Crain's New York Business articles from April 2005

Crain's New York Business archives from April 2005

The Best of Bob Lape.
April 4, 2005... Osteria Gelsi (2 stars) 507 Ninth Ave. (at East 38th Street), Manhattan. (212) 244-0088. Appealing, affordable window on the home-style cooking of Italy's Puglia. English Is Italian (2 stars) 622 Third Ave. (at East 40th Street),...

Terror-minded feds watch funds.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Funding Islamic and Middle Eastern work is more complicated than ever. Under mandates from the U.S. government, foundations must ensure that none of the money they give to artists or nonprofits is funneled to terrorist organizations. ...

Developer land rush pushes values sky-high; Even unremarkable sites attain cachet; is it real or just another bubble?(Real Estate)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Christine Haughney Late last summer, elad Properties made a land deal that seemed more riddled with risk than its recent purchase of the Plaza Hotel. The developer paid a record $200 a square foot for an unremarkable plot of land...

Small Business: Surfers flee Microsoft's hard knocks; Explorer's security gaps prompt users to defect; Firefox leads as alternative.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Quittner Browsing the web is an integral part of what GTK Marketing Group's 15 employees do every day. Last June, unfortunately, someone at the Brooklyn-based company accidentally imported a virus that quickly spread to all...

What Puts the Zest in Richest NY ZIPs.(Special Report: Wealthy New Yorkers)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... With foreign-born residents contributing to Queens' wealth and resettled professionals changing the face of Manhattan's Upper West Side, wealthy New York neighborhoods come in all shapes and sizes

Ailing community; Medical offensive fails to cure Harlem residents.
April 4, 2005... Byline: samantha marshall Born and bred in Harlem, 72-year-old Barbara Skinner is on the verge of leaving her neighborhood. With four children under her care--including a 10-year-old severely asthmatic boy and a 15-year-old girl who...

Union Sq. set to bag another grocer; Trader Joe's checks out area; U.N. on mission for temporary space.(Real Estate)
April 4, 2005... The grocery business is flourishing around Union Square. Following the recent entry of Whole Foods, Trader Joe's is eyeing 140 E. 14th St., between Lexington and Third avenues, for its first New York City store, industry insiders say. ...

Hippie hood matures into affluent area; Upper West Side rivals East Side with ritzy rents, restaurants and retail.(Special Report: Wealthy New Yorkers)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Judith Messina Last year, when Jeffrey Lefcourt was searching for a place in the city to locate an upscale seafood restaurant, he considered trendy streets downtown and on the affluent East Side. In the end, he chose an unlikely...

Queens dispels Archie Bunker mentality; One area has highest percentage of millionaires in the entire city.(Special Report: Wealthy New Yorkers)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Cara S. Trager Six years ago, Dennis Saffran and his wife, Jane Stewart, both lawyers, moved with their two children from Park Slope, Brooklyn, to Douglaston, Queens--but not without some ribbing from their friends. "It was...

Crain's top lists online, on disk; book of lists.
April 4, 2005... C rain's book of Lists is the premier marketing tool for any company doing business in New York. Digital formats of Crain's popular year-end issue are available that include powerful software for viewing, sorting, editing and exporting data,...

NY snaps up charitable smarts; Families, advisers stream to center for schooling in responsible giving.(Special Report: Wealthy New Yorkers)(New York University's Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Steve Garmhausen Cara Eisen remembers being fascinated as a girl by how the cars below grew tiny as the jets carrying her family on trips gained altitude. Something about it put human vanity into perspective and helped her...

The perils of change.(web browsers)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Not all businesses can make the switch to alternative browsers easily. Experts say that some Web sites, financial sites in particular, don't support lesser-known browsers, which can be a significant problem if a small business handles matters...

Multilevel Medicaid reform.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Alair Townsend The costs of Medicaid, the medical care program for the poor, are soaring out of control. While calls for reform have been building for years, for most of the parties, reform means sending the tab to someone else....

Free trials of daily health care fax; CRAIN'S health PULSE.
April 4, 2005... Crain's new york business offers readers free two-week trial subscriptions to its daily Crain's Health Pulse fax. The Pulse fax covers the business of health care, supplying information on mergers and affiliations, contracts, executive...

Prada fans find peace melding riches, religion; Faithful stave off emptiness as they give back to God.(Special Report: Wealthy New Yorkers)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Anita Jain Yitzchak Tessler, a major real estate developer in New York City, finds time to attend synagogue every day even as he oversees the conversions of the former Helmsley Windsor Hotel and two large TriBeCa buildings into...

New York, New York.(Briefs)
April 4, 2005... Byline: edited by Valerie Block Zagat Survey zeroes in The Zagat Survey pocket guide has become the latest tool for landlords pitching buildings in offbeat neighborhoods. To entice prospective tenants to the Helena, a new luxury rental...

Magazine targets the modern home; Conde Nast's shelter entry `Domino' avoids the doily crowd.(News)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Jon Fine "We are not into making projects and sewing doilies,'' says Deborah Needleman, editor in chief of Conde Nast Publications' forthcoming shelter launch, Domino, while paging past a painless do-it-yourself project in the...

CEO has Windy City at his back.(Philip Purcell)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Byline: FROM CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS In his public spat with former executives of Morgan Stanley, CEO Philip Purcell claims that he has the full backing of the Wall Street firm's board of directors. Perhaps with good reason: Four of Mr....

At Deadline.(Late News)
April 4, 2005... 16 new productions push B'way to record broadway is setting records this spring at the box office. Ticket sales for the week ended March 27 jumped 21%, to $18.8 million, compared with the same period last year. Attendance rose 16% to...

Cable riches spark new subway series; Mets bet that stars translate into media hit, but Yankees' YES is already way out in front.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Aaron Elstein The New York Mets ended last year near the bottom of the National League East, but scored big during the off-season. The team's owners spent $173 million to sign All-Stars Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, and they...

State Republican woes.(Government Alert)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Rudy Giuliani's decision to go into partnership with politically connected Texas law firm Bracewell & Patterson is another sign that the former mayor won't run for governor in 2006. While Republican Party officials insist that he is...

Embattled Purcell's pitch won't sway shareholders; Morgan chief woos investors, but they want big stock gains.(Philip Purcell )
April 4, 2005... Byline: Aaron Elstein At this dire stage, there's little Philip Purcell can do but try to persuade investors who oppose his tenure to go away. The besieged Morgan Stanley chief executive ended a humiliating week on Friday by traveling...

Payback looms on mayor's IOUs for stadium aid; Mike juggles claims of varied backers.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Anne Michaud A tenet of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's political life is independence. A self-made billionaire, he takes no campaign contributions and thus, the theory goes, owes no debts. But as the mayor charges his way through...

World events drive Islamic art surge; Museums, funders see new interest in shows with politics in backdrop.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Miriam Kreinin Souccar The day that the Queens Museum of Art opened "Disappeared in America,'' a multimedia exhibit about the experience of Muslims since Sept. 11, a record 2,400 visitors turned out. Since the show premiered in...

Peacock Network merger saves it from a plucking; Universal cable nets boost company.(News)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Matthew Flamm As media giant Viacom Inc. considers splitting into two companies, one for its broadcast properties and one housing its dynamic cable networks, NBC Universal is thanking its lucky stars that its new cable nets came...

Corporate tax lure on budget line; Partnership for NYC wins single sales factor calculation; stricter wireless rules.(Government Alert)
April 4, 2005... The partnership for new York City won a provision in the just-passed state budget that it says will boost the state's attractiveness to companies. The budget calls for a single sales factor, which would enable corporations and mutual funds...

Boards and megalomaniacs.
April 4, 2005... Boards of directors have responded to the recent wave of corporate scandals by taking a new activist role. The example of the moment is the board at AIG, which cut its ties with CEO Maurice Greenberg even though the man and the company had...

SL Green Realty gains ground; Landlord returns to residential roots with newest trophy; facing up to fears.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Christine Haughney Last week, landlord sl Green Realty Corp.'s path came full circle. The company, which two decades ago started out in the residential conversion market and rose to become the city's largest office landlord,...

Nonprofit execs take stand on rules; Fund raising is at risk, they claim.
April 4, 2005... Byline: Miriam Kreinin Souccar Hundreds of nonprofit executives from the city's major museums to its small social services organizations will meet Wednesday to discuss a series of proposals by Congress that could dramatically change how...

Pursuing high net worth takes toll on body, mind; Stress and anxiety of becoming poor contribute to problems too often ignored.(Special Report: Wealthy New Yorkers)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Samantha Marshall Personal trainer Lyn Liao spends hours working on the mass of knotted muscle behind the neck of her money-manager client at the end of a long work day. Like most of the elite city residents she helps, her prone...

A well-deserved roll call for Quantico Class of 1951.
April 4, 2005... Byline: James Brady In real life, how many of us get to turn back calendars? To thrill again to first loves and grand adventures? Two years ago, I was given just such an opportunity, and being a scribbler, got a book out of it. Today,...

Hoboken edibles at many decibels; Lua's waterfront views, noise are spectacular; pan-Latin fare takes care of the other senses.(Restaurant Review)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Bob Lape Lua does everything big. The new smash-hit addition to Hoboken's waterfront specializes in vibrant Latin-laced flavors, spectacular views of Manhattan, and thirsty, hungry hordes of the young and restless. They make enough...

New Executive: Seeking better reception; Music veteran will need to fix finances, ratings to boost Air America's signal.(Profiles)(Danny Goldberg)(Air America Radio Inc.)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Matthew Flamm Over the last 30-odd years, Danny Goldberg has been head of four different record labels, as well as a talent manager whose clients included Nirvana and Bonnie Raitt. But as he spells out in his recent book, How the...

Banks get bounce from bad checks; Collect big fees when balances are exceeded; feds react by clamping down.(News)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Tom Fredrickson Kenia Olivero has learned just how expensive it can be when banks decide to allow their customers to spend more funds than they have. The Bronx nursing home attendant says she forked over $90 in fees for...

The Weeks Ahead.(Real Estate)(Calendar)
April 4, 2005... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli this week's events April 5. New York Public Library's Science, Industry and Business Library holds lecture on getting an investment game plan. 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., 188 Madison Ave. Free. (212) 592-7000....

Executive Moves.(Profiles)(Geller and Co.)(Limited Brands Inc.)(Advest Inc.)(appointments)
April 4, 2005... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli accounting & consulting Geller & Co.: Jon R. Persson, 60, was named senior financial planner and chief compliance officer. He had been a vice president and senior financial planner at the Citigroup Private...

Bronx on fish market tenterhooks; Delays have put Hunts Point recovery on hold; new hope for Willets Point.(In the Boroughs)
April 4, 2005... Byline: Tommy Fernandez The city's new fish market at the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center in the Bronx was originally slated to open in January. Then it got pushed back to March. Now the city says it will open in June. Bronx...

Then & Now: Read All About It: Falling Circulation; Crain's weekly look back at the past two decades is a prelude to the paper's 20th anniversary, culminating in a special issue on June 6.(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... a look at the paid circulation numbers over the past 20 years for consumer magazines published by New York companies tells the story of diminishing interest in reading. While Reader's Digest held the No. 1 slot in both years, its circulation...

Breaking news from Crain's Web site; newyorkbusiness.com.(News)(NewYorkBusiness.com)(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... Stay on top of breaking news with free e-mail news alerts from NewYorkBusiness.com, the Web site for Crain's New York Business. NewYorkBusiness.com offers a daily e-mail summary of top news stories, including exclusive reports by the staff...

Directions to the West Side.(New York Sports and Convention Center )(Brief Article)
April 4, 2005... The MTA's March 31 decision to accept the Jets' bid for the New York Sports and Convention Center was just one stop along the way to construction of a stadium. Two more government bodies must sign off. * Empire State Development Corp. The...

WANTED: President and CEO; WATERAID AMERICA Inc.(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... * JOB DESCRIPTION Start a U.S. branch of 20-year-old London-based WaterAid, which helps provide safe domestic water supplies and sanitation in the developing world * MOST IMPORTANT TASKS Raising $5 million to $8 million a year to support...

Established co-stars.(Special Report: Small Business, Scharff Weisberg)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Busy Broadway box offices have also been good for a host of longtime suppliers to the industry. One of those is 25-year-old Scharff Weisberg, based in Manhattan. In the past year, it handled sound and lighting for such big productions as Wicked...

Ann Taylor chain seeks COO to help new chief mend co. Flagging clothier must find strong No. 2 to run day-to-day, boost fortunes.(Workplace)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Miriam Kreinin Souccar Now that ann taylor Stores Corp. has a new chief executive ready to take over in the fall, the troubled women's clothing chain is looking to fill another key position. In March, the retailer began a search to...

Hedge fund highfliers lift real estate; `Masters of universe' pay big bucks to rent, buy dwellings, offices.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Christine Haughney After finding five apartments for hedge fund executives willing to pay up to $25,000 a month in rent, Corcoran Group broker Julie Pham has become well-attuned to the preferences of the industry's employees:...

Restaurant hero of Sept. 11 as American as apple pie; The Harrison turns up hospitality, offers good food with only a few hitches.(Restaurant Review)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Bob Lape New chef brian bistrong is putting a coat of creative polish on the old-shoe comfort and appeal of The Harrison. There's also a gifted new general manager, John Paul, at the Jimmy Bradley/Danny Abrams restaurant that...

U.N. resolution a top priority.
April 11, 2005... In the early 1990s, the United Nations considered moving four agencies--and some 2,300 jobs--out of New York City. The Germans were aggressively wooing the U.N. to move to Bonn, which had empty office space after the country moved its capital...

Small firms earn raves on resurgent Broadway; Theatrical boom spawns new players; cost-cutting makes competition perilous.(Special Report: Small Business)
April 11, 2005... Byline: steve garmhausen In its three years of life, Daedalus Design & Production Inc. has more than doubled its studio space, moved up the food chain to handle projects as big as $100,000 a pop, and grown its payroll to as many as 15...

Struggling BofA group cuts key exec; Middle-market head on way out.(News)(Bank of America executive Patrick McAuliffe resigns)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Tom Fredrickson Bank of America, suffering from a string of defections in commercial banking, is about to ax the executive who runs the division in New York, according to bank industry sources. Patrick McAuliffe, who heads up...

Albany quarterbacks blitzed by city's stadium players; Pressure aimed at Bruno, Silver.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Anne Michaud The two sides of the west Side stadium battle are turning up the heat on Albany, as the New York Jets try to push through a decision by the end of the month. On Tuesday, Jets President Jay Cross will fly to the...

From condiments to condominiums; Riese Restaurants joins luxe residence game; jeweler changes setting.(Real Estate)
April 11, 2005... Local dining empire riese Restaurants, whose holdings range from Penn Station fast-food joints to midtown happy-hour destination Martini's, is expanding into residential development. The 65-year-old firm bought the International Brotherhood...

Pre-tycoon Murdoch days were flamboyant and fun.(Viewpoint)
April 11, 2005... Byline: James Brady It was last month at Michael's, the media lunch hangout on West 55th, and I was waiting for Roger Wood, a Brit who had been the youngest editor of the Daily Express in London, when Lord Beaverbrook was still alive, and...

Cable rules.(Special Report: Small Business)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Use cable to supplement other advertising. "A firm can't spend a fortune on cable advertising and then have a little business card-size ad in the Yellow Pages,'' says Jonathan D'Agostino, whose law practice also advertises in the Yellow...

Take on the real tax threat.(Viewpoint)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Greg David New York business executives are mobilizing to save the federal tax deductions for local and state taxes--supposedly under attack from President Bush's tax reform panel. They have the city's best interests at heart, but...

'Game face' provokes frowns in job market; Harlem jobs group counsels black men to drop protective mask before interviews.(Workplace)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Samantha Marshall Richard holloway doesn't feel angry. The part-time security guard says he's mellow most of the time. But when he catches his facial expression in his car's rear-view mirror, he begins to understand why his three...

Five steps to reining in the costs of health care; New programs, policies promise savings without service cuts.(Special Report: Small Business)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Tina Traster Frank cox had just about run out of tricks for offsetting his company's rising health care costs. For years, he'd been raising deductibles and co-pays on the point-of-service plan he offered his 20 employees....

Trying for a moral makeover.(News)(Citigroup Inc.)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Because so many of Citi's problems stem from its regulatory difficulties, it's no surprise that Chief Executive Charles Prince is promising to remake Citi into an upstanding corporate citizen. In fact, Mr. Prince has said he's devoting half his...

New York, New York.(Briefs)(advertising of Cargo and New York Post)(reorganisation of Starbucks Corp.)
April 11, 2005... Byline: edited by Valerie Block A new blend at Starbucks Starbucks will soon revamp its lunch offerings at shops around town. For starters, on April 18, hundreds of stores will add a gourmet cheese plate from Terrance Brennan's...

At Deadline.(Massive Inc.)
April 11, 2005... City extends hotel tax to long-term facilities the city has begun levying the hotel room occupancy tax on extended-stay hotels, corporate housing, and bed-and-breakfasts that had not previously paid the levy. The Department of Finance has...

Prince faces royal mess at Citigroup; Earnings, shares have gone nowhere; scandals costly.(News)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Aaron Elstein If ever there were a need for a towering performance, it will come next week when Chief Executive Charles Prince strides onto the stage at Carnegie Hall for Citigroup Inc.'s annual shareholders meeting. Since Mr....

CORRECTIONS.(Correction Notice)
April 11, 2005... Grocer Trader Joe's is considering leasing space at 140 E. 14th St., between Irving Place and Third Avenue. The cross streets were incorrect in the April 4 "Real Estate Deals'' column. NYCPlus is published monthly. Its frequency was...

Stock Watch: Madden's shares sink as prison release nears; One-time shoe king to come back to firm that has lost its lead.(Stock Watch)(Steve Madden Ltd.)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Tom Fredrickson After two and a half years in prison for stock fraud and money laundering, one-time platform shoe king Steve Madden is about to do a Martha Stewart and regain his freedom. Once, investors feared that his...

Executive Moves.(Profiles)
April 11, 2005... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli advertising & communications The Abernathy MacGregor Group: Tom Johnson, 32, joined as senior vice president, effective April 18, for the financial communications agency. He had been mergers and...

The Weeks Ahead.(Calendar/Datebook)(Calendar)
April 11, 2005... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli this week's events April 12. Church Avenue Merchants Block Association, Small Business Services, holds workshop on credit repair and money management. 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 884 Flatbush Ave., second...

Sports ride to the rescue.(News)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... New Yorkers got a look at high-tech wheelchairs last month with the screening of Murderball, a prize-winning documentary about the testosterone-charged world of quadriplegics who play rugby. It chronicles a duel between the United States and...

Execs use poker to get upper hand; Games let young wheeler-dealers show their stuff; lose a hundred, make a million.
April 11, 2005... Byline: Tommy Fernandez Real estate brokers reveal a lot about themselves when they play poker, says Helen Hwang. There are the talkers who chat about baseball scores while fiddling with their cards. There are the ultracompetitors...

Warning: Low Quality Kills.(Special Report: Small Business)
April 11, 2005... Remember, your ad might follow one for Coke directed by Martin Scorsese, advises Roy Sloane, president of Brooklyn-based Advertising Management. "Coke has hundreds of scantily clad women, and then your ad runs, and you have a picture of your...

More shopping, less hopping; Staten Island campaign supports local stores; B'klyn Macy's spiffs up.(In the Boroughs)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Anita Jain This week, staten island officials kick off a campaign to persuade the borough's shoppers to stop island-hopping. Many residents travel to nearby New Jersey to shop--lured by the state's absence of sales tax on...

NY hospitals get top scores; Area facilities outperform others on Medicare test amid controversy.(News)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Gale Scott New York City's hospitals are providing patient care that ranks among the best in the nation, according to the federal government's most ambitious effort to grade facilities. A new Web site by the Centers for...

Wheelchair embargo; High-end, lightweight models hard to get in NY.(News)
April 11, 2005... Byline: gale scott Between disc jockeying on weekends, attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice and spending time with his girlfriend, Nicholas Katsarelis has a life as busy as any New Yorker's. But since a viral illness left him...

Wholesalers rack up gains on Chinese apparel tear; No import quotas means volumes to middlemen; not so manufacturers.(News)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Elisabeth Butler The surge in Chinese apparel imports since quotas ended more than three months ago has confirmed one of the worst fears of the city's clothing manufacturers: A sector already hurt by overseas competition is not...

New Executive: Hitting those high C-notes; Jazz at Lincoln Ctr. exec director plays up the fund-raising and the programming.(Profiles)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Miriam Kreinin Souccar When katherine Brown left the stability of the New York Public Library to head fund-raising at a jazz startup nine years ago, she never imagined that she would be asked to raise $131 million for the world's...

Advertisers tune in to cable TV; Offers targeted audiences, lower rates.(Special Report: Small Business)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Erik Engquist When he moved his law practice from Brooklyn to Staten Island, the firm of Jonathan D'Agostino consisted of Mr. D'Agostino and his two secretaries. Nonetheless, eager to make a splash in his new venue, he decided to...

Growth Tales; Key strategies used by firms less than four years old.(Special Report: Small Business)
April 11, 2005... Byline: Tina Traster Sales wake up pajama maker Undercapitalized entrepreneurs should be careful what they wish for. Brandon Evans never dreamed his luxury pajama line would become an overnight sensation. When it did, four months after...

Disputes behind delays in Freedom Tower design.(News)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: kenneth ringler Kenneth ringler, executive director of the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, acknowledged last week that the Freedom Tower design is two to three months behind schedule, and admitted that behind-the-scenes...

Mayoral candidates face off; Crain's forum, April 19.(News)
April 11, 2005... The four democratic candidates for mayor will face off over the key issues facing New York at a special Crain's New York Business breakfast forum on Tuesday, April 19, at the Grand Hyatt, at Grand Central Terminal on 42nd Street. The...

'Tracks' reaching end of the line; Music magazine's current issue may be its last; funding dries up.(News)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... Byline: From Advertising Age, a Crain publication Tracks, the independent music title aimed at the over-30 crowd, is going "on hiatus," following the pullout late last year of its primary financier. The last issue may be its current...

Then & Now: 2.2 Billion Thank-Yous for Riding MTA; Crain's weekly look back at the past two decades is a prelude to the paper's 20th anniversary, culminating in a special issue on June 6.(News)(Brief Article)
April 11, 2005... As the city's population rose by a million and employment climbed by 53,000, ridership on the MTA's subways and buses grew by 41% and 25%, respectively. Under Robert Kiley, the agency raised its base fare three times. Facing a...

The Best of Bob Lape.(Dining/Restaurant Review)(Alain Ducasse)(The Modern)(Per Se)(Hotel Review)
April 18, 2005... Following are restaurants reviewed in the past year that feature French fare, or cuisine with a French twist. Alain Ducasse at the Essex House (4) The Essex House, 155 W. 58th St. (between Seventh and Sixth avenues), Manhattan. (212)...

New Executive: Carrying a torch for sports; Road Runners' chief promotes cause with passion, proficiency; in footsteps of icon.(Profiles)(New York Road Runners)(Mary Wittenberg)
April 18, 2005... Byline: Lisa Fickenscher As the oldest of seven children, Mary Wittenberg got an early start honing her leadership skills. Bossing around a bunch of siblings gave her the temerity to take on an even tougher assignment at Canisius College,...

Electrical firm finds new sales circuit; Staten Island-based distributor locates new markets, takes direct route to clients.(Small Business)(Total Electrical Distributors Inc.,)
April 18, 2005... Byline: Laura Koss-feder Call it a victory for what can be a small business owner's greatest asset--not entrepreneurial brilliance, but sheer resilience. By the time that Lenore Schwartz finally got lucky, her company had already...

Foreign visitors bypassing NYC, hurting tourism; City seeks revival at May travel show.(News)
April 18, 2005... Byline: Lisa Fickenscher New York is bustling with tourists. Hotels are full. Reservations at top restaurants are hard to come by. But one thing is missing. The number of international visitors to the Big Apple has dropped 32% since...

L'Ecole offers fine courses in French civilization; Culinary institute's training ground offers style for a song; cold shoulder for hot dogs.(Dining/Restaurant Review)(L'Ecole)(Restaurant Review)
April 18, 2005... Byline: Bob Lape To enjoy some of new York's most delightful and sophisticated dining coupled with bang for the buck, go to school. The school is The French Culinary Institute and its restaurant, L'Ecole. Both are success stories. The...

Council's misguided labor.(Viewpoint)
April 18, 2005... Byline: alair townsend I saw footage of a shark swarm off the Florida coast recently. It reminded me of the City Council. Council members are in a feeding frenzy. They smell blood in the water. They've been emboldened to stretch their...

Ties between China, New York; CRAIN's BREAKFAST, May 11.(News)
April 18, 2005... The rapidly growing economic links between china and new York will be explored at a special Crain's New York Business economic outlook breakfast on Wednesday, May 11. The event will examine New York companies with operations in China, the...