LI Business News articles from April 2007

LI Business News archives from April 2007

Long Island-based TII Network Technologies profit slips.(Financial report)
April 2, 2007... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II TII Network Technologies on Monday said its fourth-quarter profit fell 67 percent on lower quarterly sales compared to last year, when customers had to replace TII products damaged in Hurricane Katrina. The...

Hauppauge-based Cyber Digital forms two subsidiaries to carry out acquisitions.
April 3, 2007... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Cyber Digital Inc. on Tuesday said it formed two subsidiaries to carry out the acquisitions of two telecommunications companies. The Hauppauge-based firm said it created wholly-owned CYBD Acquisition Inc....

Town of Brookhaven hits small flower shop with nearly 100 violations.
April 4, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty Brookhaven slapped a small flower shop with nearly 100 violations. Gramma's Flower Cottage, the town says, is an illegal business run from a Montauk Highway residence. "You can't just go out and buy a...

Suffolk County wants state and federal aid for sewers.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty Steve Levy doesn't want "wall-to-wall" sewers across Suffolk County, but more capacity is imperative for regional development, the county leader said in a state hearing Thursday. Levy joined a group of...

Senator Charles E. Schumer: Home values in peril.
April 5, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Senator Charles E. Schumer said Thursday he was pushing for federal legislation to tighten regulations on subprime lenders after a recent jump in foreclosures slammed the real estate and mortgage markets. ...

Broadridge Financial Solutions could get more than $25M in benefits to stick with Long Island.
April 5, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., the new ADP spinoff, could get more than $25 million in benefits to stick with Long Island and create hundreds of new jobs. As the Long Island Business News first...

Commentary: In Albany, the more things change ...
April 6, 2007... Byline: John Kiernan In the end, everything did not change. In fact, although Gov. Eliot Spitzer promised broad changes, New York State's budget process looked very much the same as in previous years. When he gave his State of the...

Thomas Rosenthal named partner at accounting firm Margolin, Winer & Evens in Garden City.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Thomas Rosenthal has been named partner at accounting firm Margolin, Winer & Evens in Garden City. He had been senior manager for the firm. Rosenthal serves in the manufacturing and distribution practice group...

Gershow Recycling offers scholarships to Long Island students.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Six $500 scholarships are available through the Gershow Recycling Scholarship Program. The scholarships will go to 2007 graduates of Patchogue Medford High School, Longwood High School and Bellport High School....

Ward Melville Heritage Organization offers dance classes in Stony Brook.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo The Ward Melville Heritage Organization is offering ballroom dance classes in its Educational and Cultural Center in Stony Brook. Louis Del Prete, an accomplished ballroom and Latin dancer, will instruct students...

Long Island's Community Computer Connections Program needs volunteers.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo The Community Computer Connections Program needs volunteers with a background in PC hardware and software. The program provides computers free of charge to families across Long Island who would otherwise not be...

Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation wants donations of laundry detergent.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation is asking for donations of laundry detergent. Donations can be dropped off at the Riverhead Foundation Office or at the foundation's center inside the...

Long Island educational institutions announce staffing changes: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Dr. Henry Teoh, distinguished service professor in the chemistry and physics department for The College at Old Westbury State University of New York, received the Education Partner Award from the Nassau Board of...

John G. Waffenschmidt receives Education Partner Award from the Nassau board.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo John G. Waffenschmidt, vice president for business development for Covanta Energy in Hempstead, received the Education Partner Award from the Nassau Board of Cooperative Educational Service.

E-mail hurts, but doesn't kill, the direct-mail industry.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Adina Genn Jay Rosensweig found himself in a marketing nightmare. He'd dutifully sent out e-mail newsletters to his 7,000 opt-in clients about upcoming events for his company, www.WeekendDating.com, a Queens-based provider of...

How to ... Build a better Web site.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Bernadette Starzee In the modern business world, having a Web site is compulsory. Whether you use the site to sell your products or merely dispense information about your company, your customers will expect you to have one. ...

Three new Long Island companies discover formula to broadcast their unique selling points.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Adina Genn Three new Long Island companies think they have discovered the formula to broadcast their unique selling points in a sea of competitors. In December 2005, David Sackler launched Garden City-based Lifestyle...

Interview with Deborah Carioto, president of the American Lung Association of New York State.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ken Cerini Watching a child suffer is brutal; not knowing to what extent a child is suffering can be worse. To many, a cough is just a cough, and a bit of wheezing could simply signal the changing of the seasons or a hint of...

The NFP rundown.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo These links aren't missing New York Institute of Technology's Student Athlete Advisory Committee, in collaboration with the National Collegiate Athletic Association and other college campus Division II SAACs, is...

NY Institute of Technology's student athlete group sponsors "Links of Love" national fundraiser.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo New York Institute of Technology's Student Athlete Advisory Committee, in collaboration with the National Collegiate Athletic Association and other college campus Division II SAACs, is sponsoring "Links of Love," a...

Michele Iglio named marketing director for the Deer Park-based firm Mayer & Company.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Michele Iglio was named marketing director for the Deer Park-based firm Mayer & Company. She had been marketing communications manager for Lloyd Staffing.

Commentary: Is it money? Message? Neither? Both?
April 6, 2007... Byline: Jerry Kremer The candidates for president in 2008 have all told the world how much money they have raised during the first three months of the year. The question is: Does the coveted nomination go to the person with the most money...

Letter: Knee-jerk rhetoric serves no one.
April 6, 2007... To the Editor: David Reich-Hale's news analysis With no hope or home, LI youth sets sail (LIBN, March 23) was a trenchant and welcome look at the challenges to sustainable and planned growth necessary for the Island's future. Suffolk...

Multiple jurisdictions sinking LI's economy.
April 6, 2007... To the Editor: David Reich-Hale's article With no hope or home, LI youth sets sail (LIBN, March 23) chronicled Long Island's slowly sinking economy. The Rauch Foundation's study titled Tale of Two Suburbs misses the focal distinction...

Commentary: Out East: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Jeff Miller Rewriting the rules when it comes to East End wine As a rule, if you want to create a commercial wine of your own, you buy some land, plant grapevines, nurture them for a few years, build a winery, and presto!...

Long Island Financial Briefs: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff As weather warms, flood worries build momentum Warmer temperatures signal the arrival of spring, but also contribute to snowmelts and the risk of flooding. There is no better time for consumers to assess whether...

Long Island Technology Briefs: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly Orbit steps up production on tank, combat devices Orbit International Corp.'s Electronics Group recently announced two military contracts with a combined value of nearly $2 million. The Hauppauge-based firm...

Long Island Real Estate Briefs: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty St. Patrick's Day may have passed, but Long Island is still going green, at least when it comes to office space. Construction is set to start on the Island's second eco-conscious office building, featuring...

Long Island Legal Briefs: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly A former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York has been hired by Fortress Global Investigations Corp., an international investigations and security services firm based in Great Neck, to manage its...

Law's delicate partnership between in-house company lawyers and outside law firms they work with.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Jim Fabian and William Wissemann have the kind of collegial relationship lawyers working in the same firm often dream about. In nearly 15 years of working together, the two health-care attorneys have grown very...

In-house counsels are more than just attorneys.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Lawyers can be the ultimate outsiders, maintaining an objective distance from deals and disputes, directing traffic from the sidewalk. In-house attorneys live in the middle of the intersection. Barry Shapiro,...

In-house attorneys, boards form critical relationship.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Long Island Business News Staff Who wrote the book on boards of directors? When it comes to Henry Schein Inc., the general counsel did. Michael Ettinger, Schein's senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, prepares a...

For in-house counsel, compliance is a growing and ever-more challenging part of the job.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Arthur Molins, Lufthansa's general counsel for North America, got the news early: Passengers were banned from carrying liquids onto commercial aircraft. It was easy enough to understand the reasoning behind this...

Importance of good communication between in-house counsel and outside firms.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Doing too little can be a problem for outside counsel; just as often, doing - and charging - too much can cause dissatisfaction. Jim Fabian, a partner at Nixon Peabody in Jericho, has seen how a law firm can...

Ones to watch: Long Island general counsels.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Amy Fliegelman Olli General counsel, CA An executive vice president and general counsel at CA, Fliegelman is responsible for running the software giant's law department, including all legal activities relating to...

Long Island's most contentious eminent domain battles.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly The Supreme Court decision affirming local government's right to take property for the common good led to a certain amount of "tearing out of hair and rending of clothing," as one Long Island attorney puts it. Mostly,...

Woodbury commercial real estate brokerage in legal tussle with former business partner.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty Forgive Jack Britvan's employees for skipping reference to the company name when they answer the phone. The Woodbury commercial real estate brokerage has used three different names in the last three years,...

Inventory woes for builders.
April 6, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale For years, homebuilders kept up with pent up demand for housing by constructing units at breakneck speed. Now many of those homes sit empty, while property owners turn to gimmicks to shed the real estate. ...

Commerce Bank and Commercebank do business in sort of peaceful co-existence.
April 6, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale After five years of aggressive expansion on Long Island, New Jersey-based Commerce Bank has set its sights on south Florida. As it turns out, however, the New Jersey bank is not the only Commerce in town. ...

Starting salaries at top Manhattan law firms put real pressure on Long Island firms.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly New York, New York, the town so nice, they pay you twice. For attorneys, that's twice what you could make on Long Island. Starting salaries at top Manhattan firms have moved into the $165,000 range, forcing mid-sized...

Great Neck-based CLK Properties and The Beechwood Organization join forces.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty Two years of frenzied acquisitions transformed Craig Koenigsberg into a top commercial landlord. Building homes for more than two decades turned The Beechwood Organization into a residential powerhouse. ...

Market research company Ipsos Insight inks Westbury lease.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty Local brokers have spent a year trying to fill the Westbury space Internet retailer 1-800-Flowers.com left behind when it planted itself in nearby Carle Place. Now they're reaping results. In one of this...

Commentary: Breaking new ground.
April 6, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff Barring some new, last-minute legal challenge - and anything's possible - Caithness Energy was to start clearing the site of its planned power plant in Yaphank this week. Hooray. When it goes online in 2009, the...

Long Island health care facilities announce staffing changes: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson appointed Moses Williams to its medical staff. He is also on staff at St. Catherine of Sienna Medical Center in Smithtown. Noshir DaCosta was also appointed to...

Farmingdale-based The Alcott Group names Michelle Dean employee relations specialist.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Farmingdale-based The Alcott Group named Michelle Dean employee relations specialist. Dean had been human resources generalist for Coastal Capital.

Terence E. Smolev named to board of the Gurwin Jewish Geriatric Center Foundation.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Terence E. Smolev, partner for the Mineola-based law firm of Forchelli, Curto, Schwartz, Mineo, Carlino & Cohn, was named to the board of the Gurwin Jewish Geriatric Center Foundation.

Long Island non-profits announce staffing changes: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo The Diabetes Research Institute Foundation named Madelyn Fugazy Long Island regional manager. Fugazy had been director of development for CancerCare of Long Island. Diabetes Research also named Erica Banyon...

Long Island Business News Follow Ups: April 6, 2007.
April 6, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff Signature bulks up One month after Signature Bank said it was planning to recruit some big names from a big bank to add to its Long Island lineup, the New York commercial player backed up its big talk. Signature...

Despite budget 'win,' Medicaid war is just beginning in state of New York.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy Health-care providers have taken on water but are still afloat, which beats the alternative. After a scorched-earth battle between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and state legislators that included slick, expensive media...

EDO Corp. executive Frank Otto becomes chairman of Long Island Forum for Technology, again.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly EDO Corp. executive Frank Otto has become chairman of the Long Island Forum for Technology. Again. Otto, who previously held the LIFT chair for six years, was named interim chairman at a LIFT board meeting in March....

Crowded out, Long Island arts magazine goes on the block.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy The Improper is on the block. The owners of the free monthly Long Island-centric magazine, formerly known as The Improper Hamptonian, have retained Baldwin print media consultant and broker The Kamen Group to...

Minneapolis-based Dolan Media acquires Mississippi business publication.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy Dolan Media Co., the corporate parent of Long island Business News, has acquired the Mississippi Business Journal, a 7,300-circulation weekly tabloid based in Jackson, Miss. Dolan Media, which has no connection...

Interview with Ann Marie Thigpen, Director, The Long Island Center for Nonprofit Leadership.
April 6, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy The Long Island Center for Nonprofit Leadership, housed in the School of Social Work at Adelphi University, counsels nonprofits on transitions of leadership at nonprofits, holds seminars and workshops, provides...

American Medical director dies.
April 9, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale James F. LaPolla, a member of the company's board of directors, passed away earlier this month after a "long and valiant battle with cancer," the company said on Monday. LaPolla died on April 3. "James'...

Vision Long Island to mark its 10-year anniversary by planning its next decade.
April 10, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty Vision Long Island will mark its 10-year anniversary by planning its next decade. The Northport-based organization and its regional advocates will unveil a 10-point "Smart Growth Agenda" in East...

New York Community Bancorp still looking for buying opportunities.
April 10, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Less than one month after New York Community Bancorp agreed to buy 11 New York City branches from Puerto Rico-based Doral Financial Corp., NYCB could strike again. Joseph Ficalora, chief executive at...

Long Island Association endorses Broadwater.
April 11, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale The Long Island Association's board of directors on Wednesday conditionally threw its support behind Broadwater's proposed liquefied natural gas terminal, planned nine miles off the coast of Wading River. The...

Former head of Symbol Technologies named head of Monster Worldwide Inc.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly Sal Iannuzzi, the former head of Symbol Technologies who oversaw the Holtsville firm's sale to Motorola, was named head of Monster Worldwide Inc., the parent firm of the online job site. Iannuzzi, 53, who was head of...

UrbanAmerica begins publicizing one of Long Island's largest development proposals.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty For more than a year, UrbanAmerica LP has quietly crafted its $2 billion Hempstead Village overhaul. Now the Manhattan group is publicizing its pitch, one of the Island's largest development proposals. It...

No plans to raze Long Island waterfront destination to make way for condos, says owner.
April 12, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty Gosman's Dock, which has drawn tourists to the East End for half a century, may be for sale, but there are no plans to raze the waterfront destination to make way for condos, according to those close to the...

Melville-based Progressive Marketing Group names Gary S. Cucchi vice president.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Melville-based Progressive Marketing Group named Gary S. Cucchi vice president. Cucchi has been with Progressive Marketing for nine years.

Long Island nonprofits announce staffing changes: April 13, 2007.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Literacy Nassau in Hempstead elected Richard A. Mills to its board of directors. Mills is an officer in the accounting firm of Israeloff, Trattner & Co. Sean Phillips has been named chief development officer at...

Quest Service Group in Lynbrook names Tom Tysz director of employee development.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Quest Service Group in Lynbrook named Tom Tysz director of employee development. Tysz will manage the recruiting department for all staff requirements. He will remain as safety coordinator for the company.

Joseph F. Hirsch Jr. named executive VP of Patchogue-based Bridge Business & Property Brokers.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo Joseph F. Hirsch Jr. was named executive vice president of the Patchogue-based Bridge Business & Property Brokers. Hirsch had been vice president for Arrow Security.

Long Island health care facilities announce staffing changes: April 13, 2007.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo St. Francis Hospital, The Heart Center, in Roslyn named Jack Soterakis vice president of medical affairs. Soterakis is a gastroenterologist and has been affiliated with the hospital for more than 30 years. He had...

Long Island law firms announce staffing changes: April 13, 2007.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Kathy Lombardo New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli named David H. Peirez chairman of the New York State Retirement Fund's Real Estate Advisory Committee, which has the authority to review and approve any proposed real estate...

Melville-based Epoch Data offers financial institutions real-time transaction monitoring.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly Safe Banking is not the only private firm keeping a watchful eye on bank transactions. Melville-based Epoch Data covers another corner of the anti-money-laundering field, offering financial institutions real-time...

Long Island real estate: Rent hikes coming as sales soar?
April 13, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty In 2005, Stellar Management acquired two prime Nassau County office buildings for a tidy $107 million. A year later, the firm flipped the property, called Gateway at Lake Success, for a 50 percent profit. ...

In insurance, Long Island's capacity for trouble.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy If you've been toying with the idea of getting catastrophic storm insurance for your business, now might be the time to buy. After a year in which there were no major storms, U.S. insurers are flush with capital...

Great loan growth, but Commerce Bancorp sets sites too high.
April 13, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Commerce Bancorp said it plans to open four new branches on Long Island in 2007, bringing its total to 34 in the market. While that is still well off the 60 outlets the bank expected to have when it first...

Small Business Administration decides size really does matter.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy New rules are on the way to discover who is small, who is big, and who is just pretending. It's all part of a Small Business Administration effort to figure out if small businesses are really getting their fair...

Scott Rechler begins new position as chairman and chief executive of newly formed RexCorp Realty.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Dawn Wotapka Hardesty It may have taken some time, but Scott Rechler's new business cards have finally arrived. "It's a simple brand," he says, handing out the very first card announcing his status as chairman and chief...

IRS debt collection program under fire from Long Island's Congressional Democrats.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly Long Island's Congressional Democrats are joining calls for the Internal Revenue Service to end its use of private debt collectors. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy and Rep. Tim Bishop are co-sponsors of a bill that would...

Long Island Business News Follow Ups: April 13, 2007.
April 13, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff Strength in numbers National Grid, the British utility seeking to merge with KeySpan, has reached a tentative contract agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 97, which...

Follow ups.
April 13, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff Strength in numbers National Grid, the British utility seeking to merge with KeySpan, has reached a tentative contract agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 97, which...

Commentary: Dumbing us down at the speed of blog.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Alfonse D'Amato Andy Warhol's legendary pop culture prediction was that in the future everyone would have their 15 minutes of fame. If only. Forty years after his observation, the Information Age has created a narcissistic...

Commentary: Strong Spitzer sizzles as the GOP fizzles.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Jerry Kremer Vacations serve a lot of purposes. They help heal the day-to-day stresses that take their toll over a period of time. They give us precious extra time with our families. And they give us a chance to take a fresh look...

Commentary: Mr. Spitzer's learning curve.
April 13, 2007... Byline: James L. Larocca As Eliot Spitzer undergoes the transition from campaign poetry to government prose (to paraphrase Mario Cuomo's locution), his sky-high approval ratings are experiencing the inevitable pull of political gravity....

Letter: Cantor paints a dark future.
April 13, 2007... To the Editor: Martin Cantor's recent column paints a very bleak picture about our energy future. Mr. Cantor correctly points out that more than half our costs come from the volatile price of oil and natural gas, over which we have no...

A breakdown of Long Island's construction scene.(Company overview)
April 13, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff 68 South Service Road (RexCorp Executive Park) Melville Size: 300,000 square feet Cost: Not disclosed Developer: RexCorp Architect: RexCorp Melville-based RexCorp - formerly Reckson Associates Realty Corp. -...

Renovations, small work keep hope (and an industry) alive on Long Island.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Talk to real estate experts on Long Island and you hear about massive, ambitious projects. There's no shortage of grand vision. The problem, at least the reality, is that many don't get past the idea stage. ...

Long Island health care and education become a development dynamo.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Wealthy? That's given. But of late, Long Island's construction industry has also been healthy and wise. Jack O'Connor, a principal at Newmark Knight Frank in Melville, said the health care and upper education...

Mineola-based Safe Banking helps financial institutions monitor high-risk or illegal clients.
April 13, 2007... Byline: Ross Daly Safe Banking Systems was showing off its scanning prowess to a potential bank client when the system did the equivalent of a bird dog's freeze and point. From among the thousands of account holders, up popped Olga...

Commentary: Yes to Broadwater.
April 13, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff The Long Island Association voted this week to give conditional support to the proposed Broadwater liquefied natural gas facility. With the same caveats, we agree. After affordable housing, the cost of energy is...