Business Pans Pandemic Worker Safety Bill
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ASKED & ANSWERED Garodnick on city’s relationship with real estate PAGE 11 BUM RIDE Medallion investors f le a lawsuit against the TLC CRAINSNEWYORK.COM | APRIL 26, 2021 PAGE 3 STATE OF HOSPITAL CARE ON THE MEND Covid sent hospitals reeling, but now they say they’re ready for future crises BY SHUAN SIM AND MAYA KAUFMAN n the early days of the pandemic, health systems and hospitals were thrown for a loop. Surges in patient volume and the loss of revenue when elective proce- dures were suspended by state order left local facilities feeling pushed to their limits. But in WHO are the the ensuing months, and with the crisis appearing top-paid hospital Ito be winding down, they say they have learned executives and important lessons that will help them change the doctors? way they work. PAGES 12-14 “We were built to withstand blows and deliver care,” said Dan Widawsky, chief f nancial of cer of NYU Langone. And in picking themselves back up, health systems have become better prepared for the next disaster, he noted. “An analogy I like to use comes from hockey,” he said. “You don’t want to skate to the puck; you want to skate to where the puck is going.” Thinking ahead Having to go through the thick of the pandemic last year without necessary resources really put the old way of doing business into perspective, said Dr. Mitchell Katz, president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals. “One of the mistakes of previous management practices is not keeping excess inventory because of the risk of medi- cation or equipment expiring,” he said. T at led to the health system being stretched thin when it NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue See MEND on page 14 NYC HEALTH + HOSPITALS POLITICS Business pans pandemic worker safety bill BY BRIAN PASCUS Critics said the bill would raise diseases and allow employees to nesses must comply in order to Legislation could costs, lead to more f nes and create form workplace oversight commit- prevent the spread of airborne dis- result in increased he New York business com- a greater likelihood that employers tees and take legal action against ease. munity is urging Gov. An- would get mired in lawsuits. employers without fear of reprisal. T e bill awaits Cuomo’s signature expenses, more f nes drew Cuomo to veto a bill T e New York Health and Essen- Under the bill, the state Depart- after it passed the Democrat-con- Tthat would establish new work- tial Rights Act, or Hero Act, would ment of Health would be granted trolled Assembly and Senate this and exposure to place safety standards and regula- create enforceable health and safe- authority to “establish minimum litigation tions in a post-pandemic world. ty standards related to airborne requirements” with which busi- See HERO on page 22 VOL. 37, NO. 16 © 2021 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. GOTHAM GIGS THE LIST JPMorgan THE TOP alum launches COMMERCIAL OFFICE NEWSPAPER f nancial services PROPERTIES PAGE 23 startup PAGE 16 P001_CN_20210426.indd 1 4/23/21 6:33 PM ENVIRONMENT Millions of discarded face masks are posing an environmental quandary for the city BY CARA EISENPRESS NEW YORKERS hanks in part to the city’s CAN MAKE AN face-covering mandate, millions of single-use IMPACT BY masks are worn each day Tbefore being discarded. SWITCHING TO Te masks become litter on the street, clog storm drains, entangle WASHABLE AND birds and marine animals, and wind up in landflls. REUSABLE MASKS With the second Earth Day of the pandemic having come and gone, this environmental problem still Cookson, senior director of recy- lacks a serious solution. cling and recovery for the American “Tere should be an opportuni- Chemistry Council. ty” for reusable and recyclable equipment, said Michael Sinensky, Advanced recycling who last year started WeShield, a Recent legislation in Pennsylva- personal protective equipment nia and eight other states aims to company. He has tried to fnd buy- create a regulatory environment ers among his customers, mostly wherein companies interested in hospitals, for washable masks and creating advanced recycling pro- gowns, he said. grams could invest in facilities. It Te amount of trash created by could one day be a $120 billion in- masks and gloves is hard to track, dustry, Cookson said. said Adrienne Esposito, executive In the near term, the city’s Sani- director of the Citizens Campaign tation Department has three new for the Environment. She said her or- ISTOCK programs to restore and improve ganization is working to record and garbage collection in neighbor- document the year-old problem. Early in the Covid-19 crisis, Es- starting collection programs to But chemical recycling, a newer hoods—which could help with the posito said, people were finging or gather and recycle used masks, Es- technology, might have the capa- PPE litter. Te only other impactful Contamination fears dropping used masks and gloves on posito said. bility to break down the plastics, as move, Esposito said, is for people to Te city Department of Sanita- sidewalks or scattering them in Truly recycling masks, gloves well as other kinds of packaging switch to wearing washable masks, tion encourages New Yorkers to put parking lots out of fear of contami- and gowns is a longer road. Be- and products, into their molecular just as they have found substitutes single-use masks into the litter bas- nating their car or home with the cause PPE items include several building blocks, which could then for other single-use products, such kets on street corners or in house- coronavirus. Te risk of contamina- diferent kinds of plastics, it’s dif- be used in the same applications as as cofee mugs, reusable water bot- hold trash bins. tion also sidelined any inklings of cult to mechanically recycle them. “virgin” plastics, explained Craig tles and cloth diapers. ■ POLITICS WEBCAST CALLOUT Brooklyn Councilman Deutsch admits to tax fraud but won’t resign BY NATALIE SACHMECHI single count of fling a false tax re- MAY 5 turn for 2015, and he agreed to pay rooklyn Councilman Chaim at least $82,076 in restitution—the NEW YORK CITY’S Deutsch pleaded guilty last total amount he owes in taxes, plus RESTAURANT REVIVAL Tursday morning to tax eva- interest. Te charge carries a maxi- Bsion regarding income he made mum sentence of one year in pris- The city’s restaurants have been from his real estate frm, Chasa on, a maximum term of one year of devastated by the pandemic— Management, but said he will not supervised release, a maximum hundreds of businesses have closed, step down from his post. fne of $100,000 and restitution. and thousands of employees have Deutsch admitted he did not pay He is scheduled to be sentenced lost their jobs. As the industry begins $82,000 in taxes on up to $249,000 July 29. DEUTSCH to recover, there are questions about in income earned between 2013 Covid-19’s impact and what the future and 2015. Resignation? has in store. Join Crain’s as we examine “Over a multiyear period, Te councilman “accepts re- which establishments have been hit the Deutsch concealed his true busi- sponsibility for his actions and in- hardest, how businesses are evolving ness income to avoid paying his tends to fully repay the $82,000 in and what eateries are doing to bring fair share of taxes,” U.S. Attorney taxes he owes,” said Henry Ma- back diners. Additionally, attendees Audrey Strauss said. zurek, Deutsch’s attorney. “Mr. will learn what actionable steps the As of 2017, City Council mem- Deutsch’s dedication to public ser- bers have been barred from earn- vice will not be diminished, and he government, business community ing money outside of the $148,500 looks forward to completing his and public can take to help local food entities get back on their feet. annual salary they receive for hold- elected term.” CITY COUNCIL NEW YORK ing public ofce. But Speaker Corey Johnson Deutsch announced in 2017 he called on the councilman to resign. people they vote for to uphold the constituents in good faith.” would forgo his real estate salary in “Council member Chaim law. Deutsch failed them. To pro- Deutsch has held his seat since VIRTUAL EVENT order to run for re-election. Deutsch betrayed that public trust tect the integrity of the City Council 2014 and is now term-limited, Deutsch entered his guilty plea by committing tax fraud,” he said. and his Brooklyn seat, he must re- meaning he cannot run for re-elec- Time: 4 to 5 p.m. last Tursday in federal court to a “Our constituents rightly expect the sign. He can no longer serve his tion in the 48th district. ■ CrainsNewYork.com/webcasts Vol. 37, No. 16, April 26, 2021—Crain’s New York Business (ISSN 8756-789X) is published weekly, except for bimonthly in January, July and August and the last issue in December, by Crain Communications Inc., 685 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing offces. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Crain’s New York Business, Circulation Department, PO Box 433279, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9681. For subscriber service: call 877-824-9379; fax 313-446-6777. $3.00 a copy; $129.00 per year. (GST No. 13676-0444-RT) ©Entire contents copyright 2021 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. 2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | APRIL 26, 2021 P002_CN_20210426.indd 2 4/23/21 5:52 PM TRANSPORTATION CRAIN’S PHOTO COMPOSITE CRAIN’S PHOTO BROKEN PROMISES A $2.5 billion lawsuit by taxi medallion owners claims that three Taxi and Limousine commissioners conspired to pump the value of cab permits and hid information when it dropped BY BRIAN PASCUS to less than $150,000 today, mainly due to the emergence of city promised an investment and promised the medallion is Uber and Lyft in the city’s transportation market, which, as worth a million dollars.