New York
Dozens of BuzzFeed Employees Claim They Were Illegally Shortchanged in I.P.O.
![Dozens of BuzzFeed Employees Claim They Were Illegally Shortchanged in I.P.O. Dozens of BuzzFeed Employees Claim They Were Illegally Shortchanged in I.P.O.](https://newspub.live/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/00bf1-facebookJumbo.jpg)
Greater than 40 former and present staff of BuzzFeed accused the corporate in a criticism on Tuesday of bungling its inventory market debut and denying the employees the prospect to promote their shares at a better worth.
Within the declare, made to the American Arbitration Affiliation, which resolves disputes out of courtroom, the staff mentioned the corporate did not correctly instruct them on the best way to commerce their shares instantly after the preliminary public providing in December.
The group is asking for compensatory damages estimated at greater than $4.6 million, in keeping with the declare, which was considered by The New York Instances.
“The Kafkaesque tribulations by means of which the claimants had been dragged have wreaked havoc on their monetary lives,” the criticism mentioned.
BuzzFeed didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
BuzzFeed, a information and leisure writer, grew to become the primary digital media firm to go public when it started buying and selling on Dec. 6. The corporate’s inventory worth fell sharply within the days after it went public, and the group of staff say they weren’t in a position to promote their shares till the value had dropped by practically 60 %, or lower than $5.
Some staff are nonetheless unable to promote their shares, in keeping with the criticism.
The arbitration motion represents 44 staff, who collectively had greater than 400,000 shares of BuzzFeed inventory on the time it went public. It was filed earlier than the American Arbitration Affiliation due to a clause within the staff’ contracts that requires sure disputes to go to arbitration as an alternative of heading to courtroom. That clause is frequent in lots of employment contracts as an effort to stop class motion lawsuits. Arbitration claims are determined by an neutral third social gathering, although many are settled earlier than that call.
Along with naming BuzzFeed and a few of its high executives as defendants, together with its founder, Jonah Peretti, the criticism names Adam Rothstein, the manager chairman of a shell firm that merged with BuzzFeed, and Continental Inventory Switch, a switch agent employed to assist with its preliminary public providing.
Mr. Rothstein and Continental didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
BuzzFeed was co-founded by Mr. Peretti in 2006. In line with the declare, the group of staff, which incorporates reporters, net builders, editors and salespeople, had principally joined BuzzFeed in its early days when it was a scrappy start-up. They accepted low salaries as a result of they had been additionally given inventory choices, the staff mentioned, and Mr. Peretti often promoted the eventual plan to take the corporate public.
In June final 12 months, BuzzFeed introduced its plans to merge with a particular function acquisition firm, or SPAC, known as 890 Fifth Avenue Companions to be able to go public. The deal valued BuzzFeed at $1.5 billion. The corporate is value about one-third of that now.
By the point of the merger in December, about 94 % of the over $250 million raised by the SPAC was withdrawn by traders, leaving the corporate with solely $16 million. The criticism argued that due to this, BuzzFeed executives had a fiduciary obligation to re-evaluate the plans to go public. However the I.P.O. went forward, and BuzzFeed started buying and selling on the Nasdaq on Dec. 6 beneath the ticker image BZFD.
The staff, the declare mentioned, had been wanting ahead to lastly cashing of their shares however shortly realized that they had been unable to take action as a result of they’d not been advised further steps had been wanted to transform their Class B shares earlier than they may promote them.
The blunder will not be related to what is usually referred to as a “lockup” settlement that stops high executives from promoting shares for a specified time frame, usually about six months. On this case, staff may promote as quickly as they filed crucial paperwork forward of the general public debut, however they weren’t given sufficient time to finish the applying till after the corporate hit the inventory market, the staff say.
Communications from Continental and BuzzFeed supplied contradictory and imprecise recommendation concerning the inventory transfers, in keeping with the criticism, and staff had been advised the conversion of shares would take three to 5 enterprise days. On the identical time, BuzzFeed’s inventory worth, which had spiked in early buying and selling, was quickly dropping.
“Because of this, Claimants — a few of whom nonetheless are unable to commerce their shares as of the date of this submitting — misplaced the chance to promote their hard-earned shares for good worth and have been left with inventory buying and selling at a mere fraction of its I.P.O. worth,” the criticism mentioned.
One worker texted with Mr. Peretti on Dec. 6 to specific his frustration, and, in keeping with the criticism, Mr. Peretti complained that he had not been in a position to money out his shares at as excessive a worth as he had hoped, both. On Dec. 7, 2021, BuzzFeed emailed staff and mentioned they “sympathize together with your frustration with this course of.”
BuzzFeed will report earnings on March 22 for the primary time since going public.
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New York
As Trump Returns, Murphy Plans to Protect Abortion Access in New Jersey
![As Trump Returns, Murphy Plans to Protect Abortion Access in New Jersey As Trump Returns, Murphy Plans to Protect Abortion Access in New Jersey](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/01/14/multimedia/hlbp/hlbp-facebookJumbo.jpg)
As he prepares for his final year as governor of New Jersey, Philip D. Murphy on Tuesday proposed banning cellphones in schools and disclosed plans to blunt any additional limits on abortion access by the Trump administration.
Mr. Murphy also said he would work to address last year’s alarming 14 percent increase in roadway fatalities by overhauling the state’s 10 most dangerous intersections.
Mr. Murphy, a Democrat, began his seventh State of the State address in Trenton by acknowledging what he called “the elephant that is not in the room”: President-elect Donald J. Trump.
“I know there is some uncertainty and even concern about what this administration will bring,” the governor said, drawing the first round of applause from the standing-room-only crowd.
Mr. Murphy, who plans to attend Mr. Trump’s inauguration next week, said he “would never back away from partnering with the Trump administration” when doing so aligned with New Jersey’s priorities. But he vowed to fight Mr. Trump “if and when” those values are tested.
To that end, he said that New Jersey would stockpile a supply of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions, in the event that Mr. Trump moved to limit its availability.
Aides to Mr. Murphy said New Jersey’s Department of Health had already begun gathering a six-month “strategic reserve” of medications, including mifepristone, which will be stored with abortion providers.
New Jersey law permits abortion throughout a pregnancy. But the governor also said that he would pursue legislation to end out-of-pocket costs for the procedure, reiterating a proposal he made last year.
As he outlined his priorities for his final year in office, Mr. Murphy said he would push for legislation to provide full pay to state workers on parental leave, make full-day kindergarten mandatory in the small number of towns that do not already offer it and permit 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in school board elections.
But perhaps the loudest and most sustained applause came when Mr. Murphy said he would direct school districts to adopt policies that ban cellphones in the state’s elementary, middle and high schools.
“Our children are inundated with screens,” Mr. Murphy said, adding that cellphone use had fueled a rise in cyberbullying and contributed to a mental health crisis among children.
“We will help establish phone-free schools,” he vowed.
New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul, said Monday that she planned to limit cellphone use in schools.
New York and New Jersey join a growing number of states, including Virginia, Ohio and Minnesota, that have moved to limit the use of the devices in schools. Los Angeles Unified became the largest school district in the United States to ban cellphones last year.
Mr. Murphy is prohibited by law from running for more than two consecutive terms, and November’s race to replace him is already in full swing.
Six prominent Democrats and four Republicans are competing for their party’s nomination to run for governor in the June primaries. The list of contenders includes the mayors of the state’s two largest cities, two members of Congress and a former Republican Assembly member who came within three percentage points of beating Mr. Murphy in 2021.
Indeed, the governor’s speech had a perfunctory air, and members of the audience at times appeared distracted; some repeatedly exited and re-entered the State Assembly chamber throughout the address.
The Republican leader of the State Senate, Anthony M. Bucco, called Mr. Murphy’s address a retread of costly, feel-good policy proposals.
“This state has become more and more and more unaffordable,” Mr. Bucco said.
“The days of spending outside of our means are coming to an end,” he added.
Still, the hourlong speech offered a window into major challenges facing New Jersey, including last year’s 14 percent increase in roadway fatalities.
Traffic fatalities nationwide have been declining. But last year in New Jersey, there were 691 traffic deaths, up from 606 the year before. Pedestrian fatalities soared by 32 percent.
The increase coincided with a drastic eight-month reduction in traffic enforcement by State Police troopers, who in July 2023 began writing far fewer tickets for speeding, drunken driving, cellphone use and other violations.
The reduced enforcement began a week after the state’s attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, released a report critical of the performance of the State Police, New Jersey’s largest policing agency.
In August 2023, the first full month of the slowdown, troopers wrote 81 percent fewer tickets statewide, and crashes on the state’s two main highways immediately began to increase, according to records obtained by The New York Times through public records requests.
Mr. Platkin has appointed Preet Bharara, a prominent former federal prosecutor in Manhattan, to lead a criminal investigation of the slowdown.
Mr. Murphy is the only official in New Jersey with the power to replace the State Police superintendent, Col. Patrick Callahan, who led the department during the slowdown.
On Monday, when asked about the relationship between traffic fatalities and the reduced levels of enforcement, Mr. Murphy said, “If we’re not enforcing the laws on the books, that’s unacceptable.”
But he also worked to shift accountability for the slowdown away from himself and instead place full responsibility on Mr. Platkin and Colonel Callahan.
“It’s on their backs to get this into the right place,” Mr. Murphy said, adding that he had confidence in both men.
A spokesman for Colonel Callahan did not respond to a request for comment.
On Monday, Mr. Murphy signed a bill that created a commission dedicated to reducing the number of traffic fatalities in New Jersey to zero by 2040.
On Tuesday, he told lawmakers that he would “work with all of you to make New Jersey’s roads safer.”
He also announced plans to “overhaul” 10 of the state’s most dangerous intersections “to keep our families safe and to help prevent avoidable tragedies.”
New York
Hochul Proposes Cutting Income Taxes for Middle-Class New Yorkers
![Hochul Proposes Cutting Income Taxes for Middle-Class New Yorkers Hochul Proposes Cutting Income Taxes for Middle-Class New Yorkers](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/01/14/multimedia/14hochul-state-01-mvlc/14hochul-state-01-mvlc-facebookJumbo.jpg)
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York proposed slashing the state’s income tax for most residents as part of a sweeping populist agenda that she planned to outline in her State of the State address on Tuesday.
The speech revolved around a series of proposals, which Ms. Hochul has called her “affordability agenda,” designed to court struggling New Yorkers who voiced their frustration in November and weakened the Democratic Party’s grip on the state.
The tax cut, according to a briefing book released in advance of her speech, would be given to those who earn up to $323,000 per year for joint filers, or 77 percent of the state’s taxpayers. The move would “deliver over $1 billion in tax relief to more than 8.3 million taxpayers,” according to the briefing material.
Ms. Hochul also intends to cut taxes for parents, make school lunch free and give millions of New Yorkers rebates of up to $500 depending on their income.
It was not immediately apparent how many of these proposed programs would be enacted or funded. But it was clear that the re-election of Donald J. Trump had been on her mind as she crafted the address.
She highlighted proposals to protect the identities of doctors who prescribe anti-abortion drugs and add more state troopers to patrol the northern border. Expectant mothers would also qualify for a $100 monthly benefit during pregnancy; mothers on public assistance would receive an additional $1,200 when their child is born.
The governor, however, seemed to shy away from adopting the kind of “resistance” fervor that characterized responses to Mr. Trump’s first inauguration in 2017.
Ms. Hochul’s reluctance to do so, combined with her push on affordability, may reflect the precariousness of her own political future. Her popularity has plummeted in recent years, and rivals from both parties appear to be preparing to challenge her in 2026.
One potential Republican candidate, Representative Mike Lawler, who represents parts of the Hudson Valley, stood alongside Republicans from the State Legislature Tuesday morning and criticized the governor on a litany of issues, including congestion pricing, which he said only put more financial strain on New York commuters.
“She is a feckless and failed governor who needs to be replaced in 2026,” Mr. Lawler said, later adding that her speech on Tuesday “isn’t about working across the aisle to make New York a better, more affordable, safer place to live.”
Last month, Siena College released a poll that found that just 33 percent of voters wanted Ms. Hochul re-elected and about 39 percent had a favorable view of her. The poll also showed that about 43 percent of New York voters thought lowering the cost of living should be the Legislature’s top priority this year. Creating more affordable housing was also high on the list of priorities.
Ms. Hochul has seemed to tailor some of her State of the State proposals to those voter concerns. Her proposed “inflation refund” program would route roughly $3 billion in excess sales tax revenue directly to New Yorkers.
And Ms. Hochul’s proposed expansion of the state’s child tax credit would more than double what some families currently receive. In recent years, New York’s poorest families have typically received up to $330 per child. If the plan were enacted, eligible families could get tax credits of up to $1,000 per child under the age of 4. Families with children ages 4 to 16 could get credits of up to $500 per child.
Before the speech, the Erie County executive, Mark C. Poloncarz, applauded Ms. Hochul’s focus on bread-and-butter issues but said she would have to keep promoting her agenda beyond the State of the State address for it to sink in.
“One of the things that you can’t do is make these big announcements, and then that’s it,” he said. “People want to see and know their elected officials. They want to know more than you’re just investing in affordability issues, but that you understand their issues in their communities.”
Mr. Poloncarz, a Democrat, added that the governor needed to remind people that “the Democratic Party is the party of the working class. We’re the ones that brought Social Security, we’re the ones who came up with Medicare. We’re the ones of the Affordable Care Act, which the prior administration tried to eliminate.”
The proposed tax cuts and refunds come as the state contemplates how to plug a multibillion-dollar funding hole for infrastructure improvements to public transit. Last month, Carl E. Heastie, the Assembly speaker, and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Senate majority leader, rejected the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capital proposal, citing in part the plan’s $33 billion deficit.
“Everything will have to be on the table,” Ms. Stewart-Cousins said when asked on Monday if new taxes to fund regional transit were under consideration.
Ms. Hochul said in papers accompanying the speech that she wants “a balanced mix of federal, state, city and M.T.A. contributions in line with historical practice, alongside new revenue sources to be agreed during budget negotiations this spring and cost efficiencies to be achieved by the M.T.A.”
Crime continues to be another pressing concern for New York voters, especially in the New York City subway, where a number of violent incidents have drawn attention to rider safety. Ms. Hochul wants to fund more lights and barriers on platforms, along with deploying more law enforcement officers on trains. She also wants to tweak and streamline how the discovery process works in preparation for trials.
And she is expected to elaborate on her efforts to loosen the standards for involuntary commitment and expand laws relating to court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment for people with mental illness. Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has been a major proponent of these changes, saying they will go a long way toward addressing some of the perceived disorder on the trains and will help vulnerable people.
Brian Stettin, Mr. Adams’s senior adviser on severe mental illness, said in an interview that Ms. Hochul’s public comments had been encouraging and showed an urgency about the problems that outreach workers and others were confronting.
“Her comments have been consistent with what’s in our package,” he said. “But we are waiting to see the details.”
The governor will also propose spending $400 million to breathe new life into Albany’s struggling downtown, including $150 million for the aging New York State Museum. The proposed funds for the state’s capital were earlier reported by The Albany Times Union.
Jay Root and Maya King contributed reporting.
New York
Hochul’s State of the State Address Will Examine New York’s Future, and Her Own
![Hochul Proposes Cutting Income Taxes for Middle-Class New Yorkers Hochul Proposes Cutting Income Taxes for Middle-Class New Yorkers](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2025/01/14/multimedia/14hochul-state-01-mvlc/14hochul-state-01-mvlc-facebookJumbo.jpg)
As Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York prepares to deliver her State of the State address on Tuesday, her priorities seem firmly focused on the voter frustrations that fueled Donald J. Trump’s election to the presidency in November.
Over the last month, Ms. Hochul has announced proposals to cut taxes for parents, make school lunch free and give millions of New Yorkers rebates of up to $500 depending on their income. These ideas have all been packaged as part of an “affordability agenda.”
And on Tuesday, Ms. Hochul is expected to announce a new series of middle-class tax cuts, and devote a portion of her speech to efforts to combat crime and mental illness.
“You tell us you need help; we hear you need help,” Ms. Hochul said earlier this month when previewing some of the proposals that will be included in her speech and her executive budget, which will come out next week. “We’re going to continue delivering real solutions that make a difference.”
Ms. Hochul, a centrist Democrat, is also expected to reinforce the notion that New York will protect vulnerable groups from aggressive policies adopted by the incoming Trump administration, especially concerning recent immigrants, according to someone familiar with her planned speech.
The governor, however, has no plans to adopt the kind of “resistance” fervor that characterized responses to Mr. Trump’s first inauguration in 2017, the person said.
Ms. Hochul’s reticence may reflect the precariousness of her own political future. Her popularity has plummeted in recent years, and rivals from both parties appear to be preparing to challenge her in 2026.
One potential Republican candidate, U.S. Representative Mike Lawler, who represents parts of the Hudson Valley, will be in Albany on Tuesday to offer his party’s rebuttal to her remarks, alongside Republicans from the State Legislature.
Mr. Lawler has bashed the governor on congestion pricing, crime and a litany of other issues, and is certain to do the same on Tuesday.
Last month, Siena College released a poll that found that just 33 percent of voters wanted Ms. Hochul re-elected and about 39 percent had a favorable view of her. The poll also showed that about 43 percent of New York voters think lowering the cost of living should be the Legislature’s top priority this year. Creating more affordable housing was also high on the list of priorities.
Ms. Hochul has seemed to tailor some of her State of the State proposals to those voter concerns. Her proposed “inflation refund” program would route roughly $3 billion in excess sales tax revenue directly to New Yorkers.
And Ms. Hochul’s proposed expansion of the state’s child tax credit would more than double what some families currently receive. In recent years, New York’s poorest families have typically received up to $330 per child. If the plan were enacted, eligible families could get tax credits of up to $1,000 per child under the age of 4. Families with children ages 4 to 16 could get credits of up to $500 per child.
These proposed tax cuts and refunds come as the state contemplates how to plug a multibillion-dollar funding hole for infrastructure improvements to public transit. Last month, Carl E. Heastie, the Assembly speaker, and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Senate majority leader, rejected the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s capital proposal, citing in part the plan’s $33 billion deficit.
“Everything will have to be on the table,” Ms. Stewart-Cousins said when asked on Monday if new taxes to fund regional transit were under consideration.
Crime continues to be another pressing concern for New York voters, especially in the New York City subway, where a number of violent incidents have drawn attention to rider safety. Ms. Hochul is expected to use her speech to propose adding more lights and barriers on platforms, along with deploying more law enforcement officers on trains.
She is also expected to elaborate on her efforts to loosen the standards for involuntary commitment and expand laws relating to court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment for people with mental illness. Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has been a major proponent of these changes, saying they will go a long way toward addressing some of the perceived disorder on the trains and will help vulnerable people.
Brian Stettin, Mr. Adams’s senior adviser on severe mental illness, said in an interview that Ms. Hochul’s public comments had been encouraging and showed an urgency about the problems that outreach workers and others were confronting.
“Her comments have been consistent with what’s in our package,” he said. “But we are waiting to see the details.”
The governor will also propose spending $400 million to breathe new life into Albany’s struggling downtown, including $150 million for the aging New York State Museum. The proposed funds for the state’s capital were earlier reported by The Albany Times Union.
Jay Root contributed reporting.
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