CNYB 11-10-08 A 1 11/7/2008 8:42 PM Page 1 INSIDE Bonuses TOP STORIES aren’t a scandal Bakers keep prices —Greg David high despite drop defends the Street, takes on Cuomo in ingredients’ costs ® and his allies PAGE 3 Page 11 Bad economy offers silver lining VOL. XXIV, NO. 45 WWW.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM NOVEMBER 10-16, 2008 PRICE: $3.00 for fashion hounds PAGE 8 What Review: Nieporent serves a #### The Axman Cometh Obama TriBeCa hit PAGE 43 Decimated money managers slash staff means SPECIAL REPORT BY AARON ELSTEIN for NY in good times and bad, Wall Street’s army of Urban-centric money managers have quietly added to their ranks and bulked up their income—until now. policies a help, but Faced with stunning declines in their revenues tax plan mixed bag this year, money management firms are axing staffers for the first time in decades. They are also laying plans for future rounds of cuts extending BY ERIK ENGQUIST SMALL BUSINESS well into next year. GROWING A BUSINESS The reductions come on the heels of the calami- what will Barack Obama’s pres- GUIDE The annual guide to tous losses in the markets, which have wiped out as idency mean for New York? There 600 organizations offering much as half the value of some managers’ leading is no great gather- aid to small businesses in stock funds. Compounding the damage, terrified in- ing of Gotham- New York PAGES 19-32 vestors in recent weeks have been cashing in their chips ites in line for sen- G Export assistance PAGE 20 at a record rate and fleeing for the exits. ior White House It’s a nightmare scenario at big New York firms like Alliance- posts, so the state G Info on government Bernstein and BlackRock, and a host of small private outfits as well. will not have any contracts PAGE 25 All told, up to 15% of the industry’s 168,000 employees nationwide particular influ- G Sources of capital and other are expected to lose their jobs by year’s end. ence in the new kinds of financial help “I don’t think any organization is safe,” says Geoffrey Bobroff, a administration. PAGES 29-31 consultant to mutual fund firms. “The industry is going to have to And the Demo- G PLUS:Top locations for See THE AXMAN on Page 8 cratic president- businesses, from retailers to elect has pledged biotechs PAGES 20-28 to take a biparti- $3B NET difference san approach, between tax which suggests no increases BUSINESS LIVES special treatment and savings for blue states. 9 TO 5 AND BEYOND Still, New York should benefit Taking on a from the election of the nation’s second first modern president with an in- job to keep ner city background. Mr. Obama up with spent five years of his early adult- rising hood in Manhattan and three as a cost of community organizer on Chica- living go’s gritty South Side. He is ex- in See OBAMA on Page 8 NYC PAGE 37 turner james Peacock network fails to take off, again INDEX aganza that the Olympics provided, THE INSIDER _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _12 Hip chief’s slate can’t land coveted young returning shows are struggling,new REAL ESTATE DEALS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _15 audience; needs identity, defining night shows have proved disappointing THE WEEKS AHEAD _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _33 and the network looks no closer to The former head of inde- defining itself than it did 18 months CLASSIFIEDS _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _34 BY MATTHEW FLAMM pendent production company ago when Mr. Silverman took the NEIGHBORHOOD JOURNAL _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _36 Reveille—responsible for hits that reins. HOME FRONT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _39 nbc universal thought it was the included The Office and The Biggest Profit for the network fell 5% EXECUTIVE MOVES _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _40 hippest broadcaster in Hollywood Loser—Mr. Silverman was going to in the third quarter, once the when it hired high-flying producer pump up the flagging Peacock Olympics was taken out of the CORPORATE LADDER _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _41 See AT DEADLINE on Page 2 Ben Silverman as co-chairman of network with clever cost-savings equation, and NBCU Chief Exec- its entertainment division. and ingenious product-integration utive Jeff Zucker has called for $500 concepts. million in cost cuts. He did all that. And six weeks “There doesn’t seem to be any 45 into the fall season,with Mr.Silver- traction,” says Gary Carr, director 5 man’s first full slate on the air, the of broadcast at media buying network is once again in fourth agency TargetCast tcm. “None of ELECTRONIC EDITION place among its target audience of their new shows have clicked.” 18- to 49-year-olds—the same po- Observers say that one of NBC’s ap images sition it has held since 2004. biggest problems has been its in- NO TRACTION: NBC’s Ben Silverman, brought NEWSPAPER Despite the promotional extrav- See PEACOCKon Page 2 in to bump up ratings, comes up short. 71486 01068 0 CNYB 11-10-08 A 2 11/7/2008 8:16 PM Page 1 IN BRIEF FiOS entry fails MUCH THE SAME AFTER LAST WEEK’S DISAPPOINTING SALES, Package rates for cable, telephone and THE ART WORLD IS BRACING FOR EVEN WORSE Internet service showings this week at Christie’s and Sotheby’s PROVIDER MONTHLY FEE contemporary art auctions. First up will be to ignite price war Cablevision Sotheby’s Tuesday evening sale, featuring 64 $89.85 lots that are predicted to bring in between Time Warner Cable $89.95 $203.3 million and $281.6 million, but could Verizon FiOS $94.99 fail to reach even the low estimate. Christie’s Cable rates to rise despite competition evening sale follows on Wednesday, with 75 works Introductory fees for one year. on the block, including a Takashi Murakami are typically passed on to consumers. Even sculpture and a painting BY AMANDA FUNG Verizon has increased its TV rates by 12%, by Richard Prince.The to $47.99, since entering the New York claims the higher price is justified because sale is predicted to bring when verizon Communications Inc. metro market two years ago. It declined to FiOS TV offers more high-definition in between $227 million started selling its FiOS TV service to resi- comment on further hikes. channels and features than its rivals. and $327.5 million. dents in parts of the five boroughs in July, Cablevision’s comparable cable-TV But concerns over future rate hikes re- Since 1991, collectors New Yorkers had a new choice for cable service is $49.95.The Bethpage,L.I.,com- main,even for those subscribed to bundled have gobbled up TV for the first time in decades. The du- pany claims its planned price increase is services. The Federal Communications Takashi Murakami contemporary art, opoly held by Time Warner and Cablevi- below the inflation rate, and therefore rea- Commission recently gave Time Warner pushing prices up at a sion was dead, and many hoped it would sonable. Time Warner, which is currently the green light to freely raise rates in New rate five times as fast as Old Masters or modern mean a price war that would lower rates for examining its 2009 pricing plan, attributes York City on basic-cable TV, declaring pieces, according to Artprice. Now, that market everyone. previous rate increases to higher program- that there is effective competition in the is at risk for the biggest correction. Instead, rates are still going up. ming fees. city, and eliminating the city’s power to “When competition jumps in, you ex- “These companies have a return on in- regulate basic-cable rates. THE CITY COUNCIL WILL VOTE ON THE pect prices to come down,”says Jeff Kagan, vestment to meet,” says David Joyce, a ca- CONTENTIOUS WILLETS POINT REDEVELOPMENT an independent cable and telecom analyst ble analyst at Miller Tabak + Co. “They Solid revenues project Thursday. Local City Councilman in Atlanta. “I am scratching my head be- have to keep their debt and equity investors there’s still hope that prices will come Hiram Monserrate remains opposed to the cause that hasn’t happened yet.” satisfied.” down if Verizon decides to lower its rates plan, citing concerns over the use of eminent Cablevision Systems Corp., which has Some point out that consumers can to lure more customers away from Cable- domain and a lack of affordable housing.