Crain's New York Business, May 6, 2024

‘There is just no market at all’

Property investment sales for the rst quarter were the second lowest for New York City since at least 2015

By Eddie Small

e East Village site had a desirable location, o ered a hefty 8,000-square-foot lot and was ripe for redevelopment.

But 220 E. Ninth St. only found a taker last winter — luxury builder Arcus Development, which paid $14 million — because of a “ uke,” according to landlord David Berley.

City o cials had shut down the parking garage at the site after nding potentially dangerous cracks, a move that cleared out the property's tenant and put it in play after 40 years.

BY THE NUMBERS

$2.9B

Total amount of deals last quarter compared to $5.1 billion worth in the first quarter of 2023.

And the unusual deal was one of the few to close in the basically frozen investment sales market of the past few months.

“I have never seen it like this,” said Berley, 85, chairman of the rm Walter & Samuels. “ ere is just no market at all.” Indeed, investment sales for the rst quarter were the second-lowest they have been

since at least 2015, according to data from Ariel Property Advisors. ere were about $2.9 billion worth of deals across 392 transactions and 442 buildings last quarter overall, the brokerage found. ese were all signi cant declines from the rst quarter of 2023, when there were about $5.1 billion worth of deals across 531 transactions and 690 buildings, the brokerage found. e only recent rst quarter that saw less activity than 2024 was 2021, when New York was still in the throes of the pandemic and just getting its vaccine rollout underway. Although the city's recovery remains incomplete, most sectors of the real estate industry have improved or at the very least are not worse o than they were during the rst quarters of 2022 and 2023, when activity was much higher.

“It’s a very odd time,” said longtime New York sales

GETTING TO YES

The mayor’s battle begins as the clock starts on a roughly seven-month review of his ‘Housing Opportunity’ proposal

Fresh o of a state budget that delivered longawaited housing reforms, a new battle begins over a city-level package that could signi cantly boost construction in the ve boroughs, testing Mayor Eric Adams’ ability to push the policies through against likely opposition.

After months of preparation, the Adams administration’s City of Yes for Housing Opportunity plan was formally referred on April 29 to the city’s 59 community boards, starting the clock on a roughly seven-month review that will culminate with a vote by the City Council near the end of the year.

e housing plan is considered the most signicant — and controversial — of the three City of Yes plans that the Adams administration is advancing separately, which all seek to loosen decades-old zoning rules. By allowing denser housing to be built nearly everywhere in the city, the administration says the rule changes could produce between 58,000 and 109,000 new homes over 15 years, putting a dent in the apartment shortage that has caused rents to soar.

But much will depend on the whims of the City Council, especially members from low-rise districts

Crain’s

outside Manhattan who are likely to object to provisions that would legalize 3- to 5-story buildings near transit and remove requirements for new developments to have parking spaces. Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who represents one such district

GOTHAM GIG Mets’ ballpark operations chief seeks to shake things up

The property at 220 E. Ninth St. was one of the very few notable building sales during the rst quarter of the year. BUCK ENNIS

City Planning Director Dan Garodnick and Mayor Eric Adams at a rally | NYCMAYORSOFFICE/FLICKR

A proposal to legalize small apartments in garages and backyards is among the components of the mayor’s City of Yes for Housing Opportunity plan, which began its public review. | BUCK ENNIS

| By Nick Garber

WOMEN OF INFLUENCE EVENT

Crain’s honors the women who shape New York

Crain’s hosted its second annual Women of In uence luncheon on May 1 to recognize some of the city’s leading ladies. e event, held at the Marriott Marquis, brought together a group of more than 250 to celebrate this year’s 11 individual honorees, including Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City; Julie Tighe, president of the NY League of Conservation Voters; Dr. Michelle Morse, the city’s chief medical o cer; and FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. Crain’s also recognized women and organizations who were nominated as mentors, rising stars and women-forward workplaces for their role in building a business community where women can grow. Among the honorees was actress and labor leader Fran Drescher, whose keynote speech encouraged the crowd to embrace qualities like empathy and vulnerability that are typically discouraged in leadership positions.

Photography by Buck Ennis

EVENTS CALLOUT

JUNE 12

REAL ESTATE NETWORKING

Join us for networking, dealmaking, and a live interview with New York City Planning Director Dan Gardonick, the architect of the ambitious City of Yes initiative to modernize zoning regulations to support small businesses, create affordable housing and promote sustainability. Gardonick will discuss the details, timing, opportunities, and potential economic impact in a conversation with Crain’s New York Editor-in-Chief Cory Schouten.

DETAILS

Rachel Hodgdon, president and CEO of International WELL Building Institute, accepted an award for Woman-Forward Workplace in the medium/small category.

Emily Cobb, e-discovery counsel for Ropes & Gray, accepted an award for WomanForward Workplace in the large category.

Katie Bailey, senior director of HearstLab, accepted an award on behalf of Eve Burton, who won the Mentors Showing the Way award.

Katherine Colsher, president and CEO of Girls Who Invest, accepted an award for Woman-Forward Workplace in the medium/small category.

Dr. Ingrid Walker-Descartes, pediatrician and vice chair of education in the Department of Pediatrics at Maimonides Medical Center, won the Rising Stars award.

Keynote speaker and honoree Fran Drescher, an actress, comedian, writer, activist and trade union leader currently serving as the national president of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, addresses the crowd.

Starting from left: First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh; Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom; Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer; Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City; SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher; Ny Whitaker, founder and chief strategist of Project NYNE; and Julie Tighe, president of the NY League of Conservation Voters, gathered together before the Women of In uence event to present Wylde with her award.

MTA says it needs $6B to climate-proof transit

Now it must get state lawmakers and federal of cials to agree to fund a to-do list addressing weather hazards

e Metropolitan Transportation Authority has a $6 billion to-do list to adapt the region’s transit to climate change — now it must get state lawmakers and federal ocials to agree to fund it.

Transit o cials unveiled a Climate Resilience Roadmap April 25 aimed at addressing the increasingly dire threat extreme storms, sea-level rise, heat waves and other weather hazards pose to New York transit. Since Superstorm Sandy walloped the region in 2012, the MTA says it has invested $7.6 billion in repairs and ood protections, but transit o cials project that over the next decade at least $6 billion-worth of resilience projects will be needed to comprehensively safeguard the transit networks commuters rely on.

“ is is something we have got to do now,” said Janno Lieber, the MTA’s chair and chief executive, during an April 25 news conference alongside rail tracks in the Bronx. “As I always say, for New Yorkers, transit is like air and water, we need it to survive and it will not survive unless we plan to protect the system from climate change.”

e 131-page report is the rst by the MTA’s new climate planning division since it formed last year and prioritizes an estimated investment of as much as $2.5 billion into the subway system. Transit o cials say those dollars would go toward shielding subway stations from stormwater, protecting trainyards from downpours and preventing open subway infrastructure from being ooded, including the 272 miles of track that run on or above ground. Cash to fund much of the work outlined in the climate roadmap is expected to come from the bundle of infrastructure upgrades that is the MTA’s upcoming 20252029 ve-year capital plan, which is anticipated to be released in the fall and is nanced through a mix of state, federal and other sources.

“Transit is like air and water, we need it to survive and it will not survive unless we plan to protect the system from climate change.”

ve-year capital program — work for which transit o cials have been forced to stall because of lawsuits that threaten the expected June launch of congestion pricing. Jamie Torres-Springer, president of MTA construction and development, said the authority is also working to create resilience design guidelines to ensure new projects are built with the climate crisis in mind.

Janno Lieber, MTA chair and chief executive

“It’s much more practical to make something more resilient when we’re rst building it or rehabilitating it then going back and doing a whole retro t project,” said Springer. “So we’re integrating resilience into everything that we do.”

been impacted by torrential rain events, according to the MTA. at translates to treacherous conditions including underground waterfalls, ooded tracks, and overloaded storm sewers backing up into stations.

Constantly pumping out water

Even on sunny, dry days the MTA pumps out roughly 10 million gallons of groundwater from the subway each day. is occurs at infrastructure called deep wells located along lines, such as the G, where the water table is above the subway’s tracks and requires constant pumping to keep groundwater out of the system.

In the meantime, the MTA is in the midst of carrying out its $54.8 billion-2020-2024

Ask a subway rider and chances are they’ll tell you they’ve already felt the effects of a changing climate on their commutes. Flood waters from heavy rains routinely inundate the subway; since 2007 at least 200 subway stations out of 472 have

ose systems, along with the 254 pumping stations peppered throughout the subway, become overtaxed during major oods and backup into stations, stalling service. Without broader upgrades, transit o cials say sea-level rise and increasingly frequent major storms only promise to direct more of the MTA’s resources and manpower into bailing out water over ensuring the system can withstand the long-term e ects of climate change.

Heavy rains frequently inundate subway stations across the city. | BLOOMBERG

Caroline Spivack

Norman Reedus and Diane Kruger nd a taker for their Greenwich Village home after 2 years

Several price cuts later, the Hollywood couple accepted a 20% loss on the transaction

C. J. Hughes

The perks of being famous do not always extend to real estate.

Actor Norman Reedus, a star of the long-running zombie TV series e Walking Dead, and actor Diane Kruger, of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, have sold their Greenwich Village townhouse after two years and several price cuts.

Itself a star of several media stories, the landmarked Greek Revivalstyle property at 40 Leroy St. went for $9.4 million, according to a deed made public on April 25.

In 2018 Reedus and Kruger paid $11.8 million for the ve-level,

they asked about $13 million for the 3,650-square-foot landmark, built in 1837. But as the months dragged on — and home loan costs began rising, weighing on the market — Reedus and Kruger began reining in their ambitions.

In a bid to protect their privacy, perhaps, the celebrity duo shopped their home as a whisper listing, which kept it from the usual listings sites such as Streeteasy. But the omarket approach may have been a doubleedged sword.

Whisper listings can have a tough time reaching a broad audience, said Clayton Orrigo, the Compass broker who handled the deal. “ ey didn’t want their home blasted all over the internet, but o -market listings can be hard to close,” Orrigo said.

“They didn’t want their home blasted all over the internet, but off-market listings can be hard to close.”

Clayton Orrigo, Compass broker

stoop-fronted edi ce, records show, meaning they accepted a 20% loss on the transaction, which went into contract Feb. 23 and closed April 23, according to the deed.

When the Hollywood couple rst listed the red-brick property at Bedford Street in February 2022,

Still, 40 Leroy has other challenges, he added. Unusually for a single-family dwelling, it lacks a backyard, though it does feature a spacious and landscaped roof deck. e fact that the property is relatively exposed at a high-tra c location, a few steps from busy Seventh Avenue South, also didn’t do it any favors, he said.

Orrigo declined to identify the buyer, who used the shell company Mr. Sweet Baby James LLC for

the purchase. And despite the LLC’s seeming reference to the title of an album by musician James Taylor, a name that also once commonly referred to Taylor himself, Orrigo said that Taylor, a Berkshires resident, was not involved in the deal.

A Prada model and photographer, long-haired Reedus is probably best known for the role of motorcycle-riding hunter Daryl Dixon in e Walking Dead, which ran for 11 seasons on AMC until 2022. But in 2023, Dixon, again played by Reedus, got a self-

named spin-o , which has been renewed for a second season.

German-born Kruger, meanwhile, has gravitated more toward lm roles, including as Bridget von Hammersmark, a German actor turned Allied forces spy in Tarantino’s 2009 hit lm Inglourious Basterds. She has also played Helen of Troy in Troy and appeared in Nicholas Cage’s National Treasure franchise. Kruger is scheduled to play German actor Marlene Dietrich in an upcoming TV miniseries.

e couple, who have been to-

gether since 2016 and reportedly got engaged in 2021, have not lived in the home for a while, Orrigo said.

Manhattan’s residential market has begun the year in a swoon. In the rst quarter, sales activity fell 11% from the year-ago period, according to data from Douglas Elliman, and the median sale price of $1.05 million was down 2% over the same stretch.

Frank Carone selling Mill Basin mansion for nearly $7M

Mayor Eric Adams’ former chief of sta and onetime counsel to the Kings County Democratic Party Frank Carone is giving up his Brooklyn bona des and settling down in Manhattan with his wife. Carone, a politically connected attorney who served as City Hall chief of sta until stepping down at

The property features a bi-level backyard with a saltwater pool, dock access to the bay, a cabana and a woodburning pizza oven.

the end of 2022 to launch his own consulting rm called Oaktree Solutions, is selling his Mill Basin mansion at 2626 National Drive for an asking price of $6.9 million, a

source familiar with the family's thinking con rmed to Crain's e mayor’s long-time condante — who is expected to help run Adams' re-election campaign next year — and his wife Diana rst put their home up for sale last year but little traction caused them to remove the listing. ey decided to re-list it this spring, when the market is traditionally better, according to the family source and the Real Deal, which rst reported on the listing.

City records show that the family bought the property for a little over $1 million in 2003, before tearing down what was there and building their current seven-bedroom waterfront abode from the ground up and raising their two children there.

Although the decision to move out was a di cult one, the source said, adding that now that the children have moved out, they don't need as much space — the roughly 9,000-square-foot chateau sits on more than 14,000 square feet of

land and boasts a bi-level backyard with a saltwater pool, dock access to the bay, a cabana and a wood-burning pizza oven. Inside, the 3-story home features a chef's kitchen, a custom wine cellar and

a primary suite with a balcony, according to the listing on Zillow, which names Brooklyn 4U Realty’s Anthony Sciortino as the realtor.

Once the sale is nalized, the Carones will settle down full-time in

their 45 Sutton Place South apartment they bought for $2.2 million in 2021, according to city records — when they’re not visiting their daughter in Florida, who is soon to be wed, the source said.

Makes more sense

e move also makes more sense for Carone’s job and political machinations, according to the family source, who said a commute from Mill Basin to Midtown is just “not conducive.” Carone re-joined his old Brooklynbased law rm Abrams Fensterman last year after resigning from his post at City Hall, according to reports, and also teamed up with real estate giant SL Green in its bid to open a casino in Times Square.

40 Leroy St., Greenwich Village (above). Diane Kruger and Norman Reedus (inset). | GOOGLE STREET VIEW, GETTY IMAGES

Julianne Cuba

The Carone family home at 2626 National Drive in Mill Basin. | BROOKLYN’S 4 U REALTY

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Adams’ library service cuts would sever a vital lifeline

Why money can’t be found to keep public libraries open every single day

One of the great embarrassments of New York, the richest city in America, is how money can’t be found to keep public libraries open every single day.

It is, truly, a matter of priorities. Other far-reaching, progressive policy proposals can come with enormous upfront costs — municipal or statewide single-payer healthcare comes to mind — but there’s really no reason why the city can’t pay to keep libraries open every Saturday and Sunday.

lyn, Queens, and New York Public Libraries.

Since 2015, when Bill de Blasio boosted funding to the library system, six-day service has been the norm. is is not ideal, but it is better than ve, which would see crucial weekend service evaporate entirely. Most library branches in the city are already closed on Sunday. anks to midyear budget cuts in November, seven-day service — available sparingly before then — is gone. e cuts would also mean delaying the renovations of certain branches.

Mayor Eric Adams, in his executive budget, has proposed to keep the cuts to the library system that he ordered starting last year. If he has his way — and given his deteriorating relationship with the City Council, he might not — the library system will lose $58.3 million. If the cuts go through, library service citywide would be curtailed to ve days a week, according to the presidents of the Brook-

Democrats in the City Council might successfully oppose Adams. is dynamic recalls the “budget dance” that was common during Michael Bloomberg’s mayoralty. e Republican-turned-independent mayor would propose unpopular cuts to libraries, rehouses, and various social services that Democrats, come June, would reverse. Adams has much less clout than Bloomberg, so the City Coun-

cil should be well-positioned to drive a hard bargain.

Small fraction of the budget

But it remains bizarre that libraries are ever on the chopping block. The municipal budget, this year, is expected to top $110 billion. Of that, less than $500 million is dedicated to the libraries. For a small fraction of the budget — if new cash needs to be found, maybe slash some of the patronage gigs at City Hall, the Department of Education, and elsewhere — libraries could be open every day.

Public libraries are one of the great egalitarian innovations that count, in retrospect, as a modern miracle. A capitalist American society decided in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that books should be available to everyone for free and physical spaces should exist where anyone can enter and learn.

Today, libraries are vital lifelines for the working class and poor of the ve boroughs. ey remain

bulwarks of the educational system and necessary community centers. At the center of just about every neighborhood in the city is a public library.

Currently, most libraries are shut on Sundays, an unnecessary punishment for New Yorkers who work on weekdays and children who may only have a free Sunday to get to the library. If anything, weekend service is the most urgent — the teacher, the janitor, or the clerk may only have a stray Sunday to make it to the library at all.

Adams, who grew up working

class in Queens, should understand this. Yet his budgeting shows the library system is, at best, an afterthought for him. What he does understand is politics — a primary election is almost one year away and following through on austerity for public libraries will be very unpopular. If Adams wants to deprive his opponents of political oxygen, he’d be wise to side with the City Council and boost library funding. Otherwise the most unpopular mayor in modern times will keep sinking.

Ross Barkan is a journalist and author in New York City.

State’s new budget quietly boosts amount of potential housing developments around Penn Station megaproject

By Nick Garber

Tucked into the newly enacted state budget is a provision that could boost the amount of housing built around Penn Station, if the neighborhood’s redevelopment ever gets o the ground.

e much-publicized housing deal in this month’s budget includes a measure to lift the stateimposed limit on residential density in the city, allowing for bigger

ects it undertakes. at could have an impact on the state’s stalled Penn Station-area megaproject, where the amount of housing has been a main sticking point.

e most recent 10-tower plan, unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2021, would include about 1,800 apartments, although a vast majority of the project would still be taken up by o ces. In 2021 planning documents, ESD noted that it was constrained by the 12 FAR cap — for example, a site at the southwest corner of West 31st Street and Eighth Avenue could accommodate more than its planned 542 apartments if the cap were lifted, the documents stated.

“There’s no reason to wait years for luxury of ce buildings or tennis courts when we could build the housing we desperately need right now.”

apartment buildings. e changes scrap a decades-old cap on oorarea ratio, which had banned buildings whose square footage was more than 12 times the size of the lot they occupied.

Not only can the city now approve its own buildings whose FAR exceeds 12, the state budget added another provision: the state-run authority Empire State Development could also allow the denser apartment buildings in future proj-

Midtown residents opposed to the state plan have pushed for it to be dropped or changed to prioritize housing, given the city’s desperate apartment shortage and the dismal o ce market. But any changes might depend on the whims of Vornado Realty Trust, the state’s chosen developer in the project, which controls much of the land and has given no public sign it wants to switch to residential.

Still, some in the neighborhood are heartened by the budget language.

“ is will increase the opportunity for a ordable housing at the Penn Station sites, like the Hotel Pennsylvania,” said Assemblyman Tony Simone, who represents the area.

Indeed, the state budget language says state-led projects can exceed 12 FAR only if at least 25% of the new apartments are a ordable, renting at an average of 80% of the area median income. e future developments also cannot occupy the same lot as a building designated as an artists’ live-work, and must include a “feasible method” for relocating any residents displaced by the project.

Construction timeline unclear

It’s unclear who pushed for the new exibility for state projects in the budget. State Sen. Liz Krueger, who also represents the Penn area and played a leading role in budget negotiations, told Crain’s she assumes it came from Hochul’s ofce, since the change was not included in Mayor Eric Adams’ budget requests, she said. (Hochul’s o ce did not respond to a request for comment.)

e budget speci cally allows for denser housing in “general project plans,” the term for all state-led developments that override local laws in order to build. Although GPPs have always been

unconstrained by city regulations like zoning, they were still hamstrung by the FAR cap, since the cap came from the state’s own multiple dwelling law.

It’s far from clear when, if ever, the broader Penn Station plan will stir back to life, after Hochul conrmed last year that she was “decoupling” the rebuild of the train station itself from the real estate project surrounding it. Both Hochul’s administration and Vornado have said the neighborhoodwide plan remains very much alive, albeit without a timeline for construction.

Simone said he and other Midtown o cials planned to push Hochul in the coming weeks to put

urgency behind the Penn plan, citing the importance of trying to win federal funds while President Biden is in o ce.

Diana Gonzalez, executive director of the neighborhood group New Yorkers for a Better Penn Plan, argued that the lifted cap means more housing could be built quickly around the rail hub — including on the former Hotel Pennsylvania site where Vornado has recently oated building an outdoor space suitable for Fashion Week events or tennis matches. “ ere's no reason to wait years for luxury o ce buildings or tennis courts when we could build the housing we desperately need right now,” Gonzalez said in a statement.

Ross Barkan

Mayor Eric Adams recently announced a $112 billion executive budget plan that would maintain his proposed $58 million cut to the city’s public library systems. | ED REED/MAYORAL PHOTOGRAPHY OFFICE

Diana Gonzalez, executive director of New Yorkers for a Better Penn Plan

A budget provision that allows state-led developments to exceed a longtime density cap could lead to more apartments built around Penn Station. | BLOOMBERG

C. J. Hughes

e case against one of New York’s “worst landlords” got much clearer on May 1.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced a wideranging indictment against Daniel Ohebshalom for allegedly letting some of his apartment buildings go to seed in order to harass rent-regulated tenants and force them to move out.

Ohebshalom, who is regularly called out on Public Advocate Jumaane Williams’ annual worst landlords list, individually faces 40 counts, and shell companies to which Ohebshalom is linked that own ve Manhattan properties face another 40 counts, according to the indictment.

“He forced his tenants to live in unthinkable conditions,” Bragg said in a late-afternoon press conference announcing the charges.

And the conditions, which include broken doors, collapsed ceilings and a lack of heat, including at a pair of hard-hit buildings on West 46th Street in Hell’s Kitchen, were allowed to fester all in the name of “huge pro ts,” he added.

e charges are familiar, as Ohebshalom has been previously cited for hundreds of code violations by city housing agencies. But

Daniel Ohebshalom “forced his tenants to live in unthinkable conditions,” which include broken doors, collapsed ceilings and a lack of heat.

Bragg,

they do seem to mark a serious escalation of the case against Ohebshalom, who has been serving a 60-day sentence on Rikers Island since late March for alleged violations at a pair of Washington Heights properties. But those charges involved the housing division of Manhattan Supreme Court, while Bragg’s indictment represents a broader criminal push.

Criminal charges

Bragg added that it’s the rst time that a landlord has faced criminal charges for harassing rent-stabilized tenants.

It is exceedingly rare for a controversial landlord to head to prison, though East Village owner Steve Croman did serve time after pleading guilty to tax fraud and other charges in 2017.

e buildings cited in Bragg’s case are two that landed Ohebshalom, who also goes by Daniel Shalom, behind bars: 705 and 709 W. 170th St., which have racked up nearly 700 violations.

Also named were 410 and 412 W. 46th St., which Ohebshalom

later tried to sell for nearly $12 million, though city o cials ultimately wrested the sites away to put them under third-party control. e other apartment building is 331 E. 14th St. in the East Village.

Obscuring ownership

Some of the charges that Ohebshalom faces involve ling false documents to obscure his ownership of the buildings. Indeed, he

apparently had employees of a business associate sign papers on his behalf in order to conceal Ohebshalom’s ties to the properties, according to Bragg. Ohebshalom could not immediately be reached for comment.

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Manhattan district attorney

Before dismissing new meeting process, the City Council should see if it works

When does e ciency turn into bureaucracy?

City Council members and the Adams administration went head to head last week over that very question.

During a contentious May 1 hearing, city lawmakers voiced their displeasure with a new City Hall policy requiring ocials to ll out a form to request meetings with or action from agency leaders.

Council members said they were blindsided in April by the launch of the Elected O cials Agency Engagement Request portal, saying the process would upend the decades-old practice of lawmakers directly contacting department o cials to request a meeting or seek help for a constituent issue. Even some members of the Adams administration think the form is a waste of time.

As Crain’s reporter Nick Garber noted in a recent article, critics accused the mayor of implementing the system as another form of micromanagement. But Ti any Raspberry, Adams’ senior adviser and director of his intergovernmental a airs ofce, characterized it as an e ort to streamline services, centralize requests and level

the playing eld to ensure that newly elected o cials are not disadvantaged compared to government veterans with more extensive contact lists.

“ e form is not intended to stand in the way of elected o cials picking up the phone to reach out to a commissioner, borough commissioner or any other ocial in the administration,” said Raspberry.

Legal authority questioned

City Councilman Lincoln Restler, however, reportedly questioned the Adams administration’s legal authority to weigh in on how the council interacts with agency leaders.

But o cials might be a bit hasty in their dismissal of the new policy. Yes, Mayor Eric Adams has a reputation for getting involved in issues that don't necessarily warrant his input. With everything from homelessness to rats wearing on the city, how lawmakers interact seems as if it should be the least of his worries. And it's possible the new form would have had a smoother rollout if suggestions had been

taken from the people who would be using it before it became a mandate.

However, cronyism and “playing politics” can be a drain on local government. Whether a department head answers a phone call or takes a meeting should not be a matter of friendship. If an o cial request policy can indeed ensure newer ocials get the same amount of face time as those who are well seasoned at being in the right rooms, then it really doesn't sound so oppressive.

Besides, lawmakers have teams of direct reports who already manage their calendar and could easily ll out the form for them. No doubt Restler, for example, who called the form “inane” and a “dangerous politicization of city government to prevent city agencies from doing their job based on the political whims of the mayor,” will not personally lose valuable working hours slaving over a Google doc.

Not every process that can be updated should be, of course. If the form is indeed used for gatekeeping by the administration or as a measure to slow down city agencies’ responses to requests from elected o cials,

Measuring New York’s true cost of living

New Yorkers are facing an acute affordability crisis, one that extends beyond housing to our overall cost of living. It’s forcing thousands of everyday people — young and old, individuals and families, people of color, people who enrich our city and make it diverse and unique — to leave New York.

Every year, for more than two decades, the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), in partnership with Lake Research Partners, has conducted a rigorous scienti c poll — e Unheard ird — to hear from New Yorkers, especially low-income New Yorkers, about their living situations. We ask them about their housing struggles, their healthcare expenses, their economic hardships and more. We also seek their opinions about what can be done to help them get ahead.

With this poll, we always learn something new about what stands between low-income New Yorkers and economic security. But this year’s results have revealed a disturbing new pattern:  Moderate- and middle-income New Yorkers are facing increasing nancial hardships, owing mainly to the high cost of living in our city. Mostly, these New Yorkers are employed, often earning between 200 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level, i.e., between $62,000 and $128,000 for a

family of two adults and two children. Despite this, these families are still struggling to a ord housing, to pay for childcare, to repay their student loans and put something away for a rainy day.  ese complex and increasing hardships represent a creeping crisis for a segment of New Yorkers often unseen, even ignored, by policymakers. To be sure, it remains necessary to measure poverty and material deprivation. Yet we cannot rely solely on a 60-year-old, federal poverty measure to fully capture thenancial needs of New York’s families. We must now — all of us, but especially our city’s leaders — do more to better understand what it truly costs to live in New York City. We need a True Cost of Living Measure that every New Yorker can see themselves in. Such a measure must consider the well-known expenses — housing, childcare, transportation, debt, taxes, to name a few — that take a big bite out of household budgets. At the same time, this measure must also recognize that New Yorkers must be able to plan for the future — for nancial emergencies and retirement — to achieve lasting economic security. Unfortunately, policymakers have been without such a comprehensive measure, leaving them unable to adequately address the hardships confronting more moderate-

income households in our city.

Our poll results reveal that increasing numbers of moderate-income families are struggling with food, housing and transit costs, struggling to get out of debt, and struggling to save up for future needs.  Often, these families su er the same hardships as those living in extreme poverty. Sometimes, even more. For example, as compared with our survey results on eviction risk in 20172019, this year’s poll showed a big rise (14 percent) in eviction threats for moderateto-middle-income New Yorkers. Now, the majority of New Yorkers at risk of eviction come from this group.

Our survey also revealed a similar trend for transit a ordability. In 2023, New Yorkers living above the poverty line experienced transit hardship at the same rate — 30 percent — as those living below the poverty line.  And, notably, those well above the poverty line, earning up to 400 percent of FPL, experienced rising levels of transit hardship — at 21 percent — levels never before seen in our survey’s history.

Even when measures of economic need try to be more expansive, they fail to properly account for debt. And yet many New Yorkers are carrying multiple kinds of debt — student loans, credit cards, medical debt, mortgage and auto loans, to name a few — that they struggle to pay o . Our poll this year showed that nearly 70 percent of moderate-income households struggle to pay student debt, a seven percentage-point

that would be a major issue, and o cials should work swiftly to have it scrapped. But just because something has always been done a certain way doesn't mean it always has to be. Attempting to make the meeting process more democratic seems like a noble task. City o cials could benet from giving the new process a fair shot to see if it achieves its intended bene ts before dismissing it entirely.

increase over the previous year. We see similar patterns across several other categories in our poll, including rainy-day savings and food insecurity hardship.

As a city, we should feel deeply challenged by this data. In some cases, moderate-income New Yorkers are struggling just as much as low-income New Yorkers. Yet what’s happening to moderate-income families is often lost in debates that focus either on extreme poverty or on extreme wealth.   Furthermore, although there are well-known o cial metrics to capture the challenges for both extremes, no such measure exists to shine a light on all struggles, including for those who nd themselves in the middle.

We are excited that the City of New York is mandated to develop a true cost-ofliving measurement in 2024, which 81 percent of the NYC electorate supports. Such a measure must take all New Yorkers — including those straddling moderate to middle income — into account to capture what it truly costs to live with dignity and to attain full economic security in our city.

Mayor Eric Adams (left) and Adrienne Adams, speaker of the New York City Council (center) | JOHN MCCARTEN/NYC COUNCIL MEDIA UNIT

David R. Jones is the president and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York.

Some moderate-income New Yorkers are struggling just as much as low-income residents, writes David R. Jones, president and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York. BLOOMBERG

PERSONAL VIEW

City of Yes: First step toward a more affordable New York

There’s no two ways about it: New York has become an una ordable city. e cost of living and doing business has risen so dramatically in the past decade that we are now tied with Geneva as the third most expensive city in the world, behind only Singapore and Zurich.

While New York City cannot solve this crisis on its own, one important step it can take is modernizing its aging zoning rules that were created over sixty years ago for a very di erent city and have come to hold it back.  e Adams Administration is taking up this challenge, starting with a package of fty-three proposals collectively described as “City of Yes.” e purpose is to make it faster, easier, and less expensive to build a ordable housing, create jobs, and reduce our city’s carbon footprint.

e good news is that the City Council has already enacted the rst part of this package, City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality, which will help the city achieve its carbon reduction goals by incentivizing such activities as use of electric vehicles and installation of solar power systems and green roofs.

Under Council consideration now is

PERSONAL VIEW

After

years

of

Last month, a package of housing bills and programs came together in Albany as part of New York State’s annual budget negotiations. As in prior sessions where housing has been a large part of the political and scal story, this year’s package will nd most of the stakeholders involved somewhere between somewhat unhappy to furious and disappointed. I am not one of those people. Given what happened in 2022 and 2023 amid a widely acknowledged housing crisis — essentially nothing — few advocates, labor leaders, developers, politicos, pundits, elected ocials thought there would be meaningful action on housing in 2024. So let’s take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate what did get done, and applaud the Governor, her team and those in the housing world who rolled up their sleeves, got into the ring, took a lot of punches, but got stu done.

“City of Yes for Economic Opportunity,” which would replace outdated and onerous 1960s-era regulations with clear and sensible rules that allow small businesses and entrepreneurs to expand and adapt to changing customer demands. Obsolete and unnecessary restrictions on business operations and growth will be removed. New locations will be open to “clean” industrial uses such as life science laboratories, sound stages, new forms of urban agriculture, and advanced manufacturing. As New York City works to emerge from the pandemic and overcome a stubbornly elevated storefront vacancy rate, these commonsense economic reforms are more important than ever, and the Council should move quickly to pass them.

Confronting housing crisis

With ”City of Yes for Housing Opportunity,” the Adams administration is confronting New York City’s housing a ordability crisis head-on by updating restrictive zoning laws that limit housing production. For example, the plan would provide more exibility in the design and size of new apartments, encourage the conversion of underused buildings like

o ces into housing, and increase density allowances for buildings with a ordable housing. It will make it easier to build modest apartment buildings in lowerdensity areas, and eliminate costly parking requirements that are unnecessary in a city with great access to public transit. Combined together, these measures can signi cantly ease our housing shortage.   Many factors that have made the city less a ordable are beyond our local control. In ation, high interest rates, and

pandemic-related upheaval in the global supply chain have contributed to rising costs. But there are actions we can take right here to make our city more a ordable, and updating antiquated zoning is a great place to start. When the city’s own rules and regulations are hampering housing production and economic growth, it’s time for a rewrite and that’s exactly what “City of Yes” o ers. We want a more a ordable city and it’s time to take whatever actions are within our power to achieve it.

inaction, the housing package is a big

ments, while assuring that at least 25 percent will be permanently a ordable to lower and moderate-income families who earn up to $84,000. at is a big deal: building new two-bedroom apartments that will rent for approximately $2,100 a month without any direct subsidy is a good deal for the public.

Alicia Glen is the former deputy mayor for housing and economic development under Mayor de Blasio. She is also the founder and managing principal of MSquared, a real estate investment company.

e new 485-x tax incentive program, which replaces the expired 421-a, is mission-critical to New York City. Without it, no mixed-income rental projects would be built. We know that’s true because virtually none have begun since 421-a expired in 2022. What little production there has been is either fully a ordable (relying on a di erent tax exemption) or luxury condos. 485-x will catalyze tens of thousands of new rental apart-

Moreover, in a time when racial and economic segregation is front and center in our debate around inclusion and equity, 485-x is the city’s most powerful tool to create a ordable housing in desirable neighborhoods long out of reach for most renters And the Adams administration deserves credit for its successful push to eliminate the option to provide units a ordable to families who earn up to 130% of average median income under the program. Although I still believe it is important for the city to include middle-income units in its housing goals, those units are not the most needed right now, and have proven the hardest to lease. e last thing anyone wants is more vacant units.

Removing the cap on a longstanding and nonsensical law limiting the density of residential buildings (and only residential), which by some estimates have cost the city around 200,000 new apartments, is also a huge victory. I rst proposed this as part of the Housing New York Plan in 2014 as part of

our e orts to change the blueprint for housing development in the city.

Now the market can dictate the use, and the city can initiate rezonings in areas where higher density is appropriate and deliver more housing, and more permanently a ordable housing, through its Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program. Other than a few Class A projects made possible by the Midtown East rezoning and service improvements at Grand Central, not many people think building more o ce space makes a lot of sense right now.

Renter protections

I am also pleased the housing package includes support for existing rent-regulated housing by incentivizing owners to upgrade and renovate apartments, while also instituting guardrails to ensure tenants do not receive egregious rent increases. We cannot allow our a ordable housing stock (much of which is owned by non-pro ts) to deteriorate or contribute to climate change. It’s common sense: maintaining and upgrading units is a lot less expensive than building new apartments. Let’s not forget that housing is about people and neighborhoods, not just unit counts and math, so ensuring that families have quality healthy housing that they can a ord is really what matters.

Which leads me to what’s known as Good Cause Eviction. Although there is no doubt that most of the unhappiness will be focused on this issue — on both sides — I think there is reason to be positive here too.

deal

If New York is going to continue to be a jurisdiction where rents are regulated, then providing some protections to renters who are not otherwise covered by existing laws is the right thing to do. It’s a matter of fundamental fairness. If we don’t make it a priority, the implications for our children, our neighborhoods, and our economy are real, and we cannot a ord them.

I look forward to seeing more cranes on the skyline, more housing being improved, and more families feeling secure. And I also know the movie isn’t over. We will need to take a hard look at the outcomes of this package and be prepared to make changes. And we must keep making the case for the tools, federal resources, State legislation, and private capital necessary to make a real dent in the problem.

Kathryn Wylde is president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City.

The Adams administration is confronting New York City’s housing affordability crisis head-on by updating restrictive zoning laws, writes Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City. BUCK ENNIS

485-x, the state’s new tax incentive program, will catalyze tens of thousands of new rental apartments, writes Alicia Glen, former NYC deputy mayor. | BUCK ENNIS

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

To place your listing, visit www.crainsnewyork.com/people-on-the-move or, for more information, contact Debora Stein at 917.226.5470 / dstein@crain.com

FINANCIAL / TECHNOLOGY

COMPLY

LAW

Cullen and Dykman LLP

COMPLY, a category leader of compliance software, consulting, and education resources for the nancial services sector, has appointed Michael J. Stanton as CEO. Stanton brings more than 25 years of experience leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) companies through transformational growth with a reputation for delivering product innovation and a focus on customer experience. COMPLY serves over 7,000 customers, including large broker-dealers, hedge funds, and registered investment advisers.

HOSPITALITY / TOURISM

KAM Hospitality

KAM Hospitality, a trailblazer in architecting service solutions for the hospitality industry, appoints Adeline Colon as its new VP of Sales & Business Development to lead KAM’s sales efforts to drive growth, expand service offerings, and foster lasting partnerships within the hospitality sector. Emily Kamenitzer has been promoted to the position of Corporate VP & Director of Client Services where she will play a pivotal role in overseeing client relationships, ensuring the delivery of exceptional support. These appointments underscore KAM’s dedication to delivering unparalleled service to its clients, from parking and laundry, to staf ng, re safety equipment, commercial restaurant real estate leasing, and food and beverage consulting.

Erin A. O’Brien, specializing in Tax Certiorari, has joined Cullen and Dykman’s Corporate Department as partner. With a track record of securing millions of dollars in real estate tax savings for clients, Erin is recognized for her expertise in representing national, regional, and local owners and tenants across a diverse range of commercial, industrial, and residential properties. Her extensive litigation background has been instrumental in establishing signi cant legal precedents.

REAL ESTATE

Pan Am Equities

Pan Am Equities announced that Sara Rubenstein, an award-winning executive with deep legal expertise in the real estate and construction industries, has joined the rm as General Counsel and Executive Vice President. As General Counsel, Rubenstein provides legal advice to the rm’s executive team and legal support in connection with all aspects of the management and operation of the rm’s portfolio, while also serving to align the company’s regulatory, risk, and compliance strategy.

TRANSPORTATION

HNTB

Julie Green, P.E. has joined HNTB as the New York of ce transit and mobility group director and a vice president. Green will oversee the transit design, transit systems, and the planning and mobility practices. Green has been involved in the design, procurement, commissioning, and operations of rail, bus, and transportation technology systems for 30 years, most recently subway car, commuter rail car, and bus procurements for the MTA. Green is also an advisory board member for COMTO New York.

Cohen Bros. president res back against lender claims in explosive af davit

Eddie Small

Charles Cohen has pushed back hard against the lender seeking millions from him in a blistering a davit that accuses the rm of manufacturing a loan default to go after him and potentially causing more than $1 billion worth of damages to his properties.

International investment rm Fortress Investment Group had agreed to lend entities tied to Cohen’s namesake rm Cohen Bros. up to about $534 million in 2022 and sued Cohen over the funds in March, claiming the borrowers had defaulted on the payments in February and that Cohen had personally guaranteed the loan. But Cohen argues in his response that Fortress pulled out of an agreement they made over the funds in bad faith and at the last minute, meaning their entire suit should be dismissed.

Cohen and his a liates reached this agreement with Fortress in December, he said. Under the alleged deal, Fortress would defer payments and extend the loan through the third quarter of 2025, while Cohen would put up 49% of his interest in the Manhattan ofce building at 3 Park Ave. and the Manhattan design center at 979 ird Ave. as additional collateral.

However, Fortress reneged on this agreement “at the 11th hour,” telling Cohen on Jan. 30 they would no longer honor it and giving him and his a liates just 48 hours to pay Fortress about $19.2 million, he claims. is came as a huge shock to Cohen.

“All of us believed that we had a deal and there was no indication at all from Fortress between December 14, 2023 and January 30, 2024, that we did not have such a deal,” he wrote, adding that the company’s behavior “smacks of bad faith.”

Cohen accuses Fortress of engineering a default so the company

Former Bronx motel site to become an educational facility

A onetime “hot sheet” motel turned migrant shelter in the Bronx will soon start a new chapter as an educational facility after a city agency scooped up the Riverdale parcel for just above $9 million. e New York City School Construction Authority — an entity separate from the Department of Education that manages the design, construction and renovation of school facilities in the ve boroughs — purchased the commercial lot at 6393 Broadway from the Loewy family for $9.2 million, according to a deed that appeared in the city register last month. e size of the lot was not immediately known.

For years what was called the Van Cortlandt Motel at the corner of West 256th Street was patronized by sex workers before it was used as a homeless shelter and then to house migrants seeking asylum in the U.S., according to local Assemblyman Je rey Dinowitz, who said that migrants are no longer staying there and have been moved elsewhere.

e former owner of the property, Je rey Loewy, told Crain’s that he had purchased it in the mid1950s, though he doesn’t remember how much he paid, and that the motel was operated by a private group before being used by the city as a shelter. Several decades later, it was nally time to sell it, he said.

Goal of 15

new schools

could sue him, given his personal guarantee of the loan. He says he “never would have agreed to increase my personal liability in this manner” if not for the agreement they reached in December.

Fortress’ conduct calls the validity of the February default into question and warrants denying the company’s motion for a summary judgment and dismissing their suit, Cohen argues.

Unnecessarily ling

e real estate executive also accuses Fortress of trying to maximize the harm and nancial jeopardy their lawsuit places him in by unnecessarily ling unredacted copies of the loan agreement with it. is agreement includes sensitive information such as bank account numbers, along with what tenants in Cohen Bros. buildings pay in rent and when their leases expire. is allows Cohen’s competitors to easily poach its tenants, and brokers have already approached several of them about leaving, Cohen says.

is will likely end up causing more than $1 billion in damages across the company’s real estate portfolio, Cohen says.

Cohen’s attorney and a representative for Fortress declined to comment on the case.

Cohen serves as president of his namesake real estate rm, and Forbes estimates his net worth at about $3 billion. e company owns several o ce buildings in Manhattan, many of which are the type of older properties that the pandemic and its aftermath have hit particularly hard.

One of the buildings Cohen said he planned to use as collateral in the agreement with Fortress, 3 Park Ave., has been struggling with high vacancies. Its occupancy rate fell to 54% late last year, according to data from Fitch Ratings.

Dinowitz told Crain’s that the site, which also includes the parcel at 6389 Broadway and sits across from the sprawling Van Cortlandt Park, has long been an eyesore and will do well as a center for education, especially in a neighborhood that’s struggling for classroom capacity.

“Having a school there will be a huge improvement,” he said.

e authority plans to demolish the two vacant buildings currently occupying the roughly 32,675square-foot commercial lot to make way for the new pre-kindergartenthrough- fth-grade primary school, which will add about 23 classrooms and 547 seats to the district, as part of the city’s capital plan to bring 15 new school buildings and 7,000

seats to the borough. Available real estate is hard to come by in the city, according to the authority, which must seek out sites that check o certain general requirements, such as having at least 25,000 square feet of land.

e future school building is scheduled to include two special education classrooms; reading, speech, music and art rooms; as well as a cafeteria, library and gym. Plans for the site also include an 11,800-square-foot play area, according to authority spokesman Kevin Ortiz.

Ortiz could not provide a cost estimate for construction of the new classrooms, as the authority has just begun its design process, but said it has an anticipated opening date of September 2028.

Julianne Cuba

Charles Cohen BUCK ENNIS

The city’s School Construction Authority just purchased the former Van Cortlandt Motel at 6393 Broadway for $9.2 million. | COSTAR

State of ce designed to expedite renewable projects is moving too slowly, according to comptroller’s audit

Caroline Spivack

e state o ce created to speed up the approval of sweeping wind and solar projects is ironically moving too slowly, jeopardizing New York’s renewable energy targets, according to an April 25 audit from state Comptroller omas DiNapoli.

Auditors found that the O ce of Renewable Energy Siting, which was created in 2020 to get projects

authority to energy transmission projects, which crucially send power to communities. In short, “without improvements to the process it follows that the chances of more delays increase as ORES workload increases,” the audit states.

“New York is rightfully trying to lead the way to a clean energy transition,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “[But] ORES needs to increase transparency around permitting timelines to allow the state to better assess its progress in meeting its renewable energy goals.”

“New York is rightfully trying to lead the way to a clean energy transition.”

Thomas DiNapoli, state comptroller

online faster, took an average of three years to approve just 14 projects. Permit applications granted by the o ce were often delayed due to missing information from applicants that required a lengthy back and forth, the comptroller’s o ce found.

e agency has dozens of upcoming projects in the approval pipeline and the state budget last month expanded the agency’s

New York state is racing to generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. e audit found that the state agency is meeting its legally imposed deadlines to coordinate the review process, but that incomplete applications from project developers are largely slowing down the process.

ORES executive director Houtan Moaveni said in a response to the audit that the agency is “working steadily at improving both tracking of applications and communication with the applicant commu-

Green Market Report

nity” on project requirements.

“It must be understood that the development of major renewable energy facilities is a complex endeavor,” Moaveni wrote. “ e materials required to meet application de ciencies are as varied as the projects themselves and applicants have varying levels of experience and adeptness in providing the requisite submissions.”

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Since its founding, ORES has reduced the time it takes for largescale renewable energy project approvals from ve to four years. Auditors say the agency must be transparent about where delays occur and track applications from the day they are received to the day they are approved so the public can better understand the review process and how it can be improved.

e renewable energy siting ofce has so far issued 15 nal permits for projects adding up to 2.3 gigawatts of power. None of the e orts are currently operational.

In a separate report published last summer, DiNapoli’s o ce found that in order for New York to procure 70% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2030, the state must add 20 gigawatts over the next eight years.

A worker carries a solar panel on the roof of a building. BLOOMBERG

State Sen. Gustavo Rivera explains budget changes, challenges for health care

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s scal 2025 budget reverses most of the $1.2 billion in cuts she had proposed for the Medicaid program and restores $800 million to hospitals, nursing homes an assisted living facilities. The budget contains a number of wins for Hochul, but state Sen. Gustavo Rivera of the Bronx is more concerned with two of its controversial policies. One is a potential Medicaid managed care organization tax, which the budget directs state of cials to submit an application to the federal government to create. Of cials estimate the rule could generate $350 million in revenue in scal 2025 at a time when New York is trying to restrict Medicaid spending, but it’s not clear how much or when the money would be delivered to health care providers.

The potential tax has been met with criticism — as has the governor’s plan to change the way the state administers its Consumer Directed Personal Assistance home care program. In light of the controversy, Rivera shared the challenges he anticipates will stem from each change and how he thinks the state could address outstanding pain points.

It seems like nancial support for hospitals and nursing homes is dependent on whether New York gets cleared for the MCO tax. What challenges do you anticipate in getting approval for it?

I feel pretty con dent about it. e state has been in uno cial conversations with the [federal government] over this tax ever since the idea was oated. And so we have to go through the process and [see] exactly what the amount will be that we will eventually loan to the state as well as the timing of this. I must say this: with the recognition that it is a short-term solution. It’s not a permanent solution. e feds have made very clear that’s not something that’s going to last forever. ey are going to change some of the regulations that will likely not make this tax or the way that we’re using this particular tax possible in the coming years. So I know that it’s not a permanent solution, but I was thankful for a shortterm infusion of resources that’s necessary for the system.

Do you think potential funds from the tax would make a sizable difference for hospitals or nursing homes? It will certainly help to rightsize this system that has been underfunded. We’re guring out exactly what that amount is. It will not be what we originally thought we could get, a $4 billion in ux. e feds have made it clear. We have to create [a tax] we haven’t had before. So that means we will get an in ux of cash this scal year, but it might not be this calendar year. e exact way that the tax will be structured will be part of the conversations and negotiations with the feds.

What do you think is an effective way to give that money to hospitals and nursing homes?

I think that an across-the-board Medicaid rate increase is the most obvious one. And I want to be clear that it’s across the board. We did

By | Jacqueline Neber

raise Medicaid rates for hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, where we raised it only slightly. We did not raise Medicaid rates for hospices or federally quali ed health centers or private practices that take Medicaid. at’s the best place to start.

You opposed the governor’s plan to move the CDPA program to a single scal intermediary. Now that it’s in the budget, what concerns do you have?

I have many. I see this budget as one of harm reduction. I’ve always thought that [a single scal intermediary] was the wrong way to go. It is part of the reason why we fought as hard as we did to include language to allow for both independent living centers to continue to be eligible to become contractors for the scal intermediary. ere’s also four more geographically based subcontractors that will be required by the language that we ultimately were able to get agreement on. I did not think that this was the way to go, but the governor insisted, so we tried to do the best that we could to minimize the harm here. My concern is that the transition would potentially make patients fall [out of] care. It doesn’t go into e ect until May of next year, so I’m going to pay very close attention to it as it

MANUFACTURING

ROBERT E. GROTE, CPA Partner

Manufacturing & Distribution Practice Leader

516-336-2468

RGrote@grassiadvisors.com

Robert Grote leads the Manufacturing & Distribution Practice at Grassi. With more than 30 years of experience in public accounting, tax planning and management consulting, Rob and his team of 12 dedicated partners and many industry professionals are dedicated to helping manufacturers and distributors succeed.

How can manufacturers remain pro table in the face of a skilled labor shortage?

Acombination of in-person work, low unemployment and high industrial demand has turned a pre-pandemic labor shortage into a current-day labor crisis for industries that rely on specialized skills. e manufacturing industry has been among the hardest hit as the skills gap widens.

Grassi’s 2024 survey of food and beverage manufacturers in the NYC metropolitan area found that an astounding 90 percent have concerns about sta ng. Among them, companies that grew pro ts in 2023 were likelier to have implemented strategies to mitigate sta ng risks. Nearly 60 percent credited improved employee productivity as a primary driver of pro tability.

ese highperforming manufacturers use the most e ective sta ng strategies, including converting temporary workers into full-time positions, changing shi schedules, o ering bonus incentives and implementing exible schedules.

Of course, these solutions come with a price, and it is not surprising that the high cost of labor was the most common concern reported by respondents this year. Savvy business owners recognize that sta ng strategies must be o set with cost-saving tactics to remain pro table.

When we spoke with the owners of these companies, several key themes emerged. First, prioritize employee retention to minimize the exorbitant costs of recruitment, training and understa ng. is can be achieved by recommitting to employee development, enhancing the employee experience and o ering a comprehensive bene ts package.

gets implemented.

Hospitals and nursing homes have also said that there’s a lack of capital funding in the budget, which has become a concern in the SUNY Downstate debate. How do you think that the state should address those infrastructure challenges?

ey should put more money into the capital funds. ere is a lack of vision here that doesn’t seem to recognize the realities of what this underfunding has done over the last couple of decades. is notion that we just need to “save money” is a fool’s errand because…what we did with capital funding, we didn’t appropriate new money, we got old money and reappropriated it. at means that just like in years past, there’s going to be an overreliance. It’s short-sighted.

Are these policies set in stone?

Nothing is set in stone. ere are things legislatively that we can do, [such as] getting hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government to extend the Essential Plan to undocumented people, that will have an impact on this overall. ere’s always time to kind of say, “Let’s reboot this relationship and work more closely together.” And I’m open to doing that.

It is also important to ensure critical employees can envision their role in the business’s future. Succession planning is not only about planning the owner’s exit – it is just as much about paving the way for the next generation of leaders. Communicating the succession plan, identifying critical roles and preparing your successors are essential components of employee retention that promote engagement, investment and long-term stability.

In this labor environment, it is unsurprising that investing in automation and improving operations were among the most common pro tability strategies. Rising labor costs and shrinking talent pools require companies to run operations as e ciently and accurately as possible. Some of the most e ective technology drivers of productivity and pro tability cited were ERP systems, programmable logic controllers, automated batching systems, online point-of-service (POS) programs, electronic engineers and robotic process automation (RPA).

Despite the industry trends toward technology adoption, a third of respondents cited automation and technology as challenges, which were just as high as sta recruiting and retention–one of the main challenges that this technology is intended to solve. is signals the importance of selecting and implementing the right technology e ectively.

While these strategies re ect trends in the food and beverage sector, they can be used by any manufacturer struggling to combat the skilled labor shortage. Combined with the other operational and nancial strategies uncovered in the survey, workforce management will continue to propel the rising revenues and pro ts most respondents experienced last year.

Overall, businesses understand that to increase their pro ts, they must invest in their assets. Eighty percent of respondents expect to increase capital spending this year, which should be equally true of their greatest asset–human capital.

To download a complimentary copy of the 2024 State of Food & Beverage Manufacturing report, please visit grassiadvisors.com/2024foodmanufacturingreport.

Rivera represents the 33rd Senate District in the Bronx. THE NEW YORK STATE SENATE FLICKR

HIGHEST-PAID HOSPITAL EXECUTIVES CRAIN’S LIST

SOURCE:Totalcashcompensationincludesbasecompensation,bonusandincentivecompensation,andotherreportablecompensationfromtheorganizationandrelatedorganizations.Other compensationincludesnonreportablecompensation,deferredcompensation,retirementplanbene ts,healthcarebene tsandotherfringebene tsfromtheorganizationandrelatedorganizations. "Otherbene ts"includetotalretirement,otherdeferredcompensationandnontaxablebene tsfromtheorganizationandrelatedorganizations.Hospitalemployeecompensationmaynotincludemedical schoolpay.Individualsmayhaveadditionaltitles.SERP-supplementalexecutiveretirementplan.CompensationfromtheorganizationcanbefoundinSectionA,partVII,columnDoforganization990s. ReportablecompensationfromrelatedorganizationscanbefoundinSectionA,columnEoforganization990s.Estimatedamountofothercompensationfromtheorganizationandrelatedorganizations canbefoundinSectionA,columnFoforganization990."Totalcashcomp."isthesumofcompensationfromtheprimaryorganizationandrelatedorganizationsandincludesbase,compensation, bonusandcompensationandotherreportablecompensation."Othercomp."typicallyincludesretirementfunds. 1. ParticipatedinaSERPwhereemployercontributed$4,588,193forcalendaryear2021. OthercompensationincludesataxableSERPof$236,407duringcalendaryear2021. 2. IncludesallofNYULangoneHealth'shospitalsites. 3. IncludespooledSERPplandistributionof$632,224. 4. IncludesemployercontributiontoSERPof$2,316,489. 5. Received$509,668inasupplementalnonquali edretirementplanand$1,490,783inasupplementalnonquali edretirementplanasreportedon theW-2. 6. ParticipatedinaSERPfor$2,879,654. 7. TerminatedonMay15,2022.Receivedaone-timeseparationofemploymentpaymentof$830,769.Includescurrentyearvestinginanonquali ed deferredcompensationplanastaxableMedicarewagesintheamountof$2,188,375. 8. HeldpositionuntilOctober2022. 9. Retiredattheendof2022.Includescurrentyearvestinginanonquali ed deferredcompensationplanastaxableMedicarewagesintheamountof$1,088,401.Includesunvestedbene tsinanonquali edcompensationplanintheamountof$1,525,000thatindividualmay neverreceive. 10. Paid$1,073,126aspartofadeferredcompensationagreement. 11. Received$74,859inasupplementalnonquali edretirementplanand$1,415,739inasupplementalnonquali ed retirementplanasreportedontheW-2. 12. Providedwithadditionalbasiclong-termdisability,supplementallong-termdisability,lifeinsuranceandlong-termcarevaluedat$65,373.ReceivedSERP creditsof$1,051,602.ReceivedSERPdistributionsof$690,901. 13. ParticipatedinaSERPfor$1,453,475. 14. ParticipatedinaSERPfor$1,474,041. 15. IncludesSERPfor$904,854. 16. Participated inaSERPfor$1,237,519. 17. ParticipatedinaSERPfor$541,086. 18. ParticipatedinaSERPfor$488,659. 19. Providedwithadditionalbasiclong-termdisability,supplementallong-termdisability, lifeinsuranceandlong-termcarevaluedat$18,442.Receivednonquali edretirementplanof$1,387,870.Receivedvesteddistributionsinnonquali edretirementplanintheamountof$2,578,814. 20. ParticipatedinaSERPfor$1,080,438. 21. ParticipatedinaSERPfor$382,669. 22. Retiredattheendof2022.Includescurrentyearvestinginanonquali eddeferredcompensationplanastaxable Medicarewagesintheamountof$954,528.Includesunvestedbene tsinanonquali edcompensationplanintheamountof$1,035,000thatindividualmayneverreceive. 23. Retiredattheendof2022. Includescurrentyearvestinginanonquali eddeferredcompensationplanastaxableMedicarewagesintheamountof$578,625.Includesunvestedbene tsinanonquali edcompensationplaninthe amountof$862,500thatindividualmayneverreceive. 24. AssumedroleMarch1,2022.Includesunvestedbene tsinanonquali edcompensationplanintheamountof$900,000thatindividualmay neverreceive. 25. IncludespooledSERPplandistributionof$810,464. 26. TerminatedAugust2022.Receivedaone-timeseparationofemploymentpaymentof$283,846.Includesunvestedbene tsin anonquali edcompensationplanintheamountof$316,667thatindividualmayneverreceive. 27. ParticipatedinaSERPfor$614,169. 28. IncludesSERPfor$258,957. 29. ParticipatedinaSERPfor $207,332.

HIGHEST-PAID DOCTORS CRAIN’S

HIGHEST-PAID DOCTORS CRAIN’S LIST

Chairman attending, surgeryMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

SOURCE:Totalcashcompensationincludesbasecompensation,bonusandincentivecompensation,andotherreportablecompensationfromtheorganizationandrelatedorganizations.Other compensationincludesnonreportablecompensation,deferredcompensation,retirementplanbene ts,healthcarebene tsandotherfringebene tsfromtheorganizationandrelatedorganizations. "Otherbene ts"includetotalretirement,otherdeferredcompensationandnontaxablebene tsfromtheorganizationandrelatedorganizations.Hospitalemployeecompensationmaynotincludemedical schoolpay.Individualsmayhaveadditionaltitles.SERP-supplementalexecutiveretirementplan.CompensationfromtheorganizationcanbefoundinSectionA,partVII,columnDoforganization990s. ReportablecompensationfromrelatedorganizationscanbefoundinSectionA,columnEoforganization990s.Estimatedamountofothercompensationfromtheorganizationandrelatedorganizations canbefoundinSectionA,columnFoforganization990."Totalcashcomp."isthesumofcompensationfromtheprimaryorganizationandrelatedorganizationsandincludesbase,compensation,bonus and compensation and other reportable compensation. "Other comp." typically includes retirement funds. 1. Includes

Prada sews up third retail deal in Midtown for $12.6 million

C. J. Hughes

Prada seems to have tied up some loose ends in Midtown.

e Italian fashion giant has bought a storefront space on West 56th Street to complement the blockbuster $822 million pickup it completed on Fifth Avenue at the end of last year.

e new site, which is tucked inside the Crown Building, the hotel-and-condo redevelopment project from Aman Resorts, sold for $12.6 million, according to a deed that appeared in the city register on April 25.

Initially, there some ambiguity about the identity of the seller of the property, which sits in a glasswalled wing of the Crown. On the deed the seller is listed as the developer Brook eld, which controls the bulk of the retail square

located at an intersection considered the highest-pro le shopping strip in New York, was in fact the developer Wharton Properties, a former Crown investor that also happens to be the rm that sold Prada the other two properties. In fact, Prada’s new berth is directly behind 720 Fifth Ave., one of the two buildings involved in the 2023 deals.

Owner, investor confusion

e complicated Venn diagram of ownership of the Crown Building, which also counts the rm Shvo has an investor, may have contributed to the confusion.

But after the story was published on April 25, the source reached back out to con rm that Brook eld indeed should be credited as the sole seller.

Luxury retailers are deciding that a better way to lock in costs in an in ationary era is to own properties as opposed to renting them.

footage at the site after acquiring it from General Growth Properties in 2018 as part of a $9 billion merger.

But another source close to the deal said the seller of the parcel,

An email sent to Prada Group’s press o ce was not returned, and both Brook eld and Je Sutton, Wharton’s founder, had no comment.

Prada provided a notable lift to the fortunes and spirits of the beleaguered commercial real estate sector when it grabbed 720 Fifth for $397 million and next-door 724 Fifth for $425 million from Wharton in December.

Seemingly not content to just be a tenant at 724 Fifth, where it has

leased a berth for years, Prada made a move to buy its home outright, while also picking up an adjacent property long occupied by the clothing chain Abercrombie & Fitch.

Prada’s hefty investment also seems to epitomize a broader trend of luxury retailers deciding that a better way to lock in costs in an in ationary era is to own properties as opposed to renting them, though Prada had apparently considered buying a permanent home for years.

Still, a few weeks after Prada’s deals closed, Gucci’s parent, Kering, dropped a staggering $963 million for the retail portion of

715-717 Fifth, across the street.

e Crown Building, whose ofcial address is 730 Fifth Ave., is a 1921 o ce building with a pyramidal top made over in the past few years as an 83-room hotel layered beneath a 26-unit condo.

ough Aman and its development partners contained much of the redevelopment inside the prewar structure’s walls, they also added a wing, which faces West 56th and o ers the entrance to the condo section.

Condo sales have been brisk at Aman’s condo though the pandemic, though secrecy shrouds most of the buyers because they completed their purchases using

opaque shell companies. e developer sold the last sponsor unit in March. e condo is now in resales mode, with sellers apparently hoping for big returns.

An 18th- oor three-bedroom with a private outdoor pool that went for $35 million in 2022 hit the market March 22 at an asking price of $40 million. And on April 25, a second owner also took a stab at a ip, listing a 19th- oor three-bedroom that cost $22 million for $28 million, a 27% markup. Aman Resorts, whose CEO is Vlad Doronin, hauled in $893 million from sponsor sales at the Billionaires Row property, according to its o ering plan.

Regeneron to develop gene-editing therapies for $100M

Jacqueline Neber

Tarrytown-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has struck a $100 million deal with Mammoth Biosciences, a California-based biotechnology company, to develop and commercialize gene editing therapies for multiple tissues and cell types, the rms announced April 25.

Regeneron’s $100 million upfront payment includes a $95 million equity investment, according to the company. Mammoth could receive a total of $370 million per

CRISPR technology has the potential to cure genetic diseases by cutting out targeted parts of DNA sequences.

target in development and commercial milestone payments.

e rms aim to produce CRISPR-based drugs that can be directly infused into patients' bodies. CRISPR is a technology that scientists use to modify the

DNA of living organisms; it has the potential to cure genetic diseases by cutting out targeted parts of DNA sequences.

Mammoth partnership

According to Christos Kyratsous, Regeneron’s senior vice president and co-head of Regeneron Genetic Medicines, the rm chose to partner with Mammoth because the companies are working on aspects of gene editing technology that complement each other.

Regeneron has developed a virus platform that targets tissues and cells outside the liver, Kyratsous told Crain’s, whereas most gene editing therapies are currently limited to the liver. In turn Mammoth has created relatively small CRISPR editing systems that t Regeneron’s platform, which could help the drugs reach tissues around the body and unlock treatments for diseases. Scientists at Regeneron will lead development and commercialization.

e deal also gives Mammoth the right to opt into co-funding and pro ting from collaboration programs with Regeneron, instead

of receiving milestone payments. Meanwhile, Regeneron will have access to some of Mammoth’s gene editing technologies for 5.5 years. It can extend access for another two years if it pays an undisclosed research extension fee.

e two rms will pick and re-

search which sequences to target, Kyratsous added, declining to share speci cs about which are being considered. e companies seek to begin developing therapies as soon as possible.

Regeneron earned just under $3.5 billion in revenue in the

fourth quarter of 2023, a 1% increase over the same quarter of 2022, and is working on drugs to treat genetic diseases including ALS and hemophilia. Its nancial results for the rst quarter of 2024 were scheduled to be released on May 2.

Crown Building, 730 Fifth Ave., Billionaires Row | BUCK ENNIS

Regeneron has been working on drugs to treat genetic diseases including ALS and hemophilia. BLOOMBERG

City Hall lambasted for form regulating politicians’ access to city agencies

Nick Garber

City lawmakers subjected one of Mayor Eric Adams’ top aides to a barrage of criticism on May 1 during a contentious hearing about his administration’s new policy requiring elected o cials to ll out a form to request meetings with or action from city agency leaders. e launch of the so-called Elected O cials Agency Engagement Request portal last month blindsided City Council leaders including Speaker Adrienne Adams, who said

adviser and director of his intergovernmental a airs o ce, characterized the form as an e ort to streamline services, centralize requests and level the playing eld to ensure that newly elected o cials are not disadvantaged compared to government veterans with more extensive contacts.

“ e form is not intended to stand in the way of elected o cials picking up the phone to reach out to a commissioner, borough commissioner or any other o cial in the administration,” said Raspberry, who is seen as the face of the new policy.

“Half of city government, I have their cell number. So the notion that to talk to them, I have to ll out a form — you can’t imagine how it feels.”

Gale Brewer, Manhattan council member

the process would upend the decades-old practice of lawmakers directly contacting agency o cials to request a meeting or seek help for a constituent issue.

Critics see the move as gatekeeping by a micromanaging mayor. But Ti any Raspberry, Adams’ senior

She downplayed the form’s impact, saying it had to be used only for formal meeting and service requests rather than inquiries for constituents or requests for information. Raspberry said she could not foresee any reason why a request made through the form would be denied. at did little to dissuade City Council members. Brooklyn lawmaker Lincoln Restler, a frequent critic of Adams’, called the form “inane” and a “dangerous politicization of city government to pre-

vent city agencies from doing their job based on the political whims of the mayor.”

Widespread opposition

Restler said he had spoken to more than a dozen Adams administration o cials who admitted to being “embarrassed” by the policy, and referenced a Daily News report that Police Commissioner Edward Caban privately expressed reservations about it. Indeed, opposition to the policy has been unusually widespread — more than 60 o cials from both parties at the city, state and federal levels signed onto a letter to Adams, urging him to reconsider it.

Restler said he and his colleagues have needed to use the form to request meetings on issues like illegal dumping, a cannabis store near an elementary school and requests for agency heads to attend local events. Raspberry countered that the administration has elded 182 requests since the form went live in April and responded to all of them, with an average turnaround time between 24 and 48 hours.

“It’s unfortunate that you are not open to exploring how e -

cient this is,” Raspberry told Restler. In another tense moment, Raspberry added that “It’s hurtful to hear you reduce the work we’re trying to do in the Adams administration.”

Mayor Adams himself has defended the form, saying last month that it was meant to give each elected o cial the same amount of attention from city agencies. At one point, Adams appeared to tell reporters that he was personally reviewing each submission made using the form, but Raspberry said May 1 that the mayor only “has access to the form and reserves the right to look at it whenever he wants to.”

Restler and fellow lawmaker Gale Brewer both suggested the administration should have focused instead on improving the Green Book, a widely used reference guide of city employees that has su ered from infrequent updates.

“Half of city government, I have their cell number,” said Brewer, a

Manhattan council member who has spent decades in city government. “So the notion that to talk to them, I have to ll out a form — you can’t imagine how it feels.” Raspberry defended the form as part of Adams’ well-known a nity for new technologies — although Restler rejected the idea that “a multiple-page Microsoft O ce form is new technology.”

Others who joined the hearing to testify against the form included former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger and former Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, now the executive director of good-government group Citizens Union, who called it “unnecessary and unreasonable red tape.”

Tiffany Raspberry, director of the intergovernmental affairs of ce, defended a new policy for elected of cials to request meetings with or action from city agency leaders during a council hearing on May 1.

broker Bob Knakal, who recently launched his own real estate rm. “I think we'll see things open up throughout the year, but there are a number of things that have to happen.”

Interest instability

Multiple factors have contributed to this year's slow start, but stubbornly high interest rates seem to be the main culprit, according to multiple industry sources. ere has been optimism for months that they will come

“ ‘Survive until ’25’ seems to be a very popular mantra right now, so I think that people are trying to push o ,” he said. “ ere's a lot of capital sitting on the sideline, so I think people just need a better environment.”

O ce building sales have traditionally been a strong contributor to activity, but high interest rates have been a particularly big problem for this sector. ey have come at the same time that the persistence of remote work has caused many to drop in value, creating a situation where most o ce deals would not be nancially feasible, said Shimon Shkury, president of Ariel Property Advisors.

“ ‘Survive until ’25’ seems to be a very popular mantra right now, so I think that people are trying to push off.”

Eli Weiss, principal at Joy Construction

down soon, but this has yet to actually happen and now seems more a matter of if than when following a hotter-than-expected ination report.

Any rate cuts that do occur likely will not happen until later in the year, meaning just about any seller who can a ord to hold on to their properties in the meantime will do so, said Eli Weiss, principal at the developer Joy Construction. He does not anticipate sales picking up signi cantly anytime soon.

Struggling property owners opting to seek bankruptcy protection instead of sales are slowing things down as well, given how notoriously lengthy the bankruptcy process is, Knakal noted. And Weiss also cited a general environment of uncertainty with the upcoming presidential election and multiple wars overseas.

But many of these bankruptcy lings will still ultimately result in sales, and uncertainty around at least the election should be resolved by the end of the year. e

twin issues of in ation and interest rates remain the strongest drags on the market, with activity unlikely to signi cantly go up until they signi cantly go down.

“ is is by and large an interest

rate and in ation problem,” said David Schwartz, principal at the developer Slate Property Group. “Interest rates didn't go up a little bit or slowly. It was a huge shock to the system where they went up like crazy. It was really surprising, and I think it takes a while to digest that.”

Signs of life

e sales market has not completely come to a halt despite this slow start. A few types of properties are still selling, namely multifamily buildings, empty commercial buildings and development sites that would be good for condo projects, Knakal said.

“ ere are deals,” he said, “but it's generally unique circumstances, forced selling or strategically compelling decisions made by the seller.”

e housing package in the recently passed state budget may help provide a slight boost to activity, but it is a mixed bag for potential sales overall, Shkury said. Although tenant activists have hammered the protections in the passed version of “good cause” eviction for being extremely watered down, the policy could still give investors second thoughts about buying apartment buildings in the city, he said.

Another policy that gives landlords more exibility to raise rents after renovating regulated apartments, and which landlord activists have similarly called too watered down, could be marginally helpful for boosting transactions.

the real property transfer tax and, to a lesser extent, the mortgage recording tax. Mayor Eric Adams noted this in his recent presentation for his $112 billion budget, saying that tax revenue growth is expected to slow in the coming years due in part to “weakness in the commercial real estate market.” is will require careful monitoring of spending going forward rather than relying solely on revenue, he said.

in Southeast Queens, has come close to outright endorsing City of Yes, but noted that it will be a challenge to get some lawmakers on board.

Supporters of the plan are generally optimistic about its chances of passing, given the rapidly shifting politics of housing that have seen calls for more construction become generally accepted. e new state budget also makes several parts of the plan more feasible, and its new tax incentives for housing construction mean more projects could get underway quickly if City of Yes passes.

e bigger question may be whether the council passes the plan in full, or dilutes it signicantly.

“ ere’ll be a lot of discussion around exactly which neighborhoods certain parts of the plan should apply to,” said Manhattan council member Keith Powers, who supports City of Yes. “But the one thing I think we really can’t do is to wholesale carve entire neighborhoods out of the plan and only focus on places like Manhattan.”

Many lawmakers will pay close attention to the symbolic votes taken by neighborhood community boards in the coming weeks as a sign of how strong the opposition may be. But community boards are well-known for resisting change, and lawmakers sometimes defy them: A zoning change

to permit casinos passed the council last month despite opposition from several of the neighborhood panels, and the council also appears likely to pass another City of Yes plan focused on smallbusiness growth this month despite dozens of boards having voted against it.

e Adams administration frames the proposals as undoing the harms of the city’s 1961 zoning code, which o cials now blast as car-centric and produced in an era when some planners sought to segregate cities by race. But City of Yes could also be thought of as undoing more recent changes: the mid-2000s rezonings under Michael Bloomberg that restricted housing in swaths of the city.

Many of those neighborhoods would be in line for added density

if Adams gets his way.

“ is may sound simple, but it is a radical premise,” said City Planning Chair Dan Garodnick, the administration’s chief cheerleader for City of Yes, during a reporters’ brie ng on April 26. “For the rst time in a generation, we are making it clear that our housing crisis is underpinned by a housing shortage, and that every neighborhood must help solve the problem and share in our city's growth.”

‘No single silver bullet’

Other consequential policies in the City of Yes housing package include giving a building-size bonus to developers who include affordable housing in certain dense neighborhoods; legalizing small

And although 485-x, the a ordable housing tax break that has replaced 421-a, could eventually spark more multifamily deals, it will probably take years to have a noticeable impact, he said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul herself acknowledged at a recent housing event that the new tax program may not immediately spark a wave of activity, but she remained condent it would help the real estate industry in the long term.

“I would say [to] the industry, if the market conditions aren’t right for you right now, capital's expensive, interest rates are up, there will come a time when you will take advantage of this,” she said at the event.

Possible cause for concern

Fewer sales will have at least some impact on the taxes the city collects, as o cials receive revenue from real estate deals through

apartments in backyards and garages; allowing housing above retail space on outer-borough “main streets”; and legalizing shared amenities like kitchens, which could ultimately allow for the return of single-room occupancystyle housing.

Several parts of the plan got boosts from the newly enacted state budget. e budget’s tax incentives to encourage o ce-toresidential conversions dovetail with a proposal in City of Yes that aims to make such renovations more widespread, by permitting them in more outer-borough neighborhoods and in buildings built before 1991. And the state’s lifting of a cap on residential density in the city will let the administration move forward with another City of Yes provision that would create new high-density zoning categories for bigger apartment buildings.

Mayor Adams rst announced the City of Yes housing plan in a September 2023 speech at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. e administration did not fully detail the proposals until last month, when it released the full 790-page document spelling out every proposed change to the zoning code.

Council Speaker Adams notably praised the full plan, which answered a key question about the a ordability of the homes created through the size bonus that the plan would grant developers in high-density neighborhoods. For a developer to get the bonus, the administration revealed it would

e New York City Independent Budget O ce has projected the city will take in roughly $1.8 billion in transfer and mortgage recording taxes for scal year 2024, a 16% decline year over year. e city took in slightly less than $2.2 billion for 2023 and about $3.2 billion for 2022, according to the IBO.

But many in the real estate industry are not particularly nervous about the slow start to the year, stressing that the fundamentals of the New York and national economy both remain strong. Shkury noted that there was $300 billion worth of capital sitting on the sidelines, and the reasons for a lack of deals were all very logical. Financial indicators in the city such as rents, jobs and tourism numbers are all still very healthy, he said.

“I’m not worried,” he said. “I’m very aware of why things are happening, but I think New York City has a tremendous amount of demand factors that are going for it."

C. J. Hughes contributed reporting.

require those a ordable units to be set at 60% of the area median income — equating to a monthly rent of about $1,600 for a onebedroom apartment — which the speaker hailed for “prioritizing deeper a ordability.”

Supporters

More than 100 groups supporting the plan formed a coalition in February aimed at putting political momentum behind City of Yes. Led by the nonpro t New York Housing Conference, other members include developers like L+M and Slate Property Group, industry groups including the New York Building Congress and Real Estate Board of New York, and supportive housing providers such as Goddard Riverside and Project Renewal.

Howard Slatkin, executive director of the nonpro t Citizens Housing & Planning Council, predicted that the City of Yes reforms would slow rent growth relatively quickly if enacted, by allowing more housing to come online within a few years and reduce pressure on the hot housing market. But, he added, zoning is only part of the puzzle.

“ ere is no single silver bullet for the housing crisis,” Slatkin told Crain’s. “Many steps are needed to give us a functioning housing system, including tax incentives to make new privately nanced housing work, expanded resources to support housing for people at the lowest incomes, and e orts to limit the escalation of construction and operating costs.”

New York sales broker Bob Knakal recently launched his own real estate rm.

| BUCK ENNIS

Mayor Eric Adams announced the City of Yes housing plan in a September 2023 speech.

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Notice of Formation of OMR Ventures LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 2/5/24. Office location: New York County. NY Sec. of State designated agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served, and shall mail process to the LLC, c/o Aidala Bertuna & Kamins PC, 546 Fifth Ave, 6th Fl, New York, NY 10036. Purpose: any lawful activity

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CONSULTANTS, LLC Arts of Org filed with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/3/24. Office Location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served against LLC to: 88 GREENWICH ST, APT 814, NY, NY, 10006, USA, Bryan.Z.Siegel@icloud.com.

Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of GLOBAL PLASTICS, LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/14/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/24/12. NYS fictitious name: MGI/GLOBAL PLASTICS, LLC. 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: Cogency Global Inc., 850 New Burton Rd., Ste. 201, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.

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Notice of Qualification of HAY HOUSE, LLC

Notice of Qualification of HANWHA FUTUREPROOF VENTURES LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/12/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/06/24. Princ. office of LLC: 280 Park Ave., 23rd Fl., East Tower, NY, NY 10017. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Venture capital investment.

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Principal Engineer-Data Science (Principal Data Scientist) needed by Verizon in New York, NY (telecommute role, may work remotely from anywhere in the US). Apply cutting edge AI/ML technology to protect customer accounts from account takeovers, illegal SIM Swaps, & Port Outs as well as prevent financial losses resulting from fraudulent activity. Rate of pay: $163,238 to $213,000 per year. To apply, email resume to vz-apply@verizon.com. Ref. Job # SHYADP-L.

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Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/18/24. Office Loc: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against to 310 W. 56 Street, 6D, NY, NY 10019-5406 USA, shuo@shuo.photography Purpose: any lawful act

Notice of Qualification of

NOTICE OF FORMATION of Duffy + Boyd LLC. Arts of Org filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/9/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to 4 44 E 88th St, Apt 3E, New York, NY 10128. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of LEXIN CAXTON LLC

Notice of Qualification of IBI ICELAND LLC

PHASE III NYC LLC filed Arts. of Org. with the Sect'y of State of NY (SSNY) on 2/22/2024. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: John Benis, 179 Christopher St, NY, NY 10014. Purpose: any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of FOUR TREES STUDENT HOUSING LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/29/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/28/24. Princ. office of LLC: 28 Liberty St., 44th Fl., NY, NY 10005. 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 Jeffrey W. Bullock, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Student housing investment management

Notice of Qualification of NYMI 2110 LLC

Notice of Qualification of ChargeTab Acquisition LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/10/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/06/23. Princ. office of LLC: 1745 Broadway, NY, NY 10019. 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, 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of ISOMETRY CAPITAL, LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/18/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/09/24. Princ. office of LLC: 101 Ave. of the Americas, 9th Fl., NY, NY 10013. 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: Corporation Service Co., 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., Dover, DE 19901.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of JadeM property LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/09/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/13/20. Princ. office of LLC: 900 Third Ave., NY, NY 10022. 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 Paracorp Inc., 2140 S. Dupont Hwy., Camden, DE 19934. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/27/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/04/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/15/23. 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 Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 11 LEONARD STREET LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/10/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF QUALIFICATION of LGRLEARNINGGROUP LLC.

Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/4/23. Office loc: NY County. LLC formed in DE on 5/18/23. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and mailed to c/o Poler Legal LLC, 15 Metrotech Ctr, 7th Fl, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Principal business address: 145 4th Ave, #16A, New York, NY 10003. LLC address in DE: 1201 Orange St, Ste 600, 1 Commerce Ctr, Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of LLC filed with Secy. of State of DE loc: 401 Federal St, Ste 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of STRATEGIC PARTNERS INFRASTRUCTURE IV-G (OVERAGE) L.P. Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/04/24. Office location: NY County. LP formed in Cayman Islands (C.I.) on 11/30/23. Duration of LP is Perpetual. SSNY designated as agent of LP 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. Name and addr. of each general partner are available from SSNY. C.I. addr. of LP: Maples Corporate Services Limited, PO Box 309, Ugland House, Grand Cayman, C.I. KY1-1104. Cert. of LP filed with Registrar of Exempted Limited Partnerships of the C.I., Ground Fl., Government Admin. Bldg., 133 Elgin Ave., George Town, Grand Cayman, C.I. KY1-9000. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/05/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/12/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/21/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/01/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 450 W. 14th St., NY, NY 10014. 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 CRYSTAL SCREENS MEDIA LLC

Notice of Qualification of

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/17/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/27/06. Princ. office of LLC: 125 W. 55th St., Level 23, NY, NY 10029. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 01/19/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/17/24. Princ. office of LLC: 1700 Broadway, Fl. 38, NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, Div. of Corps., P.O. Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of REDA CLASSON LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/15/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/14/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St. - Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of H-MAP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/11/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Kevin Ryan, 270 Bowery, NY, NY 10012. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Advertising Section

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/11/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/05/14. Princ. office of LLC: c/o LaSeven, Inc., 21 W. 58th St., Ste. 100, NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Business of Trouble LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/28/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to; Shine Global, 350 W. 42nd St, 33B, New York, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Rebounding research and development returns spell success for local pharmaceutical companies, report shows

Jacqueline Neber

Investments in drug research and development are paying dividends while the cost to do so stays at, a trend that appears to be bene tting local rms.

Large pharmaceutical companies’ returns on research and development investments rebounded in 2023, according to the latest report from Deloitte released April 26. e report measures returns on investments for the 20 companies that spend the most on R&D for drugs globally and found that projected returns on investment climbed to 4% in 2023, a 3 percentage point increase over 2022’s record-low of 1.2%. e 20 rms, which include Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol Myers Squibb and P zer, spent a total of almost $146 billion on R&D in 2023.

While 2022’s record-low returns didn’t necessarily spell trouble for rms in New York and New Jersey, Kevin Dondarski, Deloitte’s life sciences R&D strategy leader, said the report’s results suggest an even brighter future for the metropolitan area’s pharmaceutical companies. He added that the increase is one of the larger ones since Deloitte began publishing the report

more than a decade ago. e positive performance was driven by companies bringing more drug candidates into the later stages of development as their value grew, Dondarski added. is includes Merck, which is based in Rahway, New Jersey, and New Brunswickbased Johnson & Johnson.

Approving cancer drugs

In the fourth quarter of 2023, Merck received multiple Food and Drug Administration approvals for its cancer drugs, such as a green light for its blockbuster Keytruda to be used with Padcev for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. e rm also began phase 3 trials for four investigational oncology medicines. Keytruda brought in $25 billion in 2023, a 19% jump from 2022.

Johnson & Johnson gained FDA approval for its cancer drug Balversa to treat certain locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer in the fourth quarter of 2023. e rm also submitted applications to the European Medicines Agency for Rybrevant to be used, in combination with chemotherapy, to treat adults with a certain type of non-

small cell lung cancer who don’t respond to prior medicines.

Cancer continues to pique large companies’ interest, according to the report. Oncology medicines made up about 30% of the cohort’s overall late-stage portfolios, holding steady from 2022. Infectious disease drugs represent a growing area of interest, making up about 10% of the pipeline, a slight increase over the prior year. Cardiovascular therapies also held steady while central nervous system therapies comprised slightly less of the companies’ overall portfolios in 2023.

e report also shows that the average cost of taking a medicine from discovery to launch stayed at at just over $2 billion. Dondarski said that’s a positive development because, among other factors, it signi es that fewer drugs are failing to launch.

While there are signs of success, company leaders surveyed in the report said there are still challenges to be wary of. Although the average cost of developing a drug stayed at from 2022 to 2023, it has still grown overall, and about a third of executives said they are very concerned about the impact that could have on their rms. A quarter said they’re most con-

cerned about the country’s regulatory environment; the federal Ination Reduction Act sparked the most worry.

However, Dondarski emphasized that New York and New Jersey’s buzzing pharma ecosystem is well-positioned to continue a rebound.

More drug startups are popping up around the metropolitan area, he said, which he called “fertile ground” for partnerships and innovation. Although the in ux of

new rms could create competition, he described it as an opportunity for positive change, particularly with more companies beginning to use artificial intelligence to drive drug development. “ ere’s so much activity and interest and investment in everything, every single domain of data,” he said. “ e sky’s the limit.” Deloitte is headquartered in Midtown and has published reports on pharmaceutical R&D returns since 2010.

The 20 companies included in the report spent a total of almost $146 billion on drug research and development in 2023. | BLOOMBERG

Mets’ ballpark operations chief seeks to shake things up at Citi Field

Katie Haas got her start working for the Boston Red Sox’s minor league team in her hometown of Sarasota, Florida By

| Nick Garber

Since billionaire Steve Cohen bought the New York Mets in 2020, he has sta ed the franchise with veterans of the business world as he seeks to remake the team into a high-spending juggernaut. But for the daunting tasks of running the Mets’ Citi Field ballpark, managing its merchandise and handling business operations for minor-league a liates, Cohen picked a baseball lifer: Katie Haas, whose work in the sport dates back to her teenage years.

Haas joined the Mets in 2023 as executive vice president of ballpark operations and experience. Two decades earlier, as a high school senior, she got her start working for the Boston Red Sox’s minor league team in her hometown of Sarasota, Florida, where Haas handled “everything from payroll to tarp duty.”

“It was a blast,” Haas recalled from her present-day o ce past the right- eld seats at Citi Field in Willets Point, Queens. “I knew right then and there this was my calling.”

Haas stayed with the Red Sox while she studied at Northeastern University, then led their Florida operations before departing in 2018 to help run the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament in Cincinnati. She was comfortably ensconced as CEO in 2023, when a headhunter called to inquire about joining the Mets.

Haas was well aware of the new life Cohen and his wife, Alexandra, injected into the Queens team — Haas’s husband is an executive for the Washington Nationals — and she found their pitch persuasive.

“We as a family were watching what Steve and Alex were doing here to really turn baseball on its head,” Haas said.

Using technology

For Haas, that means an obsessive focus on the fan experience — from the taste of the food to the layout of the team store, whose expansion she oversaw in recent months. e 15-year-old ballpark was built before smartphones became prevalent, but Haas is excited by the idea of using technology to “surprise and delight” fans during games.

“Fans come in and they may have the traditional mindset of, ‘It’s a baseball game. We’re going to get a hot dog and a beer,’” she said. “Well, what if it’s something else completely? What if they come and they say, ‘Oh my gosh, I never thought this could be in a ballpark!’”

On a typical gameday, Haas is at Citi Field from at least 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; a recent day found her planning for Darryl Strawberry’s June 1 number-retirement ceremony while sorting out a broken hot

water heater in the clubhouse. Her role spans everything from longterm capital projects to parking, security and food — plus the same responsibilities for non-baseball events such as concerts and private parties, during which Haas tries to be present at the stadium as much as possible.

As for Cohen’s well-publicized push for a casino on the west side of Citi Field, Haas said she is “involved from the operations side,” although Cohen’s separate venture Queens Future is taking the lead on the potential development.

Haas’ recent projects have included remodeling Citi Field’s swanky Delta Club, upgrading parts of the players’ clubhouse and planning for the much-anticipated release of the Mets’ ve-boroughthemed City Connect jerseys. Underlying them all was the mandate she got from the Cohens: “Be bold, and think big.”

Long accustomed to being the only woman in the room in her previous baseball jobs, Haas is grati ed by how much the sport has evolved in recent years, with the Mets’ sta including women in several senior roles. Haas moved her husband and two children to New York from Ohio soon after getting the Mets job and admitted that it can be di cult to nd family time given her aroundthe-clock responsibilities.

Grew up Sarasota, Florida Resides Rye Brook, Westchester County Education Bachelor’s in marketing, Northeastern University

Ball in the family Haas’ husband, Danny, is scouting director for the Washington Nationals. They have a son and a daughter, ages 10 and 14, respectively.

Top cop’s boss Haas’ direct reports now include former New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who became the Mets’ VP for security last year.

Nature lover On the rare days she isn’t at Citi Field, Haas, who loves the outdoors, has taken to exploring the region’s parks.

But Haas said she’s been amazed by the welcome her family has received as newcomers to the New York sports world. And the awe hasn’t worn o when she glimpses the Midtown skyline during her morning commute across the Whitestone Bridge.

“It’s just, ‘I can’t believe this is my life,’” she said.

SENIOR

Amanda

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Katie Haas

Katie Haas joined the New York Mets in 2023 as executive vice president of ballpark operations and experience. | BUCK ENNIS

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