Long Island Business News

Banking Branch Bonanza: How Many Are Too Many?

In the latest J.P. Morgan Chase commercial, a professionally dressed, gregarious New Yorker stands in the middle of the street and makes a list of demands: He wants his ATMs on both sides of the street, free checking and branches everywhere he goes. He wants it all - and he wants it now.

Banks Reap Many Benefits From Venue Sponsorship

With the ink still wet on its contract to acquire GreenPoint Financial, North Fork Bancorp made yet another local purchase: the naming rights to Westbury Music Fair. This month, a new sign was hung at the venue to proclaim its new moniker, the North Fork Theatre at Westbury. We look forward to sharing many years of musical enjoyment with our friends and customers at the new North Fork Theatre at Westbury, said John Adam Kanas, chairman of North Fork, in a press release.

Nationwide Deployment of Electronic Check Processing Will Be Implemented Slowly

In October 2004, many pundits predicted an evolutionary change in the banking world when Check 21 went into effect. The legislation, which lets banks issue substitute, or scanned, checks, held the promise of drastically reducing paperwork and expediting transactions. That's because under Check 21, it's a check's digital image - front and back - that traverses the distance between financial institutions, not the hard-copy checks themselves.

Hsbc Bank Usa Expands On the West Coast

HSBC Bank USA, the ninth-largest bank by deposits on Long Island and one of the largest in the world, is aggressively expanding on the West Coast. Marketing itself as the world's local bank, HSBC has branches all around the world but has had a very limited U.S. presence outside of New York, where it's become a household name since acquiring Marine Midland in the 1990s.

Bank of Smithtown to Open Its First Branch in Nassau County

Bank of Smithtown's crossing the border. The bank is opening its first branch in Nassau County, in Port Washington, this week, bringing its branch count to 13. The company, which expects to open a branch in Bohemia on Veterans Memorial Highway in the third quarter, is currently in negotiations for five other sites on Long Island, said Bradley Rock, Bank of Smithtown chairman.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to Play Central Role in Cancer Genome Project

A proposal to mount a $1.35 billion, 9-year campaign to decode the genetic basis of human cancer would put Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory at the center of research that could spin off new techniques, targets and diagnostics for use in drug discovery. Cold Spring Harbor Director Bruce Stillman said the laboratory has been developing on technologies that could form the foundation of the project.

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum Ranks No. 10 in 2004 for Ticket Sales to Concerts/Events

If you book the Eagles - or Billy Joel or Alicia Keyes, for that matter - they will come. The much-maligned Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum may be a showing a touch of gray, but the 23-year-old venue ranks No. 10 in 2004 among arenas surveyed worldwide for ticket sales to concerts and entertainment events.

Los Angeles-Based Promoter Plans Technology Festival in Nassau County

A Los Angeles-based promoter plans to mingle silicon with showmanship this summer by creating a technology festival at Nassau County's Eisenhower Park. Veteran events promoter Howard Mauskopf, whose credits include the Los Angeles Garlic Festival, the Los Angeles Salsa Festival and the CyberNet Festival, said he already has secured park permits for the event, planned for the weekend of Aug. 19-21.

Bank of America Adds Long Island Accounts, Despite Expectations of Customer Run-Off After Merger

When Bank of America acquired Fleet Bank last year, industry experts braced for the customer runoff that follows any sizable merger. Executives at local community and mid-size banks predicted they would steal customers as the out-of-touch banking giant from Charlotte tried to figure out the New York market. B of A's pain would be their gain.

Piping Rock, a Water and Coffee Supplier, Puts Its Long Island Facility Up for Sale

The gold rush is on. In what some are calling the best seller's market ever, owners of office and mixed-use buildings are cashing out left and right. One of those is Piping Rock, a supplier of natural spring water and coffee to markets on Long Island, New York and Connecticut. The company's facility, at 175 Sunnyside Blvd. in Plainview, is a two- story, mixed-use, 23,000-square-foot, owner-occupied building.

Research Shows Women-Owned Firms Get Smaller Percentage of Venture Capital Funding

Research shows that women net about 5 percent to 10 percent of venture capital funding - a staggering low amount considering that women lead 28 percent of all U.S. businesses, according to the Kauffman Foundation, a Kansas City-based organization dedicated to entrepreneurs. And though concrete statistics on how much VC funding goes to minorities is hard to find, it's fair to say they attract even less, since African Americans own only 4 percent of all U.S. businesses and Hispanic Americans on...

Suffolk County Officials Hope Arts Festival Will Boost Business in Long Island Downtowns

Suffolk County economic development officials are turning to the arts to help boost business in Long Island downtowns. Called ArtsWave, the three-month festival borrows heavily from similar events in other states, including the Spoleto Festival USA, a 17-day affair in Charleston, S.C. that brought in $2.53 million in ticket sales.

Cameron Engineering & Associates Signs Long-Term Lease for Woodbury Space

Cameron Engineering & Associates has signed a long-term lease to expand operations at 100 Sunnyside Blvd., an 80,000-square-foot facility owned by Oyster Bay Properties. The 20,000-square-foot lease is a significant move up for Cameron, which currently occupies 8,000 feet in nearby Syosset.

Interview with New Coo of Ny-Based Gyrodyne Company of America

You were recently promoted to the position of COO at Gyrodyne. What are your new duties? I was promoted in November. Prior to that, I was executive vice president and general counsel for the company. I started with Gyrodyne in 1992 in an advisory capacity as a part- time attorney. The promotion is really more recognition than anything else. With the title, I've been given some additional authority to negotiate transactions such as joint ventures and sales that Gyrodyne may have an interest in...

Medical Director of Lake Success-Based Prohealth Care Associates Defends His Credentials

This weekend, the New York Yankees host the World Champion Boston Red Sox in Major League Baseball's opening game. For America's pastime, the games couldn't come fast enough. The sport's been maligned by steroid allegations - much of which was launched by a best-selling book written by Jose Canseco, a former star player and admitted steroids user.

Long Island Business News Real Estate Reporter Nick Anastasi Named to Suffolk County Post

Longtime Long Island Business News real estate reporter Nick Anastasi has been named assistant to Suffolk County's commissioner of economic development and workforce housing. Anastasi, 34, will work with economic development chief Jim Morgo on a wide range of projects, according to Deputy County Executive Kevin Law.

Cablevision Systems Chairman Charles Dolan Tries to Block Satellite Deal

In yet another tale of turmoil at Cablevision Systems, Chairman Charles Dolan has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission to block the $200 million sale of the company's Rainbow I satellite to EchoStar Communications, parent of Dish Network. Dolan wants to buy remaining assets of the upstart Voom satellite TV service from Cablevision, but he needs sufficient satellite capacity to continue the service. The board of Cablevision agreed to sell the satellite to EchoStar and had planned t...

Defendants in Benefit Plan Administration Case Must Turn Over $3.2m in Assets to Nassau County

Nassau County coffers are $3.2 million richer after seizing assets from defendants accused of fraud in connection with the Benefit Plan Administration of Melville case. The scandal dates back to 1997, when BPA sought to take over management of the county's health insurance plan by bribing then- Deputy County Executive Robert McDonald. BPA promised millions in savings by switching from a state-run plan to BPA, but the county lost $70 million during the 18-months it adhered to the contract, acc...

Systemax Delays 2004 Earnings Release

Personal computer and electronics maker Systemax Inc. missed its March 30 release date for results of the year ended Dec. 31 and also will restate results for 2004's first three quarters and 2003. The announcement comes about a month after Systemax disclosed that accounting errors related to inventory at its United Kingdom subsidiary would require restatements.

Everett, Wash.-Based Intermec Sues Symbol Technologies, As Intellectual Property Battle Continues

The intellectual property battles between bar code rivals Symbol Technologies and Everett, Wash.-based Intermec Technologies Corp. are continuing. Earlier this month Symbol filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Intermec in U.S. District Court in Delaware after negotiations to reach an accommodation involving earlier patent disputes broke down.