CRAINSNEW YORK BUSINESS NEW YORK BUSINESS® APRIL 2 - 8, 2018 | PRICE $3.00 WORLDS COLLIDE How a decades-old, $10 naming-rights deal led to multimillion-dollar lawsuits at the World Trade Center PAGE 16 VOL. XXXIV, NO. 14 WWW.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM CUOMO’S THE LIST PLUS: PENN LARGEST CONNECTING THE POWER LOBBYING DOTS OF NYC’S PLAY FIRMS INFLUENCERS P. 12 P. 5 P. 14 NEWSPAPER P001_CN_20180402.indd 1 3/30/18 7:54 PM APRIL 2 - 8, 2018 CRAINSNEW YORK BUSINESS ON THE COVER PHOTO: BUCK ENNIS FROM THE NEWSROOM | AARON ELSTEIN | SENIOR REPORTER Going yard THE POLLSTERS at Marist Col- lege say that the percentage of people who call themselves base- ball fans—44%, for those scoring at home—is the lowest in 10 years. As one who considers time spent at the ballpark the best time spent, I kind of wonder what the majority of Americans are think- ing. But I get it. For starters, too many games stretch on for too long. e lords of baseball are trying to speed things up by limiting the number of times players can congregate on the pitcher’s mound to discuss strat- P. 16 egy, dinner reservations or whatever it is they talk about. But I doubt games will really speed up until major league hitters put balls in play IN THIS ISSUE more oen and stop taking so many pitches. Meanwhile, ticket costs have spiked even as the number of games UP FRONT on free television has plunged. e majority of Los Angeles fans haven’t 3 EDITORIAL been able to tune in to the Dodgers since 2013 because of a dispute Calls for more stringent rent over how much cable companies must pay to carry games—and in regulation ignore the reality turn charge customers. I’m not sure why Dodgers management thinks 4 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT turning o fans is a good business strategy, but they didn’t ask me. Obama-mandated So here’s my pitch to the majority of Americans who say they disclosures reveal how much U.S. corporations EURIPIDES PELEKANOS, don’t like baseball: ere is still no better place to forget your troubles CEO, Bareburger employ foreigners P. than the ballpark, watching an exceedingly dicult game beautifully 14 played. Pretty much everyone seated around you is in a good mood, 5 POLITICS Leaked memo offers insight FEATURES and no one is talking politics. Not only do hot dogs denitely taste into the governor’s frustration better at a ballgame, but I understand this year the Yankees are selling over the lack of Penn Station 14 CONNECTING THE DOTS a huge tater tot covered with sour cream, cheese, scallions and bacon progress The rainmakers, relationships and clients that produce the on a stick, while the Mets are oering fried-chicken sandwiches. 6 ASKED & ANSWERED 10 biggest lobbying rms I rest my case. The president of the Italian American Museum 16 WORLD TRADE WAR on growth The battle over who owns the iconic site’s name 7 HEALTH CARE The ambitious transformation 20 GOTHAM GIGS HEALTH CARE SUMMIT of One Brooklyn Health A former beer maker perks up to locally roasted coffee MAY 2 8 REAL ESTATE Investing in Title insurance bill; Sunnyside 21 SNAPS Digital Health Innovation Yard; construction worker data Photos from the city’s biggest fundraisers and charity events Crain’s will highlight cutting-edge 9 WHO OWNS THE BLOCK FOR THE RECORD trends in digital health, provide Investors rustle up projects 22 Our tally of the week’s buys, a meeting ground for investors near Prospect Park busts and breakthroughs and startups and address the 10 VIEWPOINTS challenges facing both in this Gotta love tourism; 23 PHOTO FINISH increasingly important sector of digital-currency regulation Plans to return the TWA the region’s economy. is a con Terminal at JFK to its former OLIVER Jet Age glory—for hotel guests KHARRAZ, M.D., SHERATON NEW YORK 12 THE LIST CEO, Zocdoc TIMES SQUARE New York’s largest lobbying CORRECTIONS 8 a.m. to noon rms and why the top Updated articles about Crain’s 40 Under 40 [email protected]. two traded places honorees appear on CrainsNewYork.com. Vol. XXXIV, No. 14, April 2, 2018—Crain’s New York Business (ISSN 8756-789X) is published weekly, except for double issues the weeks of Jan. 1, June 25, July 9, July 23, Aug. 6, Aug. 20 and Dec. 24, by Crain Communications Inc., 685 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017. Periodicals postage paid at New York, NY, and additional mailing ofces. 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, $99.95 one year, $179.95 two years. (GST No. 13676-0444-RT) ©Entire BUCK ENNIS, GETTY IMAGES contents copyright 2018 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. 2 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | APRIL 2, 2018 P002_CN_20180402.indd 2 3/30/18 7:25 PM APRIL 2, 2018 AGENDAA system of perverse incentives for landlords and tenants alike llegations last month that the Kushner Cos. harassed ten- ants into vacating rent-regulated apartments in three of its Queens buildings—after ling paperwork claiming they had no such units—triggered calls for the city to better Aprotect low-rent housing and its occupants. And not for the rst time; landlords have long been accused of crossing ethical lines to raise rents. Of course rules should be enforced, but this issue requires a broader dis- cussion about whether the system of constraining rents is achieving the goal of making New York aordable—and if not, whether it ever can. Consider that for decades the city has had extensive rent regulation and yet its housing crisis never seems to end. e system’s champions say the crisis persists because regulation is not extensive enough, even though it covers more than 1 million apartments. ey argue that if we keep units from leaving regulation and add more, the housing crunch would end. who make improvements to raise rents. at, in turn, motivates landlords But it wouldn’t. Apartments renting for less than market rate will always to do unnecessary work to increase long-term prots. Tenant advocates be snapped up. Who wouldn’t want to live in New York City at a discount? say the rent should go back down once the work is paid o, but then land- State law continues rent regulation as long as the vacancy rate remains lords would do the bare minimum, or less. e law also says that when a low, but it’s always going to be low if one- unit’s rent gets high enough, it can be dereg- third of the city’s dwelling units are below For decades the city has had ulated—why protect tenants who can aord market rate. Everyone who can’t get an arti- more than $2,700 per month?—but only cially low rent competes for the remain- extensive rent regulation, yet its if it’s vacant. Such rules can be a motive to ing two-thirds of city dwellings, driving up housing crisis never seems to end push tenants out. It’s a recipe for strife. their cost. e system created to solve the Tenants have perverse incentives too. housing emergency actually perpetuates it. If they earn too much they can be evicted, Money drives behavior. Rent regulation removes that incentive, then so they reject raises and hide income. Empty-nesters stay in large apart- layers on more rules to prevent the inevitable consequences. It’s an end- ments, denying them to families. Rational actions, like subletting, are ren- less loop. For example: Landlords have little reason to keep properties dered illegal. It’s past time to ask whether New York, San Francisco and a in top shape when someone will pay the regulated rent regardless. So to few other cities have rent regulations because they have the most brutal keep such housing from deteriorating, the law allows property owners housing markets, or if it’s the other way around. — THE EDITORS FINE PRINT Following revelations that Facebook’s privacy policies allowed Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy hired by the Trump presidential campaign, to mine the personal data of 50 million members, the stock of the social media company lost nearly $50 billion in value. That is more than the combined market capitalization of CBS, Twitter and The New York Times. BY GERALD SCHIFMAN STATS 25 WORDS OR LESS INTO THE BREACH DATA-SECURITY BREACHES, which state businesses must report to the attorney general, are on AND THE C the rise. The 2017 Equifax hack was particularly damaging for New Yorkers. People are extremely 2016–2017 growth in reported breaches “ Number of breaches reported in +132% price-sensitive. If we 2017, a 24% increase from the 1,583 previous year I could raise the price TY by 75 cents, don’t Number of New Yorkers whose nancial records were exposed last +49% you think we would 8.2M year, 16 times more than in 2016 +32% have?” +23% —Daniel Ramot, co-founder and CEO of Number of New Yorkers whose -9% Via, on a proposed state surcharge on Social Security numbers were 8.5M exposed in the Equifax breach Personal Financial pooled rides in Manhattan Driver’s license Social Security Password/ account SOURCE: State attorney general’s ofce BLOOMBERG APRIL 2, 2018 | CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS | 3 P003_CN_20180402.indd 3 3/30/18 7:32 PM IN CASE YOU MISSED IT CRAINSNEW YORK BUSINESS president K.C.