well considered.”

“That’s why the city helped those churches out,” said David Schleicher, a professor at the Yale School of Law. Daniel Garodnick, who led the East Midtown rezoning when he was on the City Council, is the new chairman of the City Planning Commission, which is where the churches’ crusade for extended air rights is likely to live or die. A spokesman declined requests for an interview but provided a statement that read, “Transferring development rights can be an important tool in a limited set of circumstances, depending on important policy and legal considerations. The Adams administration is com-

MAP: DATAWRAPPER

Many pennies from heaven

Staten Island: 187

mitted to working with the city’s faith communities to provide support they need.”

St. Paul and St. Andrew doesn’t have a team of lobbyists to press its case. Its endowment was depleted about 30 years ago, after the city declared it a landmark. The church fought the designation all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court because members feared being saddled with unaffordable maintenance costs.

As if seeking forgiveness, the city helped the church design its food pantry so it’s eligible for government funding. The pantry is managed by the West Side Campaign Against Hunger from a basement condo walled off from the rest of the building.

Selling its air would solidify St. Paul and St. Andrew’s future for something like eternity. The church has 137,000 square feet worth of rights, which Mermel estimates is worth $375 to $500 per square foot, for a total of $51 million to $68 million.

City leaders must let the church tap that airborne treasure, Karpen said, or help it find another way to serve its community for the next 100 years.

“We didn’t ask for this building to be frozen in time,” he said. ■

520 PARK AVE. AND CHRIST CHURCH

BUCK ENNIS

use wise preeadous es-

47%

don’t think people know how we’re struggling,” the Rev. OF AMERICANS Micah Bucey said. belonged to a To raise cash, Judchurch in 2020, son is renting space down from 70% in to the producers of 1999 “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and other TV shows, which store costumes and DEAL FOR use the tables to feed Christ Church’s the cast and crew. air rights, which Then again, charging were sold to Hollywood types Zeckendorf $5,000 per day isn’t Development entirely consistent with the church’s mission.

“It means the space isn’t available for a dance troupe that can afford $100,” Atwood said.

HOUSES OF WORSHIP PER COMMUNITY DISTRICT

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AIR RIGHTS FROM PAGE 13

The dissidents in the vote worried that an agreement to sell before landing a new physical house of worship would leave them without a church for years.

Next steps An earlier plan called for a church as part of the development, but a prior property sale by the church complicated that plan: The owner of Ten Park Ave., a 29-story condo tower that was once owned by the church and operated as a hotel, threatened to file a lawsuit if the new project blocked its window views. The church sold the hotel property in 1972.

“We must join together to vote no on the current proposal to destroy the church buildings with no plan to accommodate a new church home here,” one opponent of the project wrote in an email obtained by Crain’s. “This is outrageous! We must find another way to deal with financial issues.

There is still time to do this. We must vote NO now.”

But on Oct. 31, 2021, the congregation voted 40-19 with two abstentions to approve the tentative plan. Church leaders and Eichner's firm hammered out a sale agreement shortly after the vote.

Unlike many religious organizations, the Unitarians do not have a central ruling body or hierarchy and allow individual congregations to set their own parameters on most issues.

The Rev. Peggy Clarke, the senior minister at Community Church of New York, declined to answer emailed questions from Crain's: "I’m sorry . . . but it’s not appropriate for me to answer these questions on the record,” she said. "I am the spiritual leader of a community who should not be discussing congregants for public consumption."

Since the sale, the church spent $6 million to buy a building on East 35th Street to move the few aging residents and a 10-bed homeless shelter from the crumbling brownstones. While the new site will contain offices for the church, it is not large enough to accommodate a new house of

worship.

George Garland, the church’s treasurer, said that before the sale the endowment was down to about $10 million. The church and the four brownstones needed major repairs. “The estimate on repairs was $14 million,” Garland said. "The endowment would have been wiped out if we did that.”

At one time, the brownstones also served as bed-and-breakfasts and rental apartments and brought in enough money to sustain the building–but the city shut down the B&B business.

One source who has advised the church noted, “The sale of the property affords them a chance to get an enormous windfall. I think the story is uplifting. I don’t know what is so terrible about getting $70 million for something that is falling down.”

Eichner, the CEO of the Continuum Company, who has developed luxury condos from Miami to New York City, did not return calls seeking comment.

‘Good things’ The congregation was scheduled to return to in-person worship on March 6, inside a nearby Episcopalian house of worship, the Church of the Incarnation, at Madison Avenue and 35th Street. It is allowing Community Church to lease the facilities for Sunday afternoon worship for at least two years.

Garland said the search for a new permanent home is underway. Leadership had hoped to buy the Swedenborgian church at 114 E. 35th between Park and Lexington avenues, but it appears the church missed that chance as it awaits completion of the deal with Continuum, which requires approval from the charities bureau of the state attorney general’s office.

"We just learned they have a buyer," Garland said of the Swedenborgian site.

He said the new money from the sale meant the church could allocate up to $20 million to buy a new site and still add $30 million to an increased endowment fund and spend $10 million on its social justice fund.

"There are good things you can do with money," he said. ■

OP-ED

DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS FOR CHURCH AIR-RIGHTS TRANSFERS THE 2017 EAST MIDTOWN REZONING allowed several prominent landmarked churches such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Bartholomew’s to transfer their air rights within a 75-block area.

This enabled them to monetize the unused development rights that preserving their historic buildings hampers them from otherwise using. This generous allowance has left some asking, Why shouldn’t houses of worship across the city, given the financial needs of many and the desire to preserve their historic structures, be able to do the same?

ANDREW But allowing these kinds of transfers on that broad a scale BERMAN is an infinitely more complicated prospect. Applying models used in East Midtown—among the least typical areas of our city—in neighborhoods throughout New York is an approach potentially laden with major pitfalls.

Houses of worship across the city collectively hold tens of millions of square feet of unused development rights. To provide context, the towering 1,396foot 432 Park Ave. in East Midtown contains less than 600,000 square feet of space. Allowing even a fraction of these air rights to be transferred could result in a vast increase in the scale of development across the city. The unanswered questions are, How, when and where should it be allowed to happen?

East Midtown, with its concentration of skyscraping office, hotel and residential towers, allows new development of unlimited height. So transferring and using air rights there is not only feasible but not inconsistent with the basic character of the area.

(Whether there is sufficient infrastructure to handle that additional development and whether the new towers are worthy additions to New York’s skyline are different questions.)

The same can be said of few other parts of the city, where zoning typically imposes either specific or practical limits on height, and where there is usually a consistent and defining neighborhood character. Allowing air-rights transfers in these other locations would likely bump up against the limits of existing zoning and enable development that may stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Issues with broader air-rights transfers outside of places such as Midtown

BUCK ENNIS

COLLECTION

exte air incr resi T exis esta mis It Lan opti esta hist incl B mor will

And

OP-ED

RELIGIOUS LANDMARKS IN COMPETITIVE REAL ESTATE MARKETS DESERVE SUPPORT

BUCK ENNIS

the importance of historic religious institutions to their communities and promotes innovative ways to fund this work.

This includes opportunities for religious landmarks to transfer their unused air rights and develop underused land. These beautiful, human-scale facilities represent some of our finest architecture, embodying generations of cultural history.

These institutions deserve our support in maintaining ANN-ISABEL these landmark facilities, not just for their congregations, but for the critical social services, education and arts FRIEDMAN programming housed in these historic sites, enriching us all, religious or not.

The conservancy has assisted more than 800 historic religious sites throughout New York City and state with 1,600 grants and loans totaling $21 million, generating more than $800 million in repairs. We’ve helped match congregations with new, income-generating arts tenants, and we’ve provided referrals and funded architectural assessments to guide affordably phased repairs.

The National Fund for Sacred Places provides major grants to about a dozen sites around the country annually, ANDREA and the National Trust has just launched a program for GOLDWYN historic Black churches. In the public realm, the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission has recently opened its grant program to religious landmarks, and New York state’s historic preservation grant program provides matching grants of up to $750,000 to nonprofit-owned historic sites, including religious institutions.

We encourage further public and private support, particularly in competitive real estate markets such as ours, because these institutions

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THE NEW YORK LANDMARKS CONSERVANCY recognizes

10 PARK AVENUE, a nearby 29-story condo tower, was once owned by the church and operated as a hotel.

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IF THE CHURCH SAVED THE ARTS in the Middle Ages, the

extend beyond the aesthetic. In many cases the most lucrative uses for those air rights will be luxury condos and large new chain retail stores—uses that increase housing prices and push out both longtime small businesses and residents of modest means.

These longtime constituencies are often exactly who these houses of worship exist to serve. Several local religious leaders have said they feel leveraging real estate assets for such purposes to fund their congregation runs contrary to their mission.

It’s tempting to look for simple answers to complicated problems.

Landmarked houses of worship already enjoy a variety of zoning and legal options (including limited air-rights transfers) that let them monetize their real estate while preserving their historic buildings. More options for helping these historic religious edifices are no doubt also worthy of consideration, potentially including—in limited circumstances—greater options for using air rights.

But finding ways to do so that make practical sense while avoiding creating more problems than they solve is easier said than done. The devil, in this case, will truly be in the details. ■

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Andrew Berman is the executive director of Village Preservation.

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provide substantial public benefits, typically serving at least 10 times their member numbers with community programs.

In the real estate development realm, the right to transfer air rights is enshrined in the city’s landmarks law and policy. It has been used occasionally to benefit religious and other landmarks, to good effect.

Midtown East rezoning in 2017 represented a new, more holistic approach to zoning, creating more opportunities for landmarks, including the three religious landmarks within the rezoning district, to transfer formerly landlocked air rights more readily.

The conservancy endorsed St. Bartholomew Church’s plan to use its air rights sale to restore and maintain its landmark facility. Having worked with this Midtown treasure for many decades, we’re pleased that it now has the funds to restore and maintain its magnificent buildings while it continues to serve the hungry and homeless, share its Midtown plaza with the public and host public programs.

The St. Bart’s air rights sale has renewed interest in the transfer of development rights, raising hopes of comparable air-rights transfer flexibility for other landmark religious properties throughout the city. But replicating this rezoning poses a challenge.

Many historic religious sites are within historic districts, with no mechanism to transfer air rights. Other religious landmarks are in lowand moderate-scale residential areas, where new towers would upend current or contextual zoning and face resistance from neighbors. Identifying appropriate receiving sites, therefore, poses a challenge. There have been several attempts to identify more flexible or remote TDR receiving sites for nonprofit-owned or religious-owned landmarks, but the matter remains an unresolved political conundrum. ■ Ann-Isabel Friedman is the director, Sacred Sites, of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. Andrea Goldwyn is the director, public policy, of the New York Landmarks Conservancy.

The Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper, a former senior pastor at Judson Memorial Church, is pastor at the Orient Congregational Church. She is a part-time trainer at Bricks and Mortals and the author of Remove the Pews and I Heart Francis: Love Letters from an Unlikely Admirer.

JUDSON MEMORIAL CHURCH

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arts will save the churches today.

At Bricks and Mortals, we help congregations live to pray another day by another way, connecting congregations to experts and financial resources to help houses of worship thrive.

To do that, we promote what many call the “Judson model” of hyper-use of sacred space.

Judson Memorial Church removed its pews in 1969 to make space for dancers. Postmodern dance developed REV. DR. DONNA as a result, paving the way for multiple uses of the former SCHAPER sanctuary. The room, designed by Stanford White and featuring stained-glass windows by John Lafarge, seats 500--or 20--every day of the week.

Before the pandemic Judson uniquely maintained space for five congregations, including its own, to worship. People often said that the energy flowed down like water to the south side of Washington Square Park, where “the Judson” hosted a wide variety of reverently irreverent activities.

Yes, it pioneered nudity in performances.

The Gym at Judson is a theater and workout space for the arts. When the pandemic closed the curtain in the gym, we tearfully shut the door on the New Sanctuary movement, with its undocumented people and welcoming, well-trained volunteers.

On Mondays it regularly hosted Movement Research, on Tuesdays the West Village Chorale, on Wednesdays, Bailout Theater. It held regular performances with organizations such as Performa or Greenwich Village Arts or dance parties for people who want to dance sober at dawn.

Judson’s “halo effect” at its height, pre-pandemic, generated $1.7 million.

It multiplied its energy to the community through harm reduction, sanctuary and artistic programs.

The space-use policy changed over the years. Originally the church gave all the space away. Eventually it gave away half the space and charged market rate for the rest, providing much-needed revenue.

It was great spiritual fun to work at the Judson, where I was both pastor and executive director. Now I work half time for Bricks and Mortals. Our board and staff are engaged with New York City matters and just won a Lilly endowment grant to go national with experiments in five cities.

My 15-year tutorial at Judson taught me how to blend the sacred and the secular. It also taught me how to grow a congregation and tip it to seekers under 40. They are now in charge. When you privilege the outsider, the outsider becomes an insider. That is what I mean by spiritual fun. ■

March 28, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 17

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DESPITE YEARS OF NEW POLICIES and plans to increase diversity at banks and financial firms, the lack of ethnic minorities, women and other underrepresented groups on boards and in management positions remains a major issue for the industry.

The finance industry is, in fact, one of the least diverse in the country. A recent report by the Committee for Better Banks found that Black and Latino employees had a less than 25% chance of being promoted or hired for a senior management or executive position, compared with their white peers.

A study by the House financial services committee found that women in banking made up less than 33% of the executive and senior level workforce despite representing 51% of the population.

But real change might finally be on the way.

The New York state Department of Financial Services is stepping up oversight of diversity and inclusion in the banking and finance industries. It is requiring banks and other financial institutions with more than $100 million in assets to provide data on the gender, racial and ethnic composition of their boards and senior management teams. The data is expected to be published on an aggregate basis this year.

In other efforts, new listing rules are in place in connection with board and management diversity disclosures by public companies. The rules are likely to pressure the industry to improve.

Some financial institutions are addressing the issue at the ground level, with programs to help minorities enter the field. The Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at City College recently announced a $300,000 initiative with Santander Bank to create a boot camp and fellows program to prepare students for careers in finance.

Crain’s now is launching its first list of Notable Diverse Leaders in Banking and Finance. The 52 executives on these pages span a range of ethnicities and gender and sexual orientations. Each honoree is a key player in initiatives to modernize their industry.

To choose the honorees, Crain’s consulted with trusted sources in the city’s business world.

Nominations, submitted by individuals and companies, were then vetted. Ultimately, the honorees were picked for their career accomplishments as well as their broader community involvement.

Read on to discover how their individual experiences came to spell success.

METHODOLOGY: The honorees did not pay to be included. Their profiles were drawn from submitted nomination materials. This list is not comprehensive; it includes only executives for whom nominations were submitted and accepted after an editorial review. To qualify for the list, honorees had to self-identify as individuals representing diversity in the workplace within New York City or the surrounding counties, and they had to have been employed for at least 10 years at a banking or financial institution (brokerage, asset manager, insurance company, venture-capital firm and the like). They had to show accomplishment in their field and the ability to effect change in their area of practice or within their community.

JOSEPH BAE Co–chief executive | KKR

Bae has held numerous leadership roles at KKR since joining the private-equity firm in 1996. Recently promoted to co-CEO, he was the architect of KKR’s expansion in Asia. In that role, he helped build one of the largest and most successful platforms in the market. In addition, he presided over the firm’s private-markets businesses, leading or serving on all of the investment committees and implementing the firm’s thematic investment approach. He is a co-chairman of KKR’s inclusion and diversity council and a co-founder of the Asian American Foundation, which was established last year in response to violence against members of the Asian American community amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

LEYONNA BARBA Managing director, technology and disruptive commerce, middle market banking and specialized industries | JPMorgan Chase

Barba and her team are responsible for the bank’s practice that serves high-growth, disruptive companies in the innovation economy. The managing director advises clients at every stage of their growth on solutions ranging from cash management to debt financing, with a focus on serving diverse founders and bringing the full power of JPMorgan’s resources to the businesses as they grow and scale. Barba’s team recently was recognized as No. 1 for cash management, innovation, digital capabilities and quality of advice. Throughout her career, she has been a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion efforts in the financial industry. In 2020 she was recognized by the National Diversity Council for leadership excellence in technology.

ANDREW BREGENZER Executive vice president and regional president for metropolitan New York | TD Bank

Bregenzer oversees retail distribution, commercial lending, small-business banking and community engagement for more than 300 stores and numerous commercial lending teams across the tristate area. In the past year the EVP led teams that processed more than 12,560 loans under the federal Payroll Protection Program. He created a new role at TD—community business development officer—to help minority-owned businesses gain better access to credit and financial education.

The regional president, an advocate for underrepresented groups, was the founding chair of TD’s Metro New York Diversity Council, and he has been a voice against pandemic-related prejudice. Bregenzer is on the boards of the New York chapters of the American Cancer Society and the United Way.

JIMMY CHANG Chief investment officer | Rockefeller Capital Management

Chang has spent 18 years with Rockefeller in a number of positions. Before becoming the chief investment officer of the Rockefeller Global Family Office in 2020, he was the chief investment strategist and a senior portfolio manager at Rockefeller Asset Management. He co-managed several equity strategies and oversaw the fixed-income group. He is now a member of the firm’s management committee. During his time at Rockefeller, he has helped recruit and mentor many young professionals from diverse backgrounds who have built successful careers.

Chang is a frequent speaker at his alma mater, Cooper Union, and other institutions of higher learning.

WENDELL CHESTNUT Senior vice president and market manager | Bank of America

Chestnut manages a commercial banking team that serves companies with annual revenues from $5 million to more than $50 million. With 25 years of experience at Bank of America, he has worked tirelessly for underrepresented communities. He is the New York market lead for the African American Black-owned business strategy, which connects business owners to the bank’s resources, and a founding member of the Tristate Black Executive Leadership Council, which helps Black leaders advance their businesses and communities. Chestnut is a founding member of Pride in Our Workplace, a nonprofit that helps companies identify potential C-suite talent in the LGBTQ+ community.

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PAULA COMINGS

MANDELL CRAWLEY

CHLOE DUANSHI

JENNIFER ESCOBAR

CHINWE ESIMAI

Managing director and co-head of foreign exchange sales, U.S. Bank

Executive vice president and chief human resources officer, Morgan Stanley

Head of quantitative research and portfolio construction, Rockefeller Capital Management

Vice president and East Coast field sales manager, City National Bank

Managing director and chief anti-bribery and -corruption officer, Citigroup

In her first year at U.S. Bank, Comings set a record for the number of new corporate foreign-exchange relationships with lending clients. Eight years later, as managing director and co-head of foreign exchange sales, she co-leads a national team that works to identify foreignexchange exposures and manage currency risk for corporate, commercial and asset management clients. During the height of the pandemic, she created a branded initiative, FX Ignite, which enabled her team to reach a variety of banking clients, leading to the highest annual revenue in the franchise’s history. Comings is a mentor at the bank, and she has been a mentor for Girls with Impact, an entrepreneurship boot camp for teenage girls.

Crawley, who has held a number of positions in his nearly 30 years at Morgan Stanley, became chief human resources officer in February 2021.

Before that, he was headed the firm’s private wealth management business and oversaw international wealth management. While he was in that position, his team offered an expansive suite of specialized services to address the complexities of managing affluent wealth. Earlier in his tenure, he was Morgan Stanley’s chief marketing officer. Before that, he was head of national business development and talent management for the firm’s wealth management division.

Crawley is a member of the firm’s operating and management committees.

Duanshi is responsible for developing a broad capital market outlook across asset classes and designing strategic and tactical asset allocation guidance for the Rockefeller Global Family Office. She is focused on working with clients to construct bespoke, institutionalcaliber portfolios with both traditional and alternative investment solutions, using proprietary portfolio construction techniques that seek to identify and capture a diversified collection of fundamental return drivers.

As a member of the firm’s management committee, she mentors younger people on her team, with a focus on diversity.

Before working at Rockefeller, Duanshi was a cross-asset strategist at Morgan Stanley, specializing in high-net-worth individuals, single family offices and endowments.

Escobar is responsible for recruiting, coaching, training and supporting relationships and sales employees throughout City National Bank’s branch network in New York, Atlanta and Washington.

She helps the bank’s team acclimate to its culture of personalized client service. She is also the East Coast co-chair of the bank’s LinkedIn100, a group of diverse colleagues focused on reaching and serving multicultural clients and communities.

As philanthropy chairwoman of City National’s Women’s Network, Escobar led her colleagues in creating a financial development program for Sanctuary for Families, a nonprofit that helps survivors of domestic violence and trafficking with a large housing shelter in the South Bronx.

Esimai is the first individual to hold the title of managing director, chief anti-bribery and -corruption officer at Citigroup.

She oversees Citi’s global anti-bribery program, which develops and maintains a framework for compliance with bribery laws and regulations across all lines of business and in all countries where Citi does business. In addition, she co-leads Citi’s Black heritage affinity steering committee’s broad engagement and awareness work stream, which is responsible for a variety of initiatives including Black History Month programming and the launch of the Black Heritage newsletter. Esimai supports several Citi Women network chapters through group coaching sessions, keynote and panel presentations and one-on-one coaching.

BLACK, HISPANIC AND ASIAN EMPLOYEES OCCUPY 10%, 9% AND 17%, RESPECTIVELY, OF ENTRY-LEVEL ROLES IN FINANCIAL SERVICES, AND 3%, 2% AND 6% OF C-SUITE POSITIONS. SOURCE: MCKINSEY & CO.

JAVIER EVANS

JANE FRASER

STEVEN GARIBELL

SUZANNE GAURON

TODD GOMEZ

Chief human resources officer, Webster Bank

Chief executive, Citigroup

In his more than 30 years in the financial services industry, Evans has run the human resources department at a number of financial institutions.

In his most recent position, he was chief HR officer at Sterling National Bank, which just completed a merger with Webster. Now he heads up the department at the combined institution, one of the largest commercial banks in the Northeast. At Sterling, he improved efficiency and automation in the operations and service channels for commercial and consumer lending. Evans recently was appointed to the board of Yellow Corp. as a member of its compensation committee.

Fraser is the head of Citi, the bank that serves millions of customers across 160 countries and jurisdictions. She is the first female CEO in the firm’s history.

She has deep experience across Citi’s consumer and institutional businesses; in many ways she helped to shape Citi into the company it is today. Before becoming CEO in February 2021, she was president of Citi and CEO of the Global Consumer Bank, responsible for all of Citi’s consumer businesses in 19 markets. Fraser is vice chair of the Partnership for New York City and a member of the Harvard Business School’s Board of Dean’s Advisers, the Stanford Global Advisory Board, the Economic Club of New York and the Council on Foreign Relations.

LGBTQ2+ business development officer, TD Bank

Managing director and global head of Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs

Senior vice president and market executive, Bank of America

TD was the first bank to sponsor a major Pride festival, and that is just a small part of its support for the LGBTQ2+ community.

Garibell strives to bring the bank’s services to the community’s business owners and establish ties with organizations that support them. He is co-chair of the bank’s Metro New York Regional Diversity Council and a member of its U.S. bankwide LGBTQ2+ Diversity Leadership Team, which helps the bank create policies and best practices to attract LGBTQ talent. Garibell’s success in winning client relationships with community organizations in the New York area has made him the go-to mentor for the bank in other markets.

As the leader of Launch With GS, Goldman Sachs’ $1 billion commitment to invest in under­ represented entrepreneurs and investors, Gauron leads the bank’s efforts to broaden its investments and representation. She has worked with Launch since its founding in 2018, and she leads global private-equity product strategy, including buyout, growth, secondaries and general partners stakes. So far, Launch has invested $700 million in companies and funds with female, Black and Latino founders. It has run two successful company cohorts for 39 underrepresented founders in the U.S., and it recently expanded into Europe. Gauron is a longtime leader in the GS Women’s Network and a founding member of a network that recruits employees with disabilities.

As head of the bank’s community development lending and investing business in the Northeast and Midwest, Gomez is responsible for delivering financing solutions to affordable housing developers. He manages a $4 billion portfolio of debt and equity investments on behalf of the bank, which is one of the largest capital providers to the affordable housing sector in the U.S. In the past 18 months he and his team provided more than $2 billion in financing to help build 5,000 units of affordable and mixed-income housing across the country.

Gomez is the executive sponsor of the New York Black Professional Group at the bank and co-chair of the Tristate Black Executive Leadership team.

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CAROL GREENE-VINCENT Chief audit officer, Morgan Stanley

Greene-Vincent oversees a global audit team of more than 500 professionals. She is a member of Morgan Stanley’s operating and management committees.

Her appointment to the operating committee makes her the first Black member of the powerful executive group, which helps run the investment bank. Before joining Morgan Stanley in 2018, Greene-Vincent spent 25 years at PwC, where she advised global banking clients and boards of directors in transformative cycles of their businesses on the formation of internal control risk standards.

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SUNI HARFORD

NAUREEN HASSAN

JAMES HUANG

SUSAN HUANG

President of asset management and executive board lead for sustainability and impact, UBS

First vice president and chief operating officer, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

President and CEO, Amerasia Bank

Vice chairwoman and global co-head of investment banking, Morgan Stanley

Harford joined UBS Asset Management in 2017 as head of investments, overseeing the investment teams for the firm’s traditional asset classes and UBS O’Connor, its hedge-fund business.

Harford, named president two years later, is now in charge of 3,400 employees spread across 22 global markets.

Harford is known at UBS for her support of diversity and inclusion. She created and implemented new line-manager training, with an emphasis on inclusive leadership for all managers, and she leads the firm’s efforts to engage clients around diversity, equity and inclusion issues. Harford is on the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s board of directors, and she is a founding sponsor of Veterans on Wall Street.

Hassan is a 25-year veteran of the financial services industry with expertise in strategy, digital transformation, cybersecurity and risk management.

She is the second-ranking officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and an alternate voting member of the Fed’s monetary policy-setting committee. She works to build a diverse and inclusive workforce at the Fed that will have a lasting impact on how the bank delivers on its mission to create an economy that works for all. Before working at the New York Fed, which she joined last year, Hassan was the chief digital officer for Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.

Huang runs the only Taiwanese American community bank founded in and still based in New York City. An immigrant from Taiwan, he co-founded Amerasia in 1988 to create a bank welcoming to people of all backgrounds and ethnicities.

Since then, the bank has expanded from one branch in Flushing to seven branches in New York and Florida. He didn’t stop there, however. Amerasia also provides free space for art exhibits, education and seminars in the communities it serves. In response to the pandemic, Huang delivered thousands of masks and other personal protective equipment to the bank’s employees and customers as well as local organizations. The bank provided loan accommodations, financed millions of dollars in federal Paycheck Protection Program loans to small businesses, and helped customers apply for pandemicrelated assistance.

In a career of more than 30 years at Morgan Stanley, Huang has advised some of the firm’s largest clients on mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, divestitures and re­capital­ izations. She is a member of the investment bank’s operating and management committees.

Previously she was head of mergers and acquisitions for the Americas. Huang is a member of the board of directors and the executive committee of Lincoln Center. In addition, she is a trustee at Dartmouth College, her alma mater, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

t

Congratulations to

Verdun Perry Global Head of Blackstone Strategic Partners, for being named a Notable Diverse Leader in Finance by Crain’s New York

We’re grateful to Vern for his leadership across our firm and the alternatives industry.

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BRIAN JONES

CHRIS LEE

FELIX LENO

MONIQUE LOPEZ

LYNN MARTIN

M

Managing director and portfolio manager, Neuberger Berman

Portfolio manager and vice chairman, KKR

Chief risk officer, Piermont Bank

Executive director, JPMorgan Chase

President, NYSE Group

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Jones started at Neuberger Berman as an analyst in 1999, and he moved up the ranks to his current position in the real estate investment trust division.

He has helped build the REIT business at Neuberger since 2014, when he was named a managing director.

Strategies managed by Jones have won Lipper performance awards, and the U.S. REIT fund he manages has achieved a five-star Morningstar rating. He was responsible for leading the environmental, social and governance integration efforts for Neuberger’s REIT strategies.

Jones is active in the Neuberger Black Experience, the firm’s employee resource group focused on Black employees.

He is on the board of directors for the Neuberger Berman Charitable Foundation, which helps at-risk youth.

Lee is responsible for KKR’s real estate business in the Americas, overseeing equity and credit investing platforms in the region. He sits on KKR’s real estate equity and credit investment committees in the Americas, its real estate equity and credit portfolio management committees and the company’s Inclusion and Diversity Council.

Lee chairs KKR’s real estate valuation committee. In addition, he is a board member of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity; a trustee of the PREA Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Pension Real Estate Association; and a member of the dean’s advisory council for the Emory College of Arts and Sciences, his alma mater.

Leno is responsible for building and maintaining a robust framework to manage risk for all of the bank’s lines of business.

The system allows Piermont to control and report an array of custom risk exposures that meet both the bank’s risk allowance and regulatory expectations.

In the past 18 months he built a compliance program to support Piermont’s innovation banking business, offering compliance as a resource for fintech clients.

With Leno’s support, the bank was able to onboard more than 30 fintechs within nine months.

Leno, originally from Guinea and educated in France, has built a diverse team with more than 10 languages spoken fluently among its members.

Lopez is the relationship manager for JPMorgan Chase’s municipal clients such as New York City, New York state and Connecticut. Her focus is on creating payment and receivable efficiencies to improve operations in the public sector. For the past 18 months, she has aided municipalities with unemployment insurance fraud prevention measures, completed clients’ applications for federal Payroll Protection Program loans, and made the shift from paper transactions to electronic payments. Lopez is on JPMorgan’s Hispanic Leadership Executive Forum and the LGBT Leadership Forum. She is a lecturer at Columbia University, her alma mater.

Martin is the 68th president of the New York Stock Exchange and the second woman to lead the exchange in its 229-year history. The NYSE is the listing home to 2,400 of the world’s most influential companies.

In addition to the exchange, NYSE Group includes four fully electronic equity markets, including NYSE Arca, the industry leader in exchange-traded funds, and two options exchanges. Martin heads fixed income and data services at Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of NYSE Group. She is on the board of Manhattan College, her alma mater, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

M i m a M

Congratulations,

JENNIFER ESCOBAR AND ROBERT PINARD Crain’s New York Business Notable Diverse Leaders in Banking and Finance honorees.

Their strong leadership, dedication and passion inspire us every day.

Jennifer Escobar VP, Regional Field Sales Manager

Robert Pinard VP, Branch Manager at Park Avenue South

City National Bank Member FDIC. City National Bank is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada. ©2022 City National Bank. All Rights Reserved. cnb.com

799307

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a C a f M t a t t t t b B w i

MARK MASON

FELICIA MEANEY

Chief financial officer, Citigroup

Head of human resources, Piermont Bank

Mason, Citi’s CFO since 2019, is responsible for the financial management of the company and leads Citi’s Expense Management and Citi Ventures initiatives.

Mason, who joined Citi in 2001, has held several senior positions including chief executive of Citi Private Bank and of Citi Holdings and CFO and head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions for Citi’s Global Wealth Management Division. In the past year, he worked alongside Citi CEO Jane Fraser to help lead the firm’s strategy transformation including the divestiture of 14 of the company’s consumer businesses. He co-chairs Citi’s Black Heritage Affinity group, which promotes diversity and inclusion at the firm.

At Piermont, 50% of the employees are people of color, and more than half of the financing goes to woman- and minority-owned businesses and underserved communities.

Meaney is responsible for developing and implementing the bank’s talent strategies, policies and initiatives. She created a hiring process designed to be more equitable and inclusive, and she works to ensure that every employee is engaged and poised to have a successful career. Meaney is an integral part of Piermont’s efforts to bring in fintech clients that focus on small and midsize African American businesses and that support programs for the Black community.

BETWEEN 2007 AND 2018, REPRESENTATION AT THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF FINANCE IMPROVED FOR ALL MINORITY POPULATIONS EXCEPT BLACK AMERICANS. IN 2017 THEY HELD A SMALLER SHARE OF TOP JOBS THAN THEY DID A DECADE EARLIER. SOURCE: FINANCIAL TIMES

MILIND MEHERE

CARLOS NAUDON

Founder and CEO, Yieldstreet

President and CEO, Ponce Bank

In 2015 Mehere co-founded Yieldstreet, an investment firm that makes financial products more inclusive, providing access to alternative investments previously reserved for institutions and the ultra-wealthy.

Today the company has more than 360,000 members. It has more than $2.8 billion in funded deals, and it has returned more than $1.3 billion in principal and interest to its investors. In the past 18 months Mehere and his team opened two art funds to make investing in world-renowned pieces accessible to many.

Mehere has a number of startups under his belt, including digital marketing firm Yodle, which he sold to web.com for $342 million in 2016.

Naudon runs a bank that helps underserved immigrant communities and low- and middle-income residents in greater New York. Ponce is one of fewer than 50 financial institutions in the country to be recognized as a minority depository institution and a community development financial Institution. Naudon is president of the Ponce de Leon Foundation, which supports nonprofits that contribute to financial, racial and climate equity within the communities the bank serves. He is vice chairman of the Minority Institutions Council of the Independent Community Bankers of America and a board member of the Independent Bankers Association of New York.

Congratulations, Terry Woodard, on being named a Notable Diverse Advisor in Banking and Finance

by Crain’s New York Business.

At J.P. Morgan Private Bank, we’re committed to building a culture of diversity and inclusion.

We believe in investing in our employees and in strengthening the communities we serve.

Learn more by visiting privatebank.jpmorgan.com PLAN INVEST BORROW BANK

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: • NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE Not a commitment to lend. All extensions of credit are subject to credit approval. Bank deposit accounts, such as checking, savings and bank lending, may be subject to approval. Deposit products and related services are offered by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. “J.P. Morgan Private Bank” is a brand name for private banking business conducted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its subsidaries wordwide. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and its affiliates (collectively “JPMCB”) offer investment products, which may include bank-managed investment accounts and custody, as part of its trust and fiduciary services. Other investment products and services, such as brokerage and advisory accounts, are offered through J.P. Morgan Securities LLC (“JPMS”), a member of FINRA and SIPC. JPMCB, JPMS and CIA are affiliated companies under the common control of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Awards or rankings are not indicative of future success or results. Honorees were selected based on several factors related to their particular roles in the field of financial advice. For those who personally provide financial advice—those with titles including wealth advisor and financial advisor, for example—the level of assets under management, whether personally or as part of a team, inclusion in reputable advisor rankings and professional certifications and accomplishments were taken into account. For those who work in organizations that provide financial advice online, who work in a management capacity in an organization that provides financial advice or who in some way are expanding the boundaries of financial advice, criteria included the scope of the potential influence of the honoree’s work on the delivery and quality of advice, the size of the honoree’s organization and/or the extent of its innovation.` © 2022 JPMorgan Chase & Co. All rights reserved.

March 28, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 23

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MICHELLE NICHOLAS

NKONYE OKOH

BEA ORDONEZ

VERDUN PERRY

ROBERT PINARD

Senior vice president, chief diversity officer and director of community development, PCSB

Managing director, JPMorgan Chase

Executive vice president and chief innovation officer, Webster Bank

Global head, Blackstone Strategic Partners

Vice president and branch manager, City National Bank

Perry is the global head of Blackstone’s dedicated secondary fund manager, which has more than $61 billion of assets under management. Since its founding in 2000, Strategic Partners has been one of the market’s most prolific investors, completing more than 1,900 transactions focused on the purchase of private-equity limited-partnership interests and co-investments in leveraged buyout, real estate, venture capital and infrastructure assets.

Perry chairs the investment committee for each of Strategic Partners’ funds. In addition, he is on the boards of the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity and the Apollo Theater, among others. He founded Blackstone’s Diverse Professionals Network in 2014 and chaired it for its first six years. In 2021 Perry was selected as a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.

Pinard oversees City National’s Park Avenue branch, which he opened in July 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Pinard, who was new to City National himself, hired, trained and mentored an entirely new team virtually.

Pinard’s team comes from an array of diverse backgrounds; each member is focused on increasing support for traditionally underserved communities. Pinard is a member of the board of Working in Support of Education, a nonprofit that provides financial education and college- and career-readiness programs to students and at-risk adults.

His team works with Henry Street Settlement, helping its constituents with job searches and career readiness. Before joining City National, Pinard was a TD Bank branch manager for more than 10 years.

Nicholas is the first woman and the first Black person to serve in a senior management role at PCSB. She is responsible for leveraging diversity and inclusion at the bank and advancing its business objectives while engaging its community on development. She is a member of the bank foundation’s board of directors, which reviews grant opportunities to help meet local needs throughout the bank’s footprint. Nicholas, an immigrant from Guyana, previously was executive director of Girls Inc. of Westchester County. She has been recognized by the Business Council of Westchester, and she recently was featured in Westchester magazine as one of 12 Black Leaders Changing Westchester.

Okoh heads structured product sales to financial institutions in the U.S. and Latin America. In addition, she is in charge of U.S. pension, endowment and foundation derivative sales for JPMorgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank. She is one of seven Black female managing directors in JPMorgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank and the most senior woman globally across the equity derivatives and structured product franchises. Okoh was named head of the pension, endowment and foundations derivative sales division in 2020.

She restructured the business completely and turned it into an industry-leading client franchise last year. Okoh, an advocate for diversity at the firm, co-chairs the Black Leadership Forum.

Ordonez leads Webster Bank’s innovation agenda and digital transformation efforts to enable it to continue to respond to client needs. She is responsible for managing the $60 billion bank’s digital product offerings, strategic investments agenda, Banking as a Service activities and marketing efforts.

She previously was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Sterling Bancorp, which recently merged with Webster. At Sterling she led the finance team through the company’s deal diligence process for the merger and the premerger integration planning process. Ordonez, who has more than 20 years of C-level experience in the financial technology industry, started her career in England. She has lived and worked in Bermuda and Florida as well as New York.

Congratulations, Michelle, on being recognized as a Notable Diverse Leader in Banking and Finance by Crain’s NY Business!

How do you motivate

CHA NGE

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Michelle A. Nicholas SVP | Chief Diversity Officer & Director of Community Development

“In my role at PCSB Bank I’m engaging with staff, customers and the communities we serve. I’m listening and learning so much about people with different needs and cultures, with the goal of making real changes that benefit everyone.”

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The Incredibly Neighborly Commercial Bank

SERVING THE LOWER HUDSON VALLEY SINCE 1871 • 914-248-7272 • PCSB.com • Member FDIC 24 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | March 28, 2022

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DINA POWELL MCCORMICK Global head of sustainability and inclusive growth and of sovereign business, Goldman Sachs

Powell McCormick heads up Goldman’s sustainability efforts across all its global businesses. She is responsible for building relationships around the world. She is a member of the management committee and the firmwide client and business standards committee. Last year she oversaw the creation and implementation of Goldman’s One Million Black Women initiative, which committed $10 billion in direct investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic capital to advance racial equity. Powell McCormick held numerous positions in the White House under President George W. Bush. She is a director on the Atlantic Council’s board, vice chair of the Robin Hood Foundation board and a member of the Lincoln Center board.

MICHAEL PUGH President and CEO, Carver Bancorp

As president and CEO of Carver since 2015, Pugh has received national recognition for providing business customers with access to capital. In the past 18 months Pugh grew Carver’s loan portfolio by 22% and maintained strong asset quality, originating more than $141 million in loans.

His experience in commercial lending enabled the bank to form a partnership with a minority-owned fintech, MBE Capital, and to support the federal Paycheck Protection Program, resulting in loans to more than 16,000 businesses and more than $300 million since the pandemic began. Pugh oversaw the partnership with a women-owned fintech, Boss Insights, resulting in 300 business loans and the preservation of 5,000 jobs in the New York City area.

WOMEN MAKE UP 30% OF THE ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS AT NORTH AMERICAN FINANCIAL INDUSTRY FIRMS. THEY HOLD 17% OF THE C-SUITE POSITIONS, WITH THAT NUMBER FALLING TO 1% FOR WOMEN OF COLOR. SOURCE: MCKINSEY & CO.

Honoring

champions of change

SERGIO RAMIREZ

GABE RODRIGUEZ

Head of global client group and head of Americas, PineBridge Investments

Head of human resources for U.S. retail banking, Citigroup

Ramirez oversees the development and implementation of PineBridge’s business and client strategy.

With more than 20 years at the firm, Ramirez has played a major role in growing its business in North and South America and implementing a business development strategy for Asia.

He leads globally integrated client teams focused on investor channels including retirement, insurance and wealth management. In addition, Ramirez chairs the corporate responsibility steering committee and co-chairs the diversity and inclusion committee. His leadership has helped expand PineBridge’s employee resource groups—a firmwide network that enables employees to share experiences, access training and show support for important causes.

Rodriguez leads the people strategy for nearly 10,000 employees in Citi’s retail bank.

He is focused on fostering an inclusive culture to enhance diversity, personal and professional development and employee satisfaction. He designed and co-led the rollout of Citi’s Let’s Talk About It series, in which senior leaders, managers and colleagues speak with external subject matter experts about race, gender and xenophobia. The Let’s Talk sessions engaged tens of thousands of colleagues across the globe. Rodriguez co-founded a leadership and development program that pairs Black talent with Black coaches outside of Citi. He also founded an initiative to bring together colleagues across the firm who are members of historically Black fraternities and sororities.

Paula Comings SVP, Managing Director and Co-Head of Foreign Exchange Sales

Congratulations to Paula Comings and Anu Somani for being recognized as Crain’s Notable Diverse Leaders in Banking and Finance. U.S. Bank understands the value of diverse voices and proudly acknowledges those who continuously model excellence and pursue innovation. Thank you, Paula and Anu – your admirable leadership and dedication to clients, colleagues and communities knows no limit.

Anu Somani SVP, Head of Faster Payments and Payments Innovation Member FDIC. ©2022 U.S. Bank

March 28, 2022 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 25

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FREDERICK ROYAL III

TESS SHIH

SHAMINA SINGH

ANURADHA SOMANI

KIMBERLY STOLZ

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Managing director and national head of diverse businesses, JPMorgan Chase

Director, Capital Fund Management

Founder and president of the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and executive vice president for sustainability, Mastercard

Senior vice president and head of faster payments and payments innovation, U.S. Bank

Managing director and private client adviser, Bank of America

H m i T

Royal partners with the middlemarket banking and specialized industries team of bankers across the country to identify new opportunities and build upon existing relationships with womanand diverseowned businesses.

In the past 18 months he built a team of 17 professionals dedicated to serving diverse-, women- and veteran-owned businesses, with bankers in 15 cities across the nation. Under his leadership, the team extended hundreds of millions of dollars in capital to diverse businesses. In addition to serving his clients, Royal puts together conferences and speaking engagements to educate a wide audience of diverse entrepreneurs on how to grow their businesses.

Shih heads Capital Fund Management’s Midwest region and reports to the organization’s head of North America. She is responsible for revenue generation and client satisfaction at the global asset management firm. She covers parts of Canada and some strategic states in the Northeast as well. In the past 18 months she brought in one of the largest mandates from an endowment prospect, at $100 million, and $25 million from an international prospect.

She is skilled at analyzing and communicating complex concepts, executing business strategies and positioning organizations to achieve high performance and growth.

Shih is a frequent speaker on investment strategies who has been recognized by numerous organizations. The Hedge Fund Journal named her one of the 50 Leading Women in Hedge Funds.

Singh is the founder and head of the philanthropic hub of Mastercard.

Since 2014, she has led the Center for Inclusive Growth to develop an impact model that leverages Mastercard’s data, technology, capital and expertise for social effect, an effort to which Mastercard allocated $500 million in 2018. She is also responsible for the development and implementation of environmental, social and governance strategies across the company. Singh has held senior positions in the White House and the U.S. House of Representatives. She sits on the boards of the Anti-Defamation League and the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders. Singh has been named to the Financial Times’ Top 100 LBGT+ Executives and Fast Company’s Queer 50 lists.

Somani is an emerging payments and digitization expert with extensive experience in product development, market segmentation and commer­ cialization.

At U.S. Bank, she leads the development and commercialization of the next generation of faster payment solutions including real-time payments through the Clearing House network and Zelle. In 2019 she launched the bank’s “payment innovation studio,” a team that includes developers, legal partners and sales executives. It works with the bank’s clients to explore payment solutions. Somani, who has been honored by a number of organizations, last year made the inaugural PaymentsSource list of the Most Influential Women in Payments younger than 40.

Stolz leads a team at Bank of America that’s dedicated to addressing the wealth management needs of hedge fund professionals.

The team serves as a single source for integrated strategy and advice, with tax-efficient investments, derivatives and structured products, mortgages and estate planning services.

Her team also caters to real estate investors, asset management and insurance executives, and arts and entertainment professionals.

Before starting her career in finance, Stolz was a news anchor with MTV Networks and was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model. Stolz, who is committed to the value of diversity, is involved in promoting LGBTQ+ awareness at Bank of America.

JANE FRASER IS THE FIRST WOMAN TO HOLD THE TITLE OF CEO AT A TOP-TIER WALL STREET BANK. FRASER TOOK THE REINS AT CITIGROUP AFTER MICHAEL CORBAT RETIRED IN FEBRUARY 2021.

SOURCE: FORBES

PAULA TUFFIN

DAVID UNDERWOOD

SIYA VANSIA

RAY WALCOTT

ATHER WILLIAMS III

General counsel and chief compliance officer, Better.com

Chief audit executive, Intercontinental Exchange

Chief brand and innovation officer, ConnectOne Bank

Vice president of business banking, Capital One

Underwood, a certified public accountant with more than 25 years of experience in several industries, including financial services, telecommunications and manufacturing, is responsible for the Inter­ continental Exchange’s internal audit department globally. His job includes testing to ensure compliance with the SarbanesOxley Act. He joined ICE in 2007 and launched its internal audit department. Under his leadership, the ICE internal audit function received the highest recognition possible from an independent review.

He is a director on the board of governors of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Atlanta chapter, where he chairs the Fortune 500 Chief Audit Executives Roundtable.

Vansia is responsible for the marketing, branding and public image of ConnectOne, a $7.8 billion banking institution serving the New York and New Jersey markets.

Vansia developed and managed the bank’s social media strategy and maintains its digital presence through online channels.

She was instrumental in the rebranding of the company from North Jersey Community Bank to ConnectOne to support the launch of the bank’s initial public offering. During the past 18 months Vansia developed a communications plan around three acquisitions and shaped the strategy for the launch of the bank’s digital accounts and mobile app.

Walcott manages a portfolio of business banking clients with annual sales from $2 million to $50 million within a variety of industries. He has proved a trusted adviser by delivering comprehensive and customized business banking products and solutions tailored to the financial needs and circumstances of business clients. During the pandemic, he has helped thousands of customers throughout the country get funds through the federal Paycheck Protection Program and get those loans forgiven. Walcott is a member of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and is the membership co-chair of Gotham City Networking.

Senior executive vice president and head of strategy, digital platform and innovation, Wells Fargo

Tuffin is responsible for all the legal and compliance functions at Better, an online mortgage lender. She leads the company’s culture and ethics review committee, which reports directly to the board of directors.

Earlier in her career, she was senior litigation counsel at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and an assistant attorney in the criminal division of the U.S. attorney’s office, where she prosecuted bank fraud, money laundering and complex narcotics cases.

Outside of work, Tuffin is on the board of Empower the Village, a nonprofit that develops strategies to help Black business owners and community organizations.

Williams became senior executive vice president 18 months ago after leading business banking at Bank of America. In his short time at Wells Fargo, however, he developed a strategy across the organization and created new digital adoption and innovation centered on customer experience. His work includes the upcoming launch of the revamped Wells Fargo mobile app and a new virtual assistant, Fargo. His team has developed a payments hub and 12 new application programming interfaces. It is spearheading partnerships with Google, HSBC, Microsoft and Trovata.

Williams is co-executive sponsor of the Black and African American Connection Employee Resource Network at the bank and sits on the Wells Fargo Foundation’s board of directors.

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MARLA WILLNER

TERRY WOODARD

Head of commercial credit management and strategic initiatives, TD Bank

Managing director and vice chairman, JPMorgan Private Bank

Willner is responsible for the soundness of a $140 billion commercial portfolio. She leads more than 900 employees as she oversees the specialty, commercial, community, wealth, auto and smallbusiness credit management teams. As a member of the management committee, she advises on bank priorities and operational strategies. She recently was in charge of the bank’s transition from Libor to alternate reference rates. To allow the bank’s systems the capability of handling alternative rates, Willner changed the entire commercial bank platform— training bankers and developing pricing strategies—to position TD for growth.

Woodard and his team are responsible for handling the day-to-day banking, investment, tax and financial planning needs of high-networth individuals and nonprofits.

Woodard is a senior leader and mentor in the firm for other Black bankers. He was a co-founder of the Black Leadership Forum in Asset and Wealth Management, which now has more than 2,000 members, and he is co-chair of the Black Organization for Leadership Development, an internal business resource group of more than 20,000 members globally. He recently was named a member of the Morgan Circle, which consists of the top 10% of client advisers in the U.S.

MAGGIE LENA WALKER WAS THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO ESTABLISH A BANK AND TO SERVE AS A BANK PRESIDENT IN THE U.S. IN 1903 SHE FOUNDED THE ST. LUKE PENNY SAVINGS BANK, WHICH WAS RENAMED CONSOLIDATED BANK & TRUST IN 1930. IT IS THE OLDEST AFRICAN AMERICAN–OWNED BANK IN THE COUNTRY.

WENNI WU

GRACE YOON

Chief growth officer, Piermont Bank

Head of business development and strategic initiatives, Rockefeller Capital Management

Wu is responsible for building and managing Piermont’s marketing platform, strategic partnerships, customer experience and growth. As chief growth officer, she works across the womenfounded, digital commercial bank to identify and pursue revenuegenerating strategies while she strives to create a seamless banking experience for small and midsize businesses. Wu is a member of the Forbes Communications Council and the American Bankers Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Group.

Crain’s selected her as one of its Rising Stars in Banking and Finance for 2020.

SOURCE: BECU

Yoon is charged with deepening client relationships and elevating client engagement for the Rockefeller Global Family Office. She is focused on engaging with women and next-generation family members and working with clients to build customized sustainability and impact investing solutions.

She is a member of the firm’s management committee and the firm’s committee that oversees its proxy voting and shareholder engagement policies in connection with environmental, social and governance issues.

Yoon chairs the Rockefeller Next Gen Advisory Council. She was previously co-executive sponsor of the Rockefeller Women’s Initiative Network. She is an instructor with Girls Who Code and an inaugural member of the Phillips Exeter Academy Women’s Leadership Circle.

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3/25/22 5:11 PM

CLASSIFIEDS

Advertising Section

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

INVITATION TO BID

Invitation to Prequalify and to Bid Rehabilitation and Flood Mitigation of the New York Aquarium, Brooklyn, NY: Turner Construction Company, an EEO Employer, is currently soliciting bids for the Rehabilitation and Flood Mitigation of the New York Aquarium from subcontractors and vendors for the following bid packages: BP #047C– Epoxy Flooring (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #047A – Resinous Matrix Terrazzo Flooring (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required)

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of formation of Ahlex LLC. Arts of Organization filed with the SSNY ON 11/12/2021. Office location: New York County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 2804 Gateway Oaks Dr # 100 Sacramento, CA 95833. Purpose: Any Lawful act.

BP #047B – Rubber Flooring (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) BP #050 – Specialties (Partitions, FEC & Extinguisher) (Bid, Payment & Performance Bond Required) Only bids responsive to the entire scope of work will be considered and, to be successful, bidders must be prequalified by Turner. Certified M/WBE and Small Business (13 CFR part 121) companies are encouraged to submit.

In order to receive the bid packages, potential bidders either (1) must initiate the prequalification process by submitting a Subcontractor/Vendor Prequalification Statement to Turner, or (2) must be prequalified based on a prior submission to Turner. (Note: Prior prequalification submissions that remain current will be considered as previously submitted or may be updated at this time.) All bidders must be prequalified by the bid deadline: April 11th, 2022 and initial submission of a prequalification statement not later than April 11th, 2022 is strongly encouraged. All bidders must have an acceptable EMR, and will be subject to government regulations such as 44 CFR and Federal Executive Order 11246.

Successful bidders will be required to use LCP Tracker compliance verification software. Note that while this is a New York City prevailing wage project, union affiliation is not required for BP #047C, #047A, #047B and #050 A Webcast about the above Bid Package/s will be held on March 11, 2022. Attendance is optional for all; the Webcast is designed to assist potential M/WBE subcontractors/vendors.

Notice of Formation of PANTS VIEW 3, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/11/22.

Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 200 Park Ave. South, 8th Fl., NY, NY 10003. 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.

Link: Please join this meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/19%3ameeting_YWVhMTM0ZTktYTliZC00ZDkyLThiYjQtMTkwMWE4ZWIyZmFj%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3 a%2220e27700-b670-4553-a27c-d8e2583b3289%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22732a90ce-24b7-42eb-bf78-d638e2a629ac%22%7d

To obtain further information about contracting opportunities and/or the prequalification package and bid solicitation package/s, please contact Lyndsey Spangel, lspangel@tcco.com 646-842-1659.

The date for the virtual public opening at the Turner Construction Company office located at 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York, is April 12th, 2022 10 AM Link: Please join this opening meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetupjoin/19%3ameeting_YWVhMGQ2ZjctNDk0OC00MDcwLWJlOTctNzJhNGU4OTczYTdk%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b %22Tid%22%3a%2220e27700-b670-4553-a27c-d8e2583b3289%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22732a90ce-24b7-42ebbf78-d638e2a629ac%22%7d

PUBLIC & LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Qualification of CALIBRANT RENEWABLE HOLDINGS, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/28/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/23/21.

Princ. office of LLC: 125 W. 55th St., 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 Secy. of State of DE, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Application for Authority of ABL RPC RESIDENTIAL CREDIT ACQUISITION LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/1/2022. Formed in DE on 7/22/2020. Office loc.: NY County.

SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail copy of process to 30 Montgomery St., Ste. 215, Jersey City, NJ 07302. The office address required to be maintained in DE is The Corporation Trust Company, Corporation Trust Ctr., 1209 Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of formation filed with the Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of MSG SPORTS VENTURES, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/01/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/24/22.

Princ. office of LLC: 2 Penn Plaza, NY, NY 10121. 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., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of FINCHLEY ROAD MEDIA LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/24/22.

Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/30/21. Princ. office of LLC: 740 4th St. North, Ste. 176, St. Petersburg, FL 33701. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC 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 DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of DAVID KESSLER PROPERTY HOLDING, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/01/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Nevada (NV) on 02/24/22. Princ. office of LLC: 460 Getty Ave., Clifton, NJ 07011. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 202 N. Carson St., Carson City, NV 89701-4201.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of CHARTED LABS LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/28/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/27/22.

Princ. office of LLC: 18 10th St., Apt. 928, San Francisco, CA 94103. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, Attn: Jayendra Jog at the princ. office of the LLC. DE addr. of LLC: 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., P.O. Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

HJ Studios NYC LLC filed w/ SSNY on 2/7/22. Office: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail to: 368 3rd Ave., #28A, NY, NY 10016.

Purpose: any lawful.

Raymond Realty Group LLC, Arts of Org filed with SSNY on 07/17/18. Off Loc: New York County, SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: The LLC, 17 Catherine St, Unit 13, New York, NY 10038. Purpose: to engage in any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of GB EquipmentCo LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/17/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/02/19.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 820 N. French St., 4th Fl., Wilmington, DE 19801.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

LEGAL NOTICE Application for Authority of Torchia Entertainment, LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) 2/3/2022. Formed in PA 1/1/2022. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The principal business loc. and address SSNY shall mail copy of process is c/o Michael J. Torchia, 610 White Ash Dr., Langhorne, PA 19047.

Cert. of Organization filed with the Secy. of the Commonwealth of PA, 401 North St., 206 N. Office Bldg., Harrisburg, PA 17120. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of 30W 85TH STREET LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/17/2021. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to Registered Agents Inc., 90 State St, Ste 700, Office 40, Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of LADY IN THE LAKE, LLC. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/01/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/14/21.

Princ. office of LLC: 11 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10010. NYS fictitious name: LADY IN THE LAKE PRODUCTION, LLC. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543.

DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 820 N. French St., 4th Fl., Wilmington, DE 19801. Purpose: TV production.

Formation of EAST 89 NYC LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/26/2022. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail process to Christopher Shaari, 19 Country Club Way, Demarest, NJ 07627.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of CAESAR, NAPOLI & SPIVAK PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/09/22. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of PLLC: 233 Broadway, Ste. 2348, NY, NY 10279. SSNY designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the PLLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Practice of law.

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C

2022

NOMINATIONS CLOSING SOON Every year, Crain’s New York Business ranks the 50 fastest-growing companies in the New York area who have thrived and raced ahead of the pack. These companies are on the cutting edge, not only making significant contributions to the strength of our local economy but also transforming the way we do business every day. The 50 companies will be listed as a special feature within our print and digital publication, highlighting the innovative companies and successful entrepreneurs in the five boroughs and surrounding suburbs. To be considered, your firm needs to fill out the questionnaire by March 31, 2022.

NOMINATE NOW! CrainsNewYork.com/NominateFast50 Don’t wait - deadline to nominate is Thursday, March 31

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BAIL

seeds for a Republican revival in New York.”

evidence. The law came at a time when Democrats and their voters wanted to change what they considered a broken criminal justice system that criminalized poverty.

The suicide of Kalief Browder, 22, galvanized the effort to reform bail procedures. Browder was accused of stealing a backpack and was imprisoned at Rikers Island for three years, without trial, including 17 months in solitary confinement. He was unable to afford his $3,000 bail.

Democrats argued that poor New Yorkers were punished and sent to prison not merely for accused offenses but also for an inability to raise bail money.

The Bail Elimination Act of 2019, which was passed within a broader budget bill, effectively precludes judges from setting bail for most misdemeanor crimes in the state, including stalking, burglary, assault without serious injury and some forms of arson and robbery. The changes were seen as one of the surest ways to lower the population of imprisoned New Yorkers—which reached beyond 20,000 by the end of 2019. Most of New York state’s incarcerated population was Black or Latino, according to 2010 data by the Prison Policy Initiative.

Bail reform passed shortly after Democrats won both houses in Albany during the 2018 elections, and it was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

A lot has changed since the legislation took effect in January 2020, just months before the Covid-19 pandemic upended life around the globe. Violent crime has risen in New York City as well as Albany and Rochester—though that trend is not limited to New York. In recent opinion polls, many voters cited public safety as their top concern.

There is no guarantee that Democrats in Albany will find a way to compromise with the governor or mayor on amending the bail-reform law, even amid rising public pressure.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have signaled their opposition to changing the bail reforms they championed into law three years ago. At the time of the law’s passage, the Senate’s deputy majority leader, Michael Gianaris of Queens, stated that New York had a system “functioning as guilty till proven rich.”

The law is popular among progressive legislators in both houses, as well as a vocal section of the Democratic Party base that wants to overhaul policing and reform the criminal justice system.

Now Hochul stands with Adams—she has appeared with him at two news conferences devoted to public safety—in a fight against progressives in Albany, as Republicans prepare for a general election campaign against her.

Last week New York’s GOP chairman, Nick Langworthy, said Hochul and Cuomo “have blood on their hands” because of their initial support of the law.

In a mid-February Siena College Research Institution poll, 65% of New York voters said “the so-called bail-reform law should be amended” to allow judges the ability to consider a suspect’s dangerousness.

And in a poll this month from Emerson College, Hochul’s disapproval with independents reached 24%.

“It’s a question of the consent of the governed and where public opinion is,” said Bruce Gyory, a political strategist and professor in Albany. “If the Democrats don’t deal with this issue, not only this year but going forward, they will sow the

“The demand for software engineers on Hired has doubled, with candidates receiving more than twice the amount of interview requests than in 2020,” Hired Chief Executive Josh Brenner wrote in the report. “To win top engineering talent, companies have to offer increasingly competitive salaries, flexibility and, most importantly, extend their talent pipelines outside of traditional technology hubs to other regions globally.”

A separate study published earlier this month by the Brookings Institution found that remote work had boosted technology job growth in several small U.S. cities but had not slowed the industry’s growth in New York.

New York, San Francisco and Toronto are the only North American cities where more software engineering interviews are for local roles than remote ones, according to Hired. Last year job interviews for local roles in Toronto and San Francisco declined, pointing to the general spread and acceptance of

remote work for software engineers across the country. The same trend wasn’t seen in New York, however.

Interviews for local roles in software engineering increased by 3% last year.

It will be worth watching whether better pay in less expensive cities does eventually trip up New York’s

tech job growth. New York tech workers across all job titles made an average of $118,000 in 2020 and paid an average of $31,000 in annual rent—about 26% of their wages.

That was the highest ratio in North America, according to CBRE, which analyzed the numbers for a report released during the fall. ■

Hochul’s new stance The governor’s office this month issued a 10-point internal memo, first reported by the New York Post, that outlined public safety changes Hochul would like legislators to consider during budget negotiations. Her vision echoed the complaints already made by Adams, who previously traveled to Albany in February to make his case for bail-law amendments before skeptical senators and Assembly members.

The most important reform Hochul called for would allow judges to use a defendant’s criminal history and history of firearm possession when determining bail. Judges are currently allowed to consider only a defendant’s flight risk.

New York is the only state in the nation that doesn’t allow courts to consider a defendant’s threat to public safety when making bail determinations, according to the Vera Institute for Justice.

With shootings on the rise, both

REMOTE FROM PAGE 1

cities that have long trailed New York—driven in part by more remote roles. In almost every U.S. metropolitan area, the average salary is higher for remote jobs than for local ones, Hired found.

The fastest salary growth for software engineers in the country was

HOCHUL

AP PHOTO

on a Bronx subway—occurred when both suspects had been released without bail. Prosecutors noted that Assamad Nash, who was indicted on murder charges in Lee’s killing, was out on supervised release for three other misdemeanors at the time.

“The point [of bail reform] was, crudely, we shouldn’t be locking up people intentionally or unintentionally if they’ve done low-level crimes, and the notion was misdemeanors were low-level crimes,” said Elizabeth Glazer, director of former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Office of Criminal Justice and editor of the Vital City criminal justice policy journal. “The problem is that’s not entirely true, and that’s when we get into problems.”

Crimes such as Lee’s killing have generated headlines and worried New Yorkers. Moreover, they have made it less tenable for executives including Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams to remain tied to the status quo.

Adams and Hochul have asked for judges to be given broader discretion in setting bail for violent crimes involving a gun. Hochul’s memo also lamented the fact that pretrial cases can be dismissed if prosecutors fail to turn over documents during the discovery period, even if the materials previously were submitted.

“Providing materials to the defense is a critical part of the trial system in New York, but it shouldn’t be a dagger at the throat of the prosecution,” said Richard Aborn, president of the Citizens Crime Commission, a criminal justice research nonprofit.

Hochul’s other proposed reforms include strengthening judges’ discretion when assessing different types of felonies and misdemeanors and giving prosecutors and police officers greater flexibility in presenting their evidence before courts.

But not everyone in Albany is ready to embrace Hochul’s tougher stance.

Divided Democrats The bail-reform law passed by the Democratic-controlled government in 2019 upended criminal justice policy in New York. It vastly reduced the number of crimes for which a person could be held on bail and handicapped the amount of time prosecutors could gather in Atlanta made an average of $147,000, according to Hired, compared with $137,000 for local roles.

New York has about 350,000 tech workers total, according to estimates from real estate services firm CBRE, including about 136,000 software programmers and developers.

Cost of living Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, companies such as Facebook and Twitter warned they would adjust pay for remote workers to match the cost of living wherever they relocated. The data from Hired’s report—based on about 366,000 interactions between software engineers and technology employers on the platform—indicates that idea has not caught on in the industry. The red-hot labor market has allowed skilled tech workers to demand top pay regardless of where they live.

SKILLED WORKERS CAN DEMAND TOP PAY NO MATTER WHERE THEY LIVE in Austin, Texas, where the average pay for local engineering roles climbed 7% year over year, to $142,000, and up 8%, to $150,000, for remote roles. In San Diego, software engineers working remotely are also earning $150,000 on average, compared with $142,000 for local roles. Remote tech engineers

Critical questions What’s unclear to legislators and criminal justice experts is whether amending the bail-reform law would reduce crime. Bail is used to ensure a defendant shows up for a court proceeding.

“Shootings went up in almost every big city in the nation, whether there was bail reform or not,” Glazer said. “There’s this disjunction between the call to roll back bail reform and the notion that bail is what’s driving the shootings. All the evidence shows that’s not what’s driving the shootings.”

Homicide rates rose in about 90% of the largest U.S. cities between 2019 and 2021, according to Vital City. Glazer noted the percentage of people involved in shootings in New York and who were out on pretrial release remains the same as before the bail-reform law went into effect.

She also cited that 75% of those charged with crimes who make bail make it within the first week.

“It’s a very imperfect tool if your intention is to hold people before trial,” she said.

Business community support If Hochul is looking for support to change the law, she might find it from the business community in New York City.

The board members of the 34th Street Partnership met earlier this month with representatives from the office of the deputy mayor of criminal justice.

Top executives from Vornado, Brookfield Properties, Madison Square Garden and Empire State Realty Trust were in attendance.

They reacted favorably to Hochul’s proposed amendments, according to Dan Biederman, president of the partnership “All the key players were there, and the response to the governor’s 10-point plan was extremely positive,” Biederman said. Hochul “was very pointed at the kinds of changes that I think most of our board members felt were necessary based on what we’re seeing in the streets.” ■

BLOOMBERG

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REAL ESTATE: THE CLOSER

‘Extremely persistent but classy’: The strategy one broker is using to land high-profile clients Real estate broker Jackie Totolo shares how she orchestrates deals for clients including Guess and Swarovski

TOTOLO

INTERVIEW BY NATALIE SACHMECHI

J

ackie Totolo’s foray into the real estate industry was unconventional. In 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, she set out to move to New York and work as a broker. She went to RKF, now known as Newmark, where she spent a year in the marketing department first.

She was on her own financially and needed to save money before jumping headfirst into commission-based brokerage, a job where she could meet people, learn every day and help change the city around her.

Since making the transition, she has worked on behalf of SL Green, The Plaza hotel, RFR Realty and retail clients including Bobbi Brown, Pret a Manger and Swarovski.

A little more than a decade later, she’s now a senior managing director at Newmark, and she’s lost track of how many deals she has under her belt.

She recently was hired to lease the partially landmarked retail spaces at two of JDS Development’s newest projects: 111 W. 57th St. in Manhattan and 9 DeKalb Ave. SACHMECHI in Brooklyn.

Here, she discusses her favorite deals and the challenges she faces getting tenants into the two unusual properties.

BUCK ENNIS

What’s your secret sauce for getting clients? ​I am extremely persistent but classy about it.

Whatever it really takes. You have to understand what makes both sides tick. To get a deal closed, you get everyone together; no one hides behind paper. It’s a good way to start a marriage between landlord and tenant. Sometimes that’s over dinner, lunch or a walk, or on a plane to the headquarters of the tenant.

Why do your clients choose you? ​I think it’s because I am available for them.

From the retailer side, whether they are expanding or not, I am there as a resource for information. I am really fun to hang out with too. I can relate to most people, from billionaires to local retailers. You just need to know how to read your audience and listen to people.

weren’t really going farther south on Fifth Avenue than Saks. It was a live construction site, and I called everyone who I thought belonged on the street. That deal helped me get off my draw*.

What was your favorite deal?

I don’t really have a favorite. I do a lot of work for Levain Bakery, so I travel all over with them to figure out how to bring that experience to other cities. I get a lot of joy from working with them, and cookies are my favorite food.

“YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW TO READ YOUR AUDIENCE AND LISTEN TO PEOPLE”

Who was your first client?

I was put on an assignment with MetLife, and I helped lease their building at 575 Fifth Ave. to Guess. That was a time when retailers

What’s the biggest challenge to getting the two JDS spaces leased?

These opportunities are large boxes of retail

space, and they’re under very prestigious residential buildings. At 111 W. 57th, one portion, the rotunda, is landmarked. And that leads to an atrium space, which is a retail space, but it has 80-foot ceilings and glass fa-

cades. Retailers by nature want control of their environment, their brand and their identity, but when you have landmarked space, that’s a challenge because there are things you can’t touch.

At 9 DeKalb, whose base used to be the Dime Savings Bank building, we have interesting retail space there as well, which is landmarked and combined with non-landmarked space. It’s a live construction site, and things are changing every day.

Who is your ideal tenant?

Right now people aren’t really leasing 40,000 or 50,000 square feet, so we’re chopping it up.

At 111 W. 57th, the rotunda would really lend itself to a watchmaker or jeweler because it’s super ornate and gorgeous inside. The atrium could lend itself to an art museum, or we could do a car showroom here. Then we have a strategy where we can

make an entrance on 58th Street and do a private club in the rear of the building as well.

What’s a complicated deal you’ve worked on recently?

All the retail leasing at 1 Wall Street was extremely complicated. It’s ground floor with two lower levels and a second floor. Some of the space was at subway level.

Telling retailers to go to subterranean space, where there isn’t much natural light, is difficult. It was an employer’s cafeteria and a vault to the Bank of New York when it was an office building.

Harry Macklowe had incredible vision, sketching on a piece of paper what he wanted the facade to look like, and it looks like that today. ■ *Editor’s note: A draw is a loan from a brokerage that its agents can tap before they start earning commissions.

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Andrew Bregenzer, TD Bank Regional President, NY Metro

Marla Willner, TD Bank Head of Commercial Credit Management and Strategic Initiatives

Steve Garibell, TD Bank Community Business Development Officer, LGBTQ2+

Congrats to Andy, Marla and Steve for being recognized as Crain’s 2022 Notable Diverse Leaders in Banking and Finance.

We’re thrilled to honor the colleagues who share our vision for a workplace—and world— where diverse perspectives are valued and celebrated.

Member FDIC, TD Bank, N.A.

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