Bad Building Loans Pile up at Area Banks
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nb14p01.qxp 3/30/2007 7:44 PM Page 1 TOP STORIES BUSINESS Mets ticket sales LIVES soar, but catching New York’s the Yankees is a CEO authors daunting task mean business PAGE 2 ® PAGE 35 Wall Streeters gamble on slippery slope by buying VOL. XXIII, NO. 14 WWW.NEWYORKBUSINESS.COM APRIL 2-8, 2007 PRICE: $3.00 ski resorts PAGE 3 THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Ad pages at Hearst’s teen titles are falling as Condé Nast’s Teen Vogue gains. Bad building Why the long delay in granting Verizon a cable franchise? loans pile up GREG DAVID, PAGE 13 Grocery store chief at area banks joins the GOP, eyes bid for mayor; way too fast,” says Charles An- hospital squabble But hedge funds, tonucci, chief executive of Man- 177 283 328 other developers hattan-based Park Avenue Bank. THE INSIDER, PAGE 15 “Nobody was paying attention to come to the rescue; how fast.” Brooklyn paper’s -19% -6% +3% NJ the epicenter But to a surprising degree, obsession with lenders are being rescued from the I 2007 ad pages, through April I One-year % change Source: MediaWeek flood of bad debt. Hedge funds are Atlantic Yards BY TOM FREDRICKSON buying delinquent loans, some- PAGE 17 times for 100 cents on the dollar, delinquent construction loans and new developers are taking over are soaring in the New York area. from tardy borrowers and finishing Hearst playing Some $108 million worth of projects. REPORT building loans were late in the “There is tremendous liquidity YOUNG fourth quarter, a 161% rise from in terms of redistributing the AND RICH the teen angle the year-earlier period, according debt,” says State Bank of Long Is- G Wall Street makes to data from SNL Financial. land President Thomas O’Brien. young New Yorkers Twenty-eight banks, or 13% of “That’s different than the early wealthier than ever Publisher defies title Elle Girl now live only on the Web. those headquartered in the metro 1990s, when there was an illiquid PAGE 19 That’s not stopping Hearst region, reported having problem debt market, which led to a melt- shakeout, expanding Magazines from pushing further construction loans in the quarter. down in the housing market.” G Some give big into the category. The company New Jersey, where fields were So far, most of the problems in- bucks and their time print, Web offerings boasts two of the biggest titles still turned into subdivisions over- volve two major New Jersey devel- to philanthropy standing,Seventeen and CosmoGirl, night, accounts for most of the opers: Kara Homes and Solomon PAGE 21 as well as newsstand quarterly Teen. delinquent loans—including those Dwek.Both have filed Chapter 11, BY MATTHEW FLAMM G They spend Single-copy sales for Seventeen made by banks in the city. leaving hundreds of millions of enormous sums on grew by 5% in the second half of “New Jersey was expanding See BAD BUILDING on Page 8 the good life PAGE 24 the past few years have been last year. Though CosmoGirl was tough on teen magazines.Venerable down slightly, it remains a top REAL ESTATE INVESTORS sidestep the foreclosure game Page 2 YM vanished, and Teen People and See HEARST on Page 8 AT DEADLINE CITY IMMIGRATION LAWYERS WERE IN A MAD DASH to the post office Friday to ensure that their clients’ applications Online jewelers for H-1B visas arrive at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by today.The visas allow skilled, aim at high end ANKUR DAGA, college-educated foreigners to owner of Angara, work in the United States for an inviting place where they could says that the Move into luxury average sale of an up to six years. Demand feel the piece in their hand and see engagement ring typically outstrips supply.The sector; traditional how the gemstones catch the light. on his site has hit CIS grants 65,000 annually. Those industry heavyweights $15,000. Last year, all the slots were retailers are slow never met Evren Bilimer. Just be- gone by May.The American fore Christmas, the young private- Immigration Lawyers to counter threat equity firm director went online Association expects the cap to and bought his new girlfriend a be reached this week. BY ELISABETH BUTLER sparkling triple-sapphire pendant for $2,400 at Angara.com. FIVE GUYS FAMOUS BURGERS until recently, jewelry industry “I’m not a big shopper myself,” AND FRIES is the latest leaders firmly believed that cus- Mr. Bilimer says. “I like the con- See AT DEADLINE on Page 2 tomers would never buy pricey venience of shopping online.” jewelry anywhere but in a store— Angara Inc. was created for people like Mr. Bilimer—those willing to spend big bucks for 14 5 baubles online. The company is one of a number that for the first time are taking e-commerce to the upper reaches of the jewelry mar- ELECTRONIC EDITION ket.They are challenging the long- running dominance of such titans NEWSPAPER See ONLINE on Page 8 neff david 71486 01068 0 CNYB 04-02-07 A 2 3/30/2007 5:52 PM Page 1 AT DEADLINE Continued from Page 1 formerly a top executive at Mets on pace to score restaurant company to seize on Meijer Inc., has hired Digital the burger frenzy in New York Pulp to redesign the site ahead City.The Arlington, Va.-based of a fall relaunch.The company franchise signed a 10-year lease has tapped Manhattan’s at 43 W. 55th St., where it will DeVito/Verdi as its national ad record ticket sales open its first Manhattan eatery agency.The moves are part of in August. Asking rent for the Mr. Zigerelli’s plan to grow the own franchise attendance record last location is $118 per square foot, 80-store chain for owner Last year’s success year, selling 4.2 million tickets, and according to Branded Concept Prentice Capital Management, carries over to this they’re on pace to eclipse that record Development, which brokered which purchased Levitz out of in 2007. The Yankees, who open the deal and is designing the bankruptcy in late 2005. season; rival Yankees their home season today,have already space. Five Guys plans to open sold 3.4 million tickets—a 6.2% in- 20 more restaurants in DELUXE ENTERTAINMENT still lead big leagues crease over year-earlier levels. Manhattan over the next five SERVICES GROUP, a Hollywood- years. It operates one eatery in based post production company, BY DAVID JONES Inter-league play Queens and one in Brooklyn. is opening a 40,000-square-foot the yankees come out on top by facility in New York to take the new york mets may have another measure as well. Last year, GAME PLAN: The Mets aim to fill Shea Stadium. A STATE SUPREME COURT JUDGE advantage of the city’s struck out before they could reach they filled nearly 88% of their avail- HAS GIVEN the go-ahead for an production boom.The facility the World Series last year, but their able seats—the best figure in Major antitrust lawsuit filed by will offer film development and exhilarating playoff run is translat- League Baseball—while the Mets highest payroll in baseball, estimated outdoor advertising firm OTR reproduction and also include a ing into robust ticket sales. filled only 75.4%. Both teams are at $194 million last year. Principal Media Group against city digital post-production center. The Mets, whose home opener busy trying to ensure that their stadi- owner George Steinbrenner has been officials and Cemusa, an The company expects to be is set for April 9, have already sold ums are as full as possible to generate willing to shell out astronomical advertising company from partially open by October and 2.4 million tickets, 18% excitement for their moves to sums of money to acquire free agents, Spain. Manhattan-based OTR fully operational in early 2008. more than the team had sold new stadiums in 2009. even though his team has not won argues that it was improperly by this time last year. If the 2.4M “Between now and when the World Series since 2000. shut out when the city granted a RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION IS current frenzy continues,the NUMBER the stadiums open, they’re The Mets, who had a 2006 pay- SURGING of tickets 20-year franchise to Cemusa to in Queens and the Mets will easily top last the Mets have courting high-level corpora- roll of about $101 million, will get a build and sell advertising on city Bronx, although the city is seeing year’s franchise-record 3.5 sold so far tions and executives to buy boost from a reported $20 million- bus shelters, newsstands and on overall decline in activity. In million tickets sold. this year luxury suites and long-term per-year deal with Citigroup Inc. for public bathroom facilities. In the first two months of the year, “The Mets are definitely sponsorship opportunities,” the naming rights to their new stadi- addition to challenging the the number of construction a growth stock right now,” says Dan says Mr. Migala. um, to be called Citi Field. But their exclusive franchise, OTR claims permits issued in Queens Migala,publisher of The Migala Re- Of course, baseball teams must owners may not be able to wait until that a city law that bans signs increased 41% compared with port, a Chicago-based sports mar- win on the field to lure more fans and the stadium opens to boost their pay- near highways and parks violates the same period a year ago, keting newsletter.