LI Business News articles from October 2007

LI Business News archives from October 2007

Hauppauge-based Audiovox buys UK firm.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Audiovox Corp. on Monday said it acquired Incaar, a United Kingdom-based maker of mobile video systems for automobiles. The company's German subsidiary, Audiovox German Holdings, paid $402,000 for the...

UrbanAmerica plan pulled from consideration by Hempstead mayor.
October 2, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg Just before voting on a $2 billion plan to revitalize Hempstead Village's downtown, Mayor Wayne Hall pulled UrbanAmerica's proposal from consideration Tuesday night. Citing "irreconcilable differences" between...

Hempstead to vote at last on UrbanAmerica's redevelopment plan.
October 2, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg One more time. The Village of Hempstead will vote tonight on UrbanAmerica's plan to redevelop 26 acres of its downtown. The $2 billion proposal to build 2,500 condos, 600,000 square feet of retail and office...

Kevin Law starts as CEO of Long Island Power Authority on Monday.
October 2, 2007... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II The board of the Long Island Power Authority on Tuesday voted Kevin Law chief executive of the utility, effective Oct. 8, a LIPA spokesman said. Law, the former deputy Suffolk County executive, had been...

TD Bank Financial Group to buy Cherry Hill, N.J.-based Commerce Bancorp.
October 2, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Four months after its chief executive Vernon Hill resigned amid scandal, Commerce Bancorp has agreed to be acquired by TD Bank Financial Group for $8.5 billion. The deal ends a stunning chapter for Cherry Hill,...

Suffolk County Commissioner James Morgo takes Kevin Law's seat.
October 4, 2007... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Suffolk County Commissioner of Economic Development and Workforce Housing James Morgo is the county's next chief deputy county executive. County Executive Steve Levy announced the appointment Thursday...

New York State Insurance Department proposes disaster fund.
October 4, 2007... Byline: Laura Theis The New York State Insurance Department on Thursday proposed a new regulation requiring insurance companies that provide homeowners, business or other property insurance products in the state to create a catastrophe...

Several pending U.S. Supreme Court cases could change the way business works.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Greg Zeller Awaiting the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, who suited up for their new term Monday, are debates on everything from federal sentencing guidelines to Guantanamo detainees to the proper administering of capital...

Long Island may become poster child for all that has suddenly gone wrong with U.S. economy.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Laura Theis If the national economy stumbles into a recession - and local economists are increasingly fearful it might - it could very well start right here. Overstocked with overpriced homes and suffering equally from chronic...

Lending options gain steam on Long Island.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Laura Theis The credit crunch has jumpstarted asset-based lending and factoring on Long Island, as banks tighten lending standards and business borrowers seek alternative financing. The mess from the subprime sector has spilled...

End of Commerce? Not so fast, says Toronto-Dominion Bank.
October 5, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Toronto-Dominion Bank knew the fastest way to the hearts of New Englanders: The Boston Red Sox. Now they're going to have to find the key to New York, after the company earlier this week agreed to acquire...

Manufacturing makes comeback on Long Island, one deal at a time.
October 5, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg Manufacturing is making a comeback on Long Island. After losing various defense-industry concerns over the years, industrial development agencies across Nassau and Suffolk are plying smaller, specialized...

Tenants, planners share ideas for blight in small section of Grand Avenue in Hempstead.
October 5, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg Howard Gainsburg has been waiting a long time for positive change in Baldwin, where his family has sold kitchen and bath furnishings since 1929. Now that the Town of Hempstead has an urban renewal plan for most...

Long Island Business News Follow Ups: October 5, 2007.
October 5, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff Burn, baby, burn LIBN told you in September 2006 about Commack-based Protocall Technologies' plan to introduce its TitleMatch system to the world, allowing retailers to burn DVD movies on demand and sell them in...

Suffolk County recognizes Telephonics with Long Island Business Commitment Award.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Alison Snyder Long Island officials are continuing their quest to keep high-paying jobs in Suffolk and Nassau counties. Suffolk County and the Long Island Business Development Council recognized Farmingdale-based Telephonics...

Dilapidated skating rink is finally on the brink in Bay Shore.
October 5, 2007... 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. For the longest time, Bay Shore Roller Rink was...

Two minutes with Michael Kramer, director of The Corporate Source in Long Island.
October 5, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff Michael Kramer, 52, is director of The Corporate Source, a unit of YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities, an umbrella group of seven not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing service to...

Commentary: Tell us more about this teacher plan.
October 5, 2007... Byline: LIBN Staff Another dark day for local school districts dawned recently, when Gov. Spitzer warned that school aid increases were not likely in the new state budget. But our very own State Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Rockville Centre, has...

Parker Jewish Institute of New Hyde Park appoints Robert M. Werner CFO.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds NAME: Robert M. Werner TITLE: Vice president of finance and chief financial officer ORGANIZATION: Parker Jewish Institute HOBBIES: Golf, coaching youth sports Parker Jewish Institute of New Hyde Park has...

On the move.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds ADVERTISING Austin & Williams of Hauppauge has appointed Tim Eschenauer associate art director. Prior to Austin & Williams, Eschenauer was a creative services assistant with Time magazine in New York City....

Janet Peters operates administrative consulting service out of her Bay Shore home.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy So you've got this killer idea for a startup, and you make it happen and start to cash some checks and everything's going well, until you realize your idea is killing you, because you're suffocating with paperwork,...

Metro New York Chapter of Make-A-Wish Foundation: Keep on wishing, 25 years later.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Kennth R. Cerini When it comes to making a child happy, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has cornered the market. The Metro New York Chapter just launched its 25th anniversary year, celebrating a quarter-century of making dreams come...

Long Island Non-profit Briefs: October 5, 2007.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Panera raises bread for breast cancer During October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Panera Bread is doing its part to help raise funds for cancer causes by bringing back a distinctive treat - Pink Ribbon...

The worldwide wash: In the post 9/11 world, the chase is on to find and follow the money.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Astoria Federal Savings and Loan Association knew it had found the world's most successful ice cream parlor - or a possible money launderer. It didn't seem likely that the Carnival French Ice Cream Shop in Brooklyn...

Banks battle cash reporting regs.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Talk about red tape. Nearly every time a busy Port Jefferson clam bar deposits more than $10,000 in cash in the Bank of Smithtown, the bank must file a currency transaction report or CTR with the federal government....

Ones to Watch: Long Island Banking Industry.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik James P. Gay: President and CEO, Gold Coast Bank Gay is at the helm of this community bank being launched in Islandia to serve the Long Island business community. He plays an important role in the strategic growth...

Banking on a community connection.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik Even as banks go global, they're also trying to get closer to the community. In an effort to synchronize with their surrounding areas, banks are tailoring their image, languages, hours, branch design and even name...

Banking on customer satisfaction.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Claude Solnik The Rolling Stones sang about it. Banks are monitoring it more closely than ever. The are going great lengths to track satisfaction by getting better and faster feedback from customers. They're soliciting comments...

Commentary: Debates loom on LI economy vs. open space.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Martin Cantor The report issued this week by the Long Island Builders Institute about dwindling construction activity is bad news for the Long Island economy, since real estate comprises nearly one-third of the region's economic...

Commentary: The sad truth: Gender pay gap still a problem.
October 5, 2007... Byline: E. Christopher Murray The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit against Adelphi University, alleging systematic workplace pay discrimination, is a wakeup call. Despite all the progress made in the last 35 years, we...

Commentary: Mourning a premature (and costly) death.
October 5, 2007... Byline: John Kiernan Mr. Met died Sunday at about 4:30 p.m. after a relatively short illness, but a very painful and public one. It was clear that during his last days, he received very little support or comfort from his family...

Commentary: Flip-flopping Giuliani: John Kerry revisited?
October 5, 2007... Byline: Jerry Kremer What do Rudy Giuliani and John Kerry have in common? Nothing, you say. Wrong. They have a lot in common, and in the next few months, more and more similarities will emerge. Giuliani and Kerry are pro-choice....

Commentary: Out East: October 5, 2007.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Jeff Miller The more farmstands change, the more they don't Things change. That's a fact of life, although people sometimes fight against it. Millions of dollars have been spent to buy farmland development rights and keep...

Long Island Real Estate Briefs: October 5, 2007.
October 5, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg Brace yourself: Real estate outlook is not so rosy The tightening of credit lines as a result of the sub-prime mortgage crisis is having a ripple effect on the Long Island real estate market, but not just for...

Long Island Technology Briefs: October 5, 2007.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Alison Snyder Move over, Superman: BNL has (tiny) X-ray vision, too A team of Brookhaven National Laboratory researchers has overcome a major obstacle to using refractive lenses to focus X-rays - a breakthrough that promises...

Long Island Medical Briefs: October 5, 2007.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Alison Snyder Hofstra Law School has created a new Fellowship for Health Law and Policy, designed specifically to train lawyers in health law and health law policies. The school is trumpeting the fellowship as a significant...

Long Island-based Freedman Jewelers, still romancing the stones, from Colombia to Huntington.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy Freedman Jewelers, which opened its doors in Huntington Village in 1936, was doing just fine, growing year by year, when a new challenge appeared. Because of proliferating competition, new strategies were...

How To...Choose a bankruptcy attorney.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Bernadette Starzee No business owner likes to think about bankruptcy. But if things aren't going well financially - or if a company, individual or municipality owes you money - you may find yourself in the market for a bankruptcy...

Austin & Williams of Hauppauge announces staffing changes.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Austin & Williams of Hauppauge has appointed Tim Eschenauer associate art director. Prior to Austin & Williams, Eschenauer was a creative services assistant with Time magazine in New York City. Austin & Williams...

Farmingdale-based Bi-County Mailing names Yolanda Newberry assistant general manager.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Farmingdale-based Bi-County Mailing has appointed Yolanda Newberry assistant general manager. Newberry will oversee the receipt of materials, guide them through the production process and deal with project...

Commack-based Nautilus Consulting hires Ken Haines as director.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Commack-based Nautilus Consulting hired Ken Haines as director. A nationally known expert in the preparation and evaluation of construction claims and in the resolution of construction disputes, Haines will manage...

Lenny Sardella appointed VP of operations at Commack-based Hydro Tech Environmental Corp.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Lenny Sardella was appointed vice president of operations at Commack-based Hydro Tech Environmental Corp. Sardella will oversee sales, marketing, geological, engineering and field activity. Prior to Hydro Tech, he...

J. Kings Food Service Professionals of Holtsville names Christopher Neary executive chef.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds J. Kings Food Service Professionals of Holtsville has made Christopher Neary executive chef. In this position, Neary will be responsible for heading up the J. King's culinary team, overseeing the Ship's Chandler...

Town of Riverhead gives Rechler Equity a deadline for environmental studies.
October 5, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg The Town of Riverhead told developer Rechler Equity Partners it has 21 months to complete the environmental studies and the subdivision work related to its plan to build an industrial park on 300 acres in...

Lyn D. Weiss named one of New York area's best doctors.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Lyn D. Weiss, chairwoman of the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at Nassau University Medical Center, was named one of the New York area's best doctors in the Best Doctors in America 2007-08 database....

Long Island law firms announce staffing changes: October 5, 2007.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Douglas C. Sinski has joined the firm of Kathleen F. Schwartz of Southampton to form the firm Schwartz & Sinski. The firm's concentration will be in real estate and real estate-related transactions. The firm will...

Air Industries Group Inc. names Gary Settoducato president of its new West Babylon subsidiary.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Aerospace parts manufacturing company Air Industries Group Inc. has appointed Gary Settoducato president of its new West Babylon welding metallurgy subsidiary. Prior to his new position, Settoducato was senior...

Long Island not-for-profits announce staffing changes: October 5, 2007.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Caroline Levy has been named the director of the Long Island Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. Levy served previously as a senior assistant dean at the Hofstra University School of Law and as an appellate...

Paul J. Granger rejoins consulting firm Holzmacher McLendon and Murrell of Melville.
October 5, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Paul J. Granger has rejoined consulting firm Holzmacher McLendon and Murrell of Melville as the department manager of water resources planning and design. Granger's new responsibilities include client management,...

New York's Public Service Commission wins Caithness Long Island Energy Center backing.
October 8, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale A state supreme court judge ruled late last week that New York's Public Service Commission was within its rights in granting the approvals necessary for Caithness Long Island Energy Center to conduct business as an...

Two Long Island companies strike communications deals.
October 8, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Two Long Island companies on Monday said they've struck communications deals. Griffon Corp. said Monday the company's electronic information and communication systems unit won a $42 million spare parts contract...

Another deal for Melville-based Telecommunications Corp.
October 8, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Comtech Telecommunications Corp. on Monday said it has signed a $1.5 million deal to sell high power amplifiers to an unnamed provider of aviation electronics and communication systems. The amplifiers are used...

Melville-based Arrow Electronics cuts jobs.
October 9, 2007... Byline: Henry E. Powderly II Arrow Electronics said Tuesday it is cutting 150 jobs in North America, including 12 on Long Island, a spokesman told Long Island Business News. John Hourigan, the Melville-based company's director of...

Smithtown Bancorp Chairman Brad Rock takes the reigns of American Bankers Association.
October 9, 2007... Byline: Laura Theis The American Bankers Association said Tuesday that Smithtown Bancorp Chairman Brad Rock has been elected as chairman of the organization. The new head of the largest banking trade association in the country said...

U.S. Farm Service Agency's Long Island office saved.
October 9, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg The U.S. Farm Service Agency's Riverhead office has received a lifeline. The organization announced that it received a $106 million increase in federal funding, allowing the agriculture department to keep the...

EconoWatch: Long Island on shaky ground.
October 10, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Long Island's post-college workforce continues to escape, while those who stay behind struggle to make ends meet, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau statistics. Between the years 2000 and 2006, the...

Officials consider proposals for new housing to help bring Long Island's Rocky Point back to life.
October 10, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg The future is now for Rocky Point. Officials are considering proposals for new housing, including many rentals, to help bring an area back to life that is dotted with vacant stores and failed businesses. ...

Barnosky's take.
October 10, 2007... Our popular interview podcast with LI's major players is back. In this edition of At C Level, host David Reich-Hale sits down with Eugene Barnosky, a partner in the Melville law firm of Lamb & Barnosky, one of Long Island's largest...

Port Washington-based Cedar Shopping Centers pays $117M for shopping center portfolio.
October 10, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg Port Washington-based Cedar Shopping Centers Inc. paid $117 million for a six-property shopping center portfolio, including Carman's Plaza in Massapequa. Pennsylvania-based WP Realty sold the centers, located...

LIBN WebChat with Chris Dey, sr. VP of sales, marketing and operations for New York Islanders.
October 11, 2007... Byline: David Reich-Hale Today LIBN.com begins a new series of Q&A sessions with Long Island business leaders. We lead off with Chris Dey, senior vice president of sales, marketing and operations for the New York Islanders. We spent...

Logging on: The business of clearing trees on Long Island.
October 12, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg This far from the company-owned forests of the Pacific Northwest, logging isn't the first thing that comes to mind when one ponders "Long Island industry." But suburban logging happens every day - whenever a tree...

In Brookhaven, the sod hits the fan over planned smart-growth village center.
October 12, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg A long-debated plan to build a smart-growth village center in Shoreham may finally be derailed by a Brookhaven Town board member who favors already-approved zoning for 283 single-family homes. The site is a...

Cameron to head Long Island Regional Planning Board?
October 12, 2007... Byline: Gregory Zeller With the players on all sides keeping officially mum, the good money is on John Cameron to become chairman of the Long Island Regional Planning Board. After 18 months, Chairman James Larocca is expected to resign...

Southwest cuts flights at Long Island MacArthur Airport.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy Southwest Airlines plans to ax six flights from Long Island MacArthur Airport by the end of November, citing flagging demand. On the block: two daily runs from Baltimore, three Chicago flights and a Las Vegas...

UrbanAmerica: Requiem for a revitalization plan for downtown Hempstead.
October 12, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg UrbanAmerica's proposal to invest $2 billion into revitalizing downtown Hempstead raised more than a few eyebrows before its ultimate demise last week. Controversial from the start, outside observers and many...

Reigning cats and dogs: Pet business explosion.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy When John Latuga opened Bone Appetite Bakery in Syosset in June 2002, he figured he had cornered a healthy segment of the retail pet food market, specializing in goodies such as dog birthday cakes. But seven years...

Will dollar's drop spur merger and acquisition activity?
October 12, 2007... Byline: Laura Theis As the dollar's value slides around the globe, analysts are at odds about the possibility of foreign takeovers of American banks, including financial institutions based on Long Island. The dollar's value has been...

Henry Boerner appointed chairman of Mineola-based Governance & Accountability Institute Inc.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Former managing director and partner of Rowan & Blewitt Inc. Henry "Hank" Boerner has been appointed chairman of Mineola-based Governance & Accountability Institute Inc. A Manhasset resident, Boerner will advise...

North Shore Financial Group hires Mount Sinai resident Michael J. Salvato.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds North Shore Financial Group has hired Mount Sinai resident Michael J. Salvato as financial advisor and financial services representative. Licensed to sell life and health insurance in New York, Salvato was an...

Fran Evans appointed as new Town of Huntington public information officer and chief of staff.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Huntington resident Fran Evans has been appointed as the new Town of Huntington public information officer and chief of staff to Supervisor Frank P. Petrone. With an extensive background in government and...

Long Island health care facilities announce staffing changes: October 12, 2007.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds West Islip-based Our Lady of Consolation Nursing & Rehabilitative Care Center recently promoted Central Islip resident Peggy Nixdorf as the new director of pastoral care. Nixdorf's responsibilities as director will...

Long Island law firms announce staffing changes: October 12, 2007.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Uniondale-based Farrell Fritz has hired Garden City resident Robert M. Harper as associate in the trusts and estates and commercial litigation departments. Harper is also a special professor of law at the Hofstra...

Long Island not-for-profits announce staffing changes: October 12, 2007.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Brooklyn resident John T. O'Connell has been appointed to The Long Island Home Board of Directors. O'Connell is the former president and chief executive officer of the Health and Welfare Council of Long Island and...

John Bransfield appointed VP of sales for Huntington-based Advantage Title.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Manhattan resident John Bransfield was appointed vice president of sales for Huntington-based Advantage Title. Bransfield will be responsible for helping to expand the firm's business relationships with financial...

Mineola-based FatWire Software appoints Loren Weinberg as VP of marketing and product management.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Erin E. Edmonds Mineola-based FatWire Software has appointed Manhattan resident Loren Weinberg as vice president of marketing and product management. The former vice president and senior technology strategist for Computer...

Commentary: New York's pension dollars and the war on terror.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Alfonse D'Amato As a public servant for many years, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has generated any number of anti-terrorism initiatives. Typical to his attention to detail was his suggestion, while serving in the...

Commentary: Things looking grim for the Grand Old Party.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Jerry Kremer What a difference three years makes. It seems like yesterday Republicans were on top of the world - a majority in the U.S. Congress, a GOP governor in New York, a comfortable majority in New York's state Senate....

Commentary: Out East: October 12, 2007.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Jeff Miller Commercial revals and the curse of the fourth term Those with a taste for political intrigue should dig into the Southampton Town supervisor's race. It's a banquet. The table was set when three-term supervisor...

Long Island Technology Briefs: October 12, 2007.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Alison Snyder BNL physicist's laser guns earn Free Electron honors Brookhaven National Laboratory physicist Dr. Ilan Ben-Zvi has won a share of the 2007 Free Electron Laser Prize, given by the International Free Electron Laser...

Long Island Real Estate Briefs: October 12, 2007.
October 12, 2007... Byline: David Winzelberg Companies taking note of LI's inter-modal mania The idea behind the state Department of Transportation's truck/rail transfer station proposed for Brentwood is spreading to other parts of the Island, and...

Long Island Medical Briefs: October 12, 2007.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Alison Snyder Nassau Health Care Corp.'s $37 million surprise It's an infusion not only of cash, but of confidence. Nassau Health Care Corp. President and chief executive Arthur Gianelli announced last week the NHCC would...

They are women, see them network at Long Island's seventh annual Women's Expo.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy Eva Lopez's business can be traced along a string of glass beads stretching from Barcelona to Port Jefferson. Lopez was one of 74 vendors, most selling arts and crafts, who came to the Middle Country Public...

Commentary: How To...Choose telecommunications/IP.
October 12, 2007... Byline: Bernadette Starzee With new technologies constantly emerging, it's difficult for many businesses to know which telecommunications/Internet features they need to stay competitive and offer their clients optimal service - not only...

Westernmost vineyard in Suffolk County marketed as 'the North Fork starts here".
October 12, 2007... Byline: Ambrose Clancy The North Fork has moved west. At least that's the way Steve Gallagher, his wife, Laura, and Laura's sister, Barbara Perrotta, are marketing their startup vineyard in St. James. The newest and westernmost...