LI Business News articles from December 2004

LI Business News archives from December 2004

LI's MesoScribe Technologies wins $5.4 million grant for sensors.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter MesoScribe Technologies Inc. has won a $5.4 million grant from the Department of Commerce to develop sensors that could withstand the 2,000-degree temperatures in the gas turbine engines used in power plants. ...

NY State comptroller's audit: Nassau County short-changed in fees.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff A New York State comptroller's audit found that Nassau County failed to collect $436,000 in fees from parks concessions dating back to 2001 and could have obtained another $1.6 million by improving bidding procedures....

LI-based Computer Associates taps SAP accounting software.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Computer Associates International Inc. has chosen software from Walldorf, Germany-based SAP to handle its global accounting as it seeks to fulfill Department of Justice mandates. As part of a deferred prosecution...

LI's Orbit International unit wins orders totaling $700,000.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Orbit International Corp.'s Behlman Electronics Inc. subsidiary has received orders totaling more than $700,000 for power supplies used for U.S. Navy aircraft and ships, the company said. Contract deliveries are...

Greyhawk NA to restore exterior of Brooklyn Academy of Music.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff The Brooklyn Academy of Music has chosen Greyhawk North America LLC as the construction manager of phase two of its exterior restoration. Greyhawk recently completed the first phase of the project to restore the...

LI-based Telephonics Corp. snags $4.1M in contracts.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Telephonics Corp., a subsidiary of Griffon Corp., has racked up three contracts for maritime surveillance radar systems together valued at more than $4.1 million. The contracts were for equipment to be used by the...

LI-based Lakeland Industries names CFO.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Lakeland Industries Inc. has named former Gristede's Foods Inc. Chief Financial Officer Gary Pokrassa its new CFO. The manufacturer of fire-resistant and industrial protective clothing said Pokrassa will succeed...

LI-based International Smart Sourcing credit extended.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff International Smart Sourcing Inc. said that People's Bank has extended its $1.5 million revolving credit through Nov. 30, 2005. The firm's line of credit, which had been set to expire Oct. 29, already had been...

Advest upgrades LI's North Fork Bancorp to 'buy'.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Research group Advest upgraded the rating for North Fork Bancorp Inc. to "Buy." Advest's rating for the bank, whose stock climbed 4 cents on Monday afternoon to $28.96, had been "Neutral."

Commentary: Supreme Court should strike down interstate wine ban.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Long Island's wine industry has come a long way since Alex and Louisa Hargrave planted the first local vineyard in 1973. Long Island Wine Country, as it's known, now includes some 52 vineyards producing annual wine...

Commentary: Bush may need capital for Social Security.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Martin Cantor President Bush must be wondering what happened to all that capital he bragged about winning in this election. While congressional leaders promise to bring back the Intelligence Czar legislation for a vote as early...

Commentary: Tasteless new video game re-enacts assassination of JKF.
December 3, 2004... Byline: John Kiernan You have to wonder how low a business will go when it sells a video game that re-enacts the assassination of an American president for fun. At the end of last month, when we were marking the 41st anniversary of...

Commentary: NY's public works projects: more than we bargain for.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Jerry Kremer Have you ever signed a home improvement contract? Have you ever built a house? If you tell me the final cost was exactly what you anticipated, you've had a unique experience. Do you pay much attention to public...

LI business owners take tips from Jewish heritage, culture.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Adina Genn If Madonna can turn to Kabbalah, an ancient form of Jewish mysticism, for enlightenment, what's to say business owners can't look back to ancient Jewish sages and philosophers for the same? Spiritual growth, high on...

LI medical facilities announce staffing changes: December 3, 2004.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly James F. Campbell, retired vice chairman of Manhattan Savings Bank, was appointed to the board of directors of New Island Hospital. A lifelong resident of Nassau County, current chairman emeritus and a trustee of...

Nassau County Police Inspector to coordinate anti-gang efforts.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly Nassau County Police Inspector Robert Turk was appointed "Gang Czar" and will coordinate the county's anti-gang efforts. The inspector has served as commanding officer of the county's Bureau of Special Operations...

LI real estate firms announce staffing changes: December 3, 2004.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly The Corcoran Group promoted the following East End employees to vice president: Brian Nicholson, Jude MacMurdo, Suzanne Rose, Edwin Geus, Ricardo Gobell, Nancy Howell, Leah Narins Sklar, John Healey III, Carol Mose,...

Freeport-based Schenker Inc. appoints VP of ocean services.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly Terry Donohoe was appointed to the position of vice president of ocean services at Freeport-based Schenker Inc., which provides integrated logistics for air, land and sea freight shipping. Donohoe has 20 years of...

Long Islanders receive awards and recognition.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly Dr. Marion Bergman was awarded the 2004 Dranitzke Award by the Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center at its annual hospital ball. The award was given in recognition of her commitment to fostering...

Director named for Daniel Gale's new Carle Place division.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly Nancy Ann Jarvis was named director of Daniel Gale's new Carle Place division, where she'll manage the sales force, clerical staffing and advertising programs. "We're delighted that Nancy will be at the helm,"...

Ex-Fox Sports staffer presses on with new Hauppauge-based graphics firm.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Adina Genn Entrepreneurship 101 instructors would nod approvingly at Suzanne Brodsky, who in October opened Hauppauge-based Chocolate Malt Graphics, a Web-based provider of personalized gifts imprinted with customers' photographs....

Hempstead readies pet adoption program.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly This holiday season many parents and citizens find themselves faced with a decision that pops up every year. For many of us, after weighing the requirements and accepting that the responsibility will certainly...

New York Giving Guide for 2005 hits the streets.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly The New York Better Business Bureau has published the 2005 New York Giving Guide, created to assist donors with their plans for holiday giving. It's the only New York-area publication that details comprehensive...

The Americana Manhasset and Wheatley Plaza sponsoring Champions for Charity.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly The Americana Manhasset and Wheatley Plaza are sponsoring Champions for Charity, a holiday shopping benefit that helps more than 80 charity and not-for-profit organizations. Included as charity recipients are the...

National Parenting Center releases 14th annual Holiday 2004 Seal of Approval report.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly The National Parenting Center has released its 14th annual Holiday 2004 Seal of Approval report, which provides evaluations of products. Categories include children's books, audio, video, software, games,...

Huntington Arts Council holding annual LAFF-OFF competition.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly You think you're funny, and your friends and family think you're funny, but your boss has no sense of humor. So what? This March the Huntington Arts Council is giving you the opportunity to prove to the world once...

Interview with acting CEO of LI Head Start program.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Ken Cerini The Long Island Head Start program gives at-risk pre-schoolers from economically challenged families the opportunity to take part in a comprehensive learning environment that sets them up for lifelong success. ...

NY-based majority owner of Gristede's supermarket chain takes the company private.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik John Catsimatidis, the majority investor in the Gristede's supermarket chain, which has one Long Island store, has taken the company private. Catsimatidis, who calls Manhattan and Quogue home, had retained 93...

Southampton Inn promoting 'party-within-a-party-concept' for small businesses.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Adina Genn Can a company of 10 throw an all-out holiday bash? Southampton Inn says yes, with its party-within-a-party-concept. For $390, plus tax and gratuity, a small business can buy a table for 10 for a night of dinner and...

Farmingdale-based Nothing But Crumbs donating 5% of proceeds to breast cancer coalition.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Adina Genn Kathy Pauletti, owner of Farmingdale-based Nothing But Crumbs, is showing her community spirit by donating up to 5 percent of all proceeds to Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition. So when clients order a tin or...

LI Real Estate Briefs: December 3, 2004.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Nick Anastasi If Charles Wang has his way, Long Island could see its first skyscraper in the next several years. Wang, the founder of Computer Associates International and the owner of the New York Islanders hockey team, is...

Hamptons home sales break $1 million barrier.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik The weather may be cooling off, but the Hamptons residential market this year has been sizzling, with average sale prices of homes topping $1 million, according to a recent survey. The survey of second-quarter...

Port Jefferson hospital raffles off Victorian dollhouse.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik Interested in a four-bedroom Victorian in the heart of Port Jefferson? And at a price that won't require a bank-breaking mortgage? John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson may have just the thing for...

LI Power Authority: New taxes could force move from Glenwood Landing.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik Raising the stakes in a property tax battle with Nassau County, the Long Island Power Authority is threatening to move a power plant in Glenwood Landing to another location to avoid paying $7 million in newly assessed...

LI radio stations see increased ratings, ad revenue when playing holiday tunes.
December 3, 2004... Byline: David Reich-Hale Move over Rod Stewart. Hello, Andy Williams and Burl Ives. Holiday music is saturating the airwaves at more and more of the area's top radio stations. You might think it's the holiday spirit that has overcome...

Long Island execs. reveal favorite technology toys.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik It was a busy day for Alan Loesberg, a Web site designer who had a trio of back-to-back meetings - all in different locations. In the past, he would have navigated nervously from site to site with a trusty map or...

Nassau County picks Fairhaven Properties to redevelop health dept. site into townhomes.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik Fairhaven Properties Inc., owner of the Garden City Hotel, has been chosen to redevelop the 25-acre site of Nassau County's Department of Health and Human Services into a residential townhome complex, according to...

LI Life Sciences Initiative to try, try again for wet lab funding.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter A biotechnology trade group is reviving a pitch for Albany to fund Long Island wet labs worth more than $13 million. The earlier proposal gained support from Gov. George Pataki, who included it in his proposed...

Founders of LI-based Nu Horizons demonstrate high work ethic.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter Arthur Nadata has the standard-issue power office. There's the over-sized desk, gleaming like a Tiffany diamond, the wall art, the swivel chairs, the golf bag. The desk is nearly bare: not a single paper clip out...

Retailers, buyers in discount showdown before holidays.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter Retailers and consumers are in a discount showdown, an analyst said, with each waiting for the other to make their move before the holidays. "It's really about who will blink first - the retailer or the...

LI firms wary of cost conscious shoppers.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Adina Genn On the advice of a retail consultant, Robert Yeganeh went into this holiday season with lower prices (about 15 percent for many products), a leaner inventory and three variations of a style instead of five. The owner...

American Mgmt. Assn. survey shows more cos. offering wellness programs for workers.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff According to a new study by the American Management Association, more companies are boarding the wellness bandwagon. A survey of 211 companies found that 55 percent offer some form of educational or self-help...

Michael Gates named associate publisher of LI Business News.
December 3, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Michael Gates, advertising director of Long Island Business News, has been named associate publisher of the paper. In addition to running the paper's sales and custom publishing operations, Gates will assume an...

Islandia-based software maker starts legal program to help local residents, not-for-profits.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik Computer Associates, whose in-house legal team has been helping the firm wend its way through its own maze of legal troubles, is starting a program to help low-income residents and groups seeking not-for-profit...

Donald Trump's advisor George H. Ross speaks to Nassau Community College students.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Carl Corry On 1996, before agreeing to become one of Donald Trump's chief advisors, George H. Ross suggested some "working guidelines." No. 1: He would work only four days a week, and not Fridays. No. 2: He wanted to...

Jan. 1st is deadline for retailers to install point-of-sale bar code scanners.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter As the clock swings toward midnight on Dec. 31, the thoughts of at least some Long Island retailers may veer away from resolutions, champagne and Times Square and toward their point-of-sale bar code scanners. ...

Pace of healthcare premium hikes stunted across country, says NY-based human resources study.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Adina Genn Though affordable healthcare tops the list of challenges for many small-business owners, a nationwide study shows that escalating premiums are on the wane. The Mercer Human Resource Consulting study claims that in...

Developers of a proposed La Quinta Inn near Long Island MacArthur Airport face stiff competition.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Nick Anastasi The developers of a proposed La Quinta Inn on the outer perimeter of Long Island MacArthur Airport put a shovel in the ground earlier this month, but when the facility is complete about a year from now, most of its...

Verizon's restoration of its 32-story NYC landmark earns another construction industry award.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Verizon's restoration of its 32-story landmark, which was badly damaged during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, has earned yet another prestigious construction industry award. New York Construction...

CB Richard Ellis files lawsuit with NY Supreme Court over contractual obligations of brokers.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff In response to the abrupt September departure of a group of brokers to competitor Newmark & Co., CB Richard Ellis has filed a lawsuit with the state Supreme Court in Manhattan seeking more than $5 million in damages from...

U.S. dollar's nosedive versus the euro changes economic landscape for many Long Island companies.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter Black Tie Liquors stocks its wine section with bottles from around the world, from Australia to Chile to the North Fork of Long Island. Fanciers of chianti and pinot grigio in the Italian wines section, however,...

North Fork Bancorp moves back-office operations closer to corporate headquarters in Melville.
December 10, 2004... Byline: David Reich-Hale In an effort to better maintain control over its back offices, North Fork Bancorp is in the midst of moving about 500 employees, including a 165-person call center, to 265 Broadhollow Road in Melville. The...

Nassau Health Care Corp. selling nursing-home beds, seeking partners.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik In a bid to boost its finances and streamline operations, Nassau Health Care Corp. is seeking to sell the license for about 300 of its nearly 900 nursing home beds and ally with local hospitals to help it provide a...

Great American Toy Co. files for Chapter 11.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik It's been a bearish couple of years for the Great American Toy Co. Inc., an importer of plush animals sold at amusement and theme parks nationwide. The importer and distributor of plush animals, which is nearly a...

Cablevision Systems Corp. announces delay in spin-off of its satellite TV business.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Shares of Cablevision Systems Corp. announced that the spin-off of its satellite TV business would be pushed into 2005. The company had planned to spin off Rainbow Media Enterprises, which includes the new Voom...

Chicago-based Tribune Co. names new chief of circulation of its Tribune Publishing division.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff As part of an effort to put a circulation scandal behind it and improve both readership and controls, Chicago-based Tribune Co. has named a new chief of circulation of its Tribune Publishing division. Tribune, the...

Princeton, N.J.-based Church & Dwight drops out of deal to acquire Del Laboratories.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Private equity firm Kelso & Co. is going ahead with its $385 million acquisition of Del Laboratories Inc., even though one of the deal's backers, Church & Dwight, has pulled out of the arrangement. Princeton,...

Healthcare products distributor Henry Schein signs agreement to distribute flu vaccine.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Healthcare products distributor Henry Schein Inc. said it signed a multi-year agreement to distribute ID Biomedical Corp.'s Fluviral influenza vaccine. Schein said the agreement would take effect after Fluviral is...

Long Island Assn. economist predicts slow growth.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Long Island companies will focus on cutting costs instead of additional hiring in 2005, said Pearl Kamer, chief economist of the Long Island Association. Speaking before about 350 people at the Crest Hollow Country...

Computer Associates International secures new four-year, $1 billion credit facility.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Computer Associates International has secured a new $1 billion credit facility, replacing a $470 million unsecured facility that had no balance outstanding and was due to expire Jan. 31. The company did not identify...

Commentary: Don't limit Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.
December 10, 2004... Byline: LIBN Staff Long Islanders, the popular notion suggests, unite only when they're someplace else. On the Island, they are from Nassau or Suffolk, the North Shore or South, Gold Coast, North Fork or not, Glen Covians, Huntingtonians...

Commentary: Democrats continue to level absurd charges at president.
December 10, 2004... Byline: John Kiernan Even though I've been involved in local politics for nearly 35 years, I foolishly believed that the 2004 presidential election was over. On Nov. 3, Sen. John Kerry delivered a respectable and professional...

Commentary: A few billion short, again, is it time for the 'T' word?
December 10, 2004... Byline: Jerry Kremer Have you ever heard of Everett McKinley Dirksen? I know his isn't a household name. He was a colorful U.S. senator from Illinois. He may have done a lot of memorable things while in the Senate, but what he said is more...

Commentary: Tax season approaches and AMT issues remain.
December 10, 2004... Byline: David Reich-Hale The alternative minimum tax, created in the 1960s as a way to ensure that the affluent pay their fair share of taxes, instead created big headaches for area accountants in 2004. After the federal government...

Bank of Smithtown opens new branch.
December 10, 2004... Byline: David Reich-Hale The Bank of Smithtown has opened its 11th branch, this one in Miller Place, at the Waldbaum's Shopping Center at 347 Route 25A. The new location is part of a bigger plan by the bank to expand its existing...

North Fork Bancorporation exec denies rumor that Independence Community Bank was for sale.
December 10, 2004... Byline: David Reich-Hale When rumors spread last week that Brooklyn-based Independence Community Bank was up for sale, one of the banks mentioned as a possible suitor was North Fork Bancorporation Inc. "Yes, I heard the same thing with...

NY State Society of Certified Public Accountants' Nassau County Chapter recruits more women.
December 10, 2004... Byline: David Reich-Hale The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants' Nassau County Chapter recently conducted a luncheon meeting on how to entice more women to join the organization. While that remains a serious issue,...

Long Island Index puts community demographics online.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter Businesses or government agencies seeking the percentage of Asians in Port Washington (6.3 percent in 2000) or what percentage of Lake Ronkonkoma's population is represented by 21-29 year olds (14.4 percent in 1990...

Westbury-based Intelli-Tec installs access system in GE building in Manhattan.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter A $300,000 access control system designed by Westbury-based Intelli-Tec Security Services is up and running in the General Electric building at 125 Park Ave. in Manhattan, the company announced. The company...

Epilepsy drug shows promise in second addiction study.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter Vigabatrin, a drug approved for the treatment of epilepsy in many countries, has shown promise in a second clinical trial to curb addiction to methamphetamine and cocaine. The drug, first studied for its...

30-second commercials are a dying breed, new study says.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter The 30-second commercial, long a staple of advertisers, may go the way of the woolly mammoth, a new study says. Broadcasters and advertisers "are faced with the stark reality of a future without it, or at least a...

Verizon Wireless drops customer monthly charge designed to defray the cost of mandates.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Ken Schachter A year after customers were allowed to take their phone numbers with them when they switched carriers, Verizon Wireless has dropped the 40-cent-per-customer monthly charge designed to defray the cost of mandates,...

Hempstead Industrial Development Agency assists fire-ravaged Herald newspaper expand.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Nick Anastasi The Herald Community Newspapers, which have served southwest Nassau County for 77 years, have emerged from a devastating fire to establish a new, state-of-the-art headquarters in the Town of Hempstead. The...

Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency reports strong 2004.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Nick Anastasi The Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency has reported preliminary numbers for 2004, indicating one of the strongest performances of the quasi-governmental agency over the past four years. Through November,...

Smithtown-based Island Associates arranges sale of smart growth parcel.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Nick Anastasi Chris Nicholson of Smithtown-based Island Associates Real Estate brokered the sale of a nearly one-acre parcel of land in Copiague that's expected to feature a development mix of residential and retail using smart...

Pliskin Realty & Development of Carle Place named broker for Amazon Cafe retail chain expansion.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Nick Anastasi Pliskin Realty & Development of Carle Place has been named the exclusive broker for the expansion of the Amazon Cafe retail chain on Long Island, the five boroughs of New York City and Westchester County. Amazon...

NY State Bar Assn. wants state to approve no-fault divorce.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik Some attorneys think it's time to say "I do" to a no-fault approach to divorce suits and end the current system that finds fault with one spouse - often leading to complications even when both spouses are seeking a...

Federal government approves $3.3 million in grants for New York State's DNA labs.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik The federal government has approved $3.3 million in grants for New York State's DNA laboratories, including about $200,000 for Long Island. About $156,000 will go to the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory, and...

NY law firm Rivkin Radler grows its commercial practice group.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Claude Solnik Adding yet another feather in the cap of its corporate and commercial practice group, Rivkin Radler has hired Robert G. Frucht as a partner. Frucht, the firm's 65th partner, had been an associate at Cadwalader,...

Long Island vendor looks to cash in on enhanced water craze.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Adina Genn Rapper 50 Cent is doing it. Coke and Pepsi are about to do it too. What, you ask, do a rap artist and two soft-drink operations have in common? They're all about to stake a claim in the burgeoning market for...

Mignone joins council of SUNY College at Old Westbury.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly Gov. George Pataki appointed Mario B. Mignone to the college council of SUNY College at Old Westbury. He's the founder and director of the Center for Italian Studies at Stony Brook University and holds the rank of...

Andrew Morawski promoted to senior vice president of sales and global accounts at Telstra Inc.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly Bellmore resident Andrew Morawski was promoted to senior vice president of sales and global accounts at Telstra Inc. In addition to his responsibilities of managing U.S.-based sales initiatives, he will now manage an...

Long Island education institutions announce staffing changes: December 10, 2004.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly Anne Emmerson was named associate vice president of academic affairs at Nassau Community College. Her responsibilities include budget oversight, supervision of academic technology, K-12 outreach, library, office of...

Nassau County legislator selected as delegate for American Council of Young Political Leaders.
December 10, 2004... Byline: Henry Powderly Nassau County legislator Kevin Abrahams was selected as an international political exchange delegate for the American Council of Young Political Leaders. He was nominated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Abrahams will...