Crains New York - February 11, 2013 - (Page 3)

IN THE BOROUGHS BRONX Mayoral bid gets down to business Living with the ‘road to nowhere’ Former exec Joe Lhota, who ditched rental cars when late for flights, rushes toward City Hall Activists regroup after city nixes plan to tear down Sheridan Expwy. BY ANDREW J. HAWKINS Joseph Lhota has worked for the Giuliani administration, Cablevision and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority—not exactly beloved institutions for many New Yorkers. But rather than downplay that résumé as he pursues an uphill candidacy for mayor, Mr. Lhota intends to throw a spotlight on it, placing his experience as a crisis manager at the forefront of his campaign. “If you talked to anyone that I worked for—clients when I was an investment banker, or senior execs at Cablevision and Madison Square Garden—ask them if I was able to achieve goals,” he said. “They will say that I not only achieved them, but I exceeded them.” Indeed, in interviews, former colleagues in business and finance praised Mr. Lhota’s managerial skills and his ability to weather extreme situations. Before he earned widespread praise for restarting the subways after Superstorm Sandy, Mr. Lhota was an investment banker who conducted his career at a furious pace. When late for flights, Mr. Lhota would ditch his rental car in front of darren thompson BY HILARY POTKEWITZ See LHOTA on Page 24 Firms go on hiring spree as market tips more in favor of owning over renting BY MATT CHABAN Such a problem Jesse Rhinier has. Two years after opening the DSA Realty office on East 12th Street, he’s running out of space. Business has picked up at the firm, where the focus had been solely on rentals.The revenue mix has shifted to apartment sales as that market rebounds downtown. “Usually February is pretty slow, but we’ve been running around like crazy,”Mr.Rhinier said.That comes on the heels of a January in which business was up 72% from a year earlier, he added. “I expect things to get even crazier come the spring.” To cope, he is hoping to take over the floor above his storefront and add 20 more agents in the coming months, for a total of 70. Meanwhile, he plans to open an office in ‘Last year was spectacular, and 2013 will be even more so’ Brooklyn within the next year, with room for 40 to 50 additional brokers. All across the city, residential real estate brokerages are expanding in anticipation of what many pros expect to be the best year since the property bubble burst in 2008, forcing firms to ax employees, shutter offices and in some cases close outright. “I think we’re at the start of a great one,” said Diane Ramirez, president of Halstead Property. “Last year was spectacular, and 2013 will be even more so.” Broker ranks rise Industry staffing levels mirror that turnaround. After a run of abysmal years, the number of real estate brokers in the city rose 2.5% last year, to 12,384, according to state records. While that is still down from an all-time high of 12,885 brokers in 2008, many industry executives predict a new record will be set this year, with several hundred brokers entering the business. As the real estate sector heats up again, it is also drawing a crowd. Last year, 17,943 people took the See ROAD on Page 12 STATS AND THE CITY FASHIONABLE STATS: New York Fashion Week—featuring rail-thin models and 4,500 designer looks—concludes Thursday at Lincoln Center. 650 TUBES OF mascara used during Fashion Week 14,900 NYC APPAREL manufacturing jobs in 2012, down 63% in a decade 12 AVERAGE LENGTH, in minutes, of runway shows, each with an average of 15 models 108 LENGTH, in feet, of the average runway 3,000 MEMBERS of the press registered to attend the weeklong event Sources: Maybelline, NYS Labor Dept., IMG Fashion Events & Properties newscom Residential brokers gear up for best sales since the crash As far as the Southern Bronx River Watershed Alliance is concerned, the Sheridan Expressway, which slices through the South Bronx, is simply a “road to nowhere.” The mile-and-a-quarter-long roadway connects the Bruckner Expressway and the Cross Bronx Expressway—two highways that intersect just a few miles to the east. For years, the alliance had pushed to tear down the Sheridan on the grounds that it does little more than divide the surrounding neighborhood. Some local leaders had also worked on options for what might be built in the expressway’s footprint, drawing inspiration from the recent surge in housing and waterfront park development in the area, including Starlight Park. “We’re creating all the right elements in the neighborhood, but we’re not connecting them,”said Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, whose district includes the Sheridan corridor. “We need to make it feasible to enjoy these elements in a safe way.” Even federal planners got into the act. Two years ago, the U.S. De- ADDICTED TO NUMBERS? GET A DAILY DOSE AT @STATSANDTHECITY See BROKERS on Page 23 February 11, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - February 11, 2013

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
CORPORATE LADDER
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REPORT: SMALL BUSINESS
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
DIGITAL NY
FOR THE RECORD
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - February 11, 2013