LI Business News articles from February 2008

LI Business News archives from February 2008

Free Agents: New York ticket brokers profit from legalized scalping.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Claude Solnik It's as if Wall Street met the street corner. Ticket brokers are buying and reselling seats to events - sports, Broadway, concerts, you name it - at any price without fear of retribution after New York legalized...

Long Island-based Stony Brook University eyes Touro College law campus.
February 1, 2008... Byline: David Reich-Hale Touro College is in discussions to sell its just-opened Central Islip law school to Stony Brook University. Touro's Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center moved into the state-of-the-art campus adjacent to the federal...

New York legislators prepared to battle governor over cuts to Long Island's school districts.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Michael H. Samuels For the second straight year, state legislators are prepared to battle Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who has proposed a budget that includes cuts to a majority of Long Island's school districts. Last year, legislators...

Bay Shore rentals in Islip a boon for developer Larry Gargano.
February 1, 2008... Byline: David Winzelberg A little more than two years after Islip condemned a Bay Shore apartment complex, the town has approved a change of zoning for the politically charged property on Union Boulevard, clearing the way for 53 new...

Commentary: Coming soon to Oyster Bay: The NUMBY movement.
February 1, 2008... Byline: John Kominicki It's February and legacy hangs heavy in the air. On the election front, Hillary Clinton is campaigning hard on her husband's record. In Washington, President Bush is finally ready for peace with the Palestinians....

Credit crunch gives borrowers a chance to escape debt.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Laura Glasser There may be an upside to the credit crunch's overarching doom and gloom: Americans can use the receding interest rates to get out of debt. Lower rates fueled a 92 percent jump in refinance application volume for...

Developers pump new green into old Long Island golf course.
February 1, 2008... Byline: David Winzelberg If they build it, they will come. At least that's what East End golf course owners Barry Biel and Stanley Pine are counting on for their $60 million luxury home and clubhouse project on the North Fork. The...

Hauppauge chip inspector firm shuts, lays off 40.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Pete Weiss RVSI Inspection of Hauppauge has shut its doors, eliminating 40 manufacturing, engineering and administrative jobs, in the wake of an acquisition by industry rival Rudolph Technologies Inc. of Flanders, N.J. The...

Long Island Business News Follow Ups: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: LIBN staff Condemned The Town of Hempstead voted to adopt its West Hempstead urban renewal plan that aims to redevelop about 10 acres around the infamous Courtesy Hotel. The move by the town board throws a wrench into the...

Celebrity obsession brings success to Garden City entrepreneur's gossip site.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Ambrose Clancy At the Sweeney family's home in Garden City, everyone is up by 7 a.m. Dad Bill gets breakfast for six-month-old Liam and two-and-a-half-year-old Natalie, while Mom Vera attends to others, people with one word names...

Two minutes with Pat McMahon, VP of Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems, Eastern Region.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Pete Weiss Pat McMahon has been involved in the Long Island aerospace business for 26 years and is now the deputy to the vice president of Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems, Eastern Region. She spoke with LIBN about her role at...

Commentary: Green dream.
February 1, 2008... Byline: LIBN Staff Editorial Rep. Steve Israel, our county executives, select town supervisors and other top business executives are all on board: Green energy is the future, and Long Island has the potential to be a national leader in...

Commentary: Suozzi's commission could make history.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Richard Kessel Everyone seems to be talking government consolidation these days. Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi jump-started the talk last year when he hired a consultant to find ways for the county to lead a consolidation...

Sewers a key for Suffolk.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Steve Levy To the Editor: Recently, both the Long Island Association and the Rauch Foundation have spoken of the need to embellish our downtowns to spark economic development and improve quality of life. I agree, which is...

Commentary: In the eyes of Albany, Long Island's invisible.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Matt Crosson "I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me." That's how Ralph Ellison's narrator summed up his predicament in the prologue to "The Invisible Man" in 1952. That eloquent book was narrated in the...

Commentary: Bailout package won't save economy.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Jerry Kremer If they ever renamed Washington, the best new name would be Panic City. It took a dramatic drop in the stock market, and the subprime mortgage mess to get 535 members of the U.S. Congress to propose legislation which...

Commentary: Out East: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Jeff Miller From Farmvue to The Woods, where's the truth? It's been 58 years since George Orwell's big book "1984" was published. I know because I was issued the same year: 1949. Fifty-eight years later it's still a hot...

Long Island Financial Briefs: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Laura Glasser O'Brien the new head executive at Suffolk Federal Suffolk Federal Credit Union is kicking off the New Year with a new chief executive. Bill O'Brien will take the reins at the Medford-based credit union Feb....

Long Island Technology Briefs: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Pete Weiss Still searching, but with new funding, new leadership They say timing is everything. That seems to be the case for Melville's Prime Visibility, a search engine optimization company founded in 1998 by Andrew Hazen in...

Long Island Real Estate Briefs: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: David Winzelberg Moody's praises Riverhead and raises bond rating Riverhead's bond rating has been upgraded by Moody's Investors Service, Supervisor Phil Cardinale announced last week. The town's rating went from A1 to AA3,...

Long Island Medical Briefs: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder OTC distributor builds business by buying drug maker Westbury-based PL Developments said it has acquired PAL Laboratories, a Miami-based pharmaceutical manufacturing company for a total of $18.2 million. PLD...

For founders of Port Washington-based Steve & Barry's, a low-cost success strategy.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Ambrose Clancy That started as two Long Island teenagers selling t-shirts out of a booth has been transformed in less than three decades into a giant corporation with 257 retail stores employing more than 15,000 people in 37...

Great Neck-based Fortress Global Investigations hires S. Sinai Megibow as managing director.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder NAME: S.Sinai Megibow TITLE: Managing Director of Internal Investigations COMPANY: Fortress Global Investigations EXPERTISE: White Collar Crime Great Neck-based Fortress Global has hired S. Sinai Megibow as...

On the move.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Accounting Marks Paneth & Shron has appointed two new executives to its Woodbury and Mahattan offices. Oceanside resident Susan H. Nadler has joined Marks Paneth & Shron's Manhattan office as an audit partner...

Seniors find a stay-fit method to health.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Ambrose Clancy There's snow on the roof but the furnace is still burning and you're not about to give up. Yes, you're over 60, you have some problems so your doctor recommends a chiropractor and a serious exercise program. But the...

Commentary: Putting a human face on giving.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Kennth R. Cerini At this time of year, on a typical weeknight, thousands of New Yorkers will walk to the nearest window of their office building and click on their auto-start, reluctant to enter a cold and frosty car on their drive...

Long Island Nonprofit Briefs: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Golf event raises $60,000 for Winthrop's Kids Cancer Center Winthrop-University Hospital's Cancer Center for Kids received a $60,000 donation from the Jericho-based Pat Lyons Foundation to fund support programs...

Recruiting talent on L.I. when there aren't enough candidates to draw from.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Bernadette Starzee It's hard to find good help these days. Long Island's unemployment rate, at 3.8 percent, is low, and the cost of living is astronomical, discouraging many talented individuals from staying or moving here. ...

The great enablers: Long Island businesses hiring more disabled workers.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Claude Solnik After decades as a draftsman, Mark Vaccaro, like many middle-aged people, wanted to change careers. He was eager to find new work and was willing to be flexible. But there was a catch: Vaccaro is considered disabled...

Turning co-worker confrontation into collaboration.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Claude Solnik It all started with a text message better left unsent. An employee told her manager that a co-worker was sending her inappropriate text messages. The manager read the messages and brought in human resources to...

Ones to watch: Long Island's human resources firms: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Claude Solnik Gladys C. Ahrens Vice president, Administration & Public Relations Chernoff Diamond & Co. Ahrens oversees the administrative and support functions of this Garden City-based benefits and risk management firm's...

Marks Paneth & Shron appoints two new executives to its Woodbury and Mahattan offices.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Marks Paneth & Shron has appointed two new executives to its Woodbury and Mahattan offices. Oceanside resident Susan H. Nadler has joined Marks Paneth & Shron's Manhattan office as an audit partner within the firm's...

Long Island health care facilities announce staffing changes: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder New Island Hospital has named Lawrence A. Reduto as chief medical officer. Reduto joins New Island after several years as executive vice president of medical affairs and director of the department of medicine and...

Long Island law firms announce staffing changes: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Uniondale firm Rivkin Radler has named Laura A. Shockley partner. Shockley is a member of the firm's Litigation & Appeals and Employment & Labor practice groups, handling civil commercial and employment litigation....

Long Island nonprofits announce staffing changes: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Joseph Garofalo has been named director of workplace outreach at Northport Baptist Church in East Northport. The outreach provides both on and off-site leadership programs and resources to businesspeople. Garofalo was...

Long Island real estate firms announce staffing changes: February 1, 2008.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Andrew W. Albro has been elected president of the Long Island chapter of the Appraisal Institute for 2008. Albro is executive vice president of Standard Valuation Services in Mineola and has been an appraiser since...

Quest Service Group, a Garden City-based retail services firm, appoints Michael Shey director of sales.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Quest Service Group, a Garden City-based retail services firm, appointed Michael Shey director of sales. In this position, he is responsible for growing Quest's retail merchandising, event marketing, installation and...

Manhasset marketing agency Marden-Kane adds three new members to its staff.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Manhasset marketing agency Marden-Kane has added three new members to its staff. Lauren Makofske has been hired as a promotion coordinator. Erin O'Neill has joined as assistant promotion coordinator. Ina Serri will be...

LISTnet adds four new members to its board of directors.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder LISTnet has added four new members to its board of directors: Yogesh Gupta, president and chief executive of FatWire Corp.; Paul Marsala, president of Peer Software; Linda Chan, IT director of network infrastructure...

Commentary: How To...Prepare for a disaster.
February 1, 2008... Byline: Bernadette Starzee If a fire destroys your company's premises, what are you going to do? Having an answer to that question, and many others, in advance will improve your chances of resuming operations quickly and keeping your...

Fortunoff files for bankruptcy, will be acquired by Lord & Taylor.
February 4, 2008... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Furniture retailer Fortunoff said Monday it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and will be acquired by the owner of department store chain Lord & Taylor. Westbury-based Fortunoff, which was...

Broadwater Energy makes pitch to Long Island Regional Planning Board.
February 5, 2008... Byline: Michael H. Samuels Broadwater Energy's plan to bring liquid natural gas to Long Island would save the state and the region money while providing what the federal government considers a safe way to make sure the area has a long-term...

Northrop Grumman may expand on LI.
February 7, 2008... Byline: David Winzelberg The head of Northrop Grumman's Long Island operations told a group of business leaders that the company may look for 30 to 40 acres to build another campus here. Speaking Monday night at an event sponsored by...

Levy calls for ambitious 2008 for Suffolk County, depends on state and federal help.
February 7, 2008... Byline: Michael H. Samuels County Executive Steve Levy laid out an ambitious plan for the new year Wednesday night, though it hinges upon help from the state and federal government. "The state of the county remains strong, but there are...

Vintage Square project gets vote of confidence from Riverhead Town Board.
February 7, 2008... Byline: David Winzelberg The Vintage Square project, a cornerstone of Riverhead's long-awaited downtown revitalization plans, is one step closer to development. The Riverhead Town Board unanimously approved a resolution Wednesday declaring...

Long Island accounting firms announce staffing changes: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Cerini & Associates has promoted Matthew Armandi to senior manager and Matthew Burke to audit manager. Armandi specializes in the health-care and nonprofit sectors, and will expand client service and be in charge of...

Esquire Bank in LI promotes Irvy.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Jacob Irvy has been named senior vice president of client relationship management for Esquire Bank, and will add experience in private banking and lending solutions.

Hrvatin joins East Coast Dormer in LI.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder John J. Hrvatin has been named executive vice president of business development for East Coast Dormer, a modular addition company. Before joining the company, Hrvatin was CFO at Affirmative Equities Company.

Long Island educational institutions announce staffing changes: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder The Lindenhurst School District Board of Education has appointed Jacqueline A. Scrio as superintendent for business. She was previously assistant business administrator and finance manager for the Half Hollow Hills...

Long Island medical facilities announce staffing changes: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder The Nassau Health Care Corp. has appointed Chaur-Dong Hsu as chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology for the health-care system. He recently joined NHCC as chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at...

Crowley appointed to board of Maran Corporate Risk Associates in LI.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York appointed Thomas J. Crowley vice president of Maran Corporate Risk Associates, to its board of directors. As regional director, he will represent member agencies...

Long Island law firms announce staffing changes: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Edward J. Bullard Jr. has been named a partner in Westerman Ball Edere Miller & Sharfstein's real estate department. He has experience in drafting and negotiating commercial leases for landlords and tenants, with...

Long Island non-profits announce staffing changes: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Greenville Baker Boys & Girls Club has appointed Robert W. Chasanoff as president of its board of directors. He has been a member of the club's board of directors for six years, and is a trustee of the North...

Rochester Government Briefs: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Tara E. Buck Rochester Affordable Housing Groundbreaking New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen earlier this week joined the Urban League of Rochester in breaking ground...

The Sky's the limit in Long Island.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Ambrose Clancy President Barack Obama prepares to leave office after his second term. Leonardo DiCaprio, 45, congratulates Tom Hanks on his 10th Oscar. And Long Island MacArthur Airport celebrates 12 years of booming revenues with...

Good news, for once, at Motorola in Holtsville.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Pete Weiss The last year has not been friendly to Motorola. Its share price is down 25 percent in the last two months alone. The company has fired 7,500 employees. And the Chicago-based company's cell- phone unit, once the...

VC funding evades LI.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Laura Glasser Fears over the sagging economy have scared off investors and led to an 89 percent drop in venture capital funding for Long Island companies in 2007. Those venture capitalists pumped more than $40 million into...

Suffolk targets illegals.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Michael H. Samuels Contractors on Long Island have little problem finding day laborers - all they need to do is visit a 7-Eleven or a side street. The contractors and workers negotiate a price, usually around $100 a day, and...

A slowing economy helps keep Bohemia-based Crossland Group on their tows.
February 8, 2008... Byline: John Kominicki A man's home is his castle, but his car, we all know, is something more. So when auto loan delinquencies start pushing past home foreclosures, as they have in the past few months, economists should take heed....

North Shore system launches doctor retention plan.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System has created a risk retention group to insure private physicians, giving them much-needed relief from rising medical malpractice insurance costs. By offering...

Interview with John Kanas: North Fork Bank, Long Island.
February 8, 2008... Byline: David Reich-Hale John Kanas, who still reports to his office at North Fork Bank, is still looked upon as the big fish in the Long Island banking community. He remains a powerful figure in business circles as well. We checked in to...

Hauppauge-based Madison National Bank survives first year, targets loans.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Laura Glasser Though it was a tough year to start a bank, Madison National Bank not only survived the credit crisis - it grew. The Hauppauge-based bank, which turns one on Feb. 27, started out with $32.5 million in capital...

Government grant turns New York Institute of Technology green.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Pete Weiss New York Institute of Technology is putting money where its mouth is. The government's money, that is. The school has received a $492,000 grant from the Department of Energy to research alternatives to fossil...

Long Island Business News Follow Ups: February 8, 200S.
February 8, 2008... Byline: LIBN Staff Oh no, Touro One week ago, Long Island Business News broke the big news that Stony Brook University was eyeing a takeover of Touro's law campus in Central Islip. Since then, everyone's had an opinion and most have...

From brakes to steaks at this Huntington hotspot.
February 8, 2008... Byline: David Winzelberg This is the latest in LIBN's occasional series, "Abandoned LI" - about those commercial Island eyesores that never seem to find, or hold onto, the right tenant. Vincent Abbatiello has a lot at stake, or steak,...

Commentary: Keep the momentum going.
February 8, 2008... Byline: LIBN Staff At least our leaders are talking. Three weeks ago the Rauch Foundation's Long Island Index made headlines by reporting that many of us want a fun, hip, downtown feel to Long Island. Older residents want condos and...

Commentary: Welcome to the election season.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Martin Cantor The attendees of the Jan. 25 roundtable at the Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute at Dowling College called the unfolding primary events right. Their opinions in a survey conducted after a debate between...

Commentary: The war, not the economy threaten our future.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alfonse D'Amato The polls all say that the presidential primary candidates need to focus on the economy. After all, it is the issue that affects us every day, from the potential loss of homes to foreclosure to the potential...

Commentary: A sunny solution to our energy crisis.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Nicholas Mauro Some weeks ago, an energy executive suggested we review a wind energy plan that was seriously criticized for its rising construction price and the uncertainty of its final cost. Most people - Long Islanders...

Commentary: Out East.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Jeff Miller Quigley looks back, remembers a different time The big, crumbling pile of bricks in the heart of Sag Harbor is many things to many people. To some it's an ivy-covered piece of the past, with a place of honor on the...

Long Island Financial Briefs: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Laura Glasser Displaced brokers turn to Wantagh mortgage magazine The Mortgage Press in Wantagh, the publication for 38 state mortgage broker organizations, has launched FindMortgageJobs.com, a job-search Web site for the...

Long Island Medical Briefs: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Despite financial woes, NHCC boosts LI economy Poor financial performance aside, Nassau Health Care Corp. remains a driving force in the local economy, according to results of a study conducted by the Healthcare...

Long Island Real Estate Briefs: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: David Winzelberg Pine Barrens agenda denied in Calverton A major stumbling block to the development of more than 1,000 acres in Calverton was removed when the State Supreme Court denied the Pine Barrens Commission claim of...

Long Island Technology Briefs: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Pete Weiss Nothing but good news for local tech companies Software vendor CA both issued and received good news. The company reported a solid third quarter, with profits tripling over the same quarter a year ago, and raised its...

Integrity key to Hicksville-based firm's fast-track growth.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Ambrose Clancy Two years ago when Louise White of Manhasset decided to help her 90-year-old aunt with her finances by setting up a reverse mortgage, she steeled herself for what she figured was going to be a long and arduous...

Commentary: How To...Choose a forensic accounting firm.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Bernadette Starzee Forensic accountants don't just crunch numbers. They also do detective work, suspiciously combing through books and records to uncover clues, plots and stolen assets. When they're on your side, they can help you...

Chief exec of doing good at Bethpage-based agency.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder NAME: Robert S. Budd TITLE: chief executive officer ORGANIZATION: Family Residences and Essential Enterprise YEARS OF SERVICE: 23 Not-for-profit Family Residences and Essential Enterprise named Robert S. Budd as...

On the move.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Accounting Cerini & Associates has promoted Matthew Armandi to senior manager and Matthew Burke to audit manager. Armandi specializes in the health-care and nonprofit sectors, and will expand client service and be...

From Michigan a plan that's clean and growing.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Ambrose Clancy If all goes according to plans laid in Ann Arbor, Mich., Long Island roadways will soon be buzzing with blue vehicles adorned with pink bonnets and the legend, "Molly Maid." The residential cleaning service,...

Commentary: A local history lesson.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Kenneth R.Cerini It's no secret that Long Island has much to offer with regard to beauty and entertainment. Less apparent, however, is that the Island is steeped in history as well. Having been home to figures including Washington...

Long Island Nonprofit Briefs: February 8, 2008.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Alison Snyder Grant to help more LI children Roslyn-based nonprofit Child Abuse Prevention Services recently received a $48,000 grant through the NYS Children and Family Trust Fund, which will support the organization's child...

Growing concerns in LI.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Claude Solnik To the small, go the spoils Small businesses have fared well so far, but recession could spell trouble. Sometimes, profitable things come in small packages. Many small companies - such as Great Neck-based...

When the bank says, 'no,' the SBA may say, 'yes'.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Bernadette Starzee It's not as easy to get a business loan as it used to be. The credit crisis that began in the housing market has spread to the rest of the economy. "Banks have become more conservative about whom they will...

Cyberspace: the next frontier for building business.
February 8, 2008... Byline: Claude Solnik Ask Michael T. Hanley the secret to getting testimonials and he'll tell you it's doing good work. But he also wielded a not-so-secret weapon, LinkedIn, to assemble all of the gushing comments in an easy, informal way....