Crain's New York Business back issues from March 2009:
Food trade rises in Village; Commerce pleases with modern American dishes in retro setting; wine-tasting a plus.(Commerce Restaurant)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Commerce may be lagging on many fronts, but not at Commerce Restaurant in Greenwich Village. The yearling driven by Harold Moore's upscale comfort food is doing deservedly well, thank you. The restaurant occupies vintage space long home to Grange Hall and the Blue Mill Tavern, ...
Corrections.(Correction notice)
Mar 02, 2009 ... PDI Inc.'s new CEO, Nancy Lurker, has spent 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry, most recently at Novartis. Her tenure was described erroneously in the Feb. 23 "In The Markets'' column. Residence Resource is a licensed real estate brokerage that ...
Pets in Peril; To pay human bills, owners forgo expensive animal treatments.
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Gale scott The look on the elderly owner's face told Queens veterinarian Kathy Sevalla that her patient--a 2-year-old Chihuahua--was in big trouble. When Dr. Sevalla told the owner that treatment for the tiny dog's intestinal problems would cost at least $300 and maybe a ...
A star is shorn; `Steven Rattner's fund' can now go back to being Quadrangle Group.(News)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Hilary Potkewitz To some new yorkers with a financial bent, private equity firm Quadrangle Group has simply been known as "Steven Rattner's fund,'' after the media-savvy investment banker, Democratic fundraiser and former Lazard deputy who launched the fund in 2000. ...
MSG's new goaltender; Network GM will use parent's sports and entertainment assets to rebuild ad revenues.(MSG Networks)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Matthew Flamm Though he has been general manager of MSG Networks for little more than a month, Dan Ronayne already seems like an old hand at running the cable television home of the New York Rangers and the Knicks. And that's not just because he worked at other regional ...
Restaurateurs grab chance to expand; Falling rents, higher-quality spaces spell opportunity for cash-rich few.(News)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Lisa Fickenscher When a small bookstore next to the Strip House closed recently, the restaurant's owners didn't hesitate--they grabbed the space. "It was a no-brainer for us,'' says Mathew Glazier, co-owner of the East 12th Street steak spot. "We turn away ...
POLL COMMENTS: Obama has to get beyond politics.(Viewpoint essay)
Mar 02, 2009 ... The good news is that Obama has the salesmanship skills and intellect to effectively lead our nation out of this abyss, provided he puts our national interest ahead of political interests. Thus far, he has placed a far greater emphasis on scoring political points and maintaining the status ...
How has Obama handled the economic crisis so far? CRAIN'S ONLINE POLL.(Viewpoint)
Mar 02, 2009 ... 481 VOTES Date of poll: Feb. 24 37% Very well. He moved quickly to get the stimulus package passed, and he addressed the housing crisis. 34% Badly. The stimulus bill won't have any ...
Pfizer subtracts sublease, pulling big block off market; 685 Third will house staff after drugmaker merges with Wyeth.(Real Estate)
Mar 02, 2009 ... In a rare bit of good news for the commercial real estate market, Pfizer Inc. is actually taking a huge block of sublease space off the market. The pharmaceutical giant is no longer seeking tenants for 685 Third Ave., sources say, because it plans to fill its 650,000-square-foot ...
GOVERNORS ISLAND, guv's funding.(Brief article)
Mar 02, 2009 ... A City Council hearing on Governors Island scheduled for last Friday was postponed until early April, an indication that a deal to restore the island's operating funds may be close, an insider says. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, whose district includes the ...
The Insider.(Briefs)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: erik engquist and matthew sollars For whom the MTA plan tolls Politics and Metropolitan Transportation Authority budget woes make strange bedfellows. Last week, in an effort to head off drastic subway fare increases and service cuts, Assembly ...
In the Markets.(Briefs)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli Time for King Stephen to buy back battered Blackstone Castle? Back in the jurassic, in the spring of 2007, Blackstone Group Chief Executive Stephen Schwarzman appeared on the cover of Fortune, which declared him "the new king of Wall ...
STRUGGLING WITH COSTS.(Brief article)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Pet owners feel the pain of their tough decisions, too. Tom, a construction worker who in November chose to have his 10-year-old rottweiler Willie put down, still gets teary when talking about the dog. "He got bone cancer. It happened fast,'' says the Brooklyn resident, who ...
Meet NY's wobbliest banks; Dud investments take toll on Park Ave. Bank, even parts of Milstein family's Emigrant Bank.(News)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Aaron Elstein For those who like to withdraw cash or deposit checks in the presence of fine art, Park Avenue Bank is the place to go. A midtown branch serves as a mini-gallery, displaying everything from Old Master portraits to contemporary American works, all to help ...
Hitting a nerve with serious news.(Viewpoint essay)
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Valerie Block Fox's 24 started with promise this season but has left me cold lately. Too many absurd plot twists. ABC's Desperate Housewives is another prime-time disappointment. But one show that isn't letting me down is 60 Minutes. And I consider myself an accidental ...
New York, New York.(Briefs)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: edited by Valerie Block Billionaire's memoir out of focus Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (below) is ready to write his memoir. Over the past few weeks, ICM superagent Esther Newberg has been gauging interest in a book by the legendary billionaire, presenting ...
Rebranding New York.(NYC Tourism Report)(Brief article)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Marketing execs share ideas. 1. It's up to you, New York. "Playing to the idea that with such limitless options available to tourists--whether their tastes are attuned to Broadway shows or the latest in off-Broadway theater, fine dining in midtown to the best dim sum ...
Misery Meter; Weekly reading on direction of the city's economy.(News)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Sure it rained dismal data--from GM's losses to plummeting housing sales--but President Obama's 52-minute speech Tuesday and the proposed $3.6 trillion budget at least held out some hope. -6.2% Rate at which the U.S. economy shrank in ...
SEEKING TOP entrepreneurs IN NEW YORK CITY; CRAIN'S AWARDS.(News)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Crain's seeks nominations for its 14th annual awards for top entrepreneurs, formerly called the Small Business Awards. The six winners will have distinguished themselves by showing a pattern of growth in their businesses and contributing to their communities' quality of life. ...
In Albany, Silver's good as gold; Speaker rises above weaker leaders, sets legislative agenda.
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Erik Engquist The governor is in free fall. The head of the state Senate is a rookie with a razor-thin majority. But one Albany leader is more powerful than ever: Sheldon Silver. The soft-spoken Assembly speaker is the last man standing at a crucial moment in state ...
In Brief.(Presidential elections)(Brief article)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau's decision not to seek re-election this fall has created an opening for one of the most coveted prosecutor's jobs in the country. Three candidates have already raised significant funds for a campaign, and more are likely to test the waters in ...
Spring break on a budget.(Business Lives)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Great travel deals are available through May. Travel abroad is cheaper now with better exchange rates, and you can find inexpensive lodging in hostels and boutique hotels. Miami and Las Vegas are fun for students and families, and there are some great ...
NY's rich to feel tax bite; So too will industries that feed off them: charities, real estate.(News)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Adrianne Pasquarelli it's a challenging time for New York's affluent, eh? Judging by the tax hikes on wealthier Americans proposed last week by President Barack Obama, it's an even tougher time for the nonprofit and real estate industries those affluent people support. ...
A good year for wine reform.(Viewpoint)
Mar 02, 2009 ... A proposal to allow grocery stores to sell wine in New York state comes down to a choice between more competition and increased tax revenue on one hand, and continued protection for a regulated industry on the other. The plan is straightforward. Stores with licenses to sell beer ...
GROUND ZERO, AGAIN; Recession undermines downtown's fragile recovery.
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Lisa Fickenscher Tommy krisko has been selling food from his mobile All-American Diner at Whitehall Street since 1989, catering to busy bankers and lawyers who dash out for a chicken cutlet at lunch or stop by for a bagel on their hurried commutes through the narrow ...
Fortress feeling keeps downtown off beaten path; While tourists have flooded rest of city, neighborhood has struggled to rebound.
Mar 02, 2009; ... Byline: Lisa Fickenscher The historic tip of Manhattan was largely left out of the tourist boom of the past half-decade, which brought record numbers of visitors to New York and bathed the rest of the city in cash. Plenty of tourists can be found snapping pictures on ...
Not-for-profits throw hats in ring for stim funds; Myriad groups pitch projects large and small; confusion reigns on requirements, process.(News)
Mar 02, 2009 ... Byline: Miriam Kreinin Souccar Local nonprofits are scrambling to get a share of the federal stimulus money soon to start moving into New York state for "shovel-ready'' construction projects. The soliciting organizations range from arts groups to low-income housing ...
The Mouth that Roared; There's nothing conservative about the boost to WABC radio from Rush Limbaugh's resurgence.(News)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: MATTHEW FLAMM Rush limbaugh likes to complain that President Obama is out to destroy the capitalist spirit in America. But so far, life under socialism has been pretty good for the confrontational talk radio star. In the months since the Republican rout left ...
Then & Now.(News)
Mar 09, 2009 ... '97 again? some dej views the dow jones industrial average last week tumbled below 7,000 for the first time since 1997--the era of Alan Greenspan's "irrational exuberance'' mutterings. Although stocks have lost about half of their value since an October 2007 peak, many economic ...
Top-exec pay train runs full steam ahead; Filings for '08 show boards doing all they can to ignore poor performance.
Mar 09, 2009; ... Byline: Aaron Elstein Amid the deepest economic collapse in generations, corporate America is coming up with a novel way to justify extravagant executive pay: Ignore the bad news. Companies that sank into the red last year are looking past a host of business ...
A TALE OF TWO CDs.(News)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: aaron elstein Customers are pouring an unprecedented $100 billion a month into U.S. banks, many of which offer little or no payout for their savings in certificates of deposit. The big exception? Citigroup Inc. And the reason may also help explain Citi shares' tumble ...
executive moves.(West End Financial Advisors)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: maia blume Accounting & Consulting KPMG: Lina M. Amador, 35, was promoted to audit partner from senior manager of audit. Richard Clifford, 39, was promoted to tax partner from senior manager of tax. Victor M. Cuevas, 39, was promoted to ...
The Weeks Ahead.(Calendar/Datebook)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: maia blume This Week's Events March 10 Church Avenue Merchants Block Association holds workshop on free money for your business. 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., 884 Flatbush Ave., second floor. Free. Preregistration required. (718) 282-2500 or ...
Dating ON A BUDGET.(Business Lives)
Mar 09, 2009 ... There are plenty of options for cheap dates in NYC. Head to Pravda, a bar on Lafayette Street, for a free Russian movie on Sundays. On Friday nights, visit MoMA for free. The Corner Bistro in the West Village has $2.50 McSorley's, and the Brooklyn Inn, in Boerum ...
Thinking like a detective.(Brief article)
Mar 09, 2009 ... If you plan to invest a fair amount of time and money in a new account, hire a licensed private investigator to do a consumer public filings check, recommends Thomas Martin, who works with many New York City clients as president of Martin Investigative Services, based in Newport Beach, ...
DirecTV connects for more space.(Directv group inc. )(SBR Multisport Inc)
Mar 09, 2009; ... Entertainment company's search ends close to home Directv group inc. signed a lease for almost 13,000 square feet at 1 Rockefeller Plaza, bringing its total in the building to nearly 77,500 square feet. The satellite TV provider inked a three-and-a-half-year lease for ...
Vietnamese's sensuous bow; Upper West Side's BarBao has succinct menu, sexy setting; on the hook for its fish.
Mar 09, 2009; ... Byline: bob lape Michael "bao'' Huynh keeps moving right along, propelled by gifts that mark him as the most celebrated Vietnamese chef in town. If there are disgruntled teammates in his wake, there are always new partners waiting to embrace him. Mr. Huynh's resume ...
The Insider.(Briefs)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Liquor stores mix it up with guv The fight over Gov. David Paterson's proposal to allow supermarkets to sell wine is escalating. Opponents posted a doctored photo on a Facebook page sponsored by liquor store owners insinuating that Mr. Paterson is being bought. It showed Mr ....
Whatever floats the boats; A choppy tourist market means water-taxi exec must target the locals and craft new routes.(Business Lives)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: Lisa Fickenscher Jack and conner noyes are impressed that their father is the chief operating officer of Harbor Experience Cos., which owns 10 commuter and tour boats in the city. But they wish he could be a skipper instead. "It would be much cooler if I was ...
New York politics after Paterson.(Viewpoint)
Mar 09, 2009; ... Byline: Greg David The most important man in New York politics isn't Gov. David Paterson, whose ineptness has translated into the worst approval rating for a governor in 30 years and long odds on his re-election in 2010. Rather, it's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, whose decision ...
The limits of soaking the rich.(Tax reform)
Mar 09, 2009 ... If barack obama has his way, the top federal tax rate for families making more than $250,000 will jump to 39.6%. If Senate Democrats prevail in Albany, the rate for those with incomes above $1 million a year will increase sharply, to 10.3%. If City Council Speaker Christine Quinn triumphs ...
Borrowing trouble; Cash shortfall snowballs for real estate lender iStar as big-name projects morph into bad debts.(News)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: Theresa Agovino And Amanda Fung Istar, one of New York's highest-flying real estate lenders--which has financed $28 billion worth of real estate projects, and whose clients range from Donald Trump to Harry Macklowe--has crashed to earth. Last month, iStar ...
Surgeons' plans knifed by hospitals; Proposed surgery center seen as threat; insurers, employers take opposite view.(News)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: Barbara Benson Two years ago, Stephen Nicholas and 13 other doctors proposed a $10 million ambulatory surgery center with six operating rooms and state-of-the-art equipment. They billed SurgiCare of Manhattan as a better alternative to hospitals, with their high costs ...
New York, New York.(Briefs)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: edited by Valerie Block Out of the river, into a book deal The hero of flight 1549 might land a book deal. Captain Chesley "Sully'' Sullenberger (left)--who piloted a crippled US Airways jet safely into the Hudson River in January, saving the lives of all 155 ...
MUSEUM HANGS SOME PAPER.(Business Lives)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Mark your hand-stitched calendar: Kate's Paperie and the Angelica Berrie Foundation will sponsor "Slash: Paper Under the Knife,'' an exhibition of paper artworks at the Museum of Arts and Design, from Oct. 7 through Jan. 10. The show, which will feature highly elaborate--even ...
In Brief.(Briefs)
Mar 09, 2009 ... CB Richard Ellis Investors purchased 1540 Broadway for around 60% less than the building fetched in 2007. The independently operated subsidiary of CB Richard Ellis Inc. won't say how much it paid, but sources claim the price tag was $355 million. They say Harry Macklowe paid around $950 ...
FIRST TEST MTA rescue plan.(Metropolitan Transportation Authority)(Brief article)
Mar 09, 2009; ... The effort to stave off major fare hikes and service cuts by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has become the first major test of the newly Democratic state Senate. Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is trying to scrape together the 32 votes in his conference to enact a payroll tax and ...
GOOD PAYOFF.(Bimmy's Food Made With Love)(Brief article)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Sometimes you have to spend to save. That's the philosophy of Elliot Fread, chief executive of Bimmy's Food Made With Love. Recently, Mr. Fread, whose 80-employee Long Island City, Queens-based food wholesaler makes wraps, salads and the like, invested in three slicing machines ...
Should the feds keep bailing out AIG? CRAIN'S ONLINE POLL.(Viewpoint)
Mar 09, 2009 ... 265 VOTES Date of poll: MARCH 2 68% No. Let it fail. It makes no sense to keep lending AIG taxpayer money. ...
Legroom in traveler budgets; Airlines need to fill seats, offer fliers cheapest ticket prices in a decade.(News)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: Matthew Sollars A suddenly sweet wave of deeply discounted airfares--prices on some routes out of New York area airports are 50% lower than last year--offer a rare bright spot for corporate budget-cutters. And it's not so bad for local airports, or even some airlines. ...
In The Markets.(Briefs)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Time Warner lets loose the cable guy Time warner cable will complete its spinoff from Time Warner Inc. later this month, finally--yes, finally--becoming the "pure play'' cable company that investors have been clamoring for since before Tony Soprano first started singing to his ...
Storefront market wilts in Astoria; Demand for retail space drops, rents come down; will stimulus plan help?(Neighborhood Journal)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Until recently, Astoria, Queens, was one of the hottest retail tickets in town. To get a storefront location on Steinway Avenue, the neighborhood's main drag, store owners had to wait as long as six months. Now, 38 of Astoria's 302 businesses are either closed or closing, according to a ...
New stores forge ahead on Fifth; Projects planned before meltdown.(News)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: Adrianne Pasquarelli Opening an expensive flagship in this economy should qualify an apparel company for a padded cell. Yet two retailers, Armani and Diesel, opened expansive emporiums on the midtown Fifth Avenue corridor last month. And Tommy Hilfiger will open a ...
As CBS eyed dividend chop, Redstone offered an earful; Major shareholder accused of delaying cut to prop up other soured investments.(News)
Mar 09, 2009 ... Byline: Matthew Flamm At least one CBS Corp. shareholder apparently wasn't happy about management's decision last month to slash its corporate dividend by 80%. Sumner Redstone, CBS's executive chairman and owner of nearly 3 million shares, was accused by a media ...
"IT WILL KILL US'; East NY, Brooklyn.
Mar 16, 2009 ... Donald Foy is losing sleep. "I'm up most nights, just walking around,'' he says. "I'm worried about what's going to happen.'' The source of his unrest: Mortgage payments due on his two-family row house have shot up during the past three years to $4,800 a month. "If I ...
DISASTROUS TURN FOR STEAL OF A DEAL; St. Albans, Queens.(Viewpoint essay)
Mar 16, 2009 ... Kelvin Crenshaw seemed to have everything going for him. Nearly four years ago, the 47-year-old and his wife bought a two-story attached house that had been in her family for years. The price was a mere $40,000. The Crenshaws refinanced the property to pay for renovations. ...
WORKING 2 JOBS, STILL FALLING SHORT; Springfield Gardens, Queens.
Mar 16, 2009 ... THE QUESTION PRINTED on a fluorescent pink sign attached to a lamppost caught Denise Parker's attention: "Why rent when you can own?'' In 2005, the single mother of three dialed the number on the sign and reached a real estate agent. He told her that for the $1,600 a month she ...
A QUICK SPIN AROUND THE BLOCK.
Mar 16, 2009 ... IN RESPONSE TO THE GROWING DEMAND for real estate auctions, the National Association of Realtors partnered with the National Auctioneers Association to develop an online course designed to introduce brokers to the process. "Real estate brokers are looking to add auctioneering to ...
New York, New York.(New York Yankees provide services to fans)(advertising revenue report by K-Rock)(Billy Crudup and Martha Plimpton will perform in public theater plays )
Mar 16, 2009; ... Byline: Edited by Valerie Block New Jersey's own Yankee Clipper WHEN BASEBALL SEASON BEGINS next month, Yankee fans in New Jersey can sail to the new stadium to see Derek Jeter and teammates. Seastreak will transport Monmouth County residents to the ballpark in just ...
Coney Is. plan a go, but void remains; Empty lots mean a summer bummer; Astroland to stay dark.(Brief article)
Mar 16, 2009; ... Byline: MATTHEW SOLLARS THE CITY'S plan to redevelop Brooklyn's famed but badly faded Coney Island strip took an important step forward last week when the plan was approved by Community Board 13. But with the plan's impact unlikely to be felt for several years, Coney Island ...
DAD-FRIENDLY CLASSES AND GROUPS.(Brief article)
Mar 16, 2009 ... The 92nd Street Y offers a five-week class, "New DadsDads and Babies,'' for fathers and infants, newborn to 12 months. The class meets Sunday mornings, so it doesn't interfere with Sunday-afternoon sports. Go to www.92y.org for details. New York City Dads Meetup Group is a ...
FACE-OFF Throwing NYS off island?(community development)
Mar 16, 2009 ... RELATIONS BETWEEN Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson, which have been growing testy recently, bubbled over last week when the mayor went public with his plan to take control of Governors Island and Brooklyn Bridge Park. The projects have been under joint authority. ...
THE INSIDER.
Mar 16, 2009 ... Byline: ERIK ENGQUIST AND MATTHEW SOLLARS `Goodnight, Gracie' bolsters Bill CITY COMPTROLLER William Thompson (left) got a boost from last week's announcement by Rep. Anthony Weiner (right) that he won't decide for several months whether to take on Mr. Thompson in ...
Brokerages must pay to help cover Madoff; `Bernie's tax' forces brokers to better fund anti-fraud kitty.
Mar 16, 2009 ... Byline: Hilary Potkewitz IN THE WAKE of Bernard Madoff's $65 billion Ponzi scheme, the brokerage community is about to pay for the bad behavior of one of its own. To raise enough money to cut restitution checks to Mr. Madoff's thousands of scorched investors, the ...
EconoMeter.
Mar 16, 2009 ... Weekly directional of the city's economy. Shock! Horror! For a change, most of the week's surprises came on the upsidefrom retail sales that weren't as lousy as feared, to bank profits that proved not to be an anachronism after all. ...