Crains New York - April 8, 2013 - (Page 3)

IN THE BOROUGHS QUEENS Reviving a trailblazer Court Sq. boom now in session CEO tries to make Ms. Foundation relevant to a new generation of women BY THERESA AGOVINO Markets, eateries and art bloom in shadow of new apt. towers As the head of the Ms. Foundation for Women, Anika Rahman was understandably interested in attending a private meeting where Sheryl Sandberg would be discussing her controversial book,Lean In:Women,Work and the Will to Lead. In a postsession interview, Ms. Rahman echoed the critics who chastised Ms. Sandberg for suggesting that women’s failure to take more responsibility at work is why they haven’t conquered the C-suite. “She lets government and employers off the hook,” said Ms. Rahman, the foundation’s president and chief executive. But, the 47-year-old added, “she is getting 20-year-old women to think about how our culture shapes the workplace. She started a conversation.” It’s a dialogue the Ms. Foundation might have started back in the 1970s when it was co-founded by Gloria Steinem,a mother of the feminist movement.But over the years the foundation’s importance has waned amid a wave of new groups and changing politics. Ms. Rahman is striving to bring the BY KERRY MURTHA On a recent weekend afternoon, scores of people once again packed M. Wells Dinette, the cafeteriastyle restaurant nestled in MoMA’s PS1 in Long Island City’s Court Square neighborhood. It’s been like this most days since husband-andwife team Sarah Obraitis and Hugue Defour opened their eatery’s doors six months ago, a success that has inspired them to start up a steakhouse a few blocks away. “The neighborhood is very exciting, and we’re looking forward to our new restaurant,” said Ms. Obraitis. More than 20 years after Citigroup opened its 59-story office tower in the quiet Queens backwater, Court Square suddenly is catching fire with all sorts of folks. In just the past year, nearly a dozen shops and businesses have opened up. Meanwhile, JetBlue has set up its 200,000-square-foot headquarters here, CUNY has invested $155 million in a brand-new six-story home for its law school, and a sculpture center housed in a former warehouse has made its dramatic bow. What’s See MS. FOUNDATION on Page 24 buck ennis ANIKA RAHMAN is rolling out a rebranding campaign and fundraising plan for the 40-year-old Ms. Foundation. Home-field success with Cowboys and Yankees promises high-tech experience BY DANIEL GEIGER Last week, after unveiling the observatory-in-the-making on the 102nd floor of 1 World Trade Center, the three men who will run it climbed the scaffolding surrounding the spire’s 400-foot-plus antenna to get an alfresco look at the spectacular view they’d just staked their company on. “That they wanted to do that highlights why they were the right choice [for us to make],” said Scott Rechler, vice chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,the agency that owns the tower and tapped the trio of Jerry Jones Jr., Hal Steinbrenner and Dave Checketts and the company they operate, Legends, to run the observation deck, which encompasses the ‘This is definitely not going to be Times Square’ 100th, 101st and 102nd floors. Legends won the hotly contested bid in March to design and operate the city’s highest observatory for the next 15 years with a pledge to pay the Port Authority $60 million a year—nearly as much as the Empire State Building rakes in each year from its observatory. What also helped was the company’s record. In recent years it has made millions for the owners of Yankee Stadium,Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and others by managing their venues. While no one doubts the achievements of Legends’ bosses, or their fortitude, questions remain as to how that will translate to running an international tourist draw nearly a quarter of a mile above ground level. In its newest gig, Legends will have to have to get hundreds of visitors per minute at peak periods, not through the grand entrances of sports stadiums but via the tight confines of a high-security office building, to a destination and experience that they will want to tell See 1 WTC on Page 24 STATS AND THE CITY NO MORE AREA in area codes? 212 would no longer be Manhattan-only under a plan to give Internet providers direct access to unused numbers. 1999 5 YEAR the 646 area code was introduced in Manhattan NUMBER OF CLICKS it takes to dial 212 on a rotary phone, the lowest number possible under number assignment guidelines when area codes were introduced in 1947 1985 YEAR Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island were given the 718 area code 43 AREA CODES named in the Ludacris song “Area Codes” (including both 212 and 718) 19.1% $19.99 PERCENTAGE of adults in New York City living in wireless-only households as of 2011 MONTHLY PRICE quote for Time Warner’s nationwide unlimited landline service Sources: Centers for Disease Control, Musixmatch, The New York Times istockphoto Stadium manager steps up its act at 1 WTC observatory See COURT on Page 12 ADDICTED TO NUMBERS? GET A DAILY DOSE AT @STATSANDTHECITY April 8, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - April 8, 2013

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

Crains New York - April 8, 2013