CNYB 04-14-08 A 1.qxp 4/11/2008 8:06 PM Page 1 TOP STORIES BUSINESS LIVES Media Digital upstarts vets plot give record labels a second run for their artists acts PAGE 2 ® PAGE 31 Harlem fights city’s plans for VOL. XXIV, NO. 15 WWW.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM APRIL 14-20, 2008 PRICE: $3.00 125th St. BROADCASTING PAGE 3 Bankruptcy surge NY voters like suits lawyers fine as firms gear up El shock jock Paterson but PAGE 3 lifts WCAA radio Fashion designer want options Nanette Lepore Morning-show surge expands seeks sugar daddy Spanish-language audience Little fallout from to help her grow biz scandals; rivals NEW YORK, NEW YORK, P. 6 BY MATTHEW FLAMM would offer strong challenges in 2010 SMALL the onetime king of morning radio is back, and his name is BUSINESS not Howard Stern. BY ERIK ENGQUIST REPORT Luis Jimenez (left), the for- mer star of top-rated El Vacilón new yorkers are generally sup- JAN. de la Mañana on WSKQ-FM, portive of new Gov. David Pater- 2005 -Chronicle of a has knocked his old show off its son,who appears to be undamaged quick success pedestal, according to prelimi- by revelations about his personal nary ratings from Arbitron. life. But they are far from con- -CPA shortage Since his much-heralded re- vinced that they want to keep him, pinches hard turn to New York in January, according to a poll conducted for the Puerto Rican shock jock Crain’s. grange paul -How to get who used to give Mr. Stern a Voters would opt for Mayor right insurance run for his money has taken tiny Michael Bloomberg in a prospec- For all poll results, go to WCAA-FM’s morning drive tive matchup if an election were www.crainsnewyork.comM show to fifth place from 32nd held today, while either former ➠ -Industrial among listeners 25 to 54 years Mayor Rudy Giuliani or Attorney Hits & Misses old, according to the February General Andrew Cuomo would Mr. Paterson is viewed favor- APR. PAGE 19 monthly report. make a strong showing against Mr. ably by 57% of registered voters 2008 The show’s share in the Paterson, according to the poll by statewide and unfavorably by just demo most appealing to radio Charney Research. 12%,but a substantial 31% have no See EL SHOCK JOCK on Page 8 “Paterson is benefiting from the opinion, according to the poll, voters giving him a chance,” says which was conducted from March AT DEADLINE HISPANIC MEDIA is on political consultant Ernie Lendler. 31 to April 3.Mr.Paterson stepped the rise, outpacing the But the poll shows that the public into his role after 14 months in the ANDRÉ BALAZS SOLD HOTEL general market See Page 8 “doesn’t give Paterson a lot of slack. obscure post of lieutenant gover- QT AT 125 W. 45TH ST. TO A I don’t know how long the honey- nor, following the resignation of Spanish hotel company called moon is going to go on.” See NY VOTERS on Page 9 Room Mate Hotels, which owns chic budget properties mostly in Spain. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, Mr. These businesses welcome the recession Balazs has abandoned a plan to sell his stake in some of his eight other luxury and restaurant managers are pondering midpriced hotels. In a separate Job advisers, grocers cutbacks as regulars are eating in transaction, he recently expect sales to jump; more often than out. refinanced them with an Career counselors,supermarket overseas private equity fund. some worry about owners and discount retailers have another view. For them, the bad VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS trading down times could be good. INC. CAN NOW MOVE “With economic adversity can forward with its plans to offer BY DANIEL MASSEY come opportunity,” says Marshal television service in New York Cohen, chief analyst at retail trend City after the city announced workers on wall street are tracking firm NPD Group Inc. Friday that it will start taking worried they could lose their jobs. Some businesses have already proposals from new cable TV Builders are concerned there will seen increases, while others are See AT DEADLINE on Page 2 be no buyers for the condomini- sure that gains lie just around the ums rising into the city sky. And corner. As news of gas price in- creases, mortgage mayhem, a housing slump and layoffs spreads, 15 consumers have shifted their shop- 5 ping habits. For the first time in more than a decade, they rank low prices as the No. 1 factor in decid- ELECTRONIC EDITION ing what to buy and where to buy it, according to the 2008 AlixPart- larry ford NEWSPAPER See RECESSION on Page 8 JACK’S, a 99-cent store, expects an influx of customers who want to stretch their dollars. 71486 01068 0 CNYB 04-14-08 A 2 4/11/2008 7:07 PM Page 1 AT DEADLINE Continued from Page 1 including AsianAvenue.com and Music without labels providers.The City Council MiGente.com, is on track to authorized the Bloomberg making $20 million in revenue administration to open the cable this year. TV market to competition in Acts known and obscure turn to digital startups October 2006, but the A MANHATTAN COMPANY SAYS administration failed to issue a IT CAN PREVENT NEW YORKERS request for proposals—the next from being hung out to dry by a BY SAMANTHA MARSHALL step in opening the field to new new tariff on Chinese-made providers. Verizon hopes to be wire hangers. EcoHangers are who needs big record labels? operating in the city by the end created from 100% recycled Not U2 and Jay-Z, who left their of the year. Verizon is already paper, according to five-year-old companies in the past two weeks to sign competing against Cablevision Hanger Network. More than Systems Corp. in more than 145 500 area cleaners are already on with Live Nation. Madonna, New York suburban using the hangers, which they Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have also communities, where it has been get free because the hangers voted with their feet. Even emerging acts able to obtain cable TV feature paid advertising from franchises since 2005. companies like Joseph Abboud are joining upstart digital companies in and Staples. Dry cleaners defiance of the conventional wisdom that the majors are still necessary to sell lots of records. THE MANHATTAN THEATRE can also opt to purchase At a time when any unknown songster can get 3 million views on YouTube at little cost, CLUB IS STARTING A PROGRAM EcoHangers without many artists have become motivated to maintain control of their music and offering $30 tickets to people advertising.The Commerce under 30 in an effort to attract Department imposed a tariff keep more of their income. Small New York-based companies like younger audiences.Theater- late last month that raised Nabbr,TuneCore and Music Nation are cashing in on the trend as goers will receive weekly e-mails hanger costs as much as 100%. they help acts big and small scale the charts on the strength of their listing the shows and nights for digital platforms and the viral marketing power of YouTube and which discounted tickets are PACE UNIVERSITY’S NEW available.The nonprofit theater PRESIDENT, STEPHEN MySpace. company will kick off the Friedman, confirmed that he “The bottom line is that digital has made the infrastructure of program with From Up Here, is considering closing the traditional, brick-and-mortar distribution less necessary,” says Jeff Price, which opens on Wednesday. technology incubator’s Manhattan location, and has chief executive of TuneCore, a Brooklyn-based digital distributor that COMMUNITY CONNECT INC. HAS already shuttered the Yonkers artists including Björk, Keith Richards and Ziggy Marley BEEN ACQUIRED BY RADIO location. “It’s a peanut,” says Mr. use to package and sell their music online. One Inc., a Lanham, Md.-based Friedman, referring to the small The majors recognize the power of radio broadcaster, for $38 number of companies at both million. Manhattan-based incubators.The move would viral marketing. In an attempt to play CCI is the operator of popular be one of several measures by catch-up, Warner Music Group, Sony African-American site the president to streamline BMG Entertainment Group and BlackPlanet.com, which has departments at Pace and Universal Music Group formed a joint become the fourth-largest social- consolidate programs that networking site in the nation. overlap with each other or venture with MySpace two weeks The 11-year-old firm, which also don’t contribute significantly ago to develop a music platform. runs four other niche sites, to campus life. Of course, using companies See MUSICAL ACTS on Page 8 CORRECTIONS The rug store slated to open at 75 Grand St. this year is called Halvai. The shop’s name was DOWNLOAD TIME: misspelled in the April 7 “Real Estate Deals” column. “Digital has made Twenty-five of the 35 films sold at the Tribeca Film Festival last year were part of deals that traditional included some U.S. theatrical distribution. The April 7 story “In search of a hit” said that few distribution less films had theatrical deals. necessary,” says Jeff Price of TuneCore. THIS WEEK IN CRAIN’S 33 ALAIR TOWNSEND -------------------13 THE INSIDER------------------------------------14 buck ennis WEEK IN REVIEW -----------------------16 REAL ESTATE DEALS--------------17 THE WEEKS AHEAD ----------------18 A $5 billion loss? Not bad REPORT: an influential Wall Street watcher $21 billion worth of collateralized SMALL BUSINESS---------------- 19 Some view Citi’s and founder of independent re- debt obligations and other mort- NEIGHBORHOOD halving of loss a good search firm Portales Partners, up- gage-related assets.