VOL. XXIII, NO. 44 Financial crisis rips clothiers

BY HILARY POTKEWITZ

when a flight lands at one of New York’s airports, the pi-lot usually says over the loudspeaker,“On behalf of your NewYork-based flight crew, we’d like to thank you for flying withus.” But don’t assume he lives here. More likely, the crewcommutes from homes in the Midwest, the South or upstatecities like Buffalo.

Deterred by the high cost of living and salaries relative-ly the same as a decade ago,

Airline pilotsdetour around NY

COMINGNEXT WEEKLawyers at nonprofits helpinghomeowners facing foreclosure areoverwhelmed; CCRREEDDIITT CCRRIISSIISS CCRRIIMMPPSSWWOORRKK at big firms; top law firms list.

Financialcrisis ripsclothiers

BY ELISABETH BUTLER CORDOVA

the widening credit crisis hasclaimed an unexpected victim: ahandful of New York’s most fash-ionable companies.

Troubled Jones Apparel GroupInc. and Liz Claiborne Inc. haveseen their shares tumble more than35% since late April, wiping hun-dreds of millions of dollars off thecompanies’ market value. Evenperennial industry stars PoloRalph Lauren Corp. and Phillips-Van Heusen Corp. have taken bighits,with their shares slipping 28%and 18%, respectively.

Accessories makers Coach Inc.and Steven Madden Ltd.,as well as

clothier Kenneth Cole Produc-tions Inc., have also been drawninto the conflagration, all seeingshare price declines of more than25% since the spring. In fact, only

BY THERESA AGOVINO

for the past three and a halfyears, the Metropolitan Trans-portation Authority has failed tomeet its goals for awardingminority- and women-owned businesses state-funded contracts.

The businesses have re-ceived about 8% of the $7.2billion in contracts that theMTA has awarded since2004—far below the 15% goal theagency set for itself using a formu-la outlined in law.

“It’s disappointing that we areunderperforming,” says Chief Ex-ecutive Elliot Sander. “It is an area

that is challenging, and it is not anarea that will be easy to fix. But I’mcommitted to doing it. ”

The MTA’s problems includeslow processing times for certifi-cation applications and firms’ dif-ficulties in securing performancebonds to qualify for agency work.Some eligible companies are re-luctant to bid, claiming that work-ing with the MTA is too much of

a hassle.The agency has done

much better on the federalside. In the first half of thelast fiscal year, it gave 21%of the $519 million in fed-eral contracts to minority-and women-owned busi-

nesses; its target was 17%. Most ofthe awards were for construction.The MTA says it is easier to findminority- and women-ownedcompanies that deal with con-

MTA misses goalsonminoritycontracts

Mortgage woescontribute to risein bankruptciesPAGE 2

After St. John’s:College securitymoving beyondtext messages PAGE 3

Cheap greenbacksa gift horse now, aTrojan horse laterGREG DAVID, PAGE 13

Farley plan off to abad start? Parkingtiff on West SideTHE INSIDER, PAGE 14

New rule to crimpluxe corporateparties; top NYChotels list REPORT, PAGE 19

SHARES OF MERRILL LYNCHROSE THE MOST in five yearson Friday following a newsreport that Chief ExecutiveStanley O’Neal had initiatedmerger talks with WachoviaCorp. without getting the go-ahead from his board ofdirectors. Investors bet thatthe news could lead to Mr.O’Neal’s firing and a takeoverof the securities firm.Thestock closed at $66.09.Meanwhile, downtownofficials launched a new effortto convince Merrill to remainin lower Manhattan afterreports indicated it wasconsidering building a newheadquarters across fromPenn Station.

PRODUCTION ON 30 TELEVISIONSHOWS CURRENTLY beingfilmed in New York will shutdown if the Writers Guild ofAmerica goes on strike thisweek.The guild’s three-year

TOP STORIES

AT DEADLINE

See AIRLINE PILOTS on Page 10

See FINANCIAL on Page 8

See MTA’s MINORITY on Page 8

Vows to help firmsget work, but someprefer private sector

Share prices down by double digits at apparel leaders; Warnaco only gainer

See AT DEADLINE on Page 2

VOL. XXIII, NO. 44 WWW.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 4, 2007 PRICE: $3.00

07148601068

544

NEW

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8%OF MTA STATEcontracts wentto women andminorities, vs.goal of 15%

Many choose more affordable areasfar from their assigned airports

CAPT. CRAIG HOSKINSis based at JFK Airport butlives in Bradenton, Fla.

BUSINESS LIVES

Expertslist the dos anddon’ts forcostumesat workPAGE 35

HALLOWEENETIQUETTE

WINNERS& LOSERS12 financial titans

most affected by the credit crisis

PAGE 3

JFK CUTBACKS Delta, JetBlue adjust flights to avoid cap Page 10

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ELECTRONIC EDITION

CNYB 10-29-07 A 1 10/26/2007 7:38 PM Page 1

BY LISA FICKENSCHER

on a recent muggy morning, Donatella Arpaia and business partner Michael Psilakis satsipping coffee at their trendy midtown restaurant, Anthos, as they discussed a possible site for anew eatery. Ms. Arpaia excitedly suggested that the space would be ideal for two restaurants, anotion that Mr. Psilakis instantly dismissed as impractical.

The thirtysomething duo—he’s the chef; she provides the buzz and panache—are used todisagreeing.

“Our relationship is like a marriage without the sex,” says Ms. Arpaia, who has achievednational fame as a judge on the Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef, while Mr. Psilakis has justnetted a coveted Michelin star for his cooking at Anthos. “There’s a lot of trust between us.”

That’s a good thing, because their two-year-old partnership is about to undergo its biggest

contract with the Alliance ofMotion Picture and TelevisionProducers expires Oct. 31, andunion members have alreadyapproved a strike.The programsat risk are late-night talk shows,soap operas and sitcoms like 30Rock.Talk shows like Late Showwith David Letterman, TheDaily Show with Jon Stewart andThe View would have to airreruns immediately. Dramasand comedies like Gossip Girland Lipstick Jungle have aboutfive weeks’ worth of shows inthe can.The guild’s East Coastdivision has 2,500 members,most of whom live in New York.

OFFICE-SUPPLY CHAIN STAPLES ISGOING AFTER New Yorkers’business with a new store formatcalled Staples Copy & PrintShop.The first of nine plannedManhattan locations recentlyopened at 261 Madison Ave.Framingham, Mass.-basedStaples aims to open the othercity locations within a year.Thenew 4,000-square-foot shopswill compete with the two dozenFedEx Kinko’s print stores inManhattan. Staples also plans toopen a handful of traditionalstores in the boroughs outsideManhattan by the end of 2008.

HAWAIIAN TROPIC ZONERESTAURANT, a Times Squarehot spot with bikini-cladwaitresses, will begin featuringlive music and dancing thisweek after obtaining a cabaretlicense.The year-old eatery isbucking a trend. Over the past15 years, the number of dancingvenues has declined 20%.

BRIDAL PUBLICATIONS MAKE UPTHE FASTEST-GROWING category

in the magazine market,jumping 96% to 135 titlesbetween 2002 and 2007,according to the 2008 edition of the National Directory ofMagazines. Home magazineswere the second-fastest-growing, up 57%, followed by ethnic titles, regionalpublications and babymagazines. Internal publicationswere the hardest-hit category,dropping 76% to just 45 titles.The number of environmentalmagazines fell 34% during theperiod. Niche magazines havealso narrowed their scope,with bridal titles, for instance,targeting readers by region andethnicity.

MBIA INC. AND AMBAC FINANCIALGROUP INC., two companies thatinsure bonds against default,have been hit so hard by thecredit crisis that their shares now trade below book value.Investors are worried about the companies’ viability, says analyst Ed Grebeck of TempusAdvisors. Armonk, N.Y-basedMBIA posted a quarterly loss of$37 million last week, comparedwith earnings of $218 million in the year-earlier period.Manhattan-based Ambac swung to a net loss of $361 million, versus a profit of $214 million in the year-earlier period.

THE ASIAN AMERICAN BUSINESSDEVELOPMENT CENTER will openthe New York Center in Beijingon Nov. 1.The facility willprovide support in China forNew York state businesses,especially small and medium-size companies, that don’t haveexisting resources and networkson the mainland. �

BY TOM FREDRICKSON

the number of personal bankrupt-cy filings in New York City shot upmore than two-thirds in the past year.

Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filingsin the city increased 69% over thepast 12 months to 10,541.

The largest increase, 83%, wasrecorded in Chapter 7 filings at theBrooklyn branch of U.S. Bankrupt-cy Court, which includes filings forthat borough as well as Queens andStaten Island. At the Manhattanbranch, which includes filings forthat borough and the Bronx, Chap-ter 7 filings were up 59%.

Bankruptcy attorneys said two

factors account for the sharp in-crease. First, the numbers are beingcompared with figures for an abnor-mally low period for bankruptcies in2006, the year after the bankruptcylaw was overhauled. Prior to thechange in October 2005, personalbankruptcies soared as peoplerushed to file under the old, moreliberal bankruptcy law.

Slowing housing marketin addition, attorneys say, bank-ruptcy filings are going up becauseNew Yorkers are suffering increasedpressure from rising debt and theslowing housing market.

Many debtors who are havingtrouble meeting their mortgagepayments and holding on to theirhomes are filing for bankruptcy.

Even though current law doesn’tallow mortgages to be restructuredin a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, somefilers are choosing to work out ex-

tended payment plans for credit cardand other debt when monthly pay-ments on adjustable rate mortgagesreset to higher levels. Congress isconsidering measures to make itpossible to restructure mortgages,which, attorneys say, would increasefilings sharply as more homeownersuse the courts to save their homes.

Meanwhile, some debtors arechoosing to file for Chapter 7 as analternative to foreclosure becausethe latter can lead to taxable incomefor debtors.In addition,the negativecredit information from a foreclo-sure stays on a credit record for alonger period than a Chapter 7bankruptcy, says Manhattan bank-ruptcy attorney Stephen Kass.

“A year ago, I didn’t see anyChapter 7 filings related to real es-tate,” Mr. Kass says. “Today, I amseeing about two a week.”

COMMENTS? [email protected]

Chomping at the bit

Personal bankruptcies soar

Restaurateurs plan ambitious NYC, national ventures

FRESH LETTUCE:Michael Psilakis andDonatella Arpaia havebrought in an investor toback their expansion.

GREG DAVID ------------------------------------13THE INSIDER------------------------------------14SMALL BUSINESS------------------- 15WEEK IN REVIEW-----------------------16REAL ESTATE DEALS--------------18REPORT: MEETINGS

AND CONVENTIONS-----------19NEIGHBORHOOD

JOURNAL------------------------------------------29CLASSIFIEDS ----------------------------------30THE WEEKS AHEAD ----------------33BUSINESS LIVES------------------------35

CORPORATE LADDER-------37EXECUTIVE MOVES--------------38BOB LAPE---------------------------------------39

See RESTAURATEURS on Page 8THIS WEEK IN CRAIN’S

Filings up 69%;housing foreclosurestied to increase

AT DEADLINE

vol. xxiii, no. 44, october 29, 2007—Crain’s New York Business (issn 8756-789x) is pub-lished weekly by Crain Communications Inc., 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017. Period-icals postage paid at New York, N.Y. and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send addresschanges to: Crain’s New York Business, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit,MI 48207-2912. for subscriber service: Call (888) 909-9111. Fax (313) 446-6777. $3.00 acopy, $59.79 one year, $109.79 two years. (GST No. 13676-0444-RT) ©Entire contentscopyright 2007 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.

Continued from Page 1

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 2 10/26/2007 7:09 PM Page 1

BY SAMANTHA MARSHALL

university officials at St. John’s Universi-ty won high praise last month when a rifle-toting student on the Queens campus wasquickly apprehended without a shot fired.Theschool quickly became a media darling,and itstext-messaging alert system was hailed as thepanacea for security breaches.

Dozens of other area colleges have beenmoving quickly to install similar technology.

But such investments aren’t enough in acity of sprawling campuses and dormitories,where a lockdown isn’t always feasible.Schools are reviewing their protocols to figureout what to say via their costly communicationsystems when something does occur. They’realso hiring more staff to ensure the safety ofstudents, faculty and employees.

First things first“buying the technology is like puttingthe cart before the horse if the university lead-ership hasn’t come up with a policy for cam-pus security,” says Richard Dale, a securityconsultant and founder of iXP, which spe-cializes in implementing campus emergencyresponse systems. “Sometimes they haven’t

even figured out who’s authorized to send outa text alert.”

A recent spate of headlines about trouble atcampuses nationwide is prompting localschools, including City University of NewYork, Columbia University, Fordham Univer-sity and New York University, to come to gripswith security logistics.

St. John’s isn’t satisfied. It plans to put tele-phones in every classroom, public address sys-tems in every building and plasma informa-tion screens in every lobby.

Administrators at Fordham, which hada text-alert system before the massacre atVirginia Polytechnic Institute in April, saythey are continuously tweaking the emergency

Campuses rethink security

The big crunch12 financial titans who sank or swam during the great credit crisis of 2007.

Some acted expeditiously; others were caught completely by surprise.by Aaron Elstein

Despite St. John’s success,officials scramble to gobeyond text-messaging

October 29, 2007 | Crain’s New York Business | 3

Over the last four years, Chief Executive MITCHELL CAPLAN workedtirelessly to take E*Trade beyond its discount-broker roots. Too bad.The old business is holding up well. Trouble is that the new ventures,like buying home loans from third parties, have been a bust. Thecompany recently announced a third-quarter loss, largely fueled by a$197 million write-down of mortgages and other securities.

The credit crisis dawned in June when a pair of highly leveraged BearStearns hedge funds stuffed with curdled mortgage securitiesabruptly collapsed. Chief Executive JIMMY CAYNE has been furiouslytrying to keep his firm afloat ever since. In a field where Bear was thesupposed industry leader, the losses came as a shock, as did thefirm’s foot-dragging in bailing out investors.

Few have taken as much heat over the credit crisis as ratings agenciesMoody’s and Standard & Poor’s. Their earnings are falling and headsare rolling—S&P President KATHLEEN CORBET left in August. Theagencies collected fat fees as they merrily assigned top ratings totottering mountains of mortgage-backed bonds. Regulators and class-action lawyers are now circling.

After a fast start, 2007 has turned into a fiasco for private equitykingpin HENRY KRAVIS. As the credit crisis hit, investors suddenlybalked at financing Kohlberg Kravis Roberts’ leveraged buyouts,including its $28 billion acquisition of First Data. Even worse, the firmrecently backed out of an $8 billion deal to acquire audio equipmentmaker Harman International Industries.

As losers go, STANLEY O’NEAL now ranks as the biggest of the bunch.Last week, the Merrill Lynch chief executive announced a whopping$8.4 billion write-down to reflect the tumbling value of the firm’s pileof mortgage-related holdings and by week’s end was fighting to holdon to his job. That bloodbath exceeded Merrill’s own estimate of justless than three weeks ago by more than $3 billion. The write-down dwarfs Merrill’s record 2006 net income of $7.5 billion.

Citigroup CEO CHARLES PRINCE has described 2007 as the year of“no excuses.” This month, after reporting an appalling 57% drop inearnings, he termed the huge bank’s performance “surprising.” Sadly,it is anything but that, considering it ranked as a major player insubprime lending and in financing huge leveraged buyouts. Citi wasalso the world’s top creator of structured investment vehicles and is now leading a $100 billion bailout plan.

LOSERS (in alphabetical order)

WINNERS(in alphabetical order)

Goldman Sachs had egg on its face in August after an in-house hedgefund posted huge losses, an early sign of big problems in the creditmarkets. Rather than stick customers with the losses, Chief ExecutiveLLOYD BLANKFEIN quickly rescued the fund by injecting $2 billion ofthe firm’s money. Fortunately, Goldman’s other big wagers, includingbetting against mortgages, paid off so handsomely that the firm stillposted an 80% jump in third-quarter earnings.

Early this month, J.P. Morgan Chase reported record third-quarterearnings of $3.4 billion. The news not only boosted its stock, it addeda brilliant shine to the reputation of Chief Executive JAMIE DIMON. One big reason: Mr. Dimon’s bank seems to have sidestepped the worst excesses of the credit bubble, recording write-downs of only $1.3 billion, less than half of those of archrival Citigroup.

Money management giant BlackRock, led by LAURENCE FINK, hasbecome a popular port for investors seeking shelter from the financialstorm. Best known for investing in stodgy bonds, the firm attracted awave of $41 billion in the turbulent third quarter, with $30 billion ofthat going into money market funds that offer safe, albeit low, returns.In the quarter, the firm reported a 116% jump in adjusted earnings.

Defeat has never tasted as sweet as it does for Nasdaq Chief ExecutiveROBERT GREIFELD. Repeatedly foiled in his efforts to buy the LondonStock Exchange, Mr. Greifeld sold the 30% stake he’d accumulated ata $431 million profit last month, and established a Europeanbeachhead anyway by striking a merger this summer with Sweden’sOMX Group. Meanwhile, crisis-driven stock market volatility is driving upNasdaq’s trading volume and profits.

After years of nonstop growth, the banking business is getting a bitugly around the edges. Not for JOHN KANAS, though. The man whobuilt up North Fork Bancorp into a local powerhouse with 355branches sold it for $14 billion in December. He not only pulled the cordon his gilded parachute just in time to avoid the pain of the housingcollapse, but also got an exit package worth about $200 million.

Timing is everything on Wall Street. Just ask STEPHEN SCHWARZMAN,chief executive of private equity powerhouse Blackstone Group. In lateJune, just as the LBO bubble neared its giddy peak, he took hiscompany public, raising $4 billion and netting himself a cool $700million in cash. A month later, the credit crisis hit, the LBO game wentinto the deep freeze, and Blackstone’s share price hit the skids.

0NUMBER OF

other big brokerswhose stock is up

this year.

28%RISE IN STOCK

price sinceMr. Dimon took

over in ’06

31%RISE IN

stock pricethis year

10XRISE IN

third-quarterearnings

$14B NORTH FORK’S

sale price

$7BVALUE OF

Mr. Schwarzman’sBlackstone stake

52%DECLINE

in E*Trade share price this year

$4.9B DECLINE

in Bear’s marketvalue this year

44%

$130BVALUE OF

acquisitionsagreed on thisyear by KKR

$8.4BAMOUNT

of write-downsin Merrill’s mortgage-

related securities

$6B AMOUNT

by which Citi wrote down value of subprime and

other loans

HALLWAY MONITORS: St. John’s junior John Kelly wasreassured by how “well-orchestrated everything was.”

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PORTION OFMoody’s revenue

tied to rating hybrid securities

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 3 10/26/2007 7:06 PM Page 1

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STOCKS TO WATCH by Erik Ipsen

JON STEWART recently renewed hiscontract to star on the hit The DailyShow. SpongeBob SquarePants willsoon bow as an Xbox video game. Themedia company behind these hotproperties, Viacom, is expected topost a 33% jump in profits this week.Yet all this leaves investors cold.Viacom’s shares have gone nowherethis year and in fact are down slightlysince the company split from siblingCBS nearly two years ago.

MetLife held $2.3 billion worth of securities backed by subprime loans at thebeginning of the summer. This week, the insurer will tell investors how much itstill holds and how much those holdings are worth. Fears of a huge subprimewrite-down at rival AIG rocked that stock last week. Wall Street expectsMetLife to fare far better as it cruises to an earning increase for the 12thstraight quarter. The shares gained 7% last week and are up 17% this year.

Critics have called Lazard aninvestment-banking lightweight foryears. As it turns out, smallness hasits advantages, like not havingenough capital to load up onsubprime mortgages or lend pots ofmoney to clients—businesses that arecosting big firms dearly. In contrast tothe giants, Lazard is expected to posta 95% profit jump this week. Nowonder its shares have bucked theindustry trend to rise 6% this year.

Joke is on Comedy Central ownerViacom as shares get stuck in neutral

BY TOM FREDRICKSON

Investors mulling an investmentin Hess Corp. should think ofClint Eastwood, who as DirtyHarry famously threatened a thug,telling him, “You’ve got to ask

yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ ”Betting on Hess, an international in-

tegrated oil and gas company based inManhattan, takes guts at this point.Withthe price of oil up sharply this year—itjust passed $90 a barrel for the first timelast week—it’s no wonder Hess’ shareshave soared 48% this year. But with fur-ther major moves in oil prices increasing-ly unlikely and with Hess’ shares tradingat a premium to those of its peers, in-vestors should drill elsewhere for profits.

On the upside, Morningstar analystCatharina Milostan estimates that a 10%increase in crude oil prices would trans-late into a 30% rise in Hess’ value.But thesame ratio holds true on the downside,and the higher oil prices go, the greaterthe chances of a correction.

“The shares of oil companies oftenmove in sympathy with oil prices,” writes

Argus Research analyst Philip Weiss.“This is particularly true of companiessuch as Hess,whose results depend large-ly on the result of theirexploration efforts.”

Despite surgingdemand from China,India and otheremerging markets,some industry ana-lysts are convincedthat a huge bubble isinflating, fed largelyby speculators tradingoil futures contractsbased on volatileshort-term issues. Inaddition, growingsigns of a slowdown ineconomic growth inthe United States andEurope could putpressure on energydemand and prices.

Hess’ earnings pershare are expected toincrease modestly thisyear to $5.70 per share, up 6%, thoughthose estimates will certainly be boostedif oil prices hold at their current level.Revenues are forecast to hit $29.5 billion,up from $28.1 billion in 2006 and $23.2billion in 2005.

In recent years, Hess has gone from alongtime industry laggard to something

more akin to a leader. The company’smanagement had a poor record on explo-ration and production. But with the re-

tirement of a numberof executives and a newgroup coming aboardfrom competing com-panies, Hess hassharpened its act. Biginvestments in explo-ration are paying off.

The company hasmade some savvydeals recently, includ-ing selling or swap-ping of properties withdwindling supplies ofoil in favor of explor-ing newer oil basins inAfrica and Asia, saysMs. Milostan. Butwith 63% of the firm’s2006 production stillin America and Eu-rope, gains should re-main at only about 3%to 5% per year.

The rub is that the good news is al-ready priced into the stock. Hess’ shareshave outgained those of rivals.As a result,Hess’ stock currently trades at 14 timesthe company’s trailing 12-months earn-ings, versus a multiple of 12 for BP.


Hesssharesbarrel aheadon soaring oil pricesStock highly vulnerableto any dip in petroleum;swaps bring new fields

Market cap $22.5 billion

Est. 2008 P/E 11.5

Five-year share-price gain 408%


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HIGHLIGHTS REEL

SINKERS5-DAY 1-MONTH 3-MONTH CLOSING

% CHANGE % CHANGE % CHANGE PRICE

Ambac Financial -22.9% -29.0% -41.4% $44.30

Coach -12.5% -23.1% -22.8% $36.13

Schering-Plough -6.7% -4.7% +4.5% $30.52

Moody’s -6.4% -8.5% -21.6% $43.37

Cablevision -6.3% -14.5% -16.8% $29.53

➡+1.8%

TheBloomberg/Crain’s NewYork Index

rose 1.8% toend theweek at382. TheS&P 500Index rose

2.3%,closing at

1535.

RISERS 5-DAY 1-MONTH 3-MONTH CLOSING

% CHANGE % CHANGE % CHANGE PRICE

Aéropostale +13.7% +15.0% -13.5% $22.44

New York Times +11.7% +5.6% -11.0% $20.30

Nasdaq +10.8% +18.4% +42.4% $44.32

NYSE Euronext +8.5% +16.0% +23.3% $91.19

Goldman Sachs +8.4% +10.0% +21.0% $236.06

CNYB 10-29-07 A 4 10/26/2007 7:17 PM Page 1

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NEW YORK,NEW YORKedited by Lisa Fickenscher

Tinseltown titansclash in Big Applethis week, the long-runningWest Coast battle between thetwo entertainment-industrybibles, Daily Variety and TheHollywood Reporter, comes to

New York.On Nov. 2, the Reporter will

launch a national edition, whichwill have same-day distribution inNew York and go head-to-headhere with Variety’s nine-year-oldGotham edition.

“We believe there’s a need here[for us],” says Erik Mika, publishingdirector of the Reporter. Itsexpanded New York coverage willfocus on the intersection ofentertainment and finance, saysEditor Elizabeth Guider.

The new edition is part of aworldwide expansion by Reporter,which is owned by Nielsen and

will be redesigned in January.Variety insists it’s not worried.

“It’s safe to say we’re pretty well-established,” says Publisher CharlesCoones.

Ad pages for Daily Variety,Gotham and the Reporter were alldown through August, accordingto IMS/The Auditor.

Plaza gettingready to party

the plaza hotel mayhave suffered constructiondelays during its two-yearrenovation, but that hasn’tstopped people from bookingtheir weddings, bar mitzvahs

and even movie-premiereparties starting inJanuary, when the

property is finally slated toopen.

So far, 92 events arebooked for 2008 in ThePlaza’s ballroom and inthe newly created 14,000-square-foot, second-floormeeting space, accordingto Dean Martinus, presidentof Great Performances,which will providecatering at the property.

The big surprise is theinterest from filmcompanies, Mr. Martinussays. “The old Plaza didn’tdo a lot of premieres.”

The caterer, which recentlyhandled an event just

outside the landmarkhotel to celebrate its100th anniversary, is busypreparing for another bigparty to mark the grandreopening.

Project slam-dunk for ex-hoopstersnightlife impresario LeslyBernard has scored with his nine-month-old Tillman’s Bar &Lounge in Chelsea (below).

Now, former NationalBasketball Association playersChristian Laetner and Brian Davis areteaming up with Mr. Bernard, ofTaj and Pravda fame, to bring theHarlem-inspired Tillman’s to 15cities in the United States andthree Caribbean islands.

Messrs. Laetner and Davis,who co-own real estate develop-

ment firm Ball Street Ventures,are backing the first Tillman’soutside the city, in Durham, N.C.That’s where the partners arebuilding a luxury residential andcommercial community on 44acres—home of their alma mater,Duke University—once crowdedwith tobacco warehouses.TheTillman’s there is slated to open insix months.

Their other project sitesinclude Atlanta, Miami,Philadelphia and Washington.

“Lesly is our exclusive restau-rant partner,” says Mr. Davis, whosays Tillman’s won out over otherconcepts because of its “coolness.”

Contributor: Matthew Flamm

Soon, cheesecakewith their cuppa

New york cheesecake kingJunior’s has just signed a dealto sell its most famous

sweet to the British, who cansoon decide whether it’s tastyenough for a country that has amonarch.

After a year of negotiatingwith Greencore, a Dublin-basedfood manufacturer, Junior’s ishanding over its recipe in a licensingarrangement that will allow Greencore to make the cakeand sell it to several hundred restaurants and 1,000 retailersin the United Kingdom.

The conglomerate will regularly send samples of itsproduct to Junior’s co-owner Alan Rosen to ensure that itmeets his standards.The British version will have a driercrust rather than the sponge cake one used here, accordingto Mr. Rosen.

“If we find that people really love our cheesecake, I’d loveto open a restaurant there,” observes Mr. Rosen, who sellsmore than a million cheesecakes in this country for up to$65 each.

Greencore will begin test-marketing the dessert nextmonth but won’t introduce it in stores until next spring.


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one company in the stylish bunch,Warnaco Group Inc., has gainedground. Its stock is up a whopping34%.

“Investors in general don’t wantto have anything to do with con-sumer names right now,” saysRobert Samuels,an apparel industryanalyst at J.P. Morgan Securities.

Behind the rout looms a wall ofworry that is expected to depressrevenues and earnings for months tocome. Higher gas prices, fallinghome values and tighter credit con-ditions are all holding back con-sumers’ willingness to spend. Com-pounding the problem, apparel andaccessories companies are strug-gling in the absence of any hot newfashion trends to stimulate shop-pers’ interest, and unseasonablywarm weather is melting demandfor cold-weather gear.

“All those macro issues areweighing on consumer spending,”says Marty Hargrave, a portfoliomanager at Fifth Third Asset Man-agement.

Many signs point to the situa-tion only getting worse from here.Retail traffic around the na-tion has declined in eight ofthe last nine months, mark-ing the longest slide in adecade, according toChicago-based consultingfirm ShopperTrak.

“Industrywide decline”“unfortunately, a sustained traf-fic decline, like the one we’ve beenmonitoring throughout 2007, sug-gests an industrywide decline in salesin the coming months,” noted BillMartin, co-founder of Shopper-Trak, in a recent report.

With the most critical holiday

shopping only weeks away,the slow-down promises to wreak real dam-age. Apparel companies typicallymake most of their profits in theyear’s final quarter. Just last week,Coach executives lowered theirprofit forecasts, citing falling retail

traffic.Investors have taken such

fears to heart, betting thatnot even the industry titans’stock prices will be immune.That includes Phillips-VanHeusen, the longtime king

of men’s dress shirts. It has reporteddouble-digit profit growth for thelast 14 consecutive quarters and re-cently reaffirmed its upbeat forecastfor the year.

Polo Ralph Lauren, the fashionhouse with legendary staying powerand a stock price that has quintupledin the last five years, is also taking itslumps.

For the industry’s weaker play-ers, the slowdown is expected to beeven more painful. Jones ApparelGroup has struggled for severalyears to find its footing as its agingclothing lines lost rack space in de-partment stores. For the first half ofthis year, its earnings shriveled tojust $11 million, from $135 millionin the first half of 2006. Most re-cently, the company sold its fast-growing Barneys New York chainand replaced its chief executive.

Changes at Claiborneliz claiborne is also seen as vul-nerable. Its new chief executiveoverhauled the firm’s entire businessstrategy earlier this year, putting 16clothing brands up for sale in orderto focus more on its Juicy Coutureand Kate Spade divisions. For thefirst six months of the year, the com-pany reported flat sales and a sharp65% tumble in earnings from thesame period of 2006.

Only Warnaco Group has blos-somed in this environment. The

company emerged from bankruptcyfour years ago, and Chief ExecutiveJoe Gromek has mounted a success-ful turnaround by focusing on its hotCalvin Klein brand and overseassales. Investors have continued tobuy the turnaround story and thestock. Persistent rumors about apossible takeover by Phillips-VanHeusen have also helped the shares.

With the economy losing steam,the last thing the industry neededwas exactly what it got, one of thehottest autumns on record. Balmytemperatures have forced compa-nies to mark down truckloads ofsweaters, suede boots and overcoatsin recent weeks.

“Everybody uses weather as anexcuse, but if you have 80-degreedays out here, some of these compa-nies are going to have a hard time sur-viving,” says Gilbert Harrison,chair-man of retail advisory firm FinancoInc. “The apparel business is goingthrough a tough time right now.”


Financial crisis rips clothiersContinued from Page 1

struction than with other services,which are more often included instate contracts.

But locating minority- andwomen-owned construction firmsis hardly simple. For example, find-ing ones to help build the SecondAvenue subway will be a challenge.The $1 billion project will requirelarge,experienced firms,and minor-ity- and women-owned firms tendto be smaller.

“That could pull our numbersdown,” says MTA General CounselJames Henly.

In an attempt to improve itsoverall performance, the MTA hascleared the certified-list backlog ofabout 65 companies.Some had beenwaiting for years.

The MTA also plans to be moreproactive in alerting vendors about

pending contracts. For example, theMTA isn’t required to advertise jobsunder $10,000. Starting next year, itplans to inform the businesses so thatthey can bid on those opportunities.

Impediments to success abound.Experts cite a scarcity of minority-and women-owned businesses withthe financial ability to secure neces-sary bonding, as well as the experi-ence to take on large contracts. Inaddition, some with the capacityprefer to work in the more lucrativeprivate sector.

Too much red tapeellen aschendorf, president ofEgg Electric Inc., says her companycould bid on large MTA projects butthat it isn’t worth it.

“There are lots of requirements—tons of reports,” Ms. Aschendorfsays. “I’d rather be building.”

In fact, women-owned enter-prises received about 3% of theMTA’s state-funded contracts,compared with a goal of 5%; minor-ity-owned firms got 5%, versus agoal of 10%.

Leo Fabio’s firm,LLF Construc-tion, is too small to get its own con-tracts but has been a subcontractoron MTA jobs.Mr.Fabio says that heprefers to be his own boss and thatthe private sector pays faster.

Despite the challenges, someowners are hopeful. They say thatGov.Eliot Spitzer seems more com-mitted to awarding contracts thanthe previous administration. For ex-ample, the state announced a pilotprogram that would help businessesget bonding insurance.

“There has been a change in at-titude,” Sandra Wilkin, president ofboth the Women Builders Council

and Bradford Construction Corp.“This administration has been veryaccessible to us.”

Ms. Wilkin is encouraging bythe agency’s willingness to admitflaws and its pledges to improve.But“it’s still early,” she says. “If it is onlylip service, we’ll find out.”

If the promises are just talk, theMTA probably won’t suffer conse-quences, as missing the targets car-ries no penalty.

“These are aspirational goals,”Mr. Henly says.


MTA falls short on minority goalsContinued from Page 1

stress test ever.The pair plan to openthree restaurants in the city nextyear, and will then use two of themas models for an eventual nation-wide expansion. Meanwhile, they’restill smarting from the sudden de-mise in January of their first restau-rant together, Dona—cited by Es-quire as the Best New Restaurant in2006—which lost its lease. Anthosis currently the only eatery that thepartners own together.

“Developing multiple conceptsand locations is not easy,” saysStephen Zagor, director of manage-ment programs at the Institute ofCulinary Education. “It requires ahigh level of management and costcontrols.”

It also requires a lot of cold hardcash. Ms. Arpaia and Mr. Psilakishave already scored a coup: Threemonths ago, they netted an inves-tor who agreed to back their ambi-tious expansion plans with millionsof dollars in return for a one-third

stake in their business.“We are going to play with the

big boys now,” says Ms. Arpaia.They’ll need more than deep

pockets to play in that league, how-ever. The two will have to provetheir negotiating prowess as theyvie for prime spaces with estab-lished restaurateurs—say, Fiamma’sSteve Hanson or China Grill’s Jef-frey Chodorow. The duo also mustbuild an infrastructure to handle thegrowth of their as-yet-unnamedbusiness.

Piecemeal processthat process has already begun.Ms. Arpaia and Mr. Psilakis are hir-ing as many as 50 people to staff thefirst of their three new restaurants,which will open around the first ofthe year on tony East 58th Street,offof Third Avenue. For now, they arecalling the location “the new Dona,”even though it will be less formalthan their original Greek/Italian fu-sion eatery.

The partners are close to clinch-ing a deal to relocate Mr. Psilakis’cramped Upper West Side eatery,Kefi, to a commodious 6,000-square-foot space in the sameneighborhood. The Greek restau-rant is so popular that customers

routinely queue up outside to snarea table.

The expanded Kefi will becomethe second joint venture for Ms.Arpaia, Mr. Psilakis and their in-vestor. Along with the new Dona, itwill become a prototype for the two

restaurant chains they plan to devel-op outside of New York City. Thethird New York restaurant will bebased on one of those two models.

The two new restaurants willrepresent departures both for Mr.Psilakis, who describes his cookingas “sometimes too cerebral,” and forMs. Arpaia, who is known as adoyenne of high style. Unlike theirprevious upscale creations, the en-larged Kefi and the reinventedDona will be affordable, costing anaverage of $30 and $45 per person,respectively.

Eatery expertise although they are relativelyyoung, Ms. Arpaia and Mr. Psilakisbring years of experience to theirtask.

Ms. Arpaia hails from a promi-nent restaurant family. Her fa-ther, Lello, has run upscale Italianeateries in Manhattan since the1980s. Two years ago, she openedthe highly acclaimed Davidburke& Donatella with celebrity chefDavid Burke.

In addition, Ms. Arpaia sells aline of gourmet food, and she has

even been featured in Spiegel cata-logs as an expert on entertaining.Onthe heels of a five-page spread in theOctober issue of InStyle that’s de-voted to her entertaining tips, theself-described media hound is ne-gotiating with NBC Productions tostar in a new food show.

Mr. Psilakis worked as an ac-countant for several years beforequitting to pursue a career in cook-ing. He opened and ran successfulItalian restaurants in Garden City,L.I., for 10 years; three years ago,he opened his first restaurant inManhattan.

“I never assumed I could comeinto the city,” says Mr. Psilakis, aself-made chef who never attendedculinary school. He credits hisdecade-long friendship with fellowLong Islander Ms. Arpaia for in-spiring him to make the leap.

Now, as they make an even big-ger leap together, they both knowthat success is not guaranteed.

“It will be interesting to see if itall happens.Sometimes people don’tcome,” says Ms. Arpaia.


Restaurateurs chomp at the bitContinued from Page 2


‘We are going toplay with the big boys now,’says Ms. Arpaia

34%INCREASE in Warnaco’sstock price overthe past sixmonths

gett

y im

ages

HARD WORK: TheMTA says it’s difficultto find minority- andwomen-owned firmsfor big projects.

CNYB 10-29-07 A 8 10/26/2007 6:04 PM Page 1

response system.Just last month, Fordham’s de-

partment of public safety ran keyadministrative staffers through anexercise in which a departmentchairman, a student and a secretarywere shot and wounded.

Halfway through the drill, JamesMcShane, a former police captain ischarge of campus security, realizedhe hadn’t included a description ofthe shooter to help catch him beforehe left the grounds.

“It’s a question of giving the rightamount of information withoutputting the place into a panic,” Mr.McShane says.

Violent incidents have takenplace on campuses for years. If any-thing, schools have been safer sincethe Columbine tragedy in 1999 andthe resulting 24/7 media coveragethat raised awareness.

Though their systems aren’tperfect, campuses in New York Cityare safer than most, according tosecurity experts. Tighter gun con-trols and better coordination be-tween police and college personnelare contributing factors.

Little warningjohn kelly, a junior at St. John’s,says he has always felt safe at college.During the situation last month, the20-year-old marketing major was atthe Carnesecca Arena, where stu-dents had been instructed to go inthe event of a lockdown.

A member of student govern-ment, Mr. Kelly was responsible forgetting people off the street andherding them to safety. In a matterof minutes, the NYPD had arrivedand arrested the suspect.

“Having seen firsthand how well-orchestrated everything was, I knowour security plans work,” he says.

But a shooting at Success Tech

High School in Cleveland earlierthis month and a narrowly avertedtragedy at a Philadelphia highschool the same week are fresh re-minders that violence can erupt atany time.

Additionally, events in NewYork, including swastika graffiti in aColumbia University bathroom anda noose hung outside the office of anAfrican-American professor at Co-lumbia’s Teachers College, indicatetensions that could boil over into acrisis.

Even a suicide—like that of anNYU student who jumped from a

building on Sept. 22—is a securityconcern and dramatizes how easily amentally ill person can harm himselfor others.

In response to a string of suicidesin the past few years, NYU has in-creased its early-detection efforts,which include screening studentsfor depression during routine med-ical visits.

Avoiding troublethe university also plans to installphones with hotlines to campus-ad-ministered counseling services.Andthe Student Health Center is work-ing closely with the security and res-idential staffs to determine ways toavoid overlooking those who mightbe dangerous or in danger.

“We’re trying to avoid simply be-ing reactive,” says Dr. HenryChung, NYU’s associate vice presi-dent for student health.

In testimony before the CityCouncil last month, officials fromCity University of New York askedfor $6.4 million to support studentcounseling. CUNY recently beganoffering free access to psychiatristsand prescription medicines for stu-dents with acute mental problems.

Garrie Moore, CUNY’s vicechancellor for student affairs, says,“Protecting our students alsomeans ensuring that those who re-quire professional attention aregetting it.”



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EXPLORING CAREERS

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The Exploring program putstogether groups of 15 to 25 stu-dents interested in specific fields.The groups meet at the host firmsafter school for four or moresessions, learning about careerladders, educational require-ments, salaries and what peoplein their selected fields actually do.

Programs start throughoutthe year. Participatingorganizations include Bloomberg,NYU Medical Center and Crain’sNew York Business. For moredetails, call Exploring DirectorBob Hayes at (212) 651-2808, orvisit www.nyexploring.org.

CNYB 10-29-07 A 9 10/26/2007 12:41 PM Page 1

many pilots assigned to New York orNew Jersey refuse to relocate.

Senior pilots usually have a say intheir placements, so it’s often juniorpilots who draw the city’s airports.Less able to afford New York areareal estate—their pay ranges from$37,000 to $70,000—junior pilotsfeel they have little choice but tocommute from cheaper parts of thecountry.

Pilots endure stress-filled jour-neys to get to work, and when theyhit the same delays that bedevil oth-er travelers, their late arrivals canfurther disrupt airline schedules.

“You can end up spending two ofyour three days off flying,just to makeit to work then home again,” saysCapt.Craig Hoskins,a pilot with Jet-Blue Airways. He’s been based atJohn F. Kennedy International Air-port for more than four years but livesin Bradenton, Fla. “The delays putadditional stress on getting to work.”

Two decades ago, pilots could af-ford to live in New York, or at least

nearby. When Capt. Jack Normantook a job with People Express Air-lines in the 1980s,he moved his fam-ily to New Jersey from California.Herented a townhouse near Sparta,about 40 miles from Newark LibertyInternational Airport.The town be-came so popular with airline person-nel, they called it the “pilots’ ghetto.”

But real estate prices kept rising,so when Mr.Norman wanted to buy,he wound up in Bethlehem, Pa., a90-minute drive to Newark. The59-year-old pilot can now count atleast 30 pilots living within a 30-mile radius. “As suburban New Jer-sey became pretty expensive, thisbecame the next big place for peopleto look for nice, middle-class familyhousing,” says Mr. Norman, now acaptain with Continental Airlines.

Out of range?only detroit is a less desirableposting than New York, says aspokesman for the largest pilot’sunion, the Air Line Pilots Asso-ciation. Of Continental’s 2,200

Newark-based pilots, only about athird live locally—many in Pennsyl-vania’s Lehigh Valley, 75 miles fromNewark. Only 20% of JetBlue’s1,300 pilots live in the New Yorkarea, even though the Queens-based company is concentrated atJFK. American Airlines has 1,090pilots based here,but just 50% live inthe area.The few pilots who want tobe stationed here tend to be natives.

“Everything’s done by seniority,”says Kit Darby, president and pub-lisher of AIR Inc., an Atlanta-basedpilot career information service.“What you fly, when you fly andwhere you’re based.”

All this traveling, whether byplane from the Midwest or by carfrom Pennsylvania, adds to the po-tential for complications. A rain de-lay or a mechanical hiccup can send acascade of woe through the schedule.

“Whether it’s coming to work ortransferring between trips, we aresubject to the same constraints andlimitations as the general public,”notes Capt. Gerry Dupree, North-

eastern vice president of the Orga-nization of Black Airline Pilots. “Itmay be a little easier for us to get ona plane, but if flights aren’t moving,we’re not moving.”

Fewer extra seatsairline personnel have long hadmore flexibility because they haveaccess to jump seats—the extra seatup front where an off-duty pilot canhitch a ride—even on competitors’flights. But with packed flights andmore pilots commuting, there arefewer jump seats available. “It addsso much uncertainty; you just neverknow what flight you’ll be able to geton,” says Mr. Hoskins.

But airlines and pilots insist thatdelays are rarely due to commutingsnafus. Pilots are required to leaveroom for at least three flights to de-liver them in time for their shift, andfailure to report on time can be causefor termination, especially in thefirst year.

Pilots and consumer groups saydelays are instead largely due toflight overscheduling.If a pilot’s firstflight misses a connection, most air-lines have a few reserve pilots on call.But when delays are lighting up the

screens, a handful of reserves aren’tenough to get things back on track.

“Airlines are overscheduling pi-lots, and there aren’t enough ofthem,” says Kate Hanni, founder ofthe Coalition for an Airline Passen-ger Bill of Rights. She blames paycuts and a history of furloughs fordriving pilots to cheaper cities. “Nothaving a crew available for all thesescheduled flights is certainly one ofthe problems, especially in NewYork,” she adds.

Capt. Demico Black knows thescenario well. One of the few nativeNew Jersey pilots, the 25-year-oldworks for a regional airline and oftenhas trouble getting home to Newark.

“We know that if there’s even onecloud in the sky [in the Northeast],you’re going to be delayed,” says Mr.Black from a waiting area at Char-lotte Douglas International airport.

He is scheduled to fly to Newarkand within an hour be in the cockpiton a flight to Pittsburgh. HisNewark-bound flight is delayed.

“That Pittsburgh trip is probablynot going to happen [for me] today,”says Mr. Black.


Airline pilots detour around NYContinued from Page 1

BY HILARY POTKEWITZ

in an effort to prevent the Feder-al Aviation Administration fromtaking over John F. Kennedy Inter-national Airport’s flight program,several airlines have agreed tochange their schedules to smoothout the busy afternoon and eveninghours.

After the FAA threatened lastweek to cap flights out of JFK at 80per hour, a 20% reduction,Delta AirLines and JetBlue Airways agreed toshift flights from the peak hours of4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“We want to participate in the

short run with the FAA,” says DeltaChief Executive Richard Anderson,“even though we don’t think it willbe efficient in the long run.”

The Air Transport Association,which represents most major U.S.carriers, opposes the FAA’s propos-al. Mr. Anderson is also fighting thecap but says he is willing to workwith the FAA “for the good of thewhole.”

40% jump in trafficjfk’s air traffic jumped by 40%this year, and the busy airport’s de-lays skyrocketed. Through August,it was the most-delayed airport inthe country, able to get only 68% ofits flights off the ground on time.Newark Liberty International andLa Guardia ranked as the second-and third-most-delayed airports. Arecent Department of Transporta-tion analysis determined that nearly40% of travel delays nationwide

originate at New York’s airports.The FAA’s answer is to eliminate

flights. The airlines and the PortAuthority of New York and NewJersey, which operates the airports,insist there are technological and lo-gistical fixes that would allow for theexpansion of flights. The Port Au-thority has proposed dozens of im-provements, many of which couldbe implemented before next sum-mer. Those include remapping airroutes for takeoffs and landings, us-ing high-tech sensors available inplanes, and reducing “outdated”space restrictions between aircraft.

But the airlines’ biggest problemwith the FAA’s proposal is that it’sdiscriminatory toward domesticcarriers,according to Jim May of theATA. The recently approved OpenSkies Rule will bring more Euro-pean carriers to JFK, but they arelikely to be exempt from the cap.“It’s essentially taking slots away

from us and giving [slots] to them,”says Mr. May. “We won’t be able tocompete.”

Delta, JetBlue revampsby next summer, Delta will elimi-nate its propeller planes and reducethe number of small regional jets. Itwill also shift some of its flights outof peak hours.

JetBlue, the largest carrier at

JFK, will move dozens of flights outof peak hours by next year, cancelservice to Nashville and Columbus,and shift several flights from JFK toWestchester County Airport.

“We look at it as self-help,” saysa JetBlue spokesman. “JFK is so im-portant to us; we need to take thelead here.”


To reduce traffic, airlinesagree to shift schedules


Will move flightsaway from peak hours as they try to avoid FAA cap BUSY HUB:

Through August,JFK got only 68%of its flights offthe ground ontime.

land

ov

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WHY JFK? (See Crain’s online poll,Page 13.) If Newark is No. 1 indelays and La Guardia No. 2 indelays, shouldn’t the FAA makechanges there? And what aboutStewart Airport? Can’t we domore with neighboring airports?

edward cohen

THE PORT AUTHORITY should beallowed to auction off arrival anddeparture slots.This would be themost efficient way of encouragingcarriers to use larger planes andshift flights to less busy timeswhile at the same time creatingnew revenue streams.

al lyons

THE INTOLERABLE DELAYS are noteven the issue. It is an extremelydangerous situation. It has to do

with safety!cheryl ingersoll

THE DELAYS have been gettingworse over the past two years andneed to be addressed.The mostimportant service airlines canprovide after safety is on-timescheduling.

carl toriello

STEWART AIRPORT is an alternative.Move the 20 eliminated flightsthere.

freddie cruz

LIMITS ARE NEEDED for the shortterm. Other technical solutionswill become available if the FAAbecomes more responsive to NewYork’s needs, which it has failedto do under the Bush

administration.josh sedman

I WOULD BE HAPPY to pay more if Ithought I’d actually take off ontime!

linda blyer

EITHER WE ARE going to have reg-ulated air travel or we are not. Youcan’t have it both ways because ifyou do, the ticket prices will gothrough the roof. And once again,the general public gets the shaft.

al gabrielli

ANYONE WHO UTILIZES JFK forinternational travel understandsthe issue of flight delays at thiscritical international hub. It wouldseem that federal bureaucrats arelaunching a campaign to minimize

the importance of JFK to theadvantage of other airport hubs. Inthe absence of a new metropolitaninternational airport, what seems tobe the only solution is to off-loaddomestic flights to other airports.

paul whalen

REGIONAL JETS should beprohibited at JFK, and they shouldbe limited at La Guardia.

larry david

W ith delays soaring at John F.Kennedy International Airport,the New York area now has thedistinction of having thecountry’s three worst airportswhen it comes to on-timeperformance. But a Bush

administration plan to drastically cut the number of flightsduring peak hours at JFK by imposing a cap is not onlypremature but unfair.

No one likes delays, and air travel in recent years hasbecome torturous everywhere. Newark and La Guardia havelong been the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 worst airports.Thegrowth of hometown-based JetBlue over the past decade hasspurred Delta and American to expand their operations atJFK, leading to a crisis this summer as the number of flightsscheduled during peak hours exceeded 100.The result: JFKovertook its neighbors in the dubious ranking.

Airlines are not entirely to blame, however.They and theirpassengers are caught in the middle of an escalating warbetween the administration and the air traffic controllersunion. JFK, with four runways, is operating an average 68flights an hour, or 68% of its maximum capacity; La Guardia,with only two runways, handles about the same number offlights, or 81% of its maximum capacity. Controllers appearto be taking out their frustrations on JFK.

The airlines and the Port Authority of New York andNew Jersey are offering a long list of alternatives to improveon-time performance, including changes in runway and

takeoff procedures that other airports use and modestchanges in air space corridors that could be implementedimmediately. Improving relations with controllers would

have an even biggerimpact, though it isunclear if the Bushadministration has theresolve to do that. Inthe meantime, carriersare discussing shiftingsome flights from peakhours. ( JetBlue iswilling to accept a cap ifit is temporary.)

Airlines recognizethat some sort ofcapacity controlseventually will benecessary at JFK, but itsthree large domesticcarriers fear that theiroperations will be

singled out.The Federal Aviation Administration proposalof 80 flights an hour doesn’t apply to the more than 60foreign carriers using JFK. Any limits must include allcarriers.

A solution must be found for delays at JFK, but withNewark and La Guardia at capacity, JFK must be allowed tohandle more traffic if the city’s tourism industry is to grow.

The long and short of airport delays

Cap at JFK isn’t the answer

Any capacitycontrols shouldbe appliedto all carriers

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

V I E W P O I N T

WRITE TO US

Letters to the Editor: Crain’s New York Business,711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017. Fax letters to(212) 210-0799. Send e-mail to Crain’s staffers byusing their first initial, their last name [email protected]. For example, Editor Greg David is [email protected]. Names are in the list to theright. All letters are subject to publication, providedthey are signed.


WHAT’S COMING UP IN CRAIN’S?Business

of lawreportNov. 5

Guideto growinga businessNov. 12

Fastest-growing

companiesNov. 19

Privatelyheld

companiesNov. 26

RealestatereportDec. 3

Smallbusinessreport

Dec. 10

editor in chief Rance Crainpublisher Jill R. Kaplan

EDITORIALeditor Greg Daviddeputy managing editors Valerie Block,

Erik Ipsenassistant managing editors

Carmen Fleetwood, Robert Hordtcolumnist Alair Townsendsenior reporters Aaron Elstein,

Lisa Fickenscher, Matthew Flamm,Tom Fredrickson, Samantha Marshall,Anne Michaud, Miriam Kreinin Souccar

reporters Theresa Agovino, Barbara Benson, Elisabeth Butler Cordova, Erik Engquist, Amanda Fung, Hilary Potkewitz, Gale Scott

restaurant critic Bob Lapeart director Steven Krupinskideputy art directors Carolyn McClain,

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 12 10/26/2007 2:20 PM Page 1

There must be somehyperbole in the de-tails—after all, hotelrooms are hard to comeby on short notice—butthere is no doubt thatthe weak Americandollar is great for theNew York economy inthe short term. Longterm, the impact mightbe different.

This is a numbersstory. The dollar’slengthy swoon has ac-celerated since the Federal ReserveBoard cut interest rates last month.

The dollar recentlyreached an all-time lowagainst the euro, witheach euro worth $1.40.The Canadian dollar isalmost at parity with thegreenback, a level ithasn’t achieved in morethan 30 years.In the sim-plest terms, a weak dol-lar means it is cheap forforeigners to buy thingsAmerican and expen-sive for Americans tobuy things foreign.

Real estate brokers say that muchof the strength in the Manhattan

apartment market is coming fromforeigners looking for second homes,who find even the inflated apart-ment prices here attractive.Similar-ly, investors from abroad are biddingfor Manhattan office buildingswhile U.S. buyers find access tocredit tightening. Wall Street firmsare getting a piece of the action byarranging deals in which Europeanand Canadian companies buyAmerican enterprises.

Nowhere is weak dollar’s impactmore clear than in the tourism sec-tor. International travel is up sharplythis year, with visitors from Ireland,the United Kingdom and Russia ac-counting for some of the biggestgains.They can afford the city’s soar-ing hotel rates, which average about$300 a night. In turn, their presencehelps many other businesses.

For example,Crain’s Chicago Busi-ness recently reported the woes ofsmall shops whose sales are slippingbecause the European goods theystock have become so expensive.When Crain’s New York Businessasked retailers here if they were fac-ing similar problems, the answer wasan emphatic “no.” The tourists aresnapping up whatever merchantsstock, no matter what the price.Thank those Irish housewives.

With so many visitors fromabroad,New York will easily surpasslast year’s record total of 44 milliontourists, who spent about $25 bil-lion and helped support some368,000 jobs, according to NYC &Company, the city’s tourism arm.Since the latter figure represents10% of all the jobs in New York, it isfair to say that tourism is the city’ssecond most important sector.

Its most important business,however,could be hurt when the Fedmoves to deal with the consequencesof the large trade and federal budgetdeficits, the underlying causes of thedollar’s decline.Addressing those is-sues will eventually require the Fedto raise interest rates—possibly by asignificant amount—and that willbe bad news for Wall Street.Consid-er the fact that at $25 billion, touristspending is only marginally higherthan Wall Street bonuses, and farless than the securities business’s to-tal contribution to the economy.

The weak dollar is a gift horsenow, but it will be a Trojan horse inthe future.

The tale being repeated by hotel executives goessomething like this. Irish housewives call up theirfriends on a Thursday and decide on the spur of themoment to fly to New York with nothing but theclothes on their backs. Then they shop until they

drop, taking advantage of the strength of the euro against thedollar to replenish their wardrobes at incredibly low prices.


CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL

DO YOU AGREE WITH THE FAA’S PROPOSAL TO CAP THE NUMBER OF FLIGHTS AT JFK AIRPORT AT 80 PER HOUR?NEARLY THREE-QUARTERS of the 236respondents to a Crain’s poll back theFederal Aviation Administration’s proposalto cut the number of flights per hour at JFKAirport by 20%, citing soaring delays. Onthe flip side, 29% of respondents opposethe plan because it would probably result inhigher plane fares.

For readers’ comments, see Letters to the Editor on Page 12.

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 13 10/26/2007 12:37 PM Page 1

quality standards, has asked the cityto justify the increase in parking.

The Bloomberg administrationcontends that the parkingrestrictions hindered developmentand weren’t needed to meet federalstandards, but it may have toconduct a study to prove that,according to the Tri-StateTransportation Campaign.Thecity’s Law Department is confident

that the state will accept apreviously completed parkingstudy.

Sampson on outswith B’klyn Demsif state sen. john sampson,D-Brooklyn, runs for districtattorney again in 2009, he would

start with one strike against him: illwill from the Democratic countyorganization. It stems fromSampson’s decision to supportMalcolm Smith, D-Queens, overBrooklyn’s own Martin Dilan for theSenate minority leader’s post lastyear. Assemblyman Vito Lopez, thecounty Democratic chairman, hasbeen trying to unify the borough’selected officials to win keyleadership posts, and Mr.Sampson’s support for a Queenscolleague undermined that effort.

Columbia’s courseattracts supportthe regional plan associationhas come out in favor of ColumbiaUniversity’s 17-acre expansion inWest Harlem. RPA PresidentRobert Yaro says that greatuniversities confer many benefitson economies around them andpredicts that the expansion willgenerate tens of thousands of newjobs and even new industries.

“We can’t imagine now whatthey are,” he says. “We need tomake it attractive for them and letthe free market do the rest.” Serviceand technology industriesorganized around smart, creativepeople are likely.

Up in armsover armorya group of unions andcommunity leaders demonstratedat the city-owned Kingsbridge Armoryin the Bronx this past weekend tocall for a community benefits

agreement when the vast, castle-like structure is redeveloped.Organizers want a local hiringprogram and a requirement that75% of armory tenants pay livingwages.

The city’s EconomicDevelopment Corp., which isscheduled to award the project inthe next two weeks to The RelatedCompanies or AtlanticDevelopment Group, wrote in thebid document that it would favorprojects providing retail jobs payingat least $10 an hour plus benefits—an unusual provision in an EDCproject. Related and Atlantic arereportedly hedging.

Jeff Eichler, an organizer for theRetail Wholesale and DepartmentStore Union, says that Related hasstruck a living wage agreement for aproject in Los Angeles, andRWDSU wants a similarcommitment here.

The Manhattan Institute’sSteven Malanga says the living wageagreement would be a first for NewYork retailers. “It could potentiallyput the retailers at a disadvantageand make it difficult [for landlords]to sign up tenants,” he says.

City Council’snew systemcouncilstat is to be unveiled Nov.1 by City Council Speaker ChristineQuinn. Her office won’t releasedetails, but the speaker has said thenew system will professionalizedistrict offices and standardize theirdata collection.The goal is to makebetter use of the information they

gather from constituents, much asthe Police Department does withreported crime throughCompStat.

One councilman says everymember’s Web site is beingupgraded to give individualmembers more control overcontent.

The council hired a consultantto develop CouncilStat and hasbeen testing it in a number ofcouncil offices.

Thompson, Quinncompete for seatscity comptroller WilliamThompson Jr., a mayoral candidate,

sold slightly fewerbreakfast seats forhis address to theAssociation for aBetter New Yorkthan City CouncilSpeaker ChristineQuinn did.

But that may bebecause Mr.Thompson wasbooked into asmaller room. Hefilled a 300-seatroom at theHilton—with anoverflow crowd—while likelymayoral rival Ms.

Quinn had to turn people awayfrom a 350-seat venue at theSheraton two weeks earlier.

Mr.Thompson, however,attracted more members of thepress. �

Parking violation at Hudson Yards?

An old city agreement with the state to limit carbonmonoxide in Manhattan below 60th Street threatensthe city’s plan to allow more parking around Hudson

Yards, where a massive development is planned.Two years ago, the city rezoned the area for development

and replaced parking restrictions with parking mandates—possibly violating the air quality pact.The state Departmentof Environmental Conservation, which enforces federal air

THE INSIDERby Erik Engquist and Anne Michaud

You’re workingfor change.Is it working for you?THE INSTITUTE FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT MANAGEMENT2008 OPEN PROGRAMS.

EXECUTIVE LEVEL PROGRAM, APPLY BY DECEMBER 3, 2007:For senior managers, executive and regional directors, and administrators.LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, APPLY BY FEBRUARY 5, 2008:For mid-level and senior executives.MIDDLE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM FOR YOUTH SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS,APPLY BY FEBRUARY 20, 2008:For mid-level managers engaged in youth development.Go to: WWW.GSB.COLUMBIA.EDU/EXECED/INM or call 212.854.6018.

FARLEY PLAN Bad beginning?THE SPITZER ADMINISTRATION unveiled its long-awaited plan for Penn Station(below) and surrounding blocks last week, a project designed to create a newtransportation hub and spur a vast new retail and office complex on the scaleof Rockefeller Center.

However, the Empire State Development Corp. may have dealt the projecta setback by omitting details. Missing are a cost estimate, architecturaldrawings and an agreement about the terms under which Madison SquareGarden would move into the James A. Farley Post Office annex.

“We think it’s off to a bad beginning,” says Municipal Art Society PresidentKent Barwick. “It’s a beginning that will fuel cynicism, and that’s a mistakewhen you need public support.”

Estimated at $900 million when it was proposed on a smaller scale byformer Gov. George Pataki, the project may need another $1 billion to $2billion in governments funds.

The project has risen from the ashesof the Pataki-era plan to put atransportation hub in the former FarleyPost Office, which the Public AuthoritiesControl Board rejected three times lastyear in hope of this grander design.Vornado Realty Trust and The RelatedCompanies are the developers.

The bold plan calls for filling the eastern half of Farley with a new train hallcalled Moynihan Station and moving the Garden into the western half of thebuilding. Relocating the Garden would permit the reconstruction of PennStation and would ease crowding for passengers of Amtrak, New JerseyTransit, the Long Island Rail Road and the New York City subways.

People who took an ESDC-sponsored tour this month say that the Gardenis requesting interior changes to the Farley building that could turn the trainhall into little more than a lobby for the sports and events arena. Apromotional wall for Garden shows, for example, is under consideration.

The ESDC may have rushed its announcement. Downstate developmentczar Patrick Foye is under “unfair” pressure to produce a project, given theJacob K. Javits Convention Center delays, Mr. Barwick says. And the Gardenwants to show momentum so that it can compete for corporate luxury boxsales with the Jets, Nets, Mets and Yankees, all of which have new sportsfacilities in the works.

Thompson

Quinn


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CNYB 10-29-07 A 14 10/26/2007 2:10 PM Page 1

S M A L L B U S I N E S S

BY ERIKA RASMUSSON JANES

Skip hop has come a longway since its founding in2003. The firm, which be-gan as a maker of stroller-friendly diaper bags selling

for $54, now offers a baby-gear lineboasting more than 20 products,from $8 pacifier protectors to $79play mats.They share trendy colors,chic designs and an increasinglypopular brand name.

This past summer, co-foundersMichael and Ellen Diamant putthese accomplishments on the linewith their boldest gamble to date:They began selling their wares at1,500 Target stores and 75 Babies“R” Us stores around the country.

With the mass-market boost,Skip Hop’s revenues are expected tomore than double this year. But thisachievement has required a lot of ef-fort and a willingness to take risk.

“We were working on this busi-ness for a year,” says Mr. Diamant, aformer Internet entrepreneur, wholaunched Skip Hop with his wife, adesign executive.

Among other things,cracking themass market required overhaulingthe line and hiring more staff,whichmeant bringing in outside investorsand giving up a stake in the firm.

Getting Pottery wheel turningin the summer of 2006, the firmhad started partnering with big chainstores by inking a deal with PotteryBarn Kids to supply the retailer witheight co-branded products.

To work with Target, however,the Diamants needed to extensivelyrevamp their offerings. While SkipHop’s well-known brand and chicdesigns were natural fits for the re-tailer, its prices were not.So the Dia-mants proposed the development ofa stripped-down, off-price line.

The result, Spark by Skip Hop,features two items modeled after thebrand’s diaper bag and compactchanging wallet. But they have few-er bells and whistles and carry low-er prices; the bag retails for $29.99and the changing wallet for $16.99.

Figuring out how to satisfy thehugely detailed vendor require-ments of Target and Babies “R” Uson everything from product labelingto shipping schedules proved to bean even tougher adjustment.

“It took us three years of experi-ence and doing smaller programs forsmaller yet significant retailers toknow we’d be able to deliver to meetexpectations,” Ms. Diamant says.

The effort also took more staff.Skip Hop doubled its operations teamto four people and added a vice pres-ident of sales experienced in takinga boutique brand into large chains.

“Six months before we shippedanything, the team was in place tohandle the business,” Mr. Diamantsays.

Mass-market outlets now ac-count for 25% of Skip Hop’s rev-enues, but that gain could yet provecostly.By pursuing huge new outlets,Skip Hop risks alienating the scoresof boutique retailers nationwide thathelped the firm in its infancy.

“There’s a danger of losing busi-ness,” says Ari Ginsberg, a professorof entrepreneurship at NYU’s SternSchool of Business. “Boutiques aregoing to say,‘I’m selling this as a spe-cialty product,and you’re diluting the

brand and taking away customers.’ ”Eager to keep their specialty re-

tailers on board, Skip Hop’s salesand marketing staffers called themlast year, telling them of the expan-sion plans and promising to develophigher-end products that would besold only at independent locations.

Exclusivity’s potentialariel tavasi,a co-principal of Plan-et Kids in Manhattan, says he con-siders dropping niche brands if they

become readily available. But hewon’t do that with Skip Hop, be-cause of the company’s promise ofexclusive items.

“Many companies see the growthin big-box [stores] and lose sight ofwho got them there,” Mr. Tavasisays. “Skip Hop realizes that it stillneeds to be innovative, and that theright way to introduce products isthrough specialty stores.”


Leap to big boxes mayalienate company’sboutique base

Baby-gear biz risks all on one giant step IN A NUTSHELL

SKIP HOPFOUNDEDNovember 2003

EMPLOYEES 20

REVENUES2006 $5 million2007 $10 million (est.)

IN THE PIPELINE Two new linesof high-end diaper bags, the $79Via and the $150 City Chic, willdebut in November.

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 15 10/25/2007 6:56 PM Page 1

W E E K I N R E V I E W

Bear Stearnsin partnershipbear stearns cos. is creating astrategic partnership with Chinesebank Citic Securities Co. in aneffort to bolster its access to theAsian market.The agreementincludes $1 billion in cross-investments and the creation of anAsian joint venture.

Cablevision nixesDolan buyout bidshareholders of CablevisionSystems Corp. rejected a $10.6billion buyout bid from the Dolanfamily as undervalued.TheDolans, who have tried to buyCablevision several times in thepast two years, had refused to raisetheir offer of $36.26 a share.

Keep track of Timetime inc. created the Time Inc.Entertainment Group to overseeits People Group- andEntertainment Weekly-brandedproperties. People Publisher PaulCaine will become president ofthe new unit. EntertainmentWeekly Publisher David Morris isleaving after 21 years.

Astroland getsextra seasonconey island’s Astroland signeda deal with Thor Equities that willallow the amusement park toextend its lease for one moreseason. Astroland rides will reopenMarch 16, 2008.Thor’s plan toredevelop Coney Island is stymiedby an impasse with the cityPlanning Department.

City fights California blazenew york city sent a group offirefighters and emergencymanagers to help battle thewildfires in California. MayorMichael Bloomberg said the team,which includes experts in

planning, sheltering, search andrescue, logistic and humanservices, will be in California forup to two weeks.

NYBOT might close futures pitthe new york board of trademight shut down its futures pit inthe next six months in response tothe growing movement towardelectronic commodities trading,according to news reports.Themove would require boardapproval.

Macy’s donsHilfigermacy’s inc. signed a deal withTommy Hilfiger USA Inc. to bethe exclusive department storeretailer for Hilfiger men’s andwomen’s sportswear, starting nextfall.The lines have estimatedannual sales of $200 million.

NYC child care workers unionizeabout 28,000 New York Citychild care workers voted to jointhe United Federation ofTeachers as part of an attempt toimprove wages and workingconditions. Day care workers earnan average $19,000 a year.

CBS Radio shufflecbs radio revamped managementto streamline operations. RegionalVice President Don Bouloukosbecomes market manager of sixNew York outlets and generalmanager of Sports WFAN-AM.CBS Radio President and ChiefExecutive Dan Mason is nowoverseeing stations in the top 10markets.

Harper’s MyBookharpercollins will team up withMySpace to produce anenvironmental handbook foryoung people. MySpace/OurPlanet: Change is Possible is to bereleased on Earth Day, April 22.

Calorie recountthe city’s health departmentannounced a new plan to forcefast-food chains to add caloriecounts to their menu boards.Thelatest version would apply tochains with 15 locations or more.The previous proposal was shotdown by a federal judge lastmonth. A public hearing will beheld Nov. 27.

Bad news at BofAbank of america plans to cutabout 3,000 jobs, primarily in itsManhattan-based investmentbanking unit. Brian Moynihan,head of global wealth andinvestment management, willbecome president of investmentbanking. He succeeds GeneTaylor, who is retiring.

Great White waituntil Decemberbroadway producers beganimposing nine of the 15 terms oftheir final contract offer to theBroadway stagehands union.Themove came one day after membersof Local One of the InternationalAlliance of Stage Employeesapproved a strike authorization,saying they would not workwithout a contract past Dec. 1.

—from staff reports andbloomberg news reports

A home for MerrillMERRILL LYNCH & CO. is leaning toward moving itsheadquarters to midtown on the site of the HotelPennsylvania. The firm, which said no final decision hasbeen reached, could also remain at the WORLD FINANCIALCENTER in lower Manhattan when its current lease expires in2013. Another option is to move into Tower 3 at the WorldTrade Center site when it’s built.


For daily news updates, go to www.crainsnewyork.com

ECONOMIC SPOTLIGHT

NYC Hotel StatsRoom rates and occupancy levels rosein August, pushing occupancy abovethe 90% mark for the first time sinceJune ’05, PKF Consulting data show.Averages for the first eight monthsof ’07 were $269.06 and 86.0%.

Broadway StatsAttendance and gross climbed inthe week ended 10/21, The Leagueof American Theatres and Producerssays. There were 22 musicals andseven plays on Broadway that week,including five shows in previews.

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Economy WatchNY area prices held steady in September after two months of little change.The city’s jobless rate remained above the U.S. level, but narrowed the gap.

AUGUST ’07 SEPTEMBER ’07 COMPARISON

Capital IQ’s Weekly Deals ReportTRANSACTION SIZE

COMPANY/LOCATION (in millions) BUYER/INVESTOR TRANSACTION TYPE

Optimost $52.0 Interwoven Inc. SB M&AManhattan

Kirshenbaum Bond + Partners Inc. $15.2 MDC Partners Inc. SB M&AManhattan

Viewpoint Corp. $11.0 Galleon Management, Diker GCIManhattan Management, Atoll Asset Management,

Chesapeake Partners Management, ASC Capital Partners Ltd.

Broadband Maritime Inc. $0.5 Individual investors FB M&AManhattan

U Capital Group n/a SkyBridge Capital Partners, Manhattan SkyBridge Capital (Cayman) Ltd. GCI

AGA Marketing and Design, Farrar & Farrar n/a Marke Communications Inc. SB M&A ManhattanSelected deals announced during the week of Oct. 14 for companies headquartered in metro NewYork. n/a Not available. FB M&A: Financial buyer M&A represents a minority or majorityacquisition of existing shares of a company with the participation of a financial buyer. GCI:Growth capital investment represents new money invested in a company for a minority stake.SB M&A: Strategic buyer M&A represents a minority or majority acquisition of existing shares ofa company without the participation of a financial buyer.

NY area inflation change -0.1% 0.0% +2.4%1

NYC unemployment rate 5.7% 5.1% 4.7%2

SEPTEMBER JOB TOTAL3 12-MONTH CHANGE

NYC employment 3,635,600 +48,400

1-Inflation rate for the latest 12-month period. 2-U.S. unemployment rate. 3-End-month figure,not seasonally adjusted.

PRODUCERS imposed contract terms.

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 16 10/26/2007 2:18 PM Page 1

R E A L E S T A T E

BY THERESA AGOVINO

faced with a lack of inventoryand soaring build-out costs, largenumbers of office tenants in Man-hattan are deciding it is more eco-nomical to stay put than move.

Through the first nine months ofthe year, 113 tenants renewed theirleases, a 33% increase from the year-earlier period, according to Cush-man & Wakefield Inc.

With an office vacancy rate of5.7% in Manhattan, pickings areslim when tenants go shopping.Even if they manage to find a suit-able location,the cost of moving andcustomizing a new space makes re-newing leases an attractive option.Brokers say that if a tenant doesn’t

save at least $5 a square foot at a newlocation, moving probably isn’tworth it.

Another factor that is driving uprenewals is the increased willingnessof landlords to negotiate, given thatrents aren’t rising as dramatically asthey have in the recent past. Man-hattan rents averaged $62.91 asquare foot in the third quarter, up6% from the previous quarter, ac-cording to Cushman. That com-pares with an 11% rise in the secondquarter from the first.

“Landlords see growth is slow-ing,” says Matthew Astrachan, anexecutive vice president at Cush-man. Rather than take a chance onan unknown entity,property ownersare more willing to bargain to keepgood tenants.

Higher build-out coststhat newfound flexibilitydovetails with an explosion in build-out expenses,which experts say havejumped between 10% and 20% inthe last 18 months. Most of the in-creases are related to the higher costof raw materials and the tight mar-ket in skilled labor.

Skyrocketing oil prices have af-fected the cost of plastic construc-tion materials, such as PVC pipe.Prices for timber, cement and steelhave also spiked. And with all thebuilding going on in the city, skilledlaborers like plumbers and carpen-

ters are in short supply.Thomas Nelson, senior manag-

ing director for project managementat CB Richard Ellis Group, saysbuild-outs generally run between$80 to $150 a square foot, while theprice tag for renovations rangesfrom $25 to $75, depending on howextensive they are.

Joe Ryan, managing director ofLehr Construction, says tenantsthat go looking for new space areshocked to discover the cost of abuild-out. As a result, they renovatetheir existing space, scaling backplans for a state-of-the-art office.

Advertising agency BBDO, lawfirms Davis Polk & Wardwell and

Herrick Feinstein, and consultingcompany Interbrand are just a few ofthe high-profile tenants who haveopted to renew leases this year.

A fair dealas head of the real estate practice atHerrick Feinstein, Carl Schwartzsays he knew that options were lim-ited and that moving to accommo-date the growing staff would costmillions of dollars.The firm was re-lieved when additional space be-came available at its current loca-tion, at 2 Park Ave.

“We struck a fair deal,” Mr.Schwartz observes. “We knew the

cost of moving.”


Dearth of product,higher constructionprices have manyforgoing moves

More firms stay put rather than face build-out costs


If moving isn’tgoing to save $5a square foot, itisn’t worth it

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 17 10/25/2007 5:15 PM Page 1

R E A L E S T A T E D E A L S

The equity capital andfixed equity divisions ofRaymond James & As-sociates Inc. will behoused in separate loca-

tions when the securities firm movesnext year.

The equity capital division willland at 277 Park Ave., between East47th and East 48th streets, wherethe company recently signed a 10-year lease for about 32,500 squarefeet on the fourth floor. The askingrent in the building is in the high$90s a square foot, says JordanMandel, a broker at UGL Equis,who represented Raymond James.

Raymond James’ fixed equity di-vision will move into about 7,000square feet on part of the 39th floorat 1 Penn Plaza. The building’s mainentrance is on West 34th Street, be-tween Seventh and Eighth avenues.That lease is also for 10 years, andthe asking rent is about $75 a squarefoot, says Mr. Mandel.

Raymond James needed morethan the 30,000 square feet it cur-rently occupies at 250 Park Ave.,be-tween East 46th and East 47thstreets,but wasn’t fully satisfied withany of the larger blocks of space itsaw while conducting the search,says Elliott Stern, a senior vice pres-ident at the company.

Mr. Stern says the firm realizedit could save money by placing thefixed equity division in less expen-sive space. “The fixed equity divi-sion doesn’t really see clients,” saysMr. Stern. “It doesn’t need to be inhigh-profile space.”

Colliers ABR Inc. representedthe owner of 277 Park Ave., andVornado Realty Trust, which owns1 Penn Plaza, represented itself inthe transaction.

—theresa agovino

Vintage posterson Madison Avenuemickey and jodi ross wanted sobadly to open a vintage poster shopon Madison Avenue that they tookto the air—four stories up, in fact.

The Rosses recently signed a 13-year lease for 2,000 square feet on

the fourth floor at 532 Madison Ave.,on the corner of East 54th Street.Their store, Ross Art Gallery, willuse the space’s 10-foot-tall windowsto show their wares to passersbywhen it opens in mid-November.

The Rosses looked for space onMadison Avenue for about a yearbefore committing to the upstairslocation. The asking rent there was$60 per square foot, a fraction of thehefty prices that dominate ground-floor retail on Madison Avenue.

“The prices of Manhattan real

estate become daunting when youconsider the most desirable first-floor space,” he says.

Mitchell Waldman, president ofCogent Realty Advisors Inc., rep-resented Ross Art Gallery in thedeal, and Matthew Lovallo, a bro-ker with Stahl Real Estate Co., ne-gotiated on behalf of owner Madi-son/Fifth Associates.

The Rosses’original shop,PosterGallery, will continue to operate inWestport, Conn.—elisabeth butler cordova

More spacein Pipelinepipeline financial group inc.has signed a 10-year-lease at 60 E.42nd St., doubling the size of its ex-isting space to 25,000 square feet.

The company, which owns anelectronic trading system,will occu-py about half of the sixth floor in theLincoln Building, located betweenMadison and Park avenues.

The asking rent in the building isabout $70 a square foot, accordingto Brian Waterman, a broker atNewmark Knight Frank, whichrepresented both the tenant and the

landlord, Lincoln Building Associ-ates, a partnership led by PeterMalkin.

—theresa agovino

Croissants comingto Hell’s Kitchenfrench pastry shop La Berg-amote will open its second locationat 515 W. 52nd St., between 10th and11th avenues in the spring.

The original La Bergamote op-erates in Chelsea and draws a regu-lar crowd with its croissants and caféau lait. This second shop will offerthose same delicacies in a 1,100-square-foot space on the first floorof a new residential tower called TheArchstone Clinton.

La Bergamote proprietors Ro-main Lamaze and Stephan Wil-lemin got a good deal on the 15-yearlease. The asking rent was $54 persquare foot.

“The rent was a little below mar-ket because the landlord wantedsomeone really good,” says AaronGavios, executive vice president ofSquare Foot Realty.

He negotiated the deal on behalfof owners Archstone-Smith andThe Dermot Co. Howard Aaron,president of Square Foot Realty,represented La Bergamote.—elisabeth butler cordova

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Raymond James heads for Park Ave., Penn Plaza; gallery moves up on E. Side

532 MADISON AVE. is a gallery’s new home.

CNYB 10-29-07 A 18 10/25/2007 5:13 PM Page 1

how companies spend money.In the past few years, regulators

have been taking a bigger interestin the meetings business, forcingplanners and their clients to be alertto anything that smacks of excess.Events planners say they see morechicken and less steak, fewer priceywines, and many more expenseitems subjected to government rulesand internal audits.

“There is more due diligence,more thought going into the bud-gets,” says Pam Block, president ofPHB Events in New York. “Wecan’t spend what we used to.”

The latest rule to come down thepike will affect one of New York’smost free-spending sectors: finan-cial services.A new interpretation of

NASD’s Rule 3060, which governsbusiness entertaining, is expected tobe approved soon by the Securitiesand Exchange Commission. Therule calls for companies to establishpolicies for and track entertainmentspending of more than $100.

For nearly a decade, the ruleshave simply permitted “ordinarybusiness entertainment,” and somefirms interpreted that liberally.

In one mind-boggling case, bro-kerage firm Jefferies Group paid fora bachelor-party trip to Miami forsome brokers at Fidelity Invest-ments. The festivities includeddwarf-tossing as entertainment.Jefferies was fined,because the SECviewed the trip as an inducement to

Bubbly out,sandwichlunches in BY ELIZABETH MACBRIDE

robert schron says he was stunned by the client’s request.The New York event planner had chosen a $90 Veuve

Clicquot for a gathering to celebrate a financial servicescompany’s best year ever. After finalizing details of the party,Mr. Schron was approached by his contact at the company,who asked if he had “something less expensive.”

Mr. Schron, who had considered the Veuve Clicquot areasonably priced option, replaced it with something half theprice and chalked the whole thing up to greater scrutiny of

2008 All-Star game swings for NYC grand slam

BY ERNEST BECK

after 31 years, the All-Star gamewill return to Yankee Stadium asone of the last hurrahs for TheHouse That Ruth Built.

The bittersweet event for fanswill take place on July 15, only afew months before the 84-year-oldstadium is torn down as the team

moves to its new home across thestreet.

For the city’s tourism industry,though, there is no sadness aboutthe All-Star game and its relatedattractions—like the Home RunDerby and Fan Fest. Althoughmany New York fans are angrythat the Yankees and the Metscrashed out of this year’s playoffs,city officials expect the All-Stargame and related events to draw anestimated 175,000 additional visi-tors over five days and generatenearly $150 million in economicactivity. Many of the city’s hotels,

restaurants and other businesseswill be busy over baseball’s off-season making plans to share in thespoils of the midsummer classic.

The stadium was chosen byMajor League Baseball, in part, “tocelebrate the history and traditionof one of baseball’s greatest cathe-drals,” says Marla Miller, seniorvice president for special events atMajor League Baseball.

But the All-Star game hasn’tgenerated the old-time emotionsor television ratings for quite sometime. With increasing interleague

Regulatory, internal scrutinysqueezes entertainment excess

M E E T I N G S & C O N V E N T I O N S INSIDE Boutique hotels offer perksthat draw big corporations PAGE 23

Transportation trends turn towardsustainability and productivity PAGE 24

Largest hotels in New York City PAGE 26

See EXPENSES on Page 21

Event to bring in175,000 visitors; will it live up to billing?

See NYC on Page 20


The economic impact of recent baseball All-Star games on host cities andcommunities.

YEAR CITY IMPACT

2002 Milwaukee $50 million

2003 Chicago $60 million

2004 Houston $65 million

2005 Detroit $53 million

2006 Pittsburgh $52 million

2007 San Francisco $60-$65 million**Estimate. Source: Data provided to Major League Baseball by each host city

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 19 10/25/2007 12:33 PM Page 1

play and more competition fromother sports, the game has lost someluster in recent years.

To counteract that, MajorLeague Baseball will hold promo-tional events that will stretch fromMemorial Day to the game date, toboost awareness.

“We want to get everyone in-volved,” says Lauren Ruderfer, vicepresident for special events andmarketing at NYC & Company, thecity’s official marketing and tourismorganization.

Among those with the most in-volvement are the 16 officially des-ignated All-Star hotels in Manhat-tan.These facilities will play host toMLB’s invited business partners, in-

cluding sponsors, licensees, teamguests and celebrities. Establish-ments range from sophisticatedboutique hotels like the Dylan andthe Alex to the venerable Waldorf-Astoria. Also included are theGrand Hyatt, Crowne Plaza TimesSquare and Marriott East Side, aswell as three W hotels. A total of4,000 rooms for three nights havebeen reserved by the league.

Things to doshuttle buses will connect hotelsand the stadium, as well as the JacobK. Javits Convention Center, thesite of Fan Fest. That event willfeature interactive attractions, suchas fantasy baseball and autographsignings. Even the trendy W hotelswill provide customized amenitiesand sports gifts, according to aspokeswoman.

Package tours are already beingoffered on www.sportstraveler.net,including a two-night stay at theSheraton New York hotel, whichincludes upper-level outfield seatsto the game, for $1,935. A similardeal with three nights at the Millen-nium Broadway Hotel costs $2,225.A Sportstraveler spokeswoman saysthe site is receiving “dozens of re-quests a day” for the packages.

No cheap seatstickets are expected to cost be-tween $150 and $285, based onprices for the 2007 game at SanFrancisco’s AT&T Park. The gaterevenue goes to Major LeagueBaseball and is split among all 30clubs. Yankee Stadium holds about57,000. Organizers expect robustsales for the Home Run Derby andother events as well. Last year, thegame and related events in SanFrancisco drew more than 124,000.

But there are substantial chal-lenges in whipping up excitementfor the game that was first played inChicago during the 1933 World’sFair.Television ratings tell the story.The 1983 game, which was theevent’s 50th anniversary, drew morethan 27 million viewers, accordingto Nielsen. In 2007, the game deliv-ered 12.5 million viewers.

The All-Star event hit a low inpopularity after the 2002 gamewhen baseball commissioner BudSelig called a 7-7 tie following 11 in-nings of play because the teams ranout of pitchers.

“There’s not nearly the same ri-valry and animosity as there used tobe,” says Mark Lamster, a baseballhistorian and author of Spalding’sWorld Tour, a book about baseballmarketing. “They are no longer cut-throat competitions. The game hasbecome a showcase for entertain-ment, but it doesn’t mean muchmore.”

But Yankee Stadium’s last fare-well will be different, insists RobertTuchman, president of TSE Sportsand Entertainment, a sports travelcompany. “Fans have a nostalgicsense for ballparks,” he says.

COMMENTS? cnyb@crain.

NYC grand slam?


R E P O R T

A LAST HURRAH:Before it’s torndown, YankeeStadium will hostthe All-Star game.

Gate revenuegoes to MLBand is splitamong all 30 clubs

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ages

CNYB 10-29-07 A 20 10/25/2007 12:35 PM Page 1

steer Fidelity’s business to Jefferies.The new rule, which will be en-

forced by regular audits, may fore-stall such flamboyance. But it re-mains to be seen whether moreoversight will result in lower overallspending on Wall Street, wherewining and dining is the norm.

“I tell companies to considerwho will be enforcing the rule: agovernment employee on a govern-ment salary,” says Chris Myers, co-chairman of the global complianceand governance practice at law firmHolland & Knight.“That employeeis going to be thinking, ‘Nobodyever gave anything like this to me.’ ”

Many Wall Street companies aredeveloping systems to track spend-ing or are hiring vendors to handlecompliance.

“Tracking spending on a per-client basis is a … daunting chal-lenge,” wrote Scott Kursman, a sen-

ior vice president at LehmanBrothers, in a letter to the SEC.Like other large financial firms,Lehman,which supports Rule 3060,is developing a database for enter-tainment expenses.

Tracking toolsthe emphasis on oversight is driv-ing growth at some companies.StarCite, a Philadelphia softwarefirm whose products include eventmanagement tools,has grown to 400employees from 80 in 2004, withabout half a dozen based at financialservices clients in New York.

The movement to rein in extrav-agance began about five years ago,when the pharmaceutical industryadopted a code covering the enter-tainment of doctors.The code rico-cheted throughout the meetingsbusiness and affected luxury hotelgroups like the Four Seasons andRitz-Carlton, often the sites for ed-ucational meetings for doctors.

Drugmakers have been subjectto escalating enforcement as drugprices remain a national concern.The Food and Drug Administra-tion sends inspectors to some con-ferences and monitors sales reps’records for gifts or entertainmentthat might be offered to sway doc-tors to use a company’s products.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of2002 has also had an impact. Passedafter a series of corporate scan-dals—including one involving a $2million, company-funded party inSardinia thrown by Tyco Interna-tional Ltd. Chairman Dennis Ko-zlowski—the law emphasizes dis-closure and transparency.

In an example of a firm’s attemptsto keep a lid on costs, investmentbank Bear Stearns recently told PHBEvents’ Ms. Block that it won’t hireplanners who charge a managementfee. Other companies now ask formultiple bids and more detailedcontracts.

“We are routinely dealing withthe procurement department,” saysRobert Hulsmeyer, senior partner atEmpire Force Events, Inc.

Companies are also getting cre-ative with the per-attendee cost forfood and drink—a major regulatoryfocus. For example, Schron Associ-ates recently put together a cocktailparty minus the ubiquitous shrimp,which cost $6 or $7 apiece at someNew York hotels.

Still upscalecompanies can also halve lunch ex-penses by serving a boxed meal

rather than a sit-down or buffetevent. And Manhattan-based TasteCaterers recently introduced lunch ina sea-green bento box to meet thedemand for an approach that is morelow-key but “still upscale,” say Presi-dent Jon Gilman.

Planners are realizing that theymust read the rules. Ulla Buchner-Howard, who owns an event plan-ning company and teaches at NewYork University’s Preston RobertTisch Center for Hospitality,Tourism and Sports Management,tells students—mostly meetings pro-fessionals seeking certification—thatknowing the standards is their duty.

“If the client wants to put a $500vase of flowers on the table, it is [theplanner’s] job to send a writtenmemo about it,” Ms. Buchner-Howard says. “If you knew that thiswas out of the ordinary and did nottell them, you are responsible.”

The changes are viewed mostlywith regret.

“Dinner meetings used to be a lotof fun and a useful way to meet peo-ple,” says Michael Boult, chief exec-utive of StarCite. “There were justlots of people going to beautifulrestaurants.”


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CNYB 10-29-07 A 22 10/25/2007 12:38 PM Page 1

BY TINA TRASTER

manhattan’s meatpacking districtisn’t the typical place for Citigroup’sexecutives to hold corporate events.

But Bob Cummings, managingdirector and head of U.S. fixed in-come, decided to hold his division’sannual conference at the trendyGansevoort Hotel instead of theusual large midtown hotels wherethe company often hosts events.

“We used to meet at a Marriottin a space that had no windows,” hesays. “Imagine how different it wasto have poolside cocktails and carv-ing stations and 360-degree views ofManhattan.”

Citigroup is just one of the grow-ing number of corporations turningto city boutique hotels for theirevents. New York’s approximately25 notable boutique hotels, whichhave flourished with the hip jet-setcrowd for more than a decade, havebecome a viable option for corporatetravelers and event planners inManhattan.

It’s an experience that doesn’tcome cheap. Some boutiques com-pete with corporate rates, which aretypically around $250 per night,while others hold steady at $400 andup per night. Executives from Bris-tol-Myers Squibb, Ernst & Youngand Pfizer are among those that payup to 20% more than they would ata national chain.

Room shortagealthough many companies na-tionwide are cutting back on corpo-rate travel spending, boutique ho-tels in New York City are in a strongposition because of the shortage ofavailable rooms. Corporations areforced into paying more if theywish to hold events in Manhattan.

“If you’re a hip Internet compa-ny, you probably don’t want yourpeople staying at a Super 8,” saysSean Hennessey, chief executive ofLodging Investment Advisors.

But it’s not just upstart compa-nies that are interested in boutiquehotels. The 187-room Gansevoorthas done business with GoldmanSachs, Credit Suisse, Hugo Bossand other Fortune 500s since itopened in 2003.Hotel perks includea courtesy car and a businessconcierge. The entire property iswireless, and every room has a flat-screen television, iPod station andother assorted perks.

A boutique hotel’s best-sellingfeature is what it isn’t: the standardchain hotel that lacks intimacy andflexibility. These 100- to 200-roomproperties, which have built a repu-tation on personalized attention andcelebrity clientele, are courting busi-nesses that want to break the mold.

“We’re not looking to make the

hotel 100% corporate business, be-cause senior executives come to ourhotels to hobnob with otherrainmakers, models, actress-es and entertainers,” saysElon Kenchington, chiefoperating officer of theGansevoort Hotel Group,adding that 35% of the ho-tel’s business is corporate.

Still, the company supplementsits in-house marketing efforts with

outside sales teams and by workingwith high-end travel companies to

attract corporate business.

Ad campaignhampshire Hotels & Re-sorts, which owns the Time,Dream and Night hotels inManhattan, is rolling out a$1.5 million advertising

campaign in 2008 aimed at businesstravelers in niche media like Surface

and Out magazines.What boutique hotels cannot of-

fer are widespread discounts or roomfor big events. Most have less than2,000 square feet of public space.

“Negotiated rates with boutiquesare typically 10% to 15% higher thanthe chains,” says Priscilla Campbell,practice leader for American Ex-press Travel advisory services.

While the smaller size of bou-tique hotels limits what they can of-

fer, it is also the reason they can at-tract higher prices.

“We don’t cater to large corporatemeetings, but we do compete withthe large brands for individual cor-porate travelers,” says Troy Furbay,senior vice president, acquisitionsand development, for Kimpton Ho-tel & Resort Group, which ownsThe Muse Hotel and 70 Park Av-enue Hotel in Manhattan. “Every-thing is about design, identity, vibeand feel. Guests feel attended to—which is impossible when you’restaying at a 2,000-room hotel.”



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CNYB 10-29-07 A 23 10/25/2007 12:40 PM Page 1

BY GWEN MORAN

the cars that people drive can saya lot about them. Corporations arenow concerned about what the ve-hicles they use say about them.

Illustrating that concern, two di-vergent trends have emerged fortransportation at off-site events:spacious coaches designed as an ex-tension of the office,and sustainablevehicles.

Besides offering all the standardluxuries, “executive coaches” featuredesks,faxes,video monitors andprac-tically anything else required to per-form a day’s work. These coachesconvey the idea that a companymeans business and stresses produc-tivity.

Green vehicles, on the otherhand, demonstrate a focus on cost-cutting and environmental con-sciousness.

“You’re making a statement withthe type of transportation youchoose,” says Catherine Chaulet,senior vice president of events atBostonCoach, which has an officein New York City.

Just a few years ago, a fleet ofstandard black cars would have beenfine for most companies. But today,a corporation’s image is reflected inevery detail, including the groundtransportation chosen for meetings,and providers must often scrambleto fulfill demand for both trends.

Patricia A. Nelson, executive di-rector of the National LimousineAssociation in Marlton, N.J., saysthat these moves aren’t unique toNew York but are occurring nation-wide.

“We’re seeing more and morecompanies asking for things otherthan stretch limousines,” Ms. Nel-son says. “They want even larger ve-

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 24 10/25/2007 12:42 PM Page 1

hicles that hold many passengers—minibuses or small motor coaches.And we’re seeing companies all overthat want to go green.”

Because no major automaker hasannounced plans for a hybrid exec-utive coach, a vehicle that combinesthe two requirements is not on thehorizon.

Green vehicles are an obviousway to cut expenses. For example,hourly rates at OZOcar—a NewYork company with an entire fleet ofgreen vehicles—start at $50. Incomparison, executive coaches gen-erally start at $250 to $300 an hour,not including fuel surcharges.

But even with the higher costs,the opportunity to have a mobile of-fice resonates with business travelersin the New York area, which isplagued with traffic.

That was the issue for a corporateclient of Empire Force Events Inc.that needed to transport meetingparticipants between Connecticutand Manhattan—the trip takes al-most an hour and a half on a relative-ly traffic-free day—and wanted tomake use of every minute.

“We suggested that they hire anexecutive coach set up like a livingroom, so that they could have ameeting while they were [on themove],” says Jaclyn Bernstein, pres-ident of Empire Force.

Companies’ desire for efficiencywhile on the road showed up in a re-cent National Business Travel Asso-ciation survey, which found that34% of respondents want Internetaccess in their vehicles.

Surging demandmeanwhile, the market for greensedans and sports utility vehicles hassurged over the past few years. In re-sponse, transportation companiesare trying to increase their access toinventories of the cars.

Ms. Chaulet says that sinceBostonCoach began offering hybridvehicles earlier this year, half of itscustomers make the greener choice.

The eco-friendly inclination wasevident at the National BusinessTravel Association Convention &Exposition this past summer.

“I never saw so many hybrid [liv-

ery cars],” says Bill Connors, thetrade group’s executive director. “Itseemed like every company therehad a hybrid they were showing off.”

The products displayed on thetrade show floor are not yet availableon the market, though individualproviders have been revamping hy-brids to make them more comfort-able and high-end.

Ford Motor Co. is slated to in-troduce a modified version of itsMercury Mariner SUV and marketit to transportation companies forgroups. Among its features will bean outlet for a computer.

The demand for green trans-

portation isn’t limited to a type ofconveyance.

Some companies help achievetheir sustainability and cost-cuttinggoals by operating airport and con-ference shuttles less frequently.

Waiting gamegenerally, “attendees will havemore patience if they know that[waiting for a bus] is part of a greeninitiative,” Ms. Chaulet says.

Companies and meeting plan-ners have their own wait—for a hy-brid superstretch limo.No manufac-turer has anything on the drawingboard that would equal the capacity

of an extended Hummer, which canhold more than 20 passengers.

Carmakers are working to re-solve the problems involved in pow-ering such large vehicles with greentechnology.

In the meantime, one thing thateveryone agrees on is that productiv-ity-enhanced and green transporta-tion are trends that are here to stay.



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BOOK NOWASSEMBLING a fleet of anyparticular type of car—be it greenor basic black—takes some doingin the city, says KarenShackman, president of des-tination management companyShackman Associates New York.

Transportation for meetingscan be comfortably arrangedwithin three months of an event,companies that want fleets ofgreen or productivity-enhancedvehicles in New York should planand make their requests at leastsix months in advance.

Because providers may haveto make arrangements tosublease extra vehicles, theyneed to be contacted as early aspossible, even if a planner canprovide only approximatenumbers.

DRIVE TIME: An executive coach (left) and a Prius serve different ends of the transport spectrum.

CNYB 10-29-07 A 25 10/25/2007 12:45 PM Page 1

New York City’s Largest HotelsRanked by number of rooms


Rank Hotel

General manager

Phone/Web site

No. of

rooms/

suites1

No. of

meeting

rooms/

square

footage

Corporate/

group

guest room rate2

No. of

employees3

Hotel owner/

management

company Selected amenities

1 Hilton New York

1335 Sixth Ave.New York, NY 10019

Conrad Wangeman(212) 586-7000

www.newyork.hilton.com

1,980

4640

150,000n/d 1,500 Hilton Hotels 4 Business center, on-site

health club, on-siteparking

2 New York Marriott Marquis

1535 BroadwayNew York, NY 10036

Mike J. Stengel(212) 398-1900

www.nymarriottmarquis.com

1,949

5754

100,000$299-$699$299-$699

1,850 Host Hotels &Resorts/MarriottInternational

Business center, on-sitehealth club, on-siteparking

3 Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers

811 Seventh Ave.New York, NY 10019

Dan King(212) 581-1000

www.sheraton.com/newyork

1,750

5741

55,000$259-$599$259-$599

1,289 Host Hotels &Resorts/Starwood Hotels& Resorts


4 New York’s Hotel Pennsylvania


James Flynn(212) 736-5000

www.hotelpenn.com

1,700

3511

90,000$189-$289$159-$259

465 Vornado RealtyTrust/independentlymanaged

Off-site health club

5 Grand Hyatt New York

Park Avenue at Grand Central TerminalNew York, NY 10017

Matthew Adams(212) 883-1234

www.grandnewyork.hyatt.com

1,311

5545

55,000$289-$649$249-$649

900 Hyatt Hotels & Resorts 4 Business center, on-sitehealth club, on-siteparking

6 Milford Plaza Hotel

270 W. 45th St.New York, NY 10036

Mark Miller(212) 869-3600

www.milfordplaza.com

1,300

203

2,184$339

$219-$379300 Milford Plaza

Associates/Oxford-Highgate Management

Business center, on-sitehealth club

7 Waldorf-Astoria

301 Park Ave.New York, NY 10022

Eric O. Long(212) 355-3000

www.waldorf.com

1,245

20940

60,000$299 and up$299 and up

1,600 Hilton Hotels Corp. 4 Business center, off-sitehealth club, on-site healthclub

8 Roosevelt Hotel New York

Madison Avenue at East 45th StreetNew York, NY 10017

John Trovato(212) 661-9600

www.theroosevelthotel.com

1,015

5219

30,000n/d 600 RHC Operating/Interstate

Hotels & ResortsBusiness center, on-sitehealth club

9 Park Central New York


Florencio Ferrao(212) 247-8000

www.parkcentralny.com

935

2010

14,314$339

$239-$559418 Highgate Holdings 4 Business center, on-site

health club, on-siteparking

10 Edison Hotel


John Canavan(212) 840-5000

www.edisonhotelnyc.com

900

351

960$165-$200$165-$200

260 228 Hotel Corp. 4 Business center, on-sitehealth club

11 New York Palace Hotel

455 Madison Ave.New York, NY 10022

Vito Terzulli(212) 888-7000

www.newyorkpalace.com

893

8615

22,000$620-$820$520-$820

1,015 Amedeo Hotels 4 Business center, on-sitehealth club, on-siteparking, spa

12 Westin New York at Times Square

270 W. 43rd St.New York, NY 10036

John T. Sweeney(212) 201-2700

www.westinny.com

863

2932

34,000n/d

$349-$649587 Dream Team Hotel

Associates/StarwoodHotels & Resorts

Business center, on-sitehealth club, spa

13 New Yorker Hotel-Ramada Plaza

481 Eighth Ave.New York, NY 10001

Kevin H. Smith(212) 971-0101

www.newyorkerhotel.com

860

9515

25,000$169-$279$149-$399

475 Holy SpiritAssociation/New YorkerHotel Managment Co.


14 New York Helmsley Hotel

212 E. 42nd St.New York, NY 10017

Mark Briskin(212) 490-8900

www.newyorkhelmsley.com

779

511

8,520$300-$415$290-$475

475 Helmsley Hotels 4 Business center, on-sitehealth club, on-siteparking

15 Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan

1605 BroadwayNew York, NY 10019

Asaad Farag(212) 977-4000

www.manhattan.crowneplaza.com

770

1231

23,000$300-$600$300-$600

550 City InvestmentFund/InterContinentalHotels Group


16 Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel

569 Lexington Ave.New York, NY 10022

Sam Kapadia(212) 752-7000

www.dtnewyork.com

755

2413

12,000$299-$559$199-$599

303 Highgate Holdings andOxford Lodging 4


17 Le Parker Meridien New York


Steven Pipes(212) 245-5000

www.parkermeridien.com

730

1979

10,000$425$525

530 Jack Parker Corp. 4 Business center, on-sitehealth club, on-siteparking, spa

18 Radisson Lexington Hotel New York


Brendan Moraes(212) 755-4400

www.lexingtonhotelnyc.com

705

403

1,026$195-$525$195-$525

205 Highgate Holdings 4 Business center, on-sitehealth club

NYC hotelaverage dailyroom rate $$226699

NYC hoteloccupancyrate 8866%%

Internationaltourists who visitedNYC in 2006

Average for eight months ended August 2007. Source: PKF Consulting Average for eight months ended August 2007. Source: PKF Consulting

77..33MMSource: NYC & Company

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Hilton New York has150,000 square feetdevoted to meetings,banquets and otherevents. The hotel claimsthat it is the largest self-contained space in thecity for these purposes.

The RooseveltHotel’s namesakenewsletter, Teddy’sTelegram, features profilesof the hotel’s employeesand the history of thehotel where late, greatbandleader Guy Lombardogot his start.

Crowne PlazaTimes Square hasinvested in new beds,quiet-zone floors and otheramenities to help guestssleep at its noisy location.


nb44p26.qxp 10/25/2007 12:25 PM Page 1


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19 Wellington Hotel


Robert F. Cardillo(212) 247-3900

www.wellingtonhotel.com

700

8500

n/d 160 Wellington Hotel Co. 4 Business center

20 W New York


Ed Baten(212) 755-1200

www.whotels.com/nyc

688

616

8,388$339-$499$299-$499

650 Host Hotels &Resorts/Starwood Hotels& Resorts

Business center, on-sitehealth club, spa

21 InterContinental, The Barclay New York

111 E. 48th St.New York, NY 10017

Leland M. Lewis(212) 755-5900

www.intercontinental.com/newyork

686

8618

13,900$329-$639

n/a515 InterContinental Hotels

Group 4Business center, on-sitehealth club

22 New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge

333 Adams St.Brooklyn, NY 11201

Sam Ibrahim(718) 246-7000

www.brooklynmarriott.com

665

2825

30,000$459 and up$259 and up

450 Muss DevelopmentCo./Marriott International


23 Sheraton Manhattan at Times Square


Dan King(212) 581-3300

www.sheraton.com/manhattan

665

72

2,500$259-$599$259-$599

305 Starwood Hotels & Resorts 4 On-site health club,on-site parking

24 New York Marriott East Side


Christopher Hosmer(212) 755-4000

www.nymarriotteastside.com

646

1718

20,000$459-$699$399-$699

450 Morgan Stanley/MarriottInternational

Business center, off-sitehealth club, on-site healthclub, on-site parking

25 Millennium Broadway Hotel


Mark Sanders(212) 768-4400

www.millenniumbroadway.com

625

1245

110,000$299-$599$299-$599

600 Millennium Hotels &Resorts 4

Business center, on-sitehealth club

Rank Hotel

General manager

Phone/Web site

No. of

rooms/

suites1

No. of

meeting

rooms/

square

footage

Corporate/

group

guest room rate2

No. of

employees3

Hotel owner/

management

company Selected amenities

New York Marriottat the BrooklynBridge has great viewsof Manhattan from manyof its meeting rooms, butcrossing the bridge canbe tough when there’srush-hour traffic.

The Plaza is scheduled to reopen on Dec. 3, 2007. Hudson, which was included in the Top 25 list in 2006, with 802 rooms, declined to respond.

New York City includes the five boroughs only. Crain’s New York Business uses staff research, extensive surveys and the most current references available to produce its lists, but there is no guarantee that these listings are complete.To qualify for this list, a hotel must be located in New York City. All information was supplied by the hotels. In case of tied figures, hotels are listed alphabetically. n/a Not available. n/d Not disclosed. 1-Number of roomsincludes suites. 2-As of September 2007. 3-Full-time and full-time-equivalent, as of June 30, 2007. 4-Hotel owner and management company are the same. Research: Denise Southwood, Adrianne Pasquarelli and SarahStudley

ALL CRAIN’S BUSINESS LISTS ARE AVAILABLE AT WWW.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM/LISTS.

CNYB 10-29-07 A 27 10/25/2007 12:30 PM Page 1

BY CARA S. TRAGER

while manhattan continues to bethe hot spot for New York conven-tion-goers, the other boroughs areincreasingly serving as havens forday-trippers seeking a genuine tasteof the Big Apple.

Last December, Karen Shack-man dispatched a medical groupfrom Belgium to a part of the citythey had never seen before: the MottHaven section of the Bronx. There,in the area’s emerging art colony,the 15 physicians shopped the gal-leries and even met with artists.

“This group had been to NewYork,and they were interested in see-ing what goes on outside of Man-hattan,” says Ms. Shackman, presi-dent of Shackman Associates NewYork,a Manhattan destination man-agement and event planning firm.

For the been-there, done-thatcrowd, the boroughs outside Man-hattan are gaining ground as in-triguing places to explore, if notnecessarily locations in which tohold entire meetings. In many in-stances, groups are climbing aboardchartered buses in Manhattan andcrossing New York’s waterways tosample life beyond the dazzlinglights of Times Square and theiconic Empire State Building.

Such outings appeal both to in-ternational guests and to domesticvisitors who have been to the city be-fore, giving businesspeople valuableopportunities to get off the beatenpath.Excursions run the gamut froma detour into Bronx neighborhoodsen route to a gala dinner at the BronxZoo to a show at a Russian night-club in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach.

Not long ago, Jaclyn Bernstein,president of Empire Force EventsInc. in Manhattan, arranged for agroup from a European pharmaceu-ticals company to tour Williamsburgand Borough Park’s Orthodox Jewishenclaves.She capped off their KingsCounty sojourn with lunch at PeterLuger Steak House in Williamsburg.

Experiential tripsborough visits “are more experi-ential,” says Ms. Bernstein. “Theygive you the neighborhood feelingthat the city offers.”

This past summer, a similar con-viction spurred Ms. Shackman totake a group of about 30 Canadianfinancial managers to Brooklyn’sProspect Park for four hours. Theyparticipated in a community serviceand team-building activity, whichincluded scraping paint off weath-ered benches and pulling weeds fromflower beds. The group also kicked

back with box lunches in the park.Besides appealing to meeting at-

tendees,such jaunts score points withbusinesses in the other boroughs.

“Visitors from outside the Bronxnot only represent prospective buy-ers for the works of our local artistsbut also provide our artists with anopportunity to share ideas aboutemerging art trends,” says JuanitaLanzó, acting director of the Long-wood Art Gallery @ Hostos, whichwas among the places the Belgiangroup visited in the Bronx.

But, as many planners see it, thesightseeing and team-building op-tions available beyond Manhattanaren’t enough to support entiremeetings. The other boroughs arestill eclipsed by Manhattan’s cachet,tourist sites and abundant hotelspace, which continue to play a piv-otal role in drawing attendees.

The 665-room Marriott at theBrooklyn Bridge is one hotel that’sbeating the odds. It has recordedabout a 40% increase in meeting vol-ume this year, thanks in large part tothe addition of 289 guest rooms in2006,and it has served as the hub fornational gatherings of the AmericanInstitute of Architects and theAmerican Booksellers Association.

Among the reasons for the hotel’ssuccesses is that facilities in the bor-oughs outside Manhattan frequentlyoffer better rates.The Brooklyn Mar-riott can be as much as 20% cheap-er than the Marriott Marquis inTimes Square, depending on occu-pancy and group demand, says GaryMarmer, the Brooklyn Marriott’sdirector of sales and marketing.

But on the whole, the other bor-oughs can’t compete with the num-ber of Manhattan lodgings.

Manhattan boasts 63,394 guestrooms in properties with 15 guest

rooms or more, six times the com-bined number of 10,151 rooms in thefour other boroughs, according toSmith Travel Research. In the bor-oughs outside of Manhattan,most ofthe rooms are located in Queens,nearLa Guardia and Kennedy airports.

Traffic headacheseven that fact doesn’t help someneighborhood enterprises attractbusiness. Since 2005,Terrace on thePark, an upscale catering hall inFlushing Meadow Park, Queens,has been trying to build its corporateevent business by e-mailing Man-hattan meeting planners at leastevery other month to attract out-of-town clients. But the firm—whichhandles about 200 business events ayear,most of them for local firms andassociations—has gotten no bites.

“Most people fly into New Yorkat Kennedy or La Guardia, but theManhattan hotels are getting thebusiness,” laments Brian Peralta, thehall’s director of operations.

Transportation can also deterplanners from holding programs inthe boroughs beyond Manhattan.Traffic problems can throw an agen-da off schedule and pose a vexingproblem for attendees, besides.

“It can cause some to question,‘Why are they dragging me outhere?’ ” says Ms. Bernstein of Em-pire Force Events.

With that in mind, Ms. Bern-stein provides her busloads of meet-ing-goers with a tour guide and, oc-casionally, an informative video.These amenities not only shed lighton the sites the group will be visit-ing, but also help distract attendeesfrom the bumper-to-bumper trafficthat may surround them.


Visitors seek novelty tripsto the boroughs beyondBronx art, B’klyn park give old hands new insights; Manhattan’s still tops for full events

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TERMS OF ART: Bronx artists benefitwhen out-of-towners visit; they can reachnew buyers and share ideas, saysLongwood Art Gallery’s Juanita Lanzó.

CNYB 10-29-07 A 28 10/25/2007 1:54 PM Page 1

N E I G H B O R H O O D J O U R N A L

Starting next month,residents of the SouthBronx can tell each otherto “take that to the bank”with a bit more conviction.

After months of delays, the neigh-borhood will get its first bankbranch in recent memory whenCheckSpring Bank finally opens atthe corner of East 167th Street andGerard Avenue.

The bank will offer what itsfounders call hybrid services: checkcashing, which will be available tocustomers whether they are accountholders or not; and account serviceslike checking and savings, with lim-its well below those of most banks.

The aim, says founder and ChiefExecutive Charles Wilcox, is to al-low the predominantly lower-in-come residents of the South Bronxan opportunity to enter the financialrealm and establish credit.

“We chose the Bronx as the placeto start because it has the highestnumber of check cashers per capitaand the lowest number of banks percapita,” says Mr. Wilcox, a formerresident of the neighborhood.

While Manhattan boasts just3,000 people per bank branch, theSouth Bronx has about 15,000 resi-dents per branch. CheckSpring islocated in the heart of CommunityBoard 4, where it will be the onlybank within a 10-block radius.

“We are certainly happy to havethem coming here,” says D. LeeEzell, chair of the communityboard.

Ms. Ezell estimates that in aneighborhood of less than two squaremiles, there are at least 50 check-cashing stores, which charge notori-ously high fees for their services.

Originally slated for last year, thebank’s opening has been delayed byregulatory hurdles. Part of thestruggle, explains Mr. Wilcox, isCheckSpring’s aim to offer servicesto individuals even if they’re not ac-count holders.

“Most banks currently in exis-tence don’t offer products needed byfolks that don’t have a lot of mon-ey,” he says. They also typically donot offer services to undocumentedimmigrants. Mr. Wilcox saysCheckSpring will serve customerswithin the bounds of the law.

—hilary potkewitz

Taking sides in Mill Basinwhen economic developmentand Brooklyn politics meet, thingscan get complicated.

Take the case of Kristal AutoMall, a big Cadillac dealership inFlatlands that is losing its lease andmust relocate. The Bloomberg ad-ministration’s Economic Develop-ment Corp.found Kristal a site three

miles south: the parking lot of a MillBasin Toys “R” Us.

Of course, the toy store couldn’tdo without parking, so the city of-fered it an adjacent parcel of land inexchange for its parking lot.Kristal’smove would complement a largerproject next door for a modest newmall, which would include a HomeDepot, a bookstore and a bed-room/bathroom store. To keep thelocals happy, the project would in-clude a renovation of a marina on

the adjacent Jamaica Bay inlet.So far, so good.But when Toys “R” Us entered

bankruptcy protection, VornadoRealty Trust snapped up the store’ssite. Community leaders began tofear that a busier enterprise wouldreplace the toy store, creating moretraffic at the bottleneck intersectionof Flatbush and Avenue U.

Enter Lew Fidler. As the CityCouncilman for Mill Basin, hecould throw a wrench into the entire

mini-mall/land-swap plan byopposing the zoning changethat it requires. And that is ex-actly what he’s threatening todo—unless Vornado promisesto keep a toy store in the space.Mr. Fidler figures toy stores don’tcreate much traffic most of the year.As much as he likes the plan for arenovated marina and new mini-mall, and wants to save minority-owned Kristal Auto Mall and itsdozens of jobs, he says he could not

tolerate a high-traffic store likeWal-Mart or Sam’s Club.

“I know I’m speaking for mycommunity when I’m looking toprevent another big-box store,” heexplains.

—erik engquist

Will offer services to lower-income residents; land-swap debate in Brooklyn

New bank fills gap in South Bronx

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 29 10/25/2007 7:34 PM Page 1


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Notice of Qualification of Perella WeinbergPartners Capital Management LP. Authorityfiled with NY Dept. of State on 6/19/07. Officelocation: NY County. LP formed in Delaware(DE) on 2/28/07. NY Secy. of State designatedas agent of LP upon whom process against itmay be served and shall mail process to: 7675th Ave., NY, NY 10153, principal businessaddress of the LP. DE address of LP: c/oNational Corporate Research, Ltd., 615 S.DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901. Name/addressof genl. ptr. available from NY Secy. of State.Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, 401Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: anylawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of Centurion GlobalPartners, L.P. Authority filed with Secy. ofState of N.Y. (SSNY) on 8/30/07. Officelocation: NY County. LP formed in Delaware(DE) on 8/22/07. SSNY designated as agentof LP upon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to principalbusiness location: 101 Park Ave., NY, NY10178. DE address of LP: c/o CorporationService Company, 2711 Centerville Road, Ste.400, Wilmington, DE 19808. Name/addressof each genl. ptr. available from SSNY.Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy. of State, 401Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: anylawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of JWS Partners I,L.P. Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY(SSNY) on 09/11/07. Office location: NewYork County. LP formed in Delaware (DE)on 09/07/07. SSNY designated as agent ofLP upon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to: c/oNortheast Securities, 100 Wall St., NY, NY10005, Attn: Jon W. Salmanson. Addressrequired to be maintained in home jurisdiction:160 Greentree Dr., Ste., 101, Dover, DE19904. Name/address of genl. ptr. availablefrom SSNY. Cert. of LP filed with DE Secy.of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 FederalSt., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: anylawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of Blackstone TT FundL.P., App. for Auth. filed Sec'y of State (SSNY)5/24/07. Office location: NY County. LP org. inDE 5/21/07. SSNY designated as agent of LPupon whom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail copy of process to Attn: J.Tomilson Hill, 345 Park Ave., NY, NY 10154.DE office addr.: c/o CSC, 2711 Centerville Rd.,Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP on file:SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901.Name/addr. of each gen. ptr. avail. at SSNY.Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of GII Fund L.P., App.for Auth. filed Sec'y of State (SSNY) 6/13/07.Office location: NY County. LP org. in DE6/11/07. SSNY designated as agent of LPupon whom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail copy of process to Attn: J.Tomilson Hill, 345 Park Ave., NY, NY 10154.DE office addr.: c/o CSC, 2711 Centerville Rd.,Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of LP on file:SSDE, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE 19901.Name/addr. of each gen. ptr. avail. at SSNY.Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of Bridge Revitalization,L.P. Cert. filed with NY Dept. of State on9/25/2007. Office location: NY County. Secy.of State designated as agent of LP uponwhom process against it may be served andshall mail process to the principal businessaddress of the LP: 248 W. 108th St., NY, NY10025, Attn: Bridge 202 Revitalization, Inc.,registered agent upon whom process may beserved. Name/address of genl. ptr. availablefrom Secy. of State. Term: until 12/31/2058.Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Triad Boys II, LLC. Arts.of Org. filed with Secy. of State of N.Y. (SSNY)on 9/17/07. Office location: NY County. SSNYdesignated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNY shallmail process to principal business location:c/o United American Land, LLC, 430 WestBroadway, NY, NY 10012. Purpose: anylawful activity.

Notice of Formation of EIC HOSPITALITYCONCEPTS LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy.of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 9/17/07. Officelocation: NY County. SSNY designated asagent of LLC upon whom process against itmay be served. SSNY shall mail process to:145 E. 84th St., #2C, NY, NY 10028. Purpose:any lawful activity.

212 EAST 85TH STREET, LLC. Articles of Org.filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 09/21/07. Officein New York Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLCupon whom process may be served. SSNYshall mail copy of process to JAS ManagementCo., Inc., 216 E. 85th St., Ste. 1A, NY, NY10028. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of HUSA Go Grid Holding,LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with NY Dept. of Stateon 10/3/07. Office location: NY County. Secy.of State designated as agent of LLC uponwhom process against it may be served andshall mail process to the principal businessaddress of the LLC: c/o Gotham Organization,Inc., 1010 Ave. of the Americas, 4th Fl., NY,NY 10018, Attn: David Pickett. Purpose: anylawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of WMT Investors LLC.Authority filed with Secy. of State of N.Y.(SSNY) on 9/21/07. Office location: NYCounty. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on9/12/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail process to principal businesslocation: One Penn Plaza, Ste. 2805, NY, NY10119. DE address of LLC: 2711 CentervilleRoad, Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE 19808.Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State,P.O. Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose:any lawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of Richland TowersNYC Distributed, LLC. Authority filed withNY Dept. of State on 10/2/07. Office location:NY County. Principal business address: 400N. Ashley Dr., Ste. 3010, Tampa, FL 33602.LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 3/10/05.NY Secy. of State designated as agent ofLLC upon whom process against it may beserved and shall mail process to: CorpDirectAgents, Inc. (CDAI), 225 W. 34th St., Ste.910, NY, NY 10122. DE address of LLC:CDAI, 615 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE 19901.Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State,401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of BON ALLER NEWYORK, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of Stateof N.Y. (SSNY) on 8/20/07. Office location: NYCounty. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on7/30/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail process to: c/o CorporationService Company, 80 State St., Albany, NY12207. DE address of LLC: 2711 CentervilleRoad, Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE. Arts. ofOrg. filed with DE Secy. of State, Federal &Duke of York St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose:any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Cocktail CaterersLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the Secy. of Stateof NY (SSNY) on 6/8/2007 Office locationNEW YORK County. SSNY has been designatedas agent upon whom process against it maybe served. SSNY shall mail process to: 875Avenue of the Americas, Suite 501. New York,NY 10001. Principal business Location: 416West 23rd Street, 4B , NY, NY 10011. Purpose:any lawful act. 891443

Notice of Qualification of Dollar LandAssociates LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept.of State on 5/18/07. Office location: NY County.LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 4/30/07. NYSecy. of State designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may be servedand shall mail process to: c/o CT CorporationSystem, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY 10011,registered agent upon whom process may beserved. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St.,Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. of Org. filed withDE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., Dover, DE19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of HFS REALTY NEWYORK 6, LLC. Authority filed with Secy. ofState of N.Y. (SSNY) on 9/21/07. Officelocation: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware(DE) on 9/12/07. SSNY designated as agentof LLC upon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o CTCorporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY10011, registered agent upon whom processmay be served. DE address of LLC: 1209Orange St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. ofOrg. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 FederalSt., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: alllawful purposes.

Notice of Formation of Integrated TechnologySystems NYC LLC. Authority filed with NewYork Dept. of State 1/10/06. Office location:New York County. LLC formed in Delaware(DE) on 12/21/05. Sec. of State designatedas agent of LLC upon whom process againstit may be served. Sec. of State shall mailprocess to: 509 Madison Ave. Suite 1200, NY,NY 10022. DE address of LLC: 3500 SouthDuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901. Cert. ofFormation filed with DE Sec. of State, P.O.Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Anylawful activity.

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NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITYCOMPANY. NAME: 26 EAST SECOND STREET,LLC. Articles of Organization were filed withthe Secretary of State of New York (SSNY)on 09/21/07. Office location: New York County.SSNY has been designated as agent of theLLC upon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail a copy of processto the LLC, c/o Nancy Chan, 252 Front Street,New York, New York 10038. Purpose: Forany lawful purpose.

Name of LLC: Bismarck Furnishings &Decorative Objects, LLC. Arts. of Org. filedNY Dept. of State 9/27/07. County off. loc.:New York Cty. Principal bus. loc.: 270Lafayette Street, NY, NY 10012. Sec. of Statedesignated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. Sec. ofState shall mail a copy of process to 270Lafayette Street, Ste. 1302, NY, NY 10012.Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of DissolutionMidtown Medical, P.C. (a New York ProfessionalCorporation) hereby publishes notice of its dissolutioneffective July 5, 2007. Any persons who haveclaims against the Corporation should providewritten evidence of the claim with supportingdocumentation to:

Midtown Medical, P.C.7399 N. Shadeland Avenue #125

Indianapolis, IN 46250Any claim against the corporation will be barredunless a proceeding to enforce the claim iscommenced within six (6) months after thepublication of this notice.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of Petrie PointDesigns LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy.of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/28/07. Officelocation: New York County. SSNY designatedas agent of LLC upon whom process againstit may be served. SSNY shall mail processto: 140 Sullivan Street, #6, NY, NY 10012.Principal business location: 140 SullivanStreet, #6, NY, NY 10012. Purpose: Anylawful act.

Notice of Conversion of Rainier NorthwestJFK Associates, a partnership, to RainierNorthwest – JFK L.L.C. Certificate filed withSecy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/21/07.Office location: NY County. SSNY designatedas agent of LLC upon whom process againstit may be served. SSNY shall mail process to:The LLC, c/o Rainier Northwest DevelopmentCorporation,1411Fourth Ave., Ste. 901, Seattle,WA 98101. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Formation of Trident CommunicationsLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. State of NY(SSNY) on 8/22/07. Office location: New YorkCounty. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to: TridentCommunications LLC, 20 West 22 St., 12thFloor, NY, NY 10010. Purpose: Any Lawfulact. 905020 w.o.

44 WALKER LLC, a domestic Limited LiabilityCompany (LLC) filed with the Sec of State ofNY (SSNY) on 8/17/07. NY Office location:NEW YORK County. SSNY is designated asagent upon whom process against the LLCmay be served. SSNY shall mail a copy ofany process against the LLC served uponhim/her to THE LLC, ATTN: MICHAEL MARVISI,332 CANAL ST., 2ND FLR., NY, NY 10013.General purposes.

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Notice of Formation of The 157 East 72ndStreet L.L.C. Arts. of Org. filed with NYDept. of State on 9/20/07. Office location:NY County. Secy. of State designated asagent of LLC upon whom process against itmay be served and shall mail process to: 201E. 79th St., Apt. 20E, NY, NY 10075, principalbusiness address of the LLC. Purpose: anylawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of Clutch Group LLC.Authority filed with Secy. of State of N.Y.(SSNY) on 9/5/07. Fictitious name in NY State:Clutch Group Acquisition Company LLC.Office location: NY County. LLC formed inDelaware (DE) on 7/31/07. SSNY designatedas agent of LLC upon whom process againstit may be served. SSNY shall mail processto principal business location: c/o The LLC,370 Lexington Ave., Ste. 1410, NY, NY 10017.DE address of LLC: c/o United CorporateServices, Inc., 874 Walker Road, Ste. C,Dover, DE 19904. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., Dover,DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Rising Development –38 Main, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy.of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 9/6/07. Officelocation: NY County. SSNY designated asagent of LLC upon whom process against itmay be served. SSNY shall mail process to:The LLC, 3261 Broadway, NY, NY 10027.Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Dynamis ETF, LLC.Authority filed with Secy. of State of N.Y.(SSNY) on 8/22/07. Office location: NYCounty. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on7/25/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail process to principal businesslocation: 75 Rockefeller Plaza, 18th Fl., NY, NY10019. DE address of LLC: c/o CorporationService Co., 2711 Centerville Rd., Ste. 400,Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filedwith DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg., Dover,DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 180 BROADWAYLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State ofN.Y. (SSNY) on 6/15/07. Office location: NYCounty. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to: c/oEastern Property Associates, LLC, 194 W.10th St., L-1, NY, NY 10014, Attn: JosephEdery. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Betsey JohnsonLLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State ofNY (SSNY) on 8/1/07. Office location: NYCounty. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on6/29/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to: c/oNational Registered Agents, Inc., 875 Aveof the Americas, Ste 501, NY, NY 10001.Address to be maintained in DE: 2711Centerville Rd., Ste 400, Wilmington, DE19808. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. OfState, 401 Federal St., Ste 4., Dover, DE19901 Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of BRS CoinvestorGP III, L.L.C. Authority filed with Secy. ofState of NY (SSNY) on 9/6/07. Office loca-tion: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware(DE) on 8/29/07. SSNY designated asagent of LLC upon whom process againstit may be served. SSNY shall mail processto: The LLC, 126 East 56th St., NY, NY10022. Address to be maintained in DE:2711 Centerville Rd., Ste 400, Wilmington,DE 19808. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy.Of State, 401 Federal St., Ste 4., Dover, DE19901 . Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of Qualification of GS CapitalPartners 2000 Employee Fund, L.P.Authority filed with Secy. of State of N.Y.(SSNY) on 7/27/07. Office location: NYCounty. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on4/5/00. SSNY designated as agent of LPupon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to: 85Broad St., NY, NY 10004. DE address ofLP: Corporation Trust Center, 1209 OrangeSt., Wilmington, DE 19801. Name/addressof each genl. ptr. available from SSNY.Cert. of LP filed with DE Sec. of State, P.O.Box 898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: anylawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of HY 707 LLC.Authority filed with Secy. of State of N.Y.(SSNY) on 9/11/07. Office location: NYCounty. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on6/20/07. SSNY designated as agent ofLLC upon whom process against it maybe served. SSNY shall mail process to:c/o KMM Telecommunications, 9 LawDrive, Ste. 13, Fairfield, NJ 07004. DEaddress of LLC: Trolley Square, Ste. 20C,Wilmington, DE 19806. Arts. of Org. filedwith DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St.,Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: own &develop real property.

Notice of Formation of ALBERT 2 LLC. Arts.of Org. filed with NY Dept. of State on 9/5/07.Office location: NY County. Secy. of State designated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served and shallmail process to the principal businessaddress of the LLC: c/o United AmericanLand, LLC, 430 W. Broadway, 3rd Fl., NY, NY10012. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of JASON 2 LLC. Arts. ofOrg. filed with NY Dept. of State on 9/6/07.Office location: NY County. Secy. of Statedesignated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served and shallmail process to the principal business addressof the LLC: c/o United American Land, LLC,430 W. Broadway, 3rd Fl., NY, NY 10012.Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of PowerQX LLC.Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on11/8/06. Office location: NY County. Principalbusiness address: 375 Park Ave., NY, NY10152. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on10/26/04. NY Secy. of State designated asagent of LLC upon whom process against itmay be served and shall mail process to: c/oCT Corporation System, 111 8th Ave., NY, NY10011, registered agent upon whom processmay be served. DE address of LLC: c/o TheCorporation Trust Co., 1209 Orange St.,Wilmington, DE 19801. Cert. of Form. filedwith DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg.,Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Axelrod EnergyProjects, LLC, Art. of Org. filed Sec'y of State(SSNY) 6/22/07. Office location: NY County.SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNY shallmail copy of process to c/o Lawrence Axelrod,214 West 96th St., NY, NY 10025. Purpose:any lawful activities.

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF LIMITED LIABILITYCOMPANY. NAME: 203 E. 45th MANAGEMENTLLC. Articles of Organization were filed withthe Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on08/31/07. The latest date of dissolution is12/31/2099. Office location: New York County.SSNY has been designated as agent of theLLC upon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail a copy of process tothe LLC, 121 West 45th Street, New York, NewYork 10036. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Datafloat, LLC, Art. ofOrg. filed Sec'y of State (SSNY) 9/17/04.Office location: NY County. SSNY designatedas agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy ofprocess to Ben Clarke, 26 Broadway, Ste. 745,NY, NY 10006, the Reg. Agt. upon whom proc.may be served. Purpose: any lawful activities.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Notice of Qualification of Haven Avenue Owner LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of Stateof N.Y. (SSNY) on 6/18/07. Office location:NY County. Principal business location: c/oVantage Properties, LLC, 750 Lexington Ave.,NY, NY 10022. LLC formed in Delaware (DE)on 3/19/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail process to: c/o CorporationService Company, 80 State St., Albany, NY12207. DE address of LLC: The CorporationTrust Company, 1209 Orange St., Wilmington,DE 19808. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. ofState, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901.Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of 135 LLC. Arts. of Org.filed with Secy. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on10/20/06. Office location: NY County. SSNYdesignated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNY shallmail process to principal business location:c/o Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, 1177Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY 10036, Attn:Jay A. Neveloff. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Conversion of 148 West 10th StreetCompany, a partnership, to 148 West 10thStreet Associates, LLC. Certificate filed withSecy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/13/07.Office location: NY County. SSNY designatedas agent of LLC upon whom process againstit may be served. SSNY shall mail process toprincipal business location: c/o The BrodskyOrganization, LLC, 400 W. 59th St., NY, NY10019. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of BNS Varick St. LLC.Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY(SSNY) on 9/27/07. Office location: NY Co.SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNY shallmail process to: c/o Paracorp Inc., 2804Gateway Oaks Dr., Ste #200, Sacramento, CA95833-3509. Purpose: any lawful activities.

Notice of DissolutionMidtown Medical Plus, P.C. (a New York ProfessionalCorporation) hereby publishes notice of its dissolutioneffective July 2, 2007. Any persons who haveclaims against the Corporation should providewritten evidence of the claim with supportingdocumentation to:

Midtown Medical Plus, P.C.7399 N. Shadeland Avenue #125

Indianapolis, IN 46250Any claim against the corporation will be barredunless a proceeding to enforce the claim is commenced within six (6) months after the publication of this notice.

Notice of Qualification of GAIA USA, LLC.Authority filed with Secy. of State of N.Y.(SSNY) on 9/27/07. Office location: NYCounty. LLC formed in New Jersey (NJ) on5/31/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail process to the principal officeaddress/principal business location of LLC:Mr. Martin Manuel, 400 Madison Ave., NY, NY10017, registered agent upon whom processmay be served. Cert. of Form. filed with NJDept. of Revenue, 225 West State Street,Trenton, NJ 08625. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Hawkes AP, LLC.Authority filed with NY Dept. of State on10/9/07. Office location: NY County. LLCformed in California (CA) on 9/12/01. NY Secy. of State designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may be servedand shall mail process to: 11726 San VicenteBlvd., Ste. 300, Los Angeles, CA 90049, Attn:Llewellyn Werner. CA and principal businessaddress: 11150 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 400,Los Angeles, CA 90025, Attn:Marc S. Primiani.Arts. of Org. filed with CA Secy. of State, 150011th St., Sacramento, CA 95814. Purpose:any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Stelle By GilberGilmore, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy.of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/11/07. Officelocation: NY Co. SSNY designated as agentof LLC upon whom process against it maybe served. SSNY shall mail process to: TheLLC, 307 West 38th St., Ste 804, Ny, NY10018. Purpose: any lawful activities.

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Notice of Qualification of TraxisManagement Holdings LP. Authority filedwith Secy. of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on10/10/07. Office location: NY County.Principal business location: 600 FifthAve., 20th Fl., NY, NY 10020. LP formed inDelaware (DE) on 8/28/07. SSNY desig-nated as agent of LP upon whom processagainst it may be served. SSNY shall mailprocess to: c/o Corporation ServiceCompany (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY12207, registered agent upon whomprocess may be served. DE address of LP:CSC, 2711 Centerville Road, Wilmington,DE 19808. Name/address of each genl.ptr. available from SSNY. Cert. of LP filedwith DE Secy. of State, Townsend Bldg.,Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawfulactivity.

Notice of Qualification of Goldman SachsPrivate Equity Partners 2004 EmployeeFund, L.P. Authority filed with Secy. of Stateof N.Y. (SSNY) on 7/13/07. Office location:NY County. LP formed in Delaware (DE) on10/13/04. SSNY designated as agent of LPupon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to: 85Broad St., NY, NY 10004. DE address of LP:2711 Centerville Road, Ste. 400,Wilmington, DE 19808. Name/address ofeach genl. ptr. available from SSNY. Cert. ofLP filed with DE Secy. of State, P.O. Box898, Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Name of LLC: LG & COMPANY INDEED,LLC. Articles. of Org. filed NY Dept. of Stateof NY on 9/21/07. Office location in NY:New York County. Sec. of State designatedas agent of LLC upon whom processagainst it may be served. Sec. of State shallmail a copy of process to c/o JustisProperties, 18 E. 12th St., Ste. 1C, NY, NY10003. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Limited LiabilityCompany (LLC) GENERAL SOURCE NETWORKS, LLC. Articles of Organizationfiled with the Secretary of State of NewYork (SSNY) on 08/31/2007. N.Y. Officelocation: New York County. SSNY hasbeen designated as an agent upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNYshall mail a copy of any process to: C/OGENERAL SOURCE NETWORKS, LLC331 W. 70TH ST. #1, New York, NY,10023. Purpose of LLC: TO ENGAGE IN E-BUSINESS ACTIVITIES.

Notice of formation of limited liability company(LLC). Name: IPNY ARCHITECTURALSALES, LLC Articles of Organization filed withthe Department of State of New York onSeptember 28, 2007. Office location: NewYork County. The principal business locationis 110 W. End Ave., Ste. 21G, New York, NY10023. The Secretary of State of New York(SSNY) is designated as agent of LLC uponwhom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail copy of process to Paul L.Shapiro, Esq., 39 Hudson St., Hackensack, NJ07601. Management of the limited liability company shall be by one or more mambers.Purpose: To engage in any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of Gemini 305 West39th Street 12, LLC. Authority filed withSecy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/25/07.Office location: NY County. LLC formed inDelaware (DE) on 9/20/07. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNYshall mail process to: c/o CorporationService Company, 80 State St., Albany, NY12207-2543, also registered agent.Address to be maintained in DE: 2711Centerville Rd., Ste 400, Wilmington, DE19808. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. OfState, 401 Federal St., Ste 4., Dover, DE19901 . Purpose: any lawful activities.

THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEYREQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR RETAIL REAL ESTATE

CONSULTANT SERVICES AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTERThe Port Authority of New York and New Jersey hereby invites proposals to provide realestate consultant services for the retail portion of The World Trade Center site redevelopment.

All firms are encouraged to visit the Port Authority’s Web site at www.panynj.gov andare directed to the subject RFP# 14352 for prerequisites, qualifying information, andrequirements for such services indicated. The RFP can be downloaded directly or torequest a copy, e-mail [email protected]. Please reference the RFP number inthe subject line on all requests and include the following information in your e-mail:Firm/Proposer name, e-mail address, contact person, mailing address and telephonenumber. Joint Ventures/Teams are acceptable.

Proposals are due by 2:00 PM on December 19, 2007 or as otherwise indicated in thesolicitation package sent to you. Proposals must have the RFP Number and full legalname of the proposing entity clearly indicated on the outside package.

Send Proposal(s) to: The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Attn: Bid/RFP Custodian, ProcurementDepartment, One Madison Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10010.


REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL



Notice of Qualification of NY Credit OperatingCompany LLC. Authority filed with Secy. ofState of N.Y. (SSNY) on 8/8/07. Office location:NY County. Principal business location: 230Park Ave., Ste. 1160, NY, NY 10169. LLCformed in Delaware (DE) on 4/5/07. SSNYdesignated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNY shallmail process to: c/o Corporation ServiceCompany (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY12207. DE address of LLC: c/o CSC, 2711Centerville Road, Ste. 400, Wilmington, DE19808. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. ofState, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901.Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of a Limited LiabilityPartnership known as Brosius Trask LLP;Articles of Incorporation filed with theSecretary of State of New York on 6/13/07;Office location: New York County; SSNY hasbeen designated as agent of the LLP uponwhom process against it may be served.SSNY shall may a copy of process to BrosiusTrask LLP, 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 2800,New York 11021-2808; Purpose: Law Firm.

Notice of Formation of NewQuest ManagerLLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of Stateof N.Y. (SSNY) on 8/31/07. Office location:NY County. SSNY designated as agent ofLLC upon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o TheLLC, 275 Madison Ave., Ste. 702, NY, NY10016. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Conversion of 231-235 West 13thStreet Associates, a partnership, to 231-235West 13th Street Associates, LLC. Certificatefiled with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on9/25/07. Office location: NY County. SSNYdesignated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNYshall mail process to principal businesslocation: c/o The Brodsky Organization, LLC,400 W. 59th St., NY, NY 10019. Purpose:any lawful activity.

Notice is hereby given that a license (#TBA) for Liquor has been applied for byChipotle Mexican Grill of Colorado, LLC, atretail, in a Restaurant, under the ABC Law,at 269 Amsterdam Ave. NY, NY 10023 foron-premises consumption.

Notice of Formation of PC Newco LLC.Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of N.Y.(SSNY) on 3/9/05. Office location: NYCounty. SSNY designated as agent of LLCupon whom process against it may beserved. SSNY shall mail process to principalbusiness location: 405 Lexington Ave., NY,NY 10174. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of 30-49 CrescentInvestor, LLC. Authority filed with NY Dept.of State on 10/11/07. Office location: NYCounty. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on8/3/07. NY Secy. of State designated asagent of LLC upon whom process againstit may be served and shall mail process to:The Dermot Company, Inc., 320 W. 57thSt., 5th Fl., NY, NY 10019, principal business address of the LLC. DE addressof LLC: c/o National Corporate Research,Ltd., 615 S. DuPont Hwy., Dover, DE19901. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy. ofState, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of Simon, Kucher &Partners Strategy & Marketing Consultants,LLC. Authority filed with Secy. of State ofN.Y. (SSNY) on 10/5/2007. Office location:NY County. LLC formed in Massachusetts(MA) on 5/22/1996. SSNY designated asagent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail processto: c/o Corporation Service Company, 80State St., Albany, NY 12207. MAaddress/principal business location of LLC:One Canal Park, Cambridge, MA 02141.Arts. of Org. filed with MA Secy. of State,One Ashburton Place, 17th Fl., Boston, MA02108. Purpose: strategy and marketingconsulting.

Notice of Formation Vvensta LLC art. of org.filed Secy. of State NY (SSNY) 6/14/07. Off.loc. in NY Co. SSNY designated as agent ofLLC upon whom process may be served.SSNY shall mail copy of process to: HangGuo, 51-29 72 St, Woodside, NY 11377.Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of NY GO 72nd LLC. Arts.of Org. filed with Secy. of State of N.Y. (SSNY)on 6/1/07. Office location: NY County. SSNYdesignated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNY shallmail process to: c/o Gotham Organization,1010 Ave. of the Americas, 4th Fl., NY, NY10018. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of Paramount Fee Mezz,LLC, Art. of Org. filed Sec'y of State (SSNY)8/21/07. Office location: NY County. SSNYdesignated as agent of LLC upon whomprocess against it may be served. SSNY shallmail copy of process to Nat. Reg. Agents, 875Ave of the Americas, Ste. 501, NY, NY 10001.Purpose: any lawful activities.



BOARDWALK VENTURE CAPITAL, LLC, adomestic Limited Liability Company (LLC)filed with the Sec of State of NY (SSNY) on8/28/07 NY Office location: NEW YORKCounty. SSNY is designated as agent uponwhom process against the LLC may be served.SSNY shall mail a copy of any process againstthe LLC served upon him/her to THE LLC, 350WEST 38TH ST., 6TH FLR., NY, NY 10018.General purpose.

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NOTICE OF FORMATION of Pinnacle 75Realty LLC. Articles of Organization filedwith Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on9/24/07. Office location: New York County.SSNY designated as agent of LLC uponwhom process against it may be served.SSNY shall mail process to: 386 ParkAvenue South, Suite 1914, NY, NY 10016.Principal business location: 386 ParkAvenue South, Suite 1914, NY, NY 10016.Purpose: Any lawful act.


THE WEEKS AHEAD

THIS WEEK’S EVENTSOCTOBER 30American Business Forum on Europeholds lecture on business opportunitiesin climate change and carbon reduction.6 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., McCann-EricksonBuilding, 622 Third Ave., 18th floor.Fee: free for members, $35 nonmembers(212) 972-3035 or [email protected] 30Association of Legal Administratorsholds program on mailroom and frontdesk security. 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.,Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, 590Madison Ave., conference room 22N.Fee: free for members, $50nonmembers. (212) 471-6225 [email protected] 30Business Network International, chapter15 real estate power group, holds forumon renovations. 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.,Commerce Bank, 258 Broadway. Free.(914) 262-2289.OCTOBER 30Networking for Professionals holdsnetworking lunch. 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.,Angelo and Maxie’s, Park AvenueSouth and 19th Street. Fee: $44.90members, $54.90 nonmembers.(212) 227-6556 [email protected] 30Nationwide Equities Corp. holdsnetworking reception. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.,Social Bar & Lounge, 795 Eighth Ave.,second floor. Free. (917) 975-5985 [email protected] 30Biba4Network and New Online holdmeeting on self-branding. 6 p.m. to 8p.m., MetLife, 260 Madison Ave., 10thfloor. Fee: free for members, $25nonmembers. (917) 573-9808 [email protected] 31New York County Lawyers’ Associationholds lecture on theater law. 6 p.m. to 8p.m., 14 Vesey St. Free. (212) 267-6646.OCTOBER 31Business Network International, chapter5, holds networking breakfast. 7 a.m. to8:30 a.m., Sunberry’s, 106 E. 60th St.,second floor. Fee: $17.50. (212) 414-0073or [email protected] 1Crain’s New York Business holds arts andculture breakfast. 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.,Grand Hyatt, East 42nd Street andGrand Central Terminal. Fee: $65.(212) 210-0739 orwww.crainsnewyork.com/events.NOVEMBER 1Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership andUnion Square Partnership hold businessbreakfast. 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., BaruchCollege Vertical Campus, 55 LexingtonAve., room 14-220. Free.(212) 741-2323 [email protected] 2Carnegie Council, Booz AllenHamilton and RSA hold lunch programon responsible profit. 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.,170 E. 64th St. Fee: $50.(212) 838-4120 or [email protected] 2Citigroup and Japan Society hold lunchprogram on Japan’s fiscal recovery. 12p.m. to 2 p.m., 333 E. 47th St. Fee: $45for Japan Society members for lunch,$10 lecture only; $65 for nonmembers

for lunch, $15 lecture only.(212) 715-1247 [email protected] 3Baruch College and the AARP holdconference on 50+ entrepreneurship.9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Vertical Campus, 55Lexington Ave., room 14-220. Fee:$145 members, $195 nonmembers.(888) 898-0050.

NOVEMBER 5-11NOVEMBER 6Center for Communication holdsseminar on public relations strategies forthe global era. 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., NYUKimmel Student Center, 60 WashingtonSquare South, Silver Board Room, 914.Free. Registration required.

(212) 686-5005 or [email protected] 6Association of Prospect Researchers forAdvancement, greater New Yorkchapter, holds seminar on estimating giftcapacity and developing rating systems.6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Museum of ModernArt, 11 W. 53rd St. Fee: free formembers, $15 nonmembers.(212) 229-5662, ext. 3559, [email protected] 6Artemus Group Inc. holds business cardexchange. 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Fashion 40,202 W. 40th St., second floor. Fee: $20.(646) 415-8746 [email protected] 6Gold Place Network holds networking

reception. 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., CaféMetro, 14 E. 42nd St., lower level. Fee:$20 in advance, $25 at door.(212) 465-8080.NOVEMBER 7Five O’Clock Club Executive JobSearch Group holds seminar oninterviewing. 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., 11Penn Plaza, fifth floor. Fee: $50.(914) 788-5482 or [email protected] 7B’nai B’rith Real Estate Unit holdslunch on the economy and the real estatemarket. 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Cornell Club,6 E. 44th St, Ivy Room. Fee: $55 inadvance, $65 at door. (212) 885-7239 [email protected] 7New York Public Library’s Science,

Industry and Business Library holdslecture on transitioning an eBay hobbyinto a business. 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., 188Madison Ave., room 018. Free.(212) 592-7000.

NOVEMBER 12-18NOVEMBER 14Crain’s New York Business holds lunchprogram with city’s most influentialwomen. 12 p.m. to 2 p.m., Cipriani, 110E. 42nd St. Fee: $150. (212) 210-0739or www.crainsnewyork.com/events.

—adrianne pasquarelli

TO LIST YOUR EVENT

Crain’s lists business meetings online and includesthem in the print edition on a space-available basis.Events in New York City with admission fees of lessthan $300 are considered for the print publication.

Listings can be submitted only through the Crain’sWeb site. To submit a calendar listing, go towww.crainsnewyork.com and click on “Events.”Sponsors have a choice of several free or paidlisting options. All business events will be postedonline within two business days.

Crain’s can neither confirm receipt of listings nor sayif or when event listings will appear in the print edition.

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Hablamos Español


More meetings online atwww.crainsnewyork.comClick on “Events”

CNYB 10-29-07 A 33 10/25/2007 6:58 PM Page 1

You’re growing your business.We’re building for it.

NEW YORK KEEPS GROWING. More people. More shops selling things we like. More entrepreneurs with bright ideas. That means more energy. Con Edison is growing, too. We’re investing $7.5 billion over the next fi ve years in new substations, transformers, more than 11,000 miles of new cable and other improvements. So power is there when you want it, now and in the future. Learn more at www.conEd.com. You’ll also fi nd tips on how to save energy and help the environment. And remember to report electric service problems to us online or by calling 1-800-75-CONED.

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B U S I N E S S

BY ELISABETH BUTLER CORDOVA

s halloween hits the city this week, many New Yorkers will loosen upwith a little costumed fun on the job.

All the waiters and bartenders at NoHo Star restaurant in Manhattan willwear costumes to work on Wednesday, maintaining a long-held tradition. Inprevious years, staffers have shown up in everything from Popeye and OliveOyl gear to an inflatable sumo wrestler suit. Some customers have beencoming in every year since the early 1990s to see what the workers are wearing.

“We start the planning a month beforehand,” says Julia Lisowski, thespot’s general manager. “We tend to get a lot of

Trick or treat at the office2 experts offer guidance on avoiding faux pas

MarathonmanKARL DUSEN, 25, can keep upwith the best of them. Of the179 men attempting to qualifyfor the U.S. OlympicMarathon team, he’s the onlyone who also holds a full-timejob on Wall Street.TheOlympic trials will be held inNew York for the first time onNov. 3.

A PURE SPORT Mr. Dusenbegan running in high schoolas part of his fitness trainingfor soccer, but he soondiscovered that he was moreErich Segal than DavidBeckham. Recruited byColumbia University, he set aschool record, completing the10K in 29 minutes. “It’s just afantastic sport,” he says.“There are no politicsinvolved; it’s competition inits truest form.”

GOING THE DISTANCE Mr.Dusen, who lives on theUpper East Side because of itsproximity to Central Park,runs for about 90 minutesevery evening and mostmornings. In addition, heembarks on a two-and-a-half-hour run once a week. Hequalified for the Olympictrials after doing a 2:20marathon—a per-mile pace of5 minutes and 21 seconds—inChicago last fall. When he’snot racking up miles, Mr.Dusen works as an analyst atAIG Global InvestmentGroup. Efficiently balancinghis work and avocation, Mr.Dusan only enters events heldduring slower weeks at AIGand always makes up missedtime.

BORN TO RUN Only threeparticipants in the trial willmake the Olympic team.Though his chances are slim,Mr. Dusen is intent onparticipating. He will use thetryout to assess hiscompetition and put his namein the mix before returning infour years—faster, strongerand more experienced. “Thetrials are something special,”Mr. Dusen says. “They’resomething that no one whoconsiders himself a marathonrunner for the U.S.A. wouldmiss.”—adrianne pasquarelli

GOTHAM GIGS

14


A

“How is it going tobe received if

you’re wearing atoga with nothing

underneath?”–Peter Post, etiquette expert

Page 36

See COSTUMES on Page 36

COSTUME DRAMA:Costume aficionadoM. Xavier O’Connorknows the ins andouts of wearingHalloween garb onthe job.

STAT #1NationalHalloweenspending, 2007

$5.1billionSource: The National Retail Federation

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CNYB 10-29-07 A 35 10/25/2007 7:48 PM Page 1

actors and performers working here,so some of the costumes are prettyoutrageous.” Customers vote ontheir favorite outfit during the lunchand dinner shifts, and the winnerstake home $100 in prize money.

Though smaller businesses, in-cluding retailers and restaurants, aremore likely than major corporationsto encourage employees to dress upon Oct.31,nearly every office has atleast one person who goes all-out onthe holiday.

Choosing the right costume canbe tricky, however. To help em-ployees who want to haunt theirworkplace without irking the boss,Crain’s consulted two experts. Oneis costume enthusiast M. XavierO’Connor, a 6-foot-tall profes-sional drag queen and televisionactor who works at some of the city’sbest-known cos-tume shops everyHalloween. For amore buttoned-down perspective,Crain’s turned to Pe-ter Post, the grand-son of etiquettemaven Emily Postand the author ofThe Etiquette Ad-vantage in Business.

Here are theirdos and don’ts:

No. 1: Do makesure that your com-pany allows Hal-loween attire beforeyou show up in ahead-to-toe mum-my outfit.

“If it’s your firstyear there, test thewater,” Mr. Postsays. “Ask someonewhether anyonewears costumes towork.”

Surprisingly,Starbucks, the too-cool coffee chainthat employs plentyof young baristas,has a strict no-cos-tume policy, saysJeanne Fleming, anorganizer of the Village HalloweenParade.

Conversely,some of the city’s lawfirms encourage the entire staff todress up for work and go down to theparade together, Ms. Fleming says.

Keep it cleanmr. post advises employees whoare unsure of the corporate policy toforgo a full costume and opt insteadfor a simple witch’s hat or a Hal-loween-themed tie.

No.2:Don’t use Halloween as anexcuse to let your sexpot freak flagfly at work. Over the years, store-bought adult costumes have becomeincreasingly risqué, with plungingnecklines and ever-shorter skirts.

Young women who are lookingto spice up their day generally go forthis type of getup, according to Mr.O’Connor.

“They’ll want to wear somethingreally sexy, but we don’t want them

to get in trouble for dressing up asSexy Bo Peep,” he says. “You don’twant people to be talking about yourcostume for the whole next year.”

When choosing a Halloweenoutfit, workers should considerwhat they would do if an importantclient dropped by the office unan-nounced.

“You have to ask yourself how it’sgoing to be received if you’re wear-ing a toga with nothing under-neath,” Mr. Post says.

Remember the keypadno. 3: Do think of functionality.Though gnarly fake fingertips mayput the perfect finishing touch on awitch costume, they will seriouslyimpair the ability to use a keyboardor a phone.

“You don’t want it to detractfrom actually doing work,” Mr.

O’Connor says.Stephen Morris,

a supervisor at thespecial educationschools in District75, always tries tochoose costumesthat are fun butcomfortable.

“I think mostpeople know it’s go-ing to be an all-daything and thatthey’ll have to live init,” Mr. Morris says.He has dressed as awizard for the lastfew Halloweens;this time he plans todon a generic po-liceman’s outfit.

Another particu-larly trendy Hal-loween look Mr.O’Connor advisesagainst: platformshoes. Nearly everystore is carrying avariety of tall, thick-heeled shoes,whether coated withred glitter to evokeDorothy or blackpatent leather for aSaturday NightFever effect.

“Save those 5-inch stilettos forthe party,” Mr. O’Connor says. “Ifyou’re standing in them for hours ata time, you will be in pain.”

Finally, No. 4: Don’t forget goodold-fashioned common sense.

Every year, a few office workersgo to a Halloween store in search ofa shocking costume, Mr. O’Connorsays.

Avoid costumes depicting polit-ical figures, racial jokes or anythingto do with terrorism.Remember thestir Prince Harry caused when hewas caught coming out of a partydressed in a Nazi costume?

Still, a few Wall Streeters will askfor fake-bomb belts or realistic-looking toy guns, Mr. O’Connorsays. “I always tell them, ‘You dosomething like that, and you’re go-ing to make the 6 o’clock news.’ ”

Happy haunting!


Costumes at workContinued from Page 35

Mellon Bank, N.A. Member FDIC © 2007 The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.

B U S I N E S S L I V E S

14STAT #2Averageamount peopleplan to spend

$64.82Source: The National Retail Federation

CNYB 10-29-07 A 36 10/25/2007 7:41 PM Page 1

BY AARON ELSTEIN

Thirty-four years ago,Patricia Rado was livingthe quiet life of a Con-necticut housewife, rais-ing three young children

and working part-time when shecould, waiting on tables or doingvarious bookkeeping jobs.

When her kids went to school,she began taking classes at her localcommunity college to become anaccountant. Impressed by her talentand effort, one of her instructorshired her at his accounting firm.

She never imagined where itwould all lead. Earlier this month,Ms. Rado was named president andchief operating officer of the Amer-ican Stock Exchange. It is the high-est position ever held by a woman atthe 97-year-old institution.

“The word that comes to mind isbizarre, ” she says about her careerand the unconventional backgroundshe brings to Wall Street.

Ms. Rado wasn’t planning to be

working at all at this point. She ac-tually retired in January after nearly30 years with several utilities in theNortheast,most recently as chief ac-counting officer at Public ServiceEnterprise Group Inc., a big NewJersey power company.

Challenging roadher new job will entail helping toprepare Amex for an initial publicoffering, a route that other ex-changes have taken and that greatlyenriched their members.

The move could be a long shot forAmex,which has struggled with reg-ulatory problems and loss of marketshare for years. In March, the Secu-rities and Exchange Commissionruled that the exchange had failed toadequately police its members over afive-year period ending in 2004, be-fore the current management teamwas installed. Ms. Rado’s post wasvacant for more than two years.

Ms. Rado, who has a sign in heroffice with the injunction “Nowhining,” has a lengthy to-do list.No. 1 is upgrading Amex’s technol-ogy, which is so shoddy that tradinghas been interrupted several timesthis year.

She knows what it’s like to re-vamp systems for an entire organi-zation, having helped oversee anoverhaul of PSEG’s computer net-

work in anticipation of Y2K. Theproject took four years and costabout $500 million.

Ms. Rado stayed for a few yearsafter that exhausting exercise. Butshe looked forward to retirementand spending more time with herthree children, four stepchildren,and eight grandchildren—not tomention playing golf, bike-ridingand training for triathlons.

The hand of fatebut fate—or rather, AmexChief Executive Neal Wolkoff—in-tervened. He knew Ms. Rado fromher service as a member of the boardof governors. She landed that posi-

tion two years ago, when the personwho recruited her for the PSEG jobasked her to help Amex, where therecruiter’s husband worked.

In August, Mr. Wolkoff namedMs. Rado to lead a board commit-tee charged with assessing the ex-change’s technology. He appointedher president six weeks later.

“She has a good managementbackground and good financial ex-perience, which we can certainly

use,” Mr. Wolkoff says.Ms. Rado relishes the unexpect-

ed challenge. Helping guide Amexto a successful IPO would be theultimate finish—not to mention anenormous payday—for someonewho didn’t start her professional lifeuntil her mid-30s.

“Anybody can train for any-thing,” she says. “I’m proof.”


Patricia Rado

Unretiring accountantFormer utility execcomes out of briefretirement to prepAmex for an IPO


PERSONNEL FILECOMPANY American StockExchange

TITLE President and chiefoperating officer

AGE 65

RÉSUMÉ Chief accountingofficer, Public Service EnterpriseGroup Inc.

MANAGEMENT STYLE Personal

INDISPENSABLE GADGETIn-house phone directory

buck

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CORPORATELADDER


CNYB 10-29-07 A 37 10/25/2007 7:40 PM Page 1

ACCOUNTING & CONSULTINGGlobal Consulting Group Inc.: Leslie Wolf-Creutzfeldt, 51, joined as managingdirector. She had been senior vice presi-dent at the Financial Relations Board.Smart Business Advisory and Consulting: J.Howard Stecker, 50, joined as executivemanaging director. He was formerly chieftax officer at Prudential Financial Inc.

ADVERTISING & COMMUNICATIONSAzoogle.com Inc.: David A. Graff, 40, wasappointed general counsel. He had beenexecutive vice president and generalcounsel at Edison Schools Inc.BBDO New York: Elizabeth Daggett, 37,was promoted to worldwide accountdirector from senior vice president and

senior account director.BCA Marketing Communications Inc.:Evelyn Galli, 52, was promoted to chiefoperating officer from vice president andmanagement supervisor.Wunderman: Steve Zammarchi, 55, waspromoted to managing partner,corporate development, a newly createdposition, from president, New York.Becky Chidester, 48, was promoted topresident, New York, from chiefoperating officer.

FINANCE & INSURANCE AIG Investments: John T. Boyce, 48, joinedas managing director, head ofinstitutional sales for the Americas. Hewas formerly senior vice president at GEAsset Management.New York Life Investment Management:David G. Bedard, 43, joined as seniormanaging director and chief financialofficer. He had been senior vice presidentand chief financial officer, U.S. wealthmanagement group, at The Hartford.

Northfield Bank: Donna Foster, 42, waspromoted to senior vice president fromvice president.RBC Capital Markets: David Daniels, 44,joined as managing director. He wasformerly a managing director atWachovia Securities.Sterling National Bank: Joseph Costanza,58, joined as senior vice president, asset-based lending. He had been Northeastand mid-Atlantic regional manager atLaSalle Business Credit.Patricia Hrotko, 44, joined as senior vicepresident, marketing. She had beendirector of marketing at First MorrisBank & Trust.U.S. Trust, Bank of America PrivateWealth Management: Roy Weydig, 62,joined as specialty asset regionalmanager. He was formerly a vicepresident at Bank of New York Mellon.

LAWHinshaw & Culbertson: Edward K. Lenci,44, joined as partner. He had been apartner at Wilker & Lenci.Kirkland & Ellis: Galia Messika, 33, waspromoted to partner from associate.Ellen Agnes Scordino, 33, was promotedto partner from associate.Howard D. Shatz, 32, was promoted topartner from associate.Mayer Brown: Robert D. Gilbert, 52,joined as partner. He had been a partnerat Sheppard Mullin Richter &Hampton.Nixon Peabody: Karen B. Greenbaum, 54,joined as chief operating officer andmanaging director. She was formerlyworldwide partner at Mercer.Ropes & Gray: Christopher P. Conniff, 40,joined as partner. He had been assistantU.S. attorney for the Southern Districtof New York.White & Case: N. Adele Hogan, 47, joinedas partner. She had been a partner atLinklaters.

MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENTBrooklyn Center for the Performing Arts:Frank L. Sonntag, 45, joined asmanaging director. He was formerlydirector of development for the NewYork Foundation for the Arts.NBC Universal Television Stations: Mat-thew Braatz, 40, was promoted to seniorvice president, technology and opera-tions, from vice president of technology.Scientific American: Steven Yee, 47, wasnamed president of the Macmillan title.He had been senior vice president andhead of global marketing at ReutersMedia.

TV Guide Online: Christy Tanner, 38, wasnamed editor in chief and continues asvice president of marketing.

REAL ESTATE Bayrock Group: Brian Halberg, 36, wasappointed senior vice president andassistant general counsel, a newlycreated position. He had been an associ-ate at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel.Grubb & Ellis: Alan Weisman, 73, waspromoted to executive managingdirector from senior managing director.

—adrianne pasquarelliand sarah studley

WANTED: CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

ORGANIZATION American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

JOB DESCRIPTION Develop, direct and maintain the organization’sinformation technology systems; direct staff of 21 in two offices

MOST IMPORTANT TASKS Develop and maintain technology budget

CREDENTIALS NEEDED 10-15 years of management experience, M.B.A.

RECRUITER Internal

DOWNSIDE Responsible for hiring top IT talent at nonprofit salaries

UPSIDE Benefit package includes training seminars, a tuitionassistance program and a 50% veterinary hospital discount

Founded in 1866, the ASPCA has more than 400 employees and anoth-er 100 volunteers at locations throughout the country. The organizationrecently made headlines after it publicly disagreed with a New York Poststory that named New York City the “dogfighting capital of the world.”

—KIRA BINDRIM

HOT JOBS

EXECUTIVE MOVES



EXECUTIVE PROMOTIONS

The fastest way to get an announcement intoCrain’s is to submit details online. Fill out the format www.crainsnewyork.com/submit. TheExecutive Moves column is also available online.

CNYB 10-29-07 A 38 10/25/2007 7:35 PM Page 1


two notable Manhattan res-taurants with a Latin and/or Span-ish lilt are attracting new fans aftervisual and culinary makeovers. Lucyof Gramercy and Pamplona are bothopen for dinner every day, Pamplo-na for lunch weekdays. Credit cardsare accepted,reservations are recom-mended,and easy informality blendswith lively-when-full ambiance.

LUCY OF GRAMERCY ��35 E. 18th St. (between Broadway andPark Avenue South)(212) 475-5829

CUISINE Upscale Puerto RicanWINES 275 choices, 17 by the glass;sommelierPRICE RANGE $23-$36WINE MARKUP 10%-180%

There’s a new Puerto Ricanstar in the kitchen of PhilSuarez’s restaurant in the

ABC Carpet & Home building.Chef Carmen Gonzalez is up fromMiami to lead the culinary charge.

She starts with picadera, the streetfood of San Juan, which is not onlya fine introduction to her cuisine,but an ingenious way to add anoth-er course to meals at Lucy. Almostall picadera ($6 to $12) are frieditems, served in martini glasses.

There are cod or cheese fritters,pork bites with chimichurri sauce,and yucca fries with roasted garlicaioli. Grated plantains with garlicare the crunchiest nibbles you’ll findanywhere.

First plates, if you’re not count-ing from the actual top, show the so-phistication level of chef Gonzalez’sapproach. Don’t miss seared yel-lowfin tuna with malanga mash andcoconut gastrique,much better thana peekytoe crab and avocado terrinewith Key lime mayo, where flavortook a holiday.

The new chef in town has flairwith fish, whether striped bass withcharred tomato and scotch bonnetsauce (hot!), or pan-seared snapperwith chorizo stew. Berkshire porkalso inspires her, as either a lustychop or tenderloin, both with sweetplantain accents.

Desserts ($10) are small, but thesilky smooth, rich flan is as good asit gets, even if the ice cream with itis not.

Lucy, named for Mr. Suarez’swife, is more stylish these days, with

whitewashed walls, blond-woodflooring and large, colorful paint-ings of tropical fruit. Its impressivewine list holds more than 110 Span-ish options. Markups are generallylow, with a few high-end wines ac-tually priced under retail wine storelevels.

PAMPLONA ��½37 E. 28th St. (between MadisonAvenue and Park Avenue South)(212) 213-2328

CUISINE SpanishWINES 30 Spanish wines, 12 by the glassPRICE RANGE $25-$32WINE MARKUP 33%-300%

Alex ureña, one of NewYork’s most gifted Spanishchefs, is hitting all the right

notes after retuning his East 28thStreet restaurant. Now called Pam-plona, it is more bistro than cuttingedge, but anything this chef tacklesemerges with savory style. Even atthe bar,popcorn popped in renderedchorizo oil is dusted with chorizopowder for extraordinary taste. Af-ter inhaling its aroma on the way in,we requested some at the table.

This did not deter our apprecia-tion of the Pamplona tapas—saltcod and cheese croquettes here,too—and appetizers such as octo-pus braised in red wine. Anotherapp of distinction is poached shrimpserved with creamy Manchego riceand chorizo sauce.

As someone who thinks there isnever too much chorizo, I welcomethe smoky intensity it adds whenground into chef Ureña’s hamber-guesa patty—or when alternatingwith shrimp on skewers.

And while this owner/chef hasdownshifted from Il Bulli aspira-tions, he still blends a mean chest-nut purée with his succulent roastsuckling pig.

For dessert ($7 to $9), almond-and-chocolate tart is the winner,churros a close second.

Pamplona’s bar makes excep-tional cocktails. The omnipresentgreen apple martini has a thick,sweet foam of Granny Smiths, andsaffron-infused ice cubes chill aBombay Collins. Sangria is alsofirst-rate.


TABLETALK by Bob Lape

2 Latin spotsdraw new fans


MORE STYLISH LOOK: Lucy of Gramercy, in the ABC Carpet & Home building, has whitewashedwalls, blond-wood flooring and large, colorful paintings of tropical fruit.

Lucy of Gramercy features upscale PuertoRican; Pamplona retunes with Spanish

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LUCY OF GRAMERCY’S new chefspecializes in the food of San Juan.

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Following are other Latin/Spanishrestaurants reviewed recently:

Rayuela � � �165 Allen St. (between Stanton andRivington streets), Manhattan.(212) 253-8840. This chic “freestyleLatino” restaurant has an olive treegrowing through it. Chef MaximoTejada lights up the Lower EastSide with creative cookery from allof Latin America and Spain.

Buzina Pop � �1022A Lexington Ave. (at East 73rdStreet), Manhattan. (212) 879-6190.There is eye candy everywhere atthis new mod Brazilian. Artful andflavorful contemporary food, vi-brant ethnic surroundings and at-tractive people, serving and dining.

Lua � �1300 Sinatra Drive North (1 14thSt.), Hoboken, N.J. (201) 876-1900.A huge, loud, contemporary pan-Latin restaurant and bar with spec-tacular views of Manhattan.

Sofrito � �400 E. 57th St. (between York andFirst avenues), Manhattan.

(212) 754-5999. Jimmy Rodriguezreturns to the East Side with ahigh-value, pure Puerto Ricaneatery featuring family food. �

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leaving your business to go to the Post Office™ is so 20th century.

*For complete details on Free Package Pickup, visit usps.com©2007 United States Postal Service. Eagle symbol and logotype are registered trademarks of the United States Postal Service.

The workday is getting more and more jam-packed, and you’re chained to your desk trying to keep up. Now, the Postal Service™ has more ways to help. Ship online, pay postage and print labels, request a Free Package Pickup,* order free eco-friendly packaging, and have stamps delivered to your door. See what we can do to help your business move a little faster at usps.com/business


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VOL. XXIII, NO. 44 Financial crisis rips clothiers