Copyright 2008 The New York Sun Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:43:38 -0400 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Sarah Portlock :: Stories from The New York Sun http://www.nysun.com/authors/Sarah+Portlock istoll@nysun.com (Ira Stoll) webmaster@nysun.com en-us SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/trial-set-for-former-state-assemblyman-accused/69382/ Fri, 11 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST The oft-postponed trial of a labor leader and former state assemblyman indicted on corruption charges will start on March 10, U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan of Manhattan ruled in a court proceeding yesterday. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks. Brian McLaughlin, a Democrat of Queens, served 14 years in the state Assembly until he stepped down last year and, in 2006, was indicted on corruption charges for stealing $2.2 million from the government, the New York City Central... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/luxury-condo-sales-manager-sues-corcoran/69211/ Wed, 9 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST The sales manager at a new condominium designed by André Balazs and Jean Nouvel is suing the real estate company in charge of the sales, charging they have not paid him nearly $1 million in commission and a promised bonus. Wilbur Gonzalez, who is known for his high-profile clients, sold 90% of the condominium units at the building at 40 Mercer St. "in record time," according to the lawsuit, which was filed yesterday against the Corcoran Group and the Sunshine Group in New York State Court in... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/principal-of-arabic-school-is-announced/69159/ Wed, 9 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST An Arabic-speaking teacher and facilitator with the city's Department of Education who served in the Peace Corps in Yemen, Holly Reichert, will be the next principal of the city's first ever Arabic-themed school, the Khalil Gibran International Academy, the department announced yesterday. Ms. Reichert, 42, who is Christian, spent nearly five years living, working, and studying in the Middle East, and she has spent nearly a decade working for the city, according to her résumé supplied by the... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/near-record-temperatures-then-a-cooling/69106/ Tue, 8 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST With temperatures expected in the mid-60s today, the record high for this date, 65 in 1998, is in jeopardy, but two cold fronts are expected in the next three days, bringing rain tonight and cooling temperatures to the 40s by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Yesterday's high temperature of 62 was two degrees below the record set in 1907, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, John Murray, said. The warm-weather pattern "is considered anomalous," Mr. Murray said... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/owner-of-city-restaurants-faces-jail-fines/69103/ Tue, 8 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST The owner of classic cinema-themed restaurants in Midtown and on the Upper East Side has pleaded guilty to underreporting income from the businesses and evading $700,000 in taxes and penalties, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, announced yesterday. Steve Galanis, 44, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of tax fraud and faces 30 days in jail and is required to pay $700,212 in back taxes, interest, and penalties, Mr. Morgenthau said in a statement. Mr. Galanis owns four... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-seeks-to-put-the-brakes-on-employee-parking/68936/ Fri, 4 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST From now on, fewer city employees will be able to obtain the parking placards that allow parking in restricted zones, a move that will lower road congestion and cut down on the high abuse rate of the placards, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday. City agencies must take inventory of the placards they've issued before they are forced to reduce their allotted count by at least 20% by March 1, Mr. Bloomberg said. A multi-agency working group will review existing parking-space allocations and on-street... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/weeding-out-begins-over-september-11-suits/68891/ Thu, 3 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST Legal efforts are now under way to identify which of the thousands of workers with respiratory injuries stemming from their efforts at ground zero following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, can proceed with lawsuits against the city. In November, the federal judge overseeing all September 11-related cases, U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein of Manhattan, wrote a series of questions that grant criteria for a plaintiff on the basis of his or her involvement at or around... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/bloody-start-to-2008-follows-record-low-year/68786/ Wed, 2 Jan 2008 00:00:00 EST A string of eight violent incidents across the city during the early hours of the new year yesterday, including three shootings involving police officers, make it clear police have a difficult task ahead in 2008 as they try cut the number of homicides from last year's 494, the low point since reliable records have been kept. The first recorded shots of 2008 were aimed at police officers. Before an hour had passed, bullets whizzed toward police in three separate shootings in the Bronx and... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/citys-pakistani-community-to-mourn-bhutto-with/68715/ Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Leaders in New York's Pakistani community are organizing special prayers and candlelight vigils to mourn the assassination of a Pakistan opposition leader and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, who was killed yesterday in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Police heightened security at sensitive locations throughout the city, including at the Pakistani consulate and in neighborhoods with high concentrations of Pakistani residents, Mayor Bloomberg said. At a Pakistani restaurant in the Jackson Heights... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/guitar-strumming-attorney-sets-legal-parodies/68542/ Wed, 26 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST The skills of successful litigators with three decades in the law profession include the ability to craft an unfortunate situation into a lawsuit and arrange the evidence into a persuasive argument. But producing songs from those experiences and scoring them to electric guitar riffs is a more unusual skill, the domain of one lawyer, Lawrence Savell, who does his part to bring the insider world of high-power litigation to the masses. A partner at Chadbourne & Parke, Mr. Savell, who just turned... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/union-square-park-closed-due-to-powder-scare/68478/ Fri, 21 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Police closed most of Union Square Park for more than an hour yesterday while they investigated several small piles of what a park security guard said was later identified as bleached flour. At 9:30 a.m., park security officers discovered nine piles of a white powder scattered around the park and called police to investigate, the security officer said. Police cordoned off three-quarters of the park and ordered a quarter of the stalls that are part of the park's holiday craft market to close... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/arts/upper-east-side-gallery-owner-guilty-of-tax-fraud/68439/ Thu, 20 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST The owner of an Upper East Side art gallery that specializes in Chinese art has pleaded guilty to personal and corporate tax fraud totaling $1.1 million, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, announced yesterday. Michael Weisbrod, who manages the Weisbrod Chinese Art gallery, pleaded guilty to charges that he has not collected sales tax on the retail sale of art from the gallery since 2000, and owes $150,000 in personal city and state taxes. Weisbrod, 57, must file amended... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/ex-leader-of-teamsters-local-pleads-not-guilty/68287/ Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST A former president of a Teamsters local pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion and embezzlement in federal court yesterday and was released on $250,000 bail after officials arrested him at his Lower Manhattan home yesterday morning. Prosecutors accuse Anthony Rumore, 63, of ordering union members and staff to work as his chauffeur, run errands, and collect contributions for a legal defense fund he established in response to earlier accusations of wrongdoing by a union review board. Between... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/morgenthau-revenues-up-40-murder-rate-cut-by/68346/ Wed, 19 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Revenue collected by the Manhattan district attorney's office has increased by 40% in fiscal year 2007 versus 2006, and Manhattan's murder rate has been cut nearly in half this year, the district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, announced yesterday. The office in 2007 returned $43 million to the city and state from revenues collected through criminal fines, forfeitures, and back taxes, and it has received nearly all of the $105 million in imposed fines from the convictions of two former chief... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/lawmakers-lead-rallies-as-another-dies/68237/ Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST A young woman has died after being caught in the crossfire of a shooting at a Queens bar early Monday morning, police said. It is the second such death in less than a week. Police said the two suspects in the latest shooting appeared to be aiming for another man when they began shooting in the bar just after 2 a.m. yesterday, hitting Adrena Valderradama, 24, in the back and killing her. Another victim, a 23-year-old man whom police did not identify, was shot in the right arm and is in stable... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/spanish-newspaper-may-lose-14m-in-ad-sales-due/68245/ Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST A daily newspaper in Spain, El Pais, stands to lose $1.4 million in advertising revenue this year on its Web site, elpais.com, because of an oversight in the unique visitor ratings from the media rating company Nielsen, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. In March, Nielsen changed the way it measures unique Web site visits to include tracking Internet use at work, and companies in turn look to the data as "currency" for the value of its site to advertisers. The lawsuit, filed... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/suit-centers-on-hudson-river-heliport/68106/ Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST The 30th Street Heliport operating in the Hudson River Park violates the original charter of the park and is in violation of a state environmental quality review, local residents and community groups charge in a lawsuit filed yesterday in the New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The Friends of Hudson River Park filed the suit against the Hudson River Park Trust and two helicopter operation companies, Air Pegasus and Liberty Helicopters. The organization calls for the heliport to close... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/human-rights-day-rally-targets-china/67852/ Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST As part of International Human Rights Day, more than 200 protesters rallied outside the United Nations and delivered a report card outlining alleged human rights violations in Tibet to the Chinese consulate. Similar marches and rallies also occurred yesterday outside Chinese consulates in London, Paris, and Toronto. The deputy director of the nonprofit organization Students for a Free Tibet, Tenzin Dorjee, said the day was bittersweet. Mr. Dorjee, 27, was born in exile in India after his... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/citys-new-toilets-nearing-availability/67827/ Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST The first of 20 planned automatic public toilets across the five boroughs is expected to open this week in Madison Square Park, after construction and testing is completed. The toilets are part of a 20-year contract with the Spanish advertising firm Cemusa Inc., which won a coordinated street furniture bid in 2005 to install 3,300 new bus shelters, 330 newsstands, and 20 public toilets within the next five years. The project, which utilizes tempered glass and stainless steel structures designed... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/governments-post-9-11-actions-questioned/67846/ Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST A federal appellate judge questioned the government's accountability with respect to air quality in Lower Manhattan in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, during oral arguments yesterday in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan. The arguments before a panel of federal judges focused on whether a former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Christine Todd Whitman, should be held liable for saying the air was safe in Lower Manhattan. An attorney for... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/broadway-stagehands-union-ratifies-contract/67788/ Mon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST The new five-year contract for the Broadway stagehands union, Local One, will go into effect this morning following an "overwhelming" union vote yesterday to ratify the new provisions that the union and the League of American Theaters and Producers settled on 10 days ago, a union spokesman, Bruce Cohen, said. The vote affected two contracts, one with the Nederlander Organization and the other with the League of American Theaters and Producers, which represents the Jujamcyn and Shubert theater... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/writer-mark-steyn-honored-with-mightier-pen-award/67660/ Fri, 7 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Author and columnist Mark Steyn has received the Mightier Pen Award from the Center for Security Policy for his writings on politics, art, and culture. Mr. Steyn, who yesterday called himself a "free speech absolutist," recently published a best-selling book, "America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It," and writes columns that appear in numerous publications, including The New York Sun. In remarks yesterday at the "21" Club in Midtown Manhattan, the president of the Center for Security... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/200m-chinese-smuggling-ring-broken-up-10-arrested/67560/ Thu, 6 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST Federal prosecutors have arrested and charged 10 individuals with smuggling $200 million in counterfeit goods into New York from China in what they say is one of the largest smuggling rings ever uncovered. The ringleaders are accused of shipping 100 containers of counterfeit apparel, including Nike sneakers, designer jeans, and luxury-brand wallets and purses, for sale at stores in Brooklyn and Queens. Prosecutors say the suspects bribed agents posing as New Jersey port workers with $500,000 in... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/council-to-field-immigrants-crime-complaints/67482/ Wed, 5 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST The Manhattan district attorney's office will create a council to field complaints from immigrants who are victimized by crime but decline to report it because of worries over their immigration status, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, said yesterday. "This is a city of immigrants," Mr. Morgenthau said. "Our view is that every person coming to New York is entitled to the full protection of the law, and that's what we're going to work on." The advisory council, which will be... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/church-charges-city-tramples-first-amendment/67466/ Tue, 4 Dec 2007 00:00:00 EST A move by the city to revoke a catering permit for secular events at an Upper East Side church is a violation of the First Amendment's free exercise of religion clause, lawyers for Third Church of Christ Scientist charge in a lawsuit. Filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the suit follows the New York City Department of Buildings's decision last week to revoke a temporary assembly permit that allowed for the events at the church, situated at 583 Park Ave. at East 63rd Street. In... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/stagehands-could-alter-broadway-tune/67275/ Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST The aftermath of the Broadway stagehands' strike, which stretched for 19 days during what is historically one of the most lucrative times for the industry before ending late Wednesday night, could have lasting effects on how future contract negotiations play out and how the League of American Theaters and Producers views the Broadway unions. "Everyone knows Local One is the pacesetter of the industry, so if the stagehands get a 50% increase, every other union is going to come in and say, 'We... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/business/uws-group-asks-judge-to-block-development/67277/ Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST A community group is asking a state judge to prevent the development corporation Extell from going through with its new project along the Upper West Side on grounds it violates a 12-year old design agreement about the land, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in New York State Supreme Court. Designs for the building at 80 Riverside Blvd., located in the Riverside South complex, include more glass than the original design guidelines permit, according to the suit, which was filed against... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/deal-brokered-to-end-broadway-standoff/67168/ Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST A tentative contract deal has been reached between the Broadway stagehands' union, Local One, and the American League of Theaters and Producers, following a 19-day strike that shuttered all but eight Broadway theaters and cost the city millions in lost revenue. Emerging from the talks at about 11 p.m. last night, the executive director of the league, Charlotte St. Martin, announced to assembled stagehands and reporters that the strike had ended. Details of the agreement were not made public... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/broadway-negotiations-to-resume-this-morning/67087/ Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Negotiations between the Broadway stagehand union, Local One, and the League of American Theaters and Producers will restart this morning at 10 a.m., marking the third round of talks in the standoff. "We've made progress," the president of Local One, James Claffey Jr., said just before 8 a.m. yesterday after exiting the site of the 13-hour negotiations, the office of the league's attorney, Proskauer Rose, in Times Square. Talks thus far have stretched nearly 60 hours over two weekends. A... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/renewed-broadway-talks-pause-in-stalemate/67061/ Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:48:09 EST After more than 12 hours of negotiations last night, talks between the Broadway stagehands' union, Local One, and the League of American Theaters and Producers ended this morning with no deal, the two parties said. "We've made progress," the president of Local One, James Claffey Jr., said just before 8 a.m. today after exiting the site of the negotiations, the office of the league's attorney, Proskauer Rose, in Times Square. "We're taking a break so we can stay conscious, and to get some rest."... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/democrat-breaks-silence-on-broadway-strike/67026/ Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST A Democratic presidential hopeful, John Edwards, will put other leading White House contenders in an awkward position by announcing today that he supports the striking Broadway stagehands. The Democrats so far have been noticeably quiet about the stagehand strike that is crippling Broadway and costing the city millions of dollars, though they have for the most part publicly supported the writers in the Writers Guild of America strike in Hollywood. Political consultants say the candidates have... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/three-weeks-into-strike-broadway-stagehands/66986/ Mon, 26 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST As the Broadway strike enters its third week, negotiations between the stagehands' union, Local One, and the theater producers' league will focus on stagehands' wages and the producers' contributions to the union's health and pension benefits, according to a source close to the negotiations. When talks prematurely ended two weekends ago, the parties had nearly reached an unspecified agreement about work rules, which was one of the main disagreements going into the negotiations. The union's... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/mild-weather-makes-it-quite-a-day-for-a-parade/66893/ Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST With temperatures in the 60s, an estimated 3.5 million revelers gathered along Central Park West and Broadway to view the colorful, helium-filled balloons in the 81st annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The day started early for those who staked claim to prime parade-watching spots. One such group of 28 parade-goers — family friends from Warren, N.J. — packed a picnic breakfast and spread out in camping chairs on 75th Street at Central Park West, near the start of the parade. "It's so worth... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/foreign/vitol-pleads-guilty-in-oil-for-food-case/66804/ Wed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST A Switzerland-based oil trading company has pleaded guilty to paying $13 million in kickbacks to the Iraqi government in violation of the U.N. oil-for-food program's rules, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, announced yesterday. Vitol S.A. allowed the kickbacks to continue between June 2001 and September 2002 but did not report them to the United Nations, according to a release from Mr. Morgenthau's office. The Iraqi government had told Vitol that it was required to pay the... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/mediators-offer-aid-to-both-sides-in-broadway/66742/ Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST In a move that could bolster negotiations between the Broadway stagehands' union and the producers' league, federal mediation experts are monitoring the situation and have extended offers to help with talks during daily telephone calls to both parties. The talks were suspended late Sunday night with no future dates set. Neither the League of American Theaters and Producers nor the stagehands' union, Local One, has accepted the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service's offer, and both parties... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/gops-ex-chief-in-manhattan-guilty-on-taxes/66543/ Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST A 62-year-old Manhattan meat magnate who served between May 2003 and February 2007 as the chairman of the New York County Republican Party and who was appointed by Governor Pataki to the board of Cornell University and as chairman of the Hudson River Park Conservancy is pleading guilty to a felony charge of tax evasion. The guilty plea, the result of an investigation by the district attorney of New York County, Robert Morgenthau, is the latest blow to the Republican Party in New York City. Its... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/first-lady-in-town-to-honor-history-teacher/66550/ Fri, 16 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST The first lady will present the Preserve America National History Teacher of the Year award to an elementary school teacher from Stafford, Conn., Maureen Festi. The ceremony is being held Friday morning at the Museum of the City of New York. A spokeswoman for Mrs. Bush, Sally McDonough, said the first lady, who is a former teacher and librarian, is committed to ensuring that children receive a quality education in all subjects. "Mrs. Bush is pleased to recognize the accomplishments of Maureen... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/chief-of-manhattan-gop-pleads-guilty-to-tax/66536/ Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:02:16 EST The former chairman of both the New York County Republican party and the Hudson River Park Trust pleaded guilty today to a felony charge of tax evasion for failing to report $180,000 in income, the Manhattan district attorney, Robert Morgenthau, announced this morning. James Ortenzio is the latest to be convicted in an investigation that resulted in guilty pleas by two members of the Cipriani restaurant family and three related corporations, who were ordered last month to pay $10 million in... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/arts/regan-sues-former-employers/66443/ Wed, 14 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Judith Regan, the former book publisher, charges in a new lawsuit that a senior executive at News Corporation told her to lie to federal prosecutors about her relationship with embattled former police commissioner Bernard Kerik in efforts to protect Rudy Giuliani's presidential aspirations. The detail-laden, 70-page suit, filed by Ms. Regan, 54, yesterday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, seeks $100 million, and charges that her former employers, HarperCollins Publishing and the... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/new-battery-park-city-school-planned-source-says/66327/ Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Governor Spitzer, Mayor Bloomberg, and the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, today will announce plans to build a new school in Battery Park City, a booming neighborhood where parents have long asked for more classroom space for their children, a source said. The school will be built on the site of Governor Pataki's planned museum of women's history, which never came to fruition. It is at a prime stretch of Battery Place, near the southern tip of the park. The school-age population in District... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/strike-is-a-silver-lining-for-off-broadway/66296/ Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST With all but eight Broadway theaters dark, off-Broadway shows could notice a surge of interest in the busy weeks ahead, industry experts say. On Saturday morning, the stagehands union, Local One, went on strike following months of tense labor negotiations with the League of American Theaters and Producers. Both parties have expressed interest in returning to the negotiating table, but refused to speculate on when that could happen, and would not comment on how long the work stoppage could last... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/suit-targets-states-public-defense-system/66207/ Fri, 9 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST New York State does not provide effective counsel to the indigent throughout the legal process, according to a class action filed against the state by the New York Civil Liberties Union yesterday. The suit, filed in New York State Supreme Court in Albany, cites a 2006 report by the state's chief judge, Judith Kaye, which concluded that the state's public defense system is "severely dysfunctional" and "structurally incapable" of providing people effective legal representation. Court-appointed... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/coney-island-rezoning-sought-to-add-amusement/66158/ Fri, 9 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST The city will seek to rezone 47 acres at Coney Island with the idea of creating a modern, year-round amusement district surrounded by thousands of units of new housing, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday. "When people around the nation hear the words 'Coney Island,' they think of fun in the sun, of beaches, boardwalks, and bumper cars on the Brooklyn shoreline," Mr. Bloomberg said yesterday morning in front of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. "But we all recognize that Coney Island just isn't... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/business/33-nonprofits-receive-grants-in-manhattan/66192/ Fri, 9 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Nearly three-dozen community nonprofit organizations in lower Manhattan will receive $37 million in community enhancement grants from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Governor Spitzer and Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday. The 33 grants will help fund projects that focus on health care, education, community services, recreation, and cultural enrichment. "As lower Manhattan blossoms into a residential destination, these funds will ensure that critical public amenities receive... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/salander-case-may-change-the-art-market/65897/ Tue, 6 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST A move to change the rules governing the sales of high-end art could result from the fallout of an embattled Upper East Side art gallery known for its extensive Renaissance and Baroque pieces, Salander-O'Reilly, art lawyers said. The law that governs sales is the uniform commercial code, and in other major transactions, such as sales of automobiles or real estate, there is a history of titles. Art sales are rarely as regulated. "You can't buy real estate without getting the protection that what... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/city-has-festive-lucrative-marathon-day/65848/ Mon, 5 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST More than 2 million spectators, many holding posters and noisemakers, lined the route of the ING New York City Marathon through the five boroughs yesterday afternoon as 39,000 runners competed. The race has become the city's highest-grossing single-day sporting event and one of its most spirited celebrations. The 38th annual marathon is expected to bring in $220 million for the city this year, according to the New York Road Runners and the New York City Sports Commission. In Manhattan... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/suit-dismissed-against-union-over-mob-ties/65730/ Fri, 2 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST A U.S. District Court judge yesterday dismissed a racketeering lawsuit against a city dockworkers union that federal prosecutors accused of conspiring with two powerful New York mob families. The ruling, by Judge Leo Glasser of Brooklyn, is the latest action in a decades-long government probe of alleged Mafia influence at ports in New York, New Jersey, and Miami. Prosecutors said that between 1995 and 2002, the International Longshoremen's Association colluded with the Genovese and Gambino... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/zeckendorfs-sue-swig-over-real-estate-deal/65704/ Thu, 1 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Two of the city's leading landowners are suing a fellow titan of the local real estate scene in a clash brought on by the recent acquisition of a competing residential management company, according to a legal filing in state Supreme Court. In what could be the first lawsuit against one of their partners in more than a decade, Arthur and William Lie Zeckendorf have filed a summons, which is among the first legal steps taken before filing a formal lawsuit, against Kent Swig, with whom they... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/business/merrill-lynch-files-suit-over-explicit-e-mails/65686/ Thu, 1 Nov 2007 00:00:00 EST Merrill Lynch is subpoenaing an Internet service provider and Microsoft in an effort to identify the sender of "explicit racial remarks" in e-mail messages to black investment bankers within the company, a spokesman for the investment bank said. The bank filed a trademark infringement lawsuit on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan against the unknown sender, called "John Doe" in the documents, for impersonating an existing Merrill Lynch regional administrative manager by using a Hotmail... SARAH PORTLOCK http://www.nysun.com/new-york/after-37-years-tribeca-eatery-to-close-as-bouley/65515/ Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:00 EST A TriBeCa restaurant long known for close community ties will close its doors tomorrow and a new restaurant venture from David Bouley could move into the space as soon as Thursday, the landlord for the building, Kenneth DuBow, said yesterday. The Delphi Restaurant, which opened in 1970, served its last meal on Saturday night, staying open until 3 a.m., a waitress at the Greek eatery for nearly a decade, Koula Kouroudalakis, said. The restaurant is closing because of a clause in its 12-year old...