Crains New York - August 13, 2012 - (Page 2)

STATS AND THE CITY BAKED APPLE WITH NO ICE CREAM July may have ranked as the hottest on record for the U.S., but New Yorkers have been sweltering since June, driving up demand for everything from air conditioners to a quick ride out to the beach at Coney Island. FYI T CRAINSNEWYORK.COM Rise in J&R’s sales of bladeless Dyson fans, versus a year ago 20% Visitors to city’s public pools, year to date 1.3M 16M 2.97 14 British bank down by Lawsky NYC beachgoers, year to date June NYC rainfall (in inches), making it the second-driest June in 12 years Days with 90-degree-plus temps, YTD 12,836 MW newscom Con Ed’s 2012 peak daily energy demand, set July 18 Sources: J&R Electronics, NYC Parks Department, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Consolidated Edison Inc. GLOSSIES GO BEGGING Magazine sales on newsstands are continuing to shrivel rapidly as more readers go online, or elsewhere. 2H 2009 1H 2010 2H 2010 1H 2011 2H 2011 1H 2012 he mayor of London and the governor of the Bank of England were just two of the many people howling for Benjamin Lawsky’s Benjamin Lawsky head last week. ¶ The uproar came after the 41-year-old superintendent of New York’s fledgling Department of Financial Services threatened to yank Standard Chartered Bank’s license to operate in the state, alleging that the British lender had been involved in a whopping quarter of a billion dollars’ worth of banned transactions with Iranian banks (see In the Markets, page 4). ¶ Even some U.S. regulators were reported to be wondering if Mr. Lawsky had misplaced his decimal point by two or even three places. Reuters reported that the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve were “blindsided” by Mr. Lawsky’s actions. ¶ Meanwhile, some groused that the former top aide to ex-New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo seemed to be trodding on the regulatory turf of the current holder of that title, Eric Schneiderman. ¶ If time and further investigation show that Mr. Lawsky is right about Standard Chartered, he’ll look like a bold regulatory crusader. If he’s wrong, the damage could be sizable for both himself and his political mentor. Already last week The Wall Street Journal ’s Simon Nixon theorized that Standard Chartered might simply be “collateral damage in an ambitious young official’s attempt to burnish his reputation.” The verdict likely won’t be in for weeks,but the first test will come Aug. 15, when Standard Chartered must defend its state charter to Mr. Lawsky. Beyond that, the investigation will likely involve multiple agencies and nations. Whatever. Mr. Lawsky’s backers say he’s ready. “Ben is a very smart guy,” one insider close to the superintendent told Crain’s Insider. “He knows what he just did, and he’s not shocked by the reaction.” … MEN IN BLUE ARE WATCHING. A new $40 million system unveiled last week will give the New York Police Department an electronic leg up in its fight against crime and terrorism, according to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Developed with Microsoft Corp., the Domain Awareness System includes 3,000 surveillance cameras. Those eyes on the streets will be seamlessly linked with NYPD databases in what the mayor called a “next century” system. George Orwell fans, on the other hand, might say it all sounds more like 1984. … CLEANER STREETS, DIRTIER AIR. The city’s alternate-side parking rules may be bad for the environment. On scheduled streetcleaning days, there is typically a 7% upward spike in car usage, according to a forthcoming study. It comes two years after the City Council passed a bill creating a framework for granting requests for reductions in street cleaning. Looks like it could be the green thing to do. … LIVING IT UP AT WOOLWORTH. The top 30 floors of downtown’s landmarked Woolworth Building will be going condo. An investment group purchased the upper reaches of the 58-story building, once the world’s tallest. Given that the conversion is expected to cost $150 million, the prices of the 40 units that will hit the market in 2015 will likely be far beyond the wildest dreams of Frank W. Woolworth, who built his eponymous business on nickels and dimes. … VERIZON’S LABORED FUTURE. After a year of fruitless talks with employee unions, the chances of a strike being called against Verizon are rising. An unofficial deadline to reach a new contract was pushed back to this Wednesday. Not even federal mediators have been able to overcome differences between the two sides over health care costs and job security for 45,000 workers, including 17,000 in New York state. … MEDIA MADNESS. The New York Times Co. sold off information website About.com, once trumpeted as the future of the company, for $270 million, 34% less than it paid in 2005. Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch’s legally challenged News Corp. posted a $1.6 billion loss in the fourth quarter after booking a $2.9 billion writedown on its publishing assets as it -5.6% -7.3% -9.1% % change year-over-year HOORAY! -9.2% -10.0% -9.6% Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations ADDICTED TO NUMBERS? GET A DAILY DOSE AT @STATSANDTHECITY THIS WEEK IN CRAIN’S IN THE BOROUGHS-------------------------- 3 IN THE MARKETS ----------------------------------4 THE INSIDER -----------------------------------------------6 BUSINESS PEOPLE ---------------------------8 CORPORATE LADDER --------------------9 OPINION --------------------------------------------------------10 GREG DAVID--------------------------------------------11 REAL ESTATE DEALS -------------------12 FROM AROUND THE CITY----12 THE LIST ---------------------------------------------------------15 CLASSIFIEDS -----------------------------------------17 NEW YORK, NEW YORK ----------21 SOURCE LUNCH --------------------------------22 OUT AND ABOUT ------------------------------23 SNAPS --------------------------------------------------------------23 NASA’S $2.5 BILLION MARS SHOT worked, with the Curiosity rover beaming pictures home to prove it. OY VEY! TWENTY JETS PLAYERS BRAWLED on the sidelines during practice. Already the Green Machine seems to need a tune-up. REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS Web entrepreneurs like Steven Asherman (left) are finding that age is no barrier when it comes to creating a hot tech startup. P. 13 CORRECTIONS The Brooklyn Nets signed Deron Williams to a five-year contract this off-season. That figure was misstated in the Aug. 6 “Nuts for the Nets.” Nordstrom has agreed to buy a retail condo to house a seven-floor store at 225 W. 57th St. The address was misidentified in the Aug. 6 “Tenants step up to ownership.” vol. xxviii, no. 33, august 13, 2012—Crain’s New York Business (issn 8756-789x) is published weekly, except for double issues the weeks of July Fourth, Labor Day and Christmas, by Crain Communications Inc., 711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Crain’s New York Business, Circulation Department, 1155 Gratiot Avenue, Detroit, MI 48207-2912. for subscriber service: Call (877) 824-9379. Fax (313) 446-6777. $3.00 a copy, $99.95 one year, $179.95 two years. (GST No. 13676-0444-RT) ©Entire contents copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. readies to spin off the unit into a separate company. And the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported that singlecopy newsstand sales of magazines tumbled 9.6% in the first half of the year. … END OF STORY. Pfizer Inc. said it’s dropping plans to develop an intravenous formulation of bapineuzumab, a drug expected to slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease, after a second trial failure. —lauren elkies and andrew j. hawkins STORIES TO WATCH THIS WEEK Aug. 15: Governor Cuomo to convene a “yogurt summit” to help state’s dairy producers. Aug. 15: Consumer Price Index may show signs of drought’s impact on food costs. Aug. 16: NYC unemployment data out. Will local jobless rate return to single digits? Aug. 17: City to respond in court to one last attempt to block UES wastetransfer station. 2 | Crain’s New York Business | August 13, 2012 bloomberg news http://www.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - August 13, 2012

Crains New York - August 13, 2012
Table of Contents
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
CORPORATE LADDER
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
FROM AROUND THE CITY
REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - August 13, 2012