Bayside native retires
as NYC real estate icon
3
QUEENS WEEKLY, JUNE 21, 2020
A page from the PPP loan application. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Improvements have
been made to the Paycheck
Protection Program (PPP)
to aid Queens’ small business
owners that were impacted
by the coronavirus
pandemic.
Congresswoman Grace
Meng on June 13 announced
the enactment of
the Paycheck Protection
Program Flexibility Act
(H.R. 7010), which passed
the House by a vote of 417-1
on May 28.
The measure, which
was passed by Congress
and signed into law by
President Donald Trump
on June 5, increases flexibility
and access to the
Paycheck Protection Program,
an initiative created
by the Coronavirus Aid,
Relief and Economic Security
(CARES) Act that provides
loans to struggling
small businesses.
Meng said she has
heard from many constituents
about the need
to make the PPP more
flexible so that initiative
better meets their needs,
such as extending the loan
forgiveness period and increasing
the amount of the
loan that can be spent on
non-payroll expenses.
“The Paycheck Protection
Program Flexibility
Act achieves these
goals, and makes other
enhancements that will
benefit small businesses
in Queens. Making PPP
loans flexible is vital to entrepreneurs,
and will help
them make decisions that
fit their economic needs
while retaining their employees.
I encourage all
PPP loan recipients to consult
with their lenders immediately,”
said Meng, an
original co-sponsor of the
bill.
The Paycheck Protection
Program Flexibility
Act increases flexibility
and access to PPP loans by
allowing loan forgiveness
for expenses beyond the
eight-week covered period
to 24 weeks, and extending
the rehiring deadline.
It increases the current
limitation on non-payroll
expenses (rent, utility payments
and mortgage interest)
for loan forgiveness
from 25 to 40 percent.
Furthermore, the measure
extends the program
from June 30 to Dec. 31, extends
loan terms from two
to five years, and ensures
full access to payroll tax
deferment for businesses
that can take PPP loans.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4526.
BY BILL PARRY
A Bayside native who
rose to the highest echelons
of New York City’s real estate
sector has decided to
retire after nearly half a
century.
Norman Sturner announced
he would step
down from disposition as
chairman of Murray Hill
Properties, the company he
co-founded in 1971.
“It’s been nearly 50 years
since I started on this road
with a dream to make my
mark on New York City,”
Sturner said. “I want to
thank the thousands of people
I have had the pleasure
to know and work with over
these many years. It has
been a wonderful experience
that has brought so much
joy into my life. So now, as
I take leave of MHP, with its
glorious history and shining
reputation, I am proud
to leave the company under
the keadership of my son,
David, and know that he and
Rudy will accomplish great
things together at Banyan
Street.”
Growing up in Bayside,
Sturner attended Bayside
High School, where he met
his future wife Harriet Katz
when they were teenagers.
He worked as a short-order
cook and was accepted at St.
John’s University at 16 years
old. He graduated from St.
John’s with a degree in accounting.
After school, he first
worked as a certified public
accountant and then moved
on to become one of the
largest mutual fund dealers
in the country, owning
a seat on the Philadelphia-
Baltimore-Washington
stock exchange. In 1971, he
and his business partner,
Neil Siderow, purchased a
building on the verge of default
for $70,000, which led
to additional purchases that
launched Sturner’s career
in real estate investment,
buying and selling more
than 150 properties worth
more than $10 billion.
Bayside native Norman Sturner retires after nearly 50 years in New York City’s real estate
market. Courtesy of MHP
His career culminated
with the merger he and his
son David orchestrated with
Miami-based Banyan Street
Capital, creating a $3 billion
powerhouse that encompasses
12 million square
feet of commercial and retail
space in New York City
and Miami.
“Norman has been an
invaluable resource to Banyan
during its entry into
the New York marketplace;
no one else knows as much
about the Manhattan office
market,” Banyan Street
Capital Founder and CEO
Rudy Touzet said. “We are
incredibly grateful to Norman,
not only for the company
he built, but for the
time he spent with us, and
we are especially thankful
he will continue to be
an advisory resource going
forward.”
In addition to leading
Murray Hill Properties,
Sturner is an approved receiver
by The New York
State of Court Administration,
a member of the Real
Estate Board of New York,
a member of the Association
for a Better New York,
vice president of the executive
committee of the Realty
Foundation of New York,
and a mentor to the Young
Jewish Professionals Real
Estate Network and the
Jewish Braille Institute. As
a member of the board of
directors of the Grand Central
Partnership since 1999,
Sturner was chairman of
the Partnership during the
final restoration of Grand
Central Terminal to its former
glory and was recently
honored for the sixth year
in a row by The Commercial
Observer as one of the
100 most powerful people in
New York real estate.
“The privilege of being
able to work side-by-side
with my father for the last
25 years has been enriching
and enlightening, to say the
least,” Murray Hill Properties
President and CEO
David Sturner said. “From
humble beginnings to a New
York City real estate icon is
a dream come true to reality
for a truly deserving man.
My father has the gift of understanding
what it takes to
surpass any hurdles thrown
in his way and will always
find a way to conclude a
transaction. Building MHP
from the ground up and
growing it into a full-service
operating company with a
stellar track record and reputation
over the past 50 years
is a testament to the man he
is and the legacy he leaves
for the next generation.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
Queens biz owners
receive greater
fl exibility under
revised PPP bill
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