Crain's New York - November 5, 2012 - (Page 25)

HELLUVA TOWN INSIDE No joke: Comedy venue opens Aspiring comic superstars, get your material ready: A newly renovated and renamed venue debuts this week on West 72nd Street, and its latest owner has a special interest in your talent. Stage 72, formerly the Triad, opens Nov. 7 after a lengthy Source Lunch ‘Suzy Sirloin’ on her rare spot in the meat biz PAGE 26 Out and About Draw this! Putting pencil to paper PAGE 27 More than 15 mins.of fame Christie’s to auction off hundreds of Andy Warhol works to raise money for the late artist’s foundation $700,000 renovation that transformed the once-utilitarian theater into a space resembling an elaborate prewar cinema, with its red-tufted seating and carved ceiling. Rick Newman, the founder of Catch a Rising Star, which launched the careers of such comic luminaries as Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, recently became a partner in the venture along with longtime owner Peter Martin. “With Rick here, we will be doing a lot more comedy,” said Mr. Martin, who has owned the theater for 16 years. The Stage 72 space will debut as part of the New York Comedy Festival, with its opening-night show featuring several up-andcoming comics. Future comedy shows at Stage 72 will be headlined by such stars as Janeane Garofalo and Mario Cantone, and the venue will also showcase bands, singers and other entertainment. “There is nothing like producing live shows,” Mr. Newman said. —theresa agovino An app for loyal customers The old-fashioned punch card that rewards a coffee shop’s repeat customer with a free cup of joe has gotten an update with smartphone application LoyalBlocks. Once customers sign up with a retailer, they get checked in by the app whenever they walk in the door—automatically receiving a “token” or virtual punch-card stamp and rewards like discounts or free stuff. Unlike with Foursquare, the king of locationbased apps, LoyalBlocks users don’t have to remember to check in. “The system runs itself,” said Ido Mart, vice president of U.S. operations for the Manhattanbased company. So far, about 400 New York merchants are paying a monthly fee for the service, which launched in January and recently came out of its beta test phase. Matthew Harrell, manager of East Village eatery Spina, signed on in August and is seeing results, but thinks he’ll get more if LoyalBlocks raises its visibility among consumers. Mr. Mart said that growth is speeding up, and that the loyalty program now has 50,000 users in New York City. —matthew flamm JACKIE WOE: Andy Warhol’s 1960s screenprint Jackie is expected to fetch $200,000 to $300,000. I BY MIRIAM KREININ SOUCCAR Most expensive Warhol ever sold at auction: Green Car Crash $71.7 million in 2007 n one week, Andy Warhol fans worldwide will finally get a glimpse of the treasures left in the artist’s foundation vault. In three sales on a single day—a first for the storied auction house—Christie’s will auction off 354 Warhol photographs, paintings, works on paper, and prints.The sales mark the beginning of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts’ multiyear plan to sell every last Warhol creation it has left, in an effort to boost its endowment and give more money away to artists and arts organizations. ¶ The highlights include Three Targets, a 19-foot silk screen depicting target practice, with a high estimate of $1.5 million; Jackie, a 1960s collage of Jacqueline Kennedy; and a 15-foot-long Piss Painting, created by Mr. Warhol and his friends after drinking a lot of beer. These are nothing, of course, compared with his most famous canvases, like Eight Elvises, which went for an eye-popping $105 million, or Turquoise Marilyn, which sold for $88 million, both in private sales. But longtime collectors may value the work’s uniqueness, and newcomers to the market will now be able to snag See WARHOL on Page 26 Most expensive Warhol in Nov. 12 sale: Three Targets High estimate: $1.5 million November 5, 2012 | Crain’s New York Business | 25 christies

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's New York - November 5, 2012

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
EDITORIAL
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: EDUCATION
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR THE RECORD
DIGITAL NEW YORK
SMALL BUSINESS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crain's New York - November 5, 2012