Long Island Business News

Long Island Contractor Hopes Extreme Makeover Appearance Will Be Good for Industry's Image

Sal Ferro hasn't been happy with his industry's clips lately. First there was the story about the contractor who ripped off the wrong roof, then got into a bitter court battle with the homeowner about who should pay for repairs.

Li-Based Dhb Industries Investors Up in Arms Over Top Exec's Moves

Shareholders of body-armor maker DHB Industries are in revolt after an internal audit found that Chief Executive David Brooks made about $2 million in personal and other non-business purchases using company credit cards and the company disclosed he sold stock worth more than $200 million within months of a company press release quashing rumors of a major sale. Since Dec. 27, when the stock peaked at $22.70, the share price of DHB has been cut in half, with a price of $9.65 at the close of tra...

Nassau County Officials Resolve Parking Concerns

Nassau County has developed a preliminary proposal to resolve parking concerns that sparked lawsuits over plans to sell the Garden City site of its Department of Health and Human Services, according to local officials. The county wants to sell its 101 County Seat Drive property as part of its real estate consolidation effort set forth by County Executive Thomas Suozzi in 2002. But both the Court Officers Benevolent Association of Nassau County and the Village of Mineola filed lawsuits arguing...

Wenner Bread Products Eyes Yaphank for Giant Plant

Wenner Bread Products is considering a plan to consolidate most of its Long Island operations in a new 250,000-square-foot facility in the bustling Yaphank-Shirley corridor. Family-owned Wenner fills six buildings at its historic base of operations in Bayport, but the fast-growing firm wants a single, more cost-effective facility that can serve as a world-class headquarters, according to the firm's president, Richard Wenner.

Li Dance Studios Tie Marketing to the Movies

Once the room filled with the rhythms and horns essential to the Cuban-inspired salsa, the couples began their dance. They formed a circle of five pairs, switching partners as instructed by the caller. No, this wasn't a scene from Dance with Me, a film starring Vanessa Williams. But Ahmed and Catherine Selim, owners of New Hyde Park-based Starlight Dance Studio, were inspired by Rueda de Casino, a dance performed in the movie.

Li-Based Atkins Nutraceuticals to Relocate Fulfillment Services to Other Parts of the Country

Atkins Nutraceuticals Inc. has begun subletting nearly 300,000 square feet of distribution space on Long Island as part of a plan to relocate fulfillment services to other parts of the country. The inventor of the low-carb diet craze will maintain about 20,000 square feet of office operations at Airport International Plaza in Ronkonkoma, a company spokesman said. Corporate headquarters are in Manhattan.

Ny-Based Edo Corp. Makes Personnel Changes in Preparation to Name Ceo Successor

A move to reassign 26-year EDO Corp. veteran Frank Otto will prepare the ground for a race to succeed Chairman and Chief Executive James Smith, an analyst said. Frank Otto, a 26-year veteran of defense contractor EDO Corp., has been reassigned to focus on managing the company's strategic plan and research and development efforts, the company announced. Otto, 55, was named senior vice president, strategic development, shedding the title of chief operating officer, which he took in February 2004.

Interview with Mitchell York, Maui Wowi Franchisee

What did you do early in your career? I worked in book publishing in New York as an editorial assistant. After that, I went to CMP Media [in Manhasset] as a reporter in 1991. There were 100-150 people when I started in 1,500 when I left in 17 years. At the end I was vice president of Internet operations. Why did you leave? I was eager to do something more purely Internet. In August 1998, I took a job as president of [online mortgage and auto loan marketplace] Lendingtree in Charlotte, N.C.

Schiavo Case Spurs Interest in Living Wills, Lawyers Say

A bevy of local law firms reported a spike in calls about living wills this week after the case of Terry Schiavo, a severely brain- damaged Florida woman, took center stage in the U.S. Congress. The interest, attorneys say, came from new clients looking to start the process and existing clients double-checking the language of their documents. Some callers were alarmed by the congressional attempt to force doctors to reinsert her feeding tube that was removed March 18 after years of legal wran...

Sec Gives Small Companies a Sarbox Reprieve

The Securities and Exchange Commission is cutting small companies some slack. Publicly-traded firms with a market capitalization of $75 million or less, including at least several dozen on Long Island, will have an additional year to comply with a Sarbanes-Oxley provision regarding internal financial controls.

Li Man Buys British Co. That Owns 'American Idol'

Robert F.X. Sillerman has an eye for iconic properties. In December, his company, Sports Entertainment Enterprises (soon to be renamed CKX Inc.), acquired a majority stake in the estate of Elvis Presley, including operations at Graceland, for $100 million.

Bank of American Long Island has New President

After 14 Years at the Helm, Times' Li Editor Heads to Colorado Springs Paper

After 20 years of helping produce all the news that's fit to print, New York Times Long Island Editor Dean Toda is leaving the paper to become the deputy managing editor of The Gazette, a 120,000- circulation daily paper in Colorado Springs, Colo. The New York Times is a great newspaper, and it's great to be associated with it, Toda said. But there are other challenges out there.

American Home Mortgage Adds 23 Loan Offices in Western States

Homeowners may be lifting their feet off the gas when it comes to refinancing, but American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. is going full-speed ahead with takeovers. AHM announced plans earlier this month for its 10th deal, this time to take over 23 loan offices in five Western states from Columbus, Ind.-based Irwin Mortgage Corp. The purchase, announced March 14, gives AHM a greater presence in Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii and Washington.

Report: Jets Set Stadium Bid at $720m

The New York Jets offered $720 million for rights to build a stadium over the West Side rail yards, increasing the team's initial bid seven-fold, according to published reports. The New York Times said that the football team allied with six real estate developers who agreed to augment the bid by paying for rights to building apartments within blocks of the stadium.

Li's County Execs: Cap Medicaid Costs

Long Island's county executives urged state officials to stop digging farther into Nassau and Suffolk county residents' pockets to pay Medicaid bills. Local Medicaid costs have doubled in the past 10 years and will double again in the next 10 years if we don't act now, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said at the rally held at the Cradle of Aviation Museum.

Li-Based Forest Laboratories Marketing Pain Medication

Forest Laboratories Inc. has begun selling a new drug to treat short-term acute, moderate and severe pain. Forest said it's marketing Combunox, which combine Oxycodone HCl and Ibuprofen, to physicians and pharmacies nationwide.

Li-Based Computer Associates to Hold Annual Convention

Computer Associates will be holding its annual convention after all. In November, the software maker cited the expense in announcing it would scrap CA World for 2005, but revive it in later years. But Computer Associates announced that the gathering of customers and business allies would be held at the Venetian Las Vegas and Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas Nov. 13-17.

Valley Stream Union Free School District Gets $600k Settlement

The Valley Stream Union Free School District 30 said that Exxon Mobil Corp. and the owners of a former local gas station have agreed to pay $600,000 to the district to settle a 6-year-old lawsuit related to an oil spill. The district said it will be left with about $419,000 after legal fees and expenses related to the spill at a former gas station at 562 W. Merrick Road.

Shares of Li-Based Veeco Instruments Up 76 Cents for Week

Shares of Veeco Instruments (Nasdaq: VECO) climbed 76 cents, or 5 percent, for the week after the maker of semiconductor equipment reported fourth-quarter earnings and re-stated 2004 results after completing the investigation of accounting issues surrounding its TurboDisc unit. The company's fourth-quarter net loss was $56 million, or $1.88 per share, on revenue of $103 million, versus a net loss of $4.8 million, or 16 cents a share, on revenue of $76.9 million in the year-ago period.