Crains New York - August 6, 2012 - (Page 8)

OPINION N MTA’s sweet Apple deal interested in the Metrazur space were told of its availability by the terminal’s leasing consultant, Williams Jackson Ewing, and others. It was not a secretive process. Several vendors responded and toured the Metrazur space. One complained to Mr. DiNapoli’s auditors that the required $5 million payment precluded him from making a bid. Only a vendor with a lot of liquid capital could afford that, he said. The comptroller concluded that the playing field was not level. Of course it wasn’t: Anytime Apple hauls its $117 billion in cash onto a playing field, it’s going to tilt a bit. But the essential point is that Metrazur had a lease through 2019 and wasn’t leaving for less than $5 million. An RFP without that clause would have been pointless, and the MTA could have known about it only by talking to the parties beforehand. Yet Mr. DiNapoli calls these conversations and the written terms evidence of a cozy arrangement. We understand the need for a fair process, but it must be done in the context of reality. If the MTA had done what the comptroller wanted, there would have been no Apple Store—indeed, no deal at all. Bad for business, bad for transit riders. A lose-lose. The agency made the right call. CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS editor in chief Rance Crain publisher, vp Jill R. Kaplan EDITORIAL editor Glenn Coleman deputy managing editors Valerie Block, Erik Ipsen assistant managing editors Erik Engquist, Jeremy Smerd senior producer, news Elisabeth Butler Cordova news producer Lauren Elkies contributing editor Elaine Pofeldt columnists Greg David, Alair Townsend crain’s health pulse editor Barbara Benson senior reporters Theresa Agovino, Aaron Elstein, Lisa Fickenscher, Matthew Flamm, Daniel Massey, Miriam Kreinin Souccar reporters Amanda Fung, Andrew J. Hawkins, Shane Dixon Kavanaugh, Adrianne Pasquarelli web reporter, producer Ian Thomas art director Steven Krupinski deputy art director Carolyn McClain staff photographer Buck Ennis copy desk chief Steve Noveck copy editor Thaddeus Rutkowski data editor Suzanne Panara assistant data editor Emily Laermer researchers Eva Saviano, Amy Stern interns Esthena Brutten, Ken Christensen, Cara Eisenpress, Emily Lundeen, Mary Shell ONLINE AND INTERACTIVE SERVICES general manager, online & e-commerce strategy Kira Bindrim senior web developer, interactive Chris O’Donnell ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND PRODUCTION advertising director Trish Henry senior account managers Irene Bar-Am, Courtney McCombs, Sheryl Rose, Suzanne Wilson account executive Jill Bottomley Kunkes sales coordinator Danielle Wiener newsletter product manager Alexis Sinclair credit Todd J. Masura (313-446-6097) director, audience development Michael O’Connor senior marketing manager Catherine Schutten event producer Courtney Williams reprint sales manager Lauren Melesio production and pre-press director Michael Corsi advertising production manager Suzanne Fleischman Wies TO SUBSCRIBE: For print and digital subscriptions or customer service, e-mail customerservice@crainsnewyork.com or call 877-824-9379 (in the U.S. and Canada) or 313-446-0450 (all other locations). $3.00 a copy for the print edition; or $99.95 one year, $179.95 two years, for print subscriptions with digital access. www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe TO ADVERTISE: Contact Advertising Director Trish Henry at thenry@crainsnewyork.com or call 212-210-0711. www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise FOR INFORMATION ON OUR EVENTS: Contact Event Producer Courtney Williams at cwilliams@crainsnewyork.com or 212-210-0257. www.crainsnewyork.com/events TO CONTACT THE NEWSROOM: o retail deal in the city last year got more applause than the Apple Store’s opening at Grand Central Terminal. Consumers flocked to the mezzanine where Apple is making full use of a large, awkward space that had been partially occupied by Metrazur, a restaurant. Not only is the Metropolitan Transportation Authority collecting four times as much rent as before, but sales have since risen 6.5% at other Grand Central shops that share revenues with the agency. Every 1% gain brings in $500,000 for transit service. A win for Apple, a win for straphangers. Now along comes state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli with an audit that was apparently prompted by a trumpedup tabloid story alleging Apple got a sweetheart deal. The MTA insists it did everything right. We agree. Mr. DiNapoli said the deal was crafted to ensure Apple would win—and by denying other retailers an equal shot, the MTA lost a chance for more rent. His critique either demonstrates ignorance of the way retail leases are done or is an unfortunate attempt to knock an agency overseen by his nemesis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Here’s what happened: Apple coveted the space but found that Metrazur had leased it through 2019. Metrazur told Apple it would leave early for $5 million. The MTA required that payment in its request for proposals for the space. The MTA distributed the RFP and advertised it in this newspaper and The Wall Street Journal. Retailers potentially DiNapoli’s audit misses mark on Grand Central’s mega-tenant CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL COMMENTS Don’t do it, Chris Quinn! PUSHING BACK AGAINST PAID-SICK-DAYS LAW SHOULD GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS SEEK TO RID THE CITY OF CHICK-FIL-A? Yes. A company that believes gay marriage invites God’s wrath shouldn’t operate in New York City. No. This is America. The marketplace, not the government, should decide if a business belongs here. Date of poll: July 30 301 votes 88% No 12% Yes We are still fighting the City Council’s paid-sick-days legislation (Opinion, July 30) and recently sent this letter to Council Speaker Christine Quinn: We believe that employers should offer paid sick days when they can afford it, and most New York City employers do. We do not believe, however, that the City Council should be setting the policies of private employers, particularly when the government is offering no incentives to help cover our costs. In these precarious economic times, the paid sick leave bill’s arbitrary directives—who is “small” or “large,” how many paid sick days are appropriate, how many sick relatives should be covered—are costly impositions on the business community that many cannot afford. We urge you to continue to stay firm and keep this legislation from becoming a new job-killing law. Thank you for your understanding of the costs and unintended consequences of this type of mandate on local employers. —nancy ploeger President Manhattan Chamber of Commerce beliefs and positions (which I am already doing—he won’t get my “lunch money”). But demonstrating one’s bias in speech is a freedom we all have. —norma elinor munn CHELSEA MARKET’S CREATIONIST THINKING Re “Stringer out on limb against Chelsea Market plan” (Comments, July 23): Regardless of the size, the proposed office tower rising from Chelsea Market will not “create” 3,600 long-term jobs. It may be occupied by companies that transfer 3,600 jobs or that create some and transfer others, but the developers of an office tower do not “create” new jobs, save of course those involved in running and managing the new building, which are not inconsequential, but are not 3,600. A business paper should know this and not be a victim of any company’s press release. —jamie fenwick POLL: SHOULD THE CITY TRY TO BOOT CHICK-FIL-A? As long as Chick-fil-A managers and employees do not discriminate in whom they hire or whom they serve, the company should be free to operate wherever it wants (Online Poll). So far, I am not aware of any allegations of bias in hiring or service. We are all free to refuse to buy Chick-fil-A’s product and thus deny the owner the funds to provide to groups that actively promote his biased 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4036 editorial phone: 212.210.0277 fax 212.210.0799 Entire contents ©copyright 2012 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. ®CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement. PUBLISHED BY CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. chairman Keith E. Crain president Rance Crain secretary Merrilee Crain treasurer Mary Kay Crain executive vp, operations William Morrow senior vp, group publisher Gloria Scoby group vp, technology, circulation, manufacturing Robert C. Adams vp/production, manufacturing David Kamis chief information officer Paul Dalpiaz founder G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973) chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS: Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say. CRAIN’S WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@crainsnewyork.com. Send columns of 475 words or fewer to opinion@crainsnewyork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. 8 | Crain’s New York Business | August 6, 2012 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe http://www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events http://www.crainsnewyork.com/poll

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - August 6, 2012

Crains New York - August 6, 2012
Contents
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Opinion
Greg David
From Around the City
Report: Business of Sports
Classifieds
Small Business
Real Estate Deals
Helluva Town
Source Lunch
Out and About

Crains New York - August 6, 2012