Crains New York - June 25, 2012 - (Page 3)

Bike share raises the bar Cycle businesses retool to survive City Hall’s flood of 10,000 bikes BY LISA FICKENSCHER The city’s vast bike-share program, launching in July, will join an expanding sea of bike shops and rental businesses taking advantage of the Bloomberg administration’s desire to make New York the best biking city in the country. Even apartment buildings and hotels are buying bikes to offer as amenities for guests and residents. But while the cycling community expects the bike-share program to be a boon for business by encouraging more people to ride, it is also girding for competition. “There certainly is going to be some overlap between us and bike share,” said Chris Wogas, president of Bike and Roll New York, the largest rental outfit in the city, which derives most of its business from visitors. “We’ll get people to do the shorter rides, and they will get some tourists.” Like Portland, Ore.-based Alta Bicycle Share, which won a city contract to operate the bike-share program, Bike and Roll has contracts to do business in city parks. It has nine locations, including Central Park, Riverside Park and Governors Island—but nowhere near the 600 docking stations that the bike-share program is installing throughout Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Though Mr. Wogas is looking forward to the city program’s start, calling it “the tide that lifts all boats,” 6-year-old Bike and Roll, which operates in four other U.S. cities, is taking steps to protect its market share. The company is developing new programs to expand See BIKE SHARE on Page 44 IN THE BOROUGHS MANHATTAN Retailers step up act for elderly On UES, push to aid area’s many seniors gets ‘meh’ reviews CHRIS WOGAS of Bike and Roll is wheeling out new programs to retain market share. BY ADRIANNE PASQUARELLI When Randy Ochart opened the French Sole Comfort store on the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 71st Street early last year, he knew exactly what it takes to prosper in the neighborhood, having run another footwear store across the street for 22 years.“There are a lot of older people on the Upper East Side,” he said. “We try to cater to that customer as much as possible.” Richly aware of both their needs and their numbers, Mr. Ochart made sure his new store has comfortable seats with good back support, rather than the backless benches most MOST shoe stores faAND LEAST vor. Similarly, SENIORITY the stairs to the Manhattan second level neighborhoods* have wide steps with highest and with an easylowest percentages to-hold of people 65 and handrail. Comover. pleting that elder-friendly picture, two of Upper East Side Mr. Ochart’s (10021) staffers fall into that category themselves; one Upper West Side of them is 75. (10023) If the New York Academy of Medicine Harlem (10037) and the city have their way, there will be a Financial district (10005) lot more spots on the Upper East Side like Mr. Ochart’s. TriBeCa (10007) In a citywide campaign, they are trying to get Times Square merchants to (10018) offer the 65and-over set everything Manhattan average from easyaccess ramps to *ZIP code tabulation areas. Source: U.S. Census free glasses of Bureau, 2010 data water. About 1,000 businesses have pledged themselves to age-friendliness to date, but many thousands remain uncommitted. “Local businesses don’t necessarily recognize that they have a growing customer base of older adults who they can either be serving and wooing and earning the loyalty of, or making life more difficult for,” said Ruth Finkelstein, the academy’s 20.4% 17.6% 17.3% 0.9% 2.7% 6.6% Sports talk radio goes head-to-head WFAN pioneered the first 25 years, but ESPN wants the next. Stay tuned BY MATTHEW FLAMM Neither the hosts at WFAN nor its owners knew what they were getting into when the nation’s first sports radio station went on the air 25 years ago. But they do now. The Fan, as the CBS Radio property is known, ushered in a format so durable, sports talk airs on nearly 700 stations around the country.The announcement June 21 that CBS Corp. was launching a nationwide sports radio network underscored the importance of the format at a time when the industry has struggled for advertising dollars. WFAN has spent the past months mining its silver anniversary for promotional gold and is bringing back former hosts for its July 1 celebration. In the first quarter, WFAN was the No. 1 billing station in New York, putting it back on top for the first time in years,with revenue up in the high single digits over the prior year, according to a person close to the station. For all of 2011, it was ranked fifth in New York, with $41 million in revenue, according to research firm BIA/Kelsey. All WFAN has to do now is hold on to its listeners. That’s hardly assured. ESPN is gunning for it. After years of being a distant also-ran in New York, the Disney-owned sports media giant has ratcheted up the competition, moving its sportstalk station in April to a choice spot on the FM dial from a weaker signal at 1050 AM. ing to Arbitron. WFAN had a 5.8 share of the demographic, which was flat with the prior month. “We were hopeful that this move to FM would result in an even See SPORTS on Page 44 buck ennis 13.5% Ratings jump WEPN’s move to FM coincided with a huge jump in the ratings. In May, for the 6 a.m.-to-7 p.m. Mondayto-Friday time period, the station posted a 3.8 share of the audience among men 25 to 54 years old—a 58% spike over the previous month, accord- wfan BOOMER AND CARTON: Local businesses love the WFAN duo, who read ad pitches on air. See A STEP UP on Page 12 June 25, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - June 25, 2012

Crains New York - June 25, 2012
Contents
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Alair Townsend
Greg David
Real Estate Deals
Crain’s Fast 50
For the Record
Classifieds
New York, New York
Source Lunch
Out and About

Crains New York - June 25, 2012