Crain's New York Business articles from May 2005

Crain's New York Business archives from May 2005

One rich guy who gives back, with a charity for children.(Viewpoint)
May 2, 2005... Byline: James Brady When Anthony Drexel Duke and his brother Angier came home from World War II, they shared a beach house in Southampton which was described to me by the late John Weitz as a 24-hour cocktail party. All the dashing young...

Performers play starring role in office revival; Look in garment, meatpacking, other less-traveled areas for spaces with character.(Real Estate)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Christine Haughney Music and movie diva Jennifer Lopez, known for her healthy appetite for handbags and husbands, has branched into a new type of conspicuous consumption: office space. The companies that oversee her licensed...

Uninsured, doctors are next.(Viewpoint)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Alair Townsend Two news items one day last week captured for me a basic truth about politics and policy-making in New York. We create problems, then rail about them, then spend more public money trying to solve them. Item 1....

Art market surges as collectors bid up new works; Not enough talent to satisfy demand from rich NYers; downturn to come?(News)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Miriam Kreinin Souccar Art aficionados are expected to cram into Christie's next week as the tony auction house hosts its largest contemporary art sale of the year, bidding up prices to record levels on work from the hottest...

NY's minority loan practices draw interest; Bank data report reveals major rate disparity on city's home mortgages.(News)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Tom Fredrickson Minority borrowers in New York City are three times more likely than whites to receive high-rate mortgages, a disparity that far exceeds similar nationwide data, according to an analysis of bank-loan reports. ...

Clinton may seek different office; Ex-president eyes more Harlem space.(News)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Christine Haughney Former President Bill Clinton may be outgrowing his Harlem office space. His staffers are in discussions with current landlord Cogswell Realty Group at 55 W. 125th St. and developers of the nearby Harlem Park...

Queens Plaza lures new kind of clientele; On verge of being city's next great business hub after smoothing its edges.(In the Boroughs)
May 2, 2005... Five years ago, the sidewalks of Queens Plaza were tricky places, with pushy prostitutes and pimps plying their trade. Now, trees and benches line the pavement. Also, the impenetrable Queens Boulevard will be redone to allow for easier...

Hotel tax holds key to tourism.(Viewpoint)
May 2, 2005... Some time this month, Mayor Michael Bloomberg will name a commission to come up with ways to encourage hotels like the Plaza to resist the temptation to convert to highly profitable condominiums. This bright idea was born from the mayor's...

Executive Moves.(Profiles)(Appointments)
May 2, 2005... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli accounting & consulting Bain & Co.: Robert S. Morette, 50, joined as partner, financial services practice. He was formerly a senior managing director at Citadel Investment Group. The Strickland Group:...

The Weeks Ahead.(Calendar/Datebook)(Calendar)
May 2, 2005... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli this week's events MAY 3. Crain's holds networking breakfast and program with Sen. Charles Schumer. 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Sheraton New York, 811 Seventh Ave. Fee: $60. (212) 210-0739 or www.newyork...

A silver spoon just isn't enough; $700 strollers, diamond bracelets, country clubs for kids; over-the-top is in.(News)(Citibabes)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Miriam Kreinin Souccar When the Bugaboo hit New York two years ago, even the chicest of new urbanite parents agonized over how they could justify spending $700 on a stroller. Bugaboo sightings around town were spectacles, turning...

The Best of Bob Lape.(Dining/Restaurant Review)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Following are Italian restaurants reviewed this year by Bob Lape. English Is Italian (2 stars) 622 Third Ave. (at East 40th Street), Manhattan. (212) 404-1700. Family-style feasts from star chef Todd English. Eat as many and as much as...

Home Depot looks to build on Manhattan; Fixes sights on Upper W. Side or downtown; radio net consolidates.(Real Estate)
May 2, 2005... Home depot wants another piece of the Big Apple. The home improvement retailer opened its first two Manhattan stores last year, and is now looking for a third in the borough. Industry insiders say the company wants to build a store either...

Two publishers plot route around losses; Base their fiction strategies on profit realities.(Small Business)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Shira Boss-bicak All too frequently, owning a small book publisher is like holding a license to lose money. In Brooklyn, three entrepreneurs are determined to turn that logic on its ear. "It's a very expensive business and...

New Executive: Mommy on the fast track; Balances hard work and family to become J.P. Morgan Private Bank's chief at 38.(Profiles)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Christine Haughney Mary callahan Erdoes spends Saturdays in her office catching up on the minutiae of managing $304 billion in assets and overseeing 3,469 workers in 36 countries. Meanwhile, her newborn naps and 2-year-old Mia...

Newark soaring with Asian flights; Int'l growth rate outpaces giant JFK.(News)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Tommy Fernandez By flying a half-dozen times each year to the New Delhi office of his thriving pharmaceutical marketing firm, Jaswinder Chadha is precisely the type of business traveler that New York City needs to help fuel its...

Seeking top entrepreneurial firms; SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS.(News)
May 2, 2005... Crain's new york business is seeking nominations for its 10th annual Small Business Awards. The six winners will be recognized for their entrepreneurial excellence. The winners will have distinguished themselves by showing not just a...

Ties between China, NY; CRAIN's BREAKFAST, May 11.(News)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... The rapidly growing economic links between china and New York will be explored at a special Crain'sNew York Business economic outlook breakfast on Wednesday, May 11. The event will examine New York companies with operations in China, the...

Real estate news online and via e-mail; www.newyorkbusiness.com.(Real Estate)
May 2, 2005... Newyorkbusiness.com, the web site for Crain's, offers free e-mail alerts with breaking news on residential and commercial real estate, helping you stay on top of the latest happenings in the industry. Visitors can also sign up to receive...

Then & Now: In real estate, all things are not equal; 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)
May 2, 2005... while commercial real estate both downtown and midtown has had its share of ups and downs over the past 20 years, midtown has come out far ahead. Rents in lower Manhattan were almost the same last year as they were in 1985 while they've risen...

Weld entertains run for governor; Former Mass. guv might run if Pataki bows out; Olympic team in final sprint.(News)
May 2, 2005... William weld has come out of the background. The former two-term governor of Massachusetts set up camp in New York five years ago, first at a law firm and lately at private equity company Leeds Weld & Co. Last week, Mr. Weld said he...

MusicNet adds pitch to monotone e-market; Takes on iTunes with downloading options for songs; subscribers sign up.(News)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Anita Jain MusicNet may not be a household name, but the acquisition of the Manhattan company earlier this month may give it the fuel it needs to compete with one--Apple's iTunes. New York private equity firm Baker Capital paid...

New York, New York.(Briefs)
May 2, 2005... Byline: edited by Valerie Block He'll summer in the city While most New Yorkers can't wait to get out of the city in the summer as the scent of garbage trucks lingers and the Hamptons beckon, one resident says he's staying put. Lanky...

Donatella extends legacy with new labor of 'love'; Ama offers southern Italian dishes with contemporary spin; some false starts.(Dining/Restaurant Review)(Restaurant Review)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Bob Lape Since fellow crain's colum- nist Jim Brady admitted last week that he was Coco Chanel's final amour, I must own up to my relationship with Donatella Arpaia. I've been aware of this lovely restaurateur since she was a tiny...

CORRECTION.(Corrections)(Correction Notice)
May 2, 2005... In the April 25 edition, "Restaurant Review'' misidentified the chef of Harlem Grill. It is Tyson Jordan.

Nybot smells the coffee, takes a taste of e-trading; Calls for IPO meet with resistance.(Exchanges Look To The Future)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Aaron Elstein Two weeks after the nation's largest and second-oldest stock exchange lurched toward modernity with a daring plan to go electronic and go public in one fell swoop, one of its younger and smaller cousins is being...

At Deadline.(Late News)(Soup Kitchen International)
May 2, 2005... More soup for you! al yeganeh, aka the soup Nazi, has partnered with SoBe founder John Bello to create Soup Kitchen International, named after the midtown soup kiosk made famous by a 1995 Seinfeld episode, Ad Age reports. The enterprise...

Real estate news online and via e-mail; www.newyorkbusiness.com.(Real Estate)
May 2, 2005... ***** Correction: Paramount Group Inc. and Principal Real Estate Investors own 1540 Broadway. The ownership was misstated in a May 2 CoStar chart. ***** Newyorkbusiness.com, the web site for Crain's, offers free e-mail alerts...

Financier speaks on WTC snags.(News)(World Trade Center )(Interview)
May 9, 2005... World Trade Center financier Lloyd Goldman comments on the latest troubling developments at the site in an exclusive interview with Crain's: Q: Are you involved in the latest discussions on the Freedom Tower redesign? A: I read daily...

HOT JOBS.(Workplace)
May 9, 2005... Byline: miriam kreinin souccar UNIVERSAL McCANN WANTED: Chief Executive * JOB DESCRIPTION Running Universal McCann, one of the largest media agencies in the world * MISSION To hang on to a number of big accounts that are up...

The Best of Bob Lape; Following are other Gramercy Park restaurants reviewed by Bob Lape in the past year.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Gotham Bar & Grill (3.5) 12 E. 12th St. (between Fifth Avenue and University Place), Manhattan. (212) 620-4020. Ever full and lively, chef Alfred Portale's contemporary American restaurant resonates with great visual and taste style, fine...

Then & Now: Changing Faces of the Nightly News; 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)
May 9, 2005... strong ratings go a long way toward ensuring job security in the local TV news business. Chuck Scarborough and Sue Simmons of local leader WNBC-4 are the only two anchors who have held onto their late-news chairs for the past 20 years. Some,...

The Weeks Ahead.(Calendar)
May 9, 2005... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli This week's events May 10. 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 floor,...

The view from the other side.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Even for discounters, who have lower overhead and fewer staffers to support, selling flowers can be a thorny business. Heather Kim, the owner of Loca Rosa, on a narrow sliver of sidewalk in front of Grace's Marketplace on the Upper East...

Local eyewear retailers look out for LensCrafters; New higher-end chain threatens business; count on service, selection.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Elisabeth Butler The demise of local eyewear retailers was predicted nearly 20 years ago, when the first optical mega-chain opened its doors. Yet unlike many retail businesses that have been overwhelmed by national chains, local...

Ad picture darkens for TV stations; Car companies and telecoms pull back spending; WABC-7 outpaces the rest.(News)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Matthew Flamm General Motors and Ford aren't the only businesses feeling the pain of lower domestic car sales. Hit by cutbacks in automotive advertising and consolidation in the telecommunications industry, the New York television...

Leaders call for cut in 7 WTC asking rent; Stubborn Silverstein can't lure tenants with above-market rate; whole site at risk.(Larry Silverstein )
May 9, 2005... Byline: Christine Haughney Increasingly worried downtown business leaders say developer Larry Silverstein must slash his asking rent for office space in 7 World Trade Center to lure an anchor tenant. They say that the financing package...

Chef Colicchio raises bar at ritzier, relocated venue; Craftbar's Med-tinged American cuisine is an all-day affair; sample the breadsticks.(Tom Colicchio)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Bob Lape With great craft and considerable art, Tom Colicchio's Craftbar has ensconced itself in a double-sized new home, right around the corner from the original. While the move covers only a short distance, it signifies that the...

To-do list for fixing downtown.
May 9, 2005... Attention, Gov. Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg: It's time for a reality check about downtown development. The average asking rent for downtown office space at the end of last year was $31.55 a square foot, the same as it was in 1985. Adjusted...

Government Alert: Pressured by law, NY car leasing drops; 32% slide highlights need to end vicarious liability, group says; stalled street vendors.(Briefs)(New York)
May 9, 2005... Car leasing dropped by 32% in New York state while growing by 12% in the rest of the nation between 2003 and 2004, according to the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers. The group says the statistics, from R.L. Polk & Co., underscore the need to...

At Deadline.
May 9, 2005... Pataki protege warns Weld over 2006 race secretary of state randy Daniels, a possible Republican 2006 candidate for governor, is going on the attack against former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld. Mr. Weld, a Republican, has been mulling a...

Growth Tales; Key strategies used by firms less than four years old.
May 9, 2005... Byline: tina traster Sports shop earns customer backing When bank loans are not available or fall short of what's needed, businesspeople traditionally tap friends and family. One Brooklyn-based entrepreneur has discovered a third pot...

Push for e-trades hurts stock firms; Specialists reeling in wake of planned exchange mergers.(News)
May 9, 2005... Byline: bruce kelly Stock specialist firms and market makers are reeling after the New York Stock Exchange's plan to purchase Archipelago Holdings Inc. and the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc.'s impending acquisition of Instinet Group Inc. ...

Florists learn to blossom in discounters' shadows; Traditional shops move up-market, specialize, beef up service and prove that cheaper is not always better.(Special Report: Small Business)
May 9, 2005... Byline: diane hess Ten years ago, Kostas Panagopoulos routinely rang up 20 or more sales in the early evening as people dropped into his East 55th Street florist shop to grab flowers on their way home from work. Then the discounters...

New Executive: The Candie's man can; Earns role as CFO of apparel firm reborn as licensor; cashing in on new line is big test.(Profiles)(Biography)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Elisabeth Butler Warren clamen started his new job as chief financial officer of Candie's Inc. with an urgent to-do list in hand. The deadline for filing the fashion company's 10-K was just two weeks away. Talking about those...

The VIP treatment; Private clubs are drawing crowds of big spenders.(News)
May 9, 2005... Byline: lisa fickenscher Ryan Foley's new habit doesn't come cheap. Since he joined Aer Club & Lounge's VIP membership program late last year, he's doled out $10,000 in membership fees, and he drops a cool grand each time he spends an...

Five steps to pulling off a stress-free vacation; Careful preparation, checking in part of entrepreneur's downtime.(Special Report: Small Business)(Moon and Co.)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Tina Traster Nancy moon's checklist for a Caribbean getaway includes more than suntan lotion, sandals and a bikini. The president of Moon and Co., a one-woman Manhattan public relations firm, also packs her cell phone, BlackBerry...

Young bosses find they're not in good company; Tensions smolder as older workers report to tech-savvy execs in their 30s.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Samantha Marshall At just 29, joanie Ruge, a human resources executive, suddenly found herself with an unexpected career challenge: a direct report old enough to be her father. "I was nervous about how he was going to react to...

Building leaders vent frustration over delays; Freedom Tower redesign will put off start of foundation; backlog growing.(News)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Anne Michaud Tishman Construction Corp., the construction manager of the World Trade Center site, was about to announce a builder for the Freedom Tower foundation when word came that the New York Police Department had security...

Executive Moves.(appointments)
May 9, 2005... Byline: adrianne pasquarelli Accounting & consulting The Altman Group Inc.: Reid Pearson, 34, joined as managing director for the proxy solicitation and corporate governance consulting firm. He had been a manager of strategic...

Wal-Mart makes an easy Target; New York loves one, hates the other.(Wal-Mart Stores Inc.)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Tommy Fernandez One chain is a fun retailer of discount chic with bouncy theme music. The other is an evil empire, an abuser of workers and an eater of small businesses. New Yorkers have responded to Target and Wal-Mart in...

MORGAN STANLEY faces endgame; Proxy fight looms as executives leave firm.
May 9, 2005... Byline: aaron elstein Appearances can be deceiving. At an investors conference on Tuesday morning, Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Philip Purcell will confidently lay out his plans for restoring the firm's lost glory. Fact is, though, that...

Stories can be reprinted, posted online; crain's articles.(News)
May 9, 2005... Crain's offers reprints of published articles, which can include black-and-white or color photos that accompany the story. To obtain an estimate, contact Lori Noffz at Reprint Management Services, (717) 399-1900, ext. 104, or...

Washington hospitality.
May 9, 2005... Byline: James Brady If the Acela fiasco has you rethinking your current travel plans between Penn Station and, say, Philly or Wilmington or D.C., take heart. Two weeks ago, I took the old Metroliner business class to Washington and it...

Small-space users find the pricey is right; 3 new tenants take luxe full-floor offices at 450 Park Ave.; retailer grooms site.
May 9, 2005... As the demand for small but luxurious offices grows, three new tenants have snapped up exclusive spaces at 450 Park Ave., at East 57th Street. In the past month, CB Richard Ellis brokers closed deals with three firms, each of which rented...

Bars, cafes tap B'klyn Museum crowd; Half a dozen pubs, restaurants open in area; redirecting traffic in Jamaica.(In the Boroughs)
May 9, 2005... Delissa reynolds, who owns a bar half a block from the Brooklyn Museum, loves the arts. She opened Bar Sepia in March 2004, shortly before the museum unveiled a major restoration and planted a more visible flag in the community. On the...

Getting a lift from ethnic shifts; B'klyn strip prospers as Sunset Park BID makes the most of demographic changes.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Kerry Murtha Over the past decade, Ike Shauli has seen a lot fewer of his old Jewish and Italian patrons and a big increase in Latin-American and Chinese customers, both at his store and at nearby shops in Sunset Park, Brooklyn....

Bigfoot becoming e-mail monster; Indie marketer gets its message across.(News)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Anita Jain Much like the mythical beast it's named after, Manhattan's Bigfoot Interactive Inc. is rarely seen, but its presence is widely felt. The company is one of the country's fastest-growing players in the business of...

Democrats eyeing City Hall get lost on the West Side.(Viewpoint)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Greg David The four Democratic candidates for mayor believe the city's future depends on stopping Michael Bloomberg's plan to build a new stadium on the West Side of Manhattan, though some of them are perfectly willing to spend...

New York, New York.(Briefs)
May 9, 2005... Byline: edited by Valerie Block Author tells more than zero Bret Easton Ellis, the bad boy author of best sellers American Psycho and Less Than Zero, is up to new tricks with his first novel in six years. Lunar Park, which will be...

Fast-growing Signature writing its own ticket; Sale of stake by its parent gives bank more options.(News)(Signature Bank)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Tom Fredrickson Many investors swear they see the writing on the wall at Manhattan-based Signature Bank. When its parent, Bank Hapoalim of Israel, announced in March that it would unload its 60% stake, some shareholders bailed...

The Best of Bob Lape.(Dining/Restaurant Review)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2005... Following are other 4-star restaurants reviewd by Bob Lape in the past year. Alain Ducasse at the Essex House (4 stars) The Essex House, 155 W. 58th St. (between Seventh and Sixth avenues), Manhattan. (212) 265-7300. Master...

A checklist from the city.(News)(gender confusion)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Source: New York City Commission on Human Rights When employers, landlords and other providers of public accommodation are uncertain about what name, pronoun or title to use in addressing or referring to someone known to be a...

Apartments in the twilight zone.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2005... Greg O'Connell has made his money by renting space to scores of small businesses. The newest crop of developers to hit Red Hook has its sights set on still more lucrative game: apartment buyers and renters. Many developers are beginning to...

Times Square's hot spots provide bang for the buck; Billboard owners and advertisers climb the walls to reap huge rewards.(News)
May 16, 2005... Byline: From Advertising Age, a Crain publication Times Square draws 40 million unique visitors annually--roughly 14% of the U.S. population. Kodak estimates that the area is in more than 100 million snapshots a year. If Times Square were...

At Deadline.(Late News)(Johnny Rockets International Inc. to open four more diners)(Circle Line Sightseeing Tours Inc. upgrades its terminals)(American Express Co. and International Business Machines Corp. ranked as good businesses)
May 16, 2005... 40 NYC execs head to China to boost trade the city's economic development Corp. and the New York City Partnership are spending the week in China trying to lure Chinese companies to establish operations in New York. The delegation coincides...

Old, oversized hospitals plagued by wasted space; Facilities pushing for greater efficiency as state questions fiscal practices.(News)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Gale Scott As a surgical chief at Lutheran Medical Center, Dr. George Ferzli has earned his nice office. But like other VIPs at the cost-conscious Brooklyn hospital, he has to share it with another doctor. "Space is money, and...

Take Two: Film companies send casting call; After three tough years, new tax incentives help bring production, jobs back to the city.(News)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Miriam Kreinin Souccar Marilou Vetter, a longtime camera assistant, was about to move out of state to take a college teaching job, but now she is staying put. After being unemployed for much of the last three years, Ms. Vetter...

Record prices spur owners to cash out; Sky-high offers surprise even veteran landlords; window may soon close.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)
May 16, 2005... Byline: andrew marks How does it feel to net more than $2 billion by selling two aging Manhattan office towers? "We are very pleased with the prices we received,'' says Brian Fox, chief marketing director at MetLife's real estate...

NJ redevelopment cash trained on transit towns; Program features huge ambitions but puny funds; surprising gains.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Quittner In the annals of underfunded government programs, surely none can top New Jersey's growing Transit Village Initiative. The program aims to do nothing less than to get Jersey-ites out of their cars, increase the use...

Global bank HSBC pays up to get on map in New York; U.S. unit adds staff, branches, buys ads to deliver key market; city faces saturation.(Finance)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Tom Fredrickson In places like beijing and Brussels, it's hard to miss the HSBC brand, given its nearly 4,000 branches sprawled across Asia and Europe. It's another story in New York City, where HSBC barely makes a ripple in a...

NY-reject Wal-Mart gets welcome in White Plains; Retailer finds good fit among big boxes.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)(New York)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Laura Koss-feder In New York City, Wal-Mart may still be seen as a scourge that will bring traffic congestion and the closures of countless small stores in its wake. But in White Plains, many beg to differ. In Rego Park,...

Developers gamble big on trophy office towers; Many make heroic assumptions on growth in rents, rebound in leasing.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Tina Traster Real estate has always been a risky business, but this is getting scary. Harry Macklowe set the precedent last summer when he agreed to pay $1.4 billion, or $800 per square foot--nearly 40% above the going...

B'klyn lots hold residential gold; Values take wing ahead of rezoning; Manhattanesque condo sale prices.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Wendy Davis Some people win the lottery. Louis Silverman did at least as well when he bought a 250,000-square-foot plot on the crumbling waterfront of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, three and a half years ago. He thought the location...

Owners out of the closet for Bloomberg; Entrepreneurs speak well of the mayor, but enough with the ticketing already.(Small Business)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Erik Enquist When mayor michael Bloomberg scheduled a walking tour of shops in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx last summer, Katherine Broihier was worried. As head of the local business improvement district, she had spent...

Sanity prevails.(Small Business)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2005... Just because many owners of small businesses--Democrats included--think highly of the mayor doesn't mean that they have totally taken leave of their senses. They still find much that they would like to see changed in the next four...

Queen's offcast draws a crowd; Area that has seen revitalization plans falter before reborn as a hot property.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Mary Sisson For years, Flushing, Queens, has been known for its vibrant Chinese community and for its vast stock of decaying industrial properties near the noxious Flushing River. Understandably, real estate developers and...

Frenzy at the fringes; Developers discover Harlem, 3 other neighborhoods; now the hard part.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Andrew Marks Early last year, broker Luca Capin sold a six-story walk-up on West 145th Street for a price that even he worried was too high. Nearly a third of the building's 97 apartments stood vacant, the whole place needed a gut...

Coming off the bench; Henry Stern tries to lift Liberal Party ... with Mike.(News)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Anne Michaud These are humble surroundings for Henry J. Stern, the former city parks commissioner. He works in what is essentially a large closet in another company's office. His two young assistants look underpaid. The office...

Caveat designer.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)
May 16, 2005... As client interest in eco-sensitive interior design grows, some manufacturers are rushing to cover conventional products in a cloak of sustainability. "It is getting easier to find green material, but you have to be careful about what you...

Out-of-town brokerages attempt local landgrab; 3 firms poaching NY talent to build service teams, snag market share.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)(Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Lorraine Kreahling Breaking into any market takes experienced people who know the key players and the landscape. Just ask real estate giant Jones Lang LaSalle. In late 2002, the London- and Chicago-based company lured Peter...

Novices join the party.(Special Report: Commercial Real Estate)(Onix Sosa)(Brief Article)
May 16, 2005... Onix Sosa has done well for himself, but he knows he can do better--much better. After four years of running a company that manages 26 multifamily buildings in northern Manhattan and the Bronx, he has shifted into Donald Trump mode. He has...

New Executive: Minding the family store; D'Agostino heir takes over business threatened by new gourmet rivals.(Profiles)
May 16, 2005... Byline: Lisa Fickenscher Nicholas d'agostino III was set to join the Marine Corps when he graduated from Le Moyne College. He'd set his goal when he attended Xavier High School, a prep school with a strong military program. Instead,...

Queens battles bulge of McMansions; Wins rezoning to rein in development gone wild; Nascar revs up S.I. track bid.(News)
May 16, 2005... A movement by queens property owners to limit the development of bulky McMansion-style homes is gaining momentum, with nearly 20 neighborhoods now lobbying for changes in zoning rules. The campaign is a sharp reaction to the proliferation...