CNYB 03-03-08 A 1.qxp 2/29/2008 9:15 PM Page 1 TOP STORIES BUSINESS LIVES Once-red-hot art Pumping market is catching it up at Wall Street’s cold the office PAGE 3 ® PAGE 47 Unions mobilize to oppose zoning plans unless they VOL. XXIV, NO. 9 WWW.CRAINSNEWYORK.COM MARCH 3-9, 2008 PRICE: $3.00 get wage rules PAGE 3 CREDIT CRISIS FALLOUT Will country radio hit NYC? WNBC feels ratings pain PAINFUL CHOICES: Banks put Ending dividend, NEW YORK, NEW YORK, P. 6 selling units loom as options for Citigroup brakes on Financial fireman head Vikram Pandit. takes charge at key branching industry group CORPORATE LADDER, P. 49 out in NYC Market saturation, credit crunch are factors; retail rents could come down BY ELISABETH TAKE IT TO BUTLER CORDOVA THE LIMIT the great Man- Manhattan branches. hattan bank branch bloomberg news Chase boom is over. 127 CRAIN’s ANNUAL Financial players that paid top dollar to Citibank LOOK AT 64 NEW YORK’s rent hundreds of re- PANDIT’S DEADLINE tail locations, push- HSBC RISING STARS 47 Page F1 ing out neighbor- Fledgling CEO needs to dig deeper to counter rising losses hood coffee shops, Washington florists and fashion Mutual SEE VIDEO the vast institution have fallen far short. To date, boutiques, are end- 46 BY AARON ELSTEIN INTERVIEWS WITH he has halted a big U.S. branch expansion plan, ing their shopping Bank of 2008’s WINNERS @ sold off the company’s Japanese headquarters and spree, real estate America www.crainsnewyork.com/40under40 nearly three months ago, Vikram Pandit appointed a new chief risk officer. sources say. 43 stepped in as chief executive at what looked to be Clearly,far more will be required.In fact,there’s “All bank leasing Citigroup Inc.’s darkest hour. a growing consensus that by the time Mr. Pandit has stopped,” says Commerce Since then, Citi’s stock has fallen another 25%. takes the stage at Carnegie Hall for Citi’s annual Steven Durels,direc- Bank 27 AT DEADLINE It has written off an additional $20 billion of mort- shareholder meeting on April 22, he will need to tor of leasing at SL gage-related losses and has been forced to raise have fashioned a sweeping new vision for the Green Realty Corp., Wachovia SEEKING TO BOOST A nearly $30 billion in cash at punishingly high in- world’s largest bank. one of the city’s 24 LAGGING ECONOMY, QUEENS terest rates. “Citi has not yet come to grips with reality,”says biggest real estate Sources: Companies mall owner Damon Meanwhile,Mr.Pandit’s efforts to turn around See PANDIT on Page 9 See BANKS on Page 8 Hemmerdinger planned to pass out $100 bills to patrons at his Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale last weekend.The son of MTA Chairman H. CNN rides elections to victory over Fox Dale Hemmerdinger was going to give out $20,000 and is hoping other mall owners finally produced an unexpected ic primary season that has drawn The boost gave the Time Warner- will follow suit. Mr. Key ratings surge winner. new voters—and new viewers— owned channel its first victory over Hemmerdinger says a national on political coverage; That’s right: There’s a new CNN’s prime-time audience of 25- the Fox News Channel in six years. effort could infuse $340 front-runner in the cable news race. to 54-year-olds soared 150% in MSNBC, perennially a distant million into the economy. will the gains last? Buoyed by a historic Democrat- February over year-earlier levels. See CNN on Page 8 PACE UNIVERSITY IS CONSIDERING CLOSING ITS BY MATTHEW FLAMM FEBRUARY FERVOR Prime-time viewers aged 25 to 54. four-year-old incubator in I Viewers I 1-year percent change* downtown Manhattan.The for the past few months, peo- school says that its new ple across the United States have See AT DEADLINE on Page 2 taken part in a closely fought con- 614,000 +150% 454,000 +10% test,full of twists and turns,that has 326,000 +71% 09 5 ELECTRONIC EDITION NEWSPAPER 71486 01068 *Jan. 28 to Feb. 24, 2008, versus Jan. 29 to Feb. 25, 2007, during prime time, Monday to Sunday, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. Source: Nielsen Media Research istockphoto 0 CNYB 03-03-08 A 2 2/29/2008 8:25 PM Page 1 AT DEADLINE Continued from Page 1 VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS Revamped AOL just president is reviewing many INC. HOPES THAT THE CITY WILL ventures but that no final issue a solicitation for new cable decisions have been made.The TV providers by the end of incubator was originally March, so that it can apply for a designed for all types of franchise. If everything goes as can’t get any respect startups, but technology became planned, Verizon says it could its focus. Stephen Friedman, start offering TV service in a former dean at Pace University number of neighborhoods in the Despite investments, company stuck in fourth place School of Law, became five boroughs late this year. A president in June amid declines spokesperson for the city’s in enrollment and a financial Department of Information BY AMANDA FUNG squeeze. Technology and Telecommunications, which when a microsoft corp. executive didn’t acknowledge AOL as an online advertising A GROUP COMMITTED TO A handles cable franchises, says competitor in a recent industry conference, AOL Chief Executive Randy Falco was miffed. LARGER CONVENTION CENTER that “negotiations are ongoing, He said the software giant made a mistake by overlooking the Time Warner unit. for New York is disappointed in and it is premature to speculate a decision to appoint a task force as to when the city will issue the But there is good reason to take AOL lightly. Advertising revenue from AOL-owned and to study the issue. Under solicitation.” -operated sites last year grew just 15% from the previous year, to $1.6 billion, compared with pressure from the group— 27% from 2005 to 2006. Friends of Javits—and city TAKING A PAGE OUT OF APPLE’S officials, the Spitzer BOOK, 1800MATTRESS.COM IS “AOL is still in fourth place,” far behind Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, says Roger Kay, administration dropped a plan switching to an all-hours format president of research firm Endpoint Technologies Associates. to sell land and went back to the at three of its Manhattan stores See REVAMPED on Page 8 drawing board.The move will and its warehouse in Long just further “delay a decision on Island City, Queens. Starting at how to proceed with Javits,” says 5 a.m. on March 6, the locations Ken McAvoy, vice president of will operate 24/7, 365 days a Reed Exhibitions and a group year.The company plans to roll BILL WILSON says that member. out the concept to other cities AOL plans to launch soon. more sites this year. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA IS ABOUT TO GET SOME FRESHDIRECT HAS BEGUN competition in movie theaters. WAIVING DELIVERY FEES TO WIN The San Francisco Opera will back customers who stopped launch live broadcasts in 121 using the online grocer because theaters nationwide on March 8 of delivery problems that began with Giacomo Puccini’s La in late December.The Rondine. New York screenings exemption lasts three months. will be at the Clearview FreshDirect lost 150 workers at Ziegfeld in Manhattan and year-end as a result of an AIX-Parkside Pavilion Theatre immigration audit.The in Brooklyn.The Met is company initially focused on broadcasting eight operas this maintaining its most loyal year in more than 600 theaters customers, giving them worldwide. discounts on certain products. CLARIFICATION Massivemedia Inc., a company that projects ads on the sides of buildings, says it pays the owners of those properties for hosting the ads. A Feb. 25 story inadvertently implied that Massivemedia is among the companies that do not pay building owners. THIS WEEK IN CRAIN’S buck ennis NEW YORK, NEW YORK----------6 ALAIR TOWNSEND -------------------13 Rudy, private practitioner THE INSIDER------------------------------------14 Giuliani says. “In litigation, you ar- 15 from 20, according to published SMALL BUSINESS ------------------- 15 Legal, consulting gue rational positions; you structure reports. WEEK IN REVIEW -----------------------16 practices changed some kind of settlement. It’s one of As he did before his leave of ab- the last places where you can actual- sence, Mr. Giuliani will split his FORTY UNDER 40--------------------F1 since his departure ly have a truly logical argument.” time equally between both prac- 49 NEIGHBORHOOD Mr. Giuliani will also return to tices. the eponymous consulting practice He insists that his failed presi- JOURNAL------------------------------------------43 BY HILARY POTKEWITZ that he founded six years ago. The dential campaign will not hurt his two firms have changed dramatical- businesses.“If anything, running for CLASSIFIEDS ---------------------------------- 44 former new york mayor and ly in his absence. office has broadened me and made REAL ESTATE DEALS--------------46 presidential wannabe Rudy Giu- me better known,”Mr.Giuliani says. liani returns to work this week at his Law firm is growing The foray into the national polit- THE WEEKS AHEAD ----------------46 law firm, Bracewell & Giuliani. bracewell & giuliani, based in ical scene hasn’t diminished his legal The man whose commanding Houston, has grown globally, ambitions. He says he still loves ar- BUSINESS LIVES------------------------47 early lead in the polls quickly evap- adding outposts in Dubai and else- guing cases in front of an appel- CORPORATE LADDER-------49 orated as primaries began,is looking where. Its New York office, which late—or higher—court and looks forward to being back in a world opened with three lawyers in 2005, forward to getting back in the ring.