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Malls Full of Shoppers
Mark Harrington, Tania Padgett and Danny Lanzetta. STAFF WRITER. Newsday. (Combined editions).Long Island, N.Y.: Nov 24, 2001. pg. A.04

Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001)

Shoppers stepped out Friday, lured by bargains and hot toys at malls and discounters across Long Island. The swell of consumers that jammed parking lots and filled stores helped dispel some retailer fears about lower-than-expected sales for that day.

Still, the sluggish economy and specter of Sept. 11 affected shopping, some retailers said.

On Friday, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani made a pitch for shoppers to fill retailers' cash registers during the holiday weekend at Barneys in Manhattan. The mayor even bought himself an striped necktie.

The crowd of shoppers at Roosevelt Field mall in Westbury helped push sales higher than usual at J.C. Penney's, which stepped up its giveaways and sales, said James Skopkowski, the store manager.

"We were pleasantly surprised," Skopkowski said. "As of 11:30 a.m., our sales [were] up much more than expected." He had been worried about the store's business after the terrorist attacks pinched sales in September. But the better-than-expected turnout Friday gave him hope for the important holiday season.

Eleanor Malone of Woodhaven went to Bloomingdales, Macy's and Eddie Bauer, all in Roosevelt Field, looking for gifts for her two grown children. "I had my list and I put a good dent in it today. ... I think I'm buying as much as I did last year."

Special discounts for early shoppers led to overflow crowds at the Tanger Outlet mall in Riverhead. By 11 a.m., lines of cars had spilled beyond the mall's two main entrances, and two massive parking lots were completely full. Shoppers resorted to double parking near the loading docks behind the stores. Spaces that opened up in the mall lots often had three or four anxious drivers waiting to fill them.

Lines formed outside stores.

At the Tommy Hilfiger outlet at Tanger mall, Carryn Bowell stood waiting in a line of a dozen people just to get inside the designer clothing shop. A security guard drawing on a cigarette allowed in groups of shoppers like a bouncer at a New York club. "It's the first time I've ever seen this," said Bowell, a resident of Stratford-Upon- Avon, in Britain, who travels to the United States three times a year to shop. She stays at an aunt's house in Huntington. Prices in the United States, she said, are

cheaper. "I don't have a budget."

Among the early risers was Maria Villaplana, a resident of Paterson, N.J., who along with family and friends arrived at Tanger at 6 a.m. By mid-morning, Villaplana's group, which included two friends from El Salvador, were seen stuffing their car with "well over" in merchandise. Asked if economic issues impacted her plans, she said, "Uh-uh. We don't pay attention to that too much."

Economic concerns definitely cut the spending plans of Anthony Flores, who waited on a bench at Tanger for his wife and daughter. "I'm very cautious about what we buy," said Flores, a New York City resident, who plans to cut holiday spending by around 40 percent. He also intends to reduce the number of people on his shopping list, he said, to "just family members."

Amy Schwartz, a full-time salesperson at Guess in Roosevelt Field, said she actually got "scared" Friday morning because the flow of customers in the store was much less than last year.

"Later in the day it began to pick up," said Schwartz, who has worked at Guess for five years.

A new Newsday poll showed that one-quarter of Long Islanders and 28 percent of Queens residents expect to spend less on holiday gifts this year - the highest percentages since the poll started in 1997. Retailers are bracing for what could be the slowest holiday season in a decade, thanks to the slowing economy, layoffs and terrorist attacks.

But if people were spending less, it was news to Jeri Knobloch, a sales associate at the Oneida silver- and cookware store at Tanger. "People are no more budget conscious than usual," she said, fielding questions from a swelling line of customers. "Traffic for this week has really picked up."

The National Retail Federation predicts total holiday retail sales, excluding restaurant and auto sales, will rise 2.5 percent to 3 percent, to around billion. That would make it the worst retail performance since 1990, when sales were basically unchanged. Last holiday sales were up 3.9 percent from 1999.

Discounters rank as consumers' first holiday shopping destination this year, followed by department stores, neighborhood stores and specialty stores, according to the Kurt Salmon Associates random survey of 1,000 consumers.

Amy Goldsheid, store manager at Target in Westbury, also said that her store's sales were up more than usual. "We are always busy on the day after Thanksgiving," she said. "But we have been busier today because more people have become more cost conscious in this economy."

Less well trafficked was the nearby PC Richard & Son electronics and appliance store in downtown Riverhead.

Managers Rick Hayes and Chris Bellino said business had picked up dramatically since Sept. 11, was "extremely busy" on Tuesday, and that consumers have not been skittish about buying more expensive electronic toys.

"We're selling a ton of high-definition TVs," said Hayes, noting the average set costs ,000 to ,000.

Bellino said the store already had sold out of its allotment of Xbox video game sets from Microsoft. "As fast as it comes in it goes right out the door," he said. "We're not going to let them ruin Christmas," said Bellino of terrorists.

Not every shopper was buying holiday gifts for loved ones. Some, tantalized by the huge sales, came out for themselves.

"It's too much coming here," said Danialle Dumic, a 14-year-old high school student at Elmont Memorial High School at Green Acres Mall. "I came here to shop for myself and my grandmother."

After an early-morning rush of holiday shoppers around parts of Long Island, there were signs it had waned by afternoon. At the Swezey's department store in Patchogue, for instance, only around half the parking lot was full by 2 p.m.

"It seems a little slow this year," said Erica Martin of Medford, who had just begun her shopping rounds at Swezey's. She started her shopping day in a line at the Wal-Mart store in Middle Island, where she reported a pre-opening line of around 400 people, and said a slow economy won't dampen her holiday spending.

TEN QUESTIONS: RICH CUTLER, Owner/manager,MIMS restaurants
Danny Lanzetta. Newsday. (Combined editions).Long Island, N.Y.: Nov 5, 2001. pg. C.03

Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001)

Q: How did you get involved in the restaurant business?

A. I went to college for a short amount of time, and later, I told my father not to waste his money because I knew what I wanted to do with my life. When I was 23, I wandered into MIMS in Syosset and asked for a job and they finally hired me as a busboy. I was taking a big step back from managing clubs, which is what I did after I left school, just so I could get my foot in the door.

Q: So you went from busboy to manager? How did you pull that off?

A. What happened was customers would start to request me and they eventually made me a waiter, and then I became a prep cook so I could learn about the kitchen. When I was 25, my partner was opening a restaurant in Rockville Centre and I borrowed some money from a friend of my father's so I could buy 50 percent of the restaurant. I told my father that one day I was going to manage a restaurant and here I am today.

Q: Tell us a little about your restaurants.

A. They are contemporary American bistros with a neighborhood atmosphere. In addition to the restaurant in Syosset, we've opened a new one in Roslyn.

Q: What is your greatest accomplishment?

A. Building a successful restaurant chain, now that I have two of them, and empowering the people around me to grow. Also, I enjoy giving some nice people jobs.

Q: Do you have a mentor?

A. George Korten, my ex-partner, was a mentor to me. Also, my twin brother started as a prep cook and now he's my partner and he's the biggest inspiration to me...I couldn't have done it without him.

Q: What do you do with your time off?

A. I like to cook at home and I'm an avid snowboarder. Also, I go to New Paltz and go rock climbing and mountain biking with my girlfriend.

Q: What was the last book you read?

A. "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain.

Q: What do people say to you when you tell them your story?

A. I think I'm an inspiration to a lot of people, because I never took no for an answer. People get inspired because they know that things weren't just given to me.

Q: What's next for you?

A. I would like to open another MIMS either in Merrick or the Commack/Dix Hills area.

Q: What advice would you give to someone who wanted to start a restaurant?

A. Don't do it unless you have extensive experience and a passion for the industry.

[Illustration]
Caption: PHOTO - Newsday Photo / Daniel Goodrich Cutler, 37, lives in Bayville.

Some More of Danny Lanzetta's Clips Here you can see some of the clips I've written for Newsday's Business and Technology section.
Authentication Products Help Curb Online Fraud Danny Lanzetta. Newsday. (Combined editions).Long Island, N.Y.: Oct 1, 2001. pg. C.08 Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001) Innovation looks at one emerging company each Monday. Most are closely held and have devised a unique technology, a new level of service or an unusual way of doing business. Safewww Inc. (www.safewww.com) (Headquartered in Uniondale) The Big Idea: An Internet security authentication company offering ID authentication technology designed to protect online businesses and their customers from fraud and identity theft. Founded in 1999 by Israeli Internet security entrepreneurs, Safewww Inc. provides software protection products and services, as well as content encryption technology, for business and personal Internet transactions. The IDshield Authentication product protects against Internet identity theft and fraud. The software secures users' access by requiring knowledge of who the user is - identification - and requiring proof that the user is actually who they say they are - authentication. Additionally, the software offers a purchase verification module, which provides a purchase confirmation feature that verifies that the person using a credit or debit card for an online purchase is the rightful owner of the card. This functionality protects both merchants and consumers from experiencing Internet fraud or incurring bad debt. IDshield links a user's ID and password with a hardware signature from their laptop, PC, PDA (personal digital assistant) or any combination. This hardware signature frees users from the burden of needing to remember or carry an additional device. In addition, IDshield authenticates using a two-factor authentication procedure utilizing something you have (a computer) and something you know (user name and password). It creates a digital fingerprint of your computer so if someone steals a client's user name and password and tries to use it from a computer that's not the client's computer, the system will then notify the hacker that authentication has failed via an error message. The company has an extensive suite of management reports that a provider can run to give reports when a user keeps using the wrong password, user name or computer. Safewww has a broad international effort to market its software, with joint ventures in Spain, China and a distributor in Japan. The technology is not offered directly to consumers, but to providers, such as banks and other financial institutions, which offer the product to their customers, giving them a way to securely transact online. The company prices the product to businesses in two ways - by number of users or by number of transactions. In addition to their facilities in Uniondale, the company has a research and development facility in Israel. Top Guns: Kenneth Bob, pictured, is president and chief executive. He became involved with the company when he introduced one of Safewww's founders to New York investors who were interested in putting money into the company. Before joining Safewww, Bob, 49, served as senior vice president of worldwide business and industry for Descartes Systems Group. William Sussman is vice president of business development and Diana Kelly is vice president of security technology. Key Quotes: "The reports on Internet fraud are staggering," said Bob. "The newspapers are reporting incidents every day, ranging from credit card numbers ripped off of Web sites to the Brooklyn busboy who stole peoples' identities. Much of it could be avoided with authentication systems like the ones that we offer." The Next Step: Safewww has recently released IDshield 2.4, a new version of its innovative authentication technology. The new software provides a digital signature application in accordance with the passing of an e-signature law that allows legal documents to be signed online. This new product will allow companies to offer their customers a digital signature facility to sign contracts, such as loans and mortgages, online. [Illustration] Caption: Photo - Kenneth Bob Decking the Halls Decking the Office Halls / Kimco Realty Corp. prizes its holiday decorating contest:[ALL EDITIONS] Danny Lanzetta. STAFF WRITER. Newsday. (Combined editions).Long Island, N.Y.: Dec 19, 2001. pg. A.44 Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001) Houses are ablaze with lights, snowmen are planted on front lawns, Santa Claus is standing around on streets, menorahs are lit and holiday decor is spilling out almost everywhere. At one area company, the holiday spirit and decorating has a competitive edge. Kimco Reality Corp., the New Hyde Park-based owner and operator of neighborhood and community shopping centers, held its annual holiday decorations contest, in which most of its 200 employees decorate their cubicles and office. This year's individual winner, Kathleen Fegan, a rent administrator, may have been a shoe-in to win. "Kathy won last year, too," said Kathleen Maloney, one of the judges. "She's really in the wrong profession. She built this gingerbread house [made of brown cardboard] around her cubicle that you can actually walk into with candy taped to all the walls. It was amazing." Fegan giggles as she recalls the time she has put into it. "I had this gingerbread house idea in August, and then Sept. 11th came around and I thought about not doing it," she said. "Finally, I decided to do it and completed the whole thing on my own personal time, with help from my friend, Maria Manado." First prize receives and second prize, , said Scott Onefrey, Kimco vice president of investor relations. "There is also a departmental prize for best decorated department. They get a luncheon." "I didn't do it for the money though; I did it to see everyone's reaction and that was the best prize for me," Fegan said. Fegan works in the winning department, decorating their section of the building in a Christmas shoppers theme. "Each person had a little shop that was related to the holidays," said Toni Calandrino, operations controller for the common area maintenance billing department. The holiday contest officially began after Thanksgiving, according to Onefrey, and ends during judging at the company's holiday party, Dec. 13. Other decorations included the lease abstract department's red, white and blue theme and the financial department's 12 days of Christmas theme. Several people decorated for Chanukah. So, in a time when companies are cutting expenses and looking for ways to combat the economic down-turn, why spend so much time decorating offices during the holidays? "You know, I'm sure everybody knows that our bonuses won't be big this year," Maloney said. "This contest is really very motivating and it gets everyone into the spirit. All the employees work hard all year round, so its nice for them to get a time for recognition and get into the spirit of things." [Illustration] Caption: Newsday Photo / Dick Kraus - Kathleen Fegan in her gingerbread house creation. Halloween Sales Take on Heroic Tone Halloween Sales Take On a Heroic Tone:[NASSAU AND SUFFOLK Edition] Al Carrozza and Danny Lanzetta. STAFF WRITERS. Newsday. (Combined editions).Long Island, N.Y.: Oct 10, 2001. pg. A.49 Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001) Trick or treating this year may have terrorism themes - but with fewer scary villains or ghouls and more kids dressed up as firefighters and police asking for candy. In wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Halloween is taking on a different tone this year, although some parents say that kids still want to enjoy the holiday. Howard Beige, executive vice president of Rubie's Costume Company in Richmond Hill, the nation's largest manufacturer of Halloween costumes, said within a week of the attacks, retailers were feverishly ordering costumes of firefighters, police officers and soldiers. The company has made those costumes for 20 years, but never has seen such demand. "It's thrilling to see that for the first time the superheroes that kids want to emulate today are the real heroes in our world and not the ones that come out of movies and cartoons," said Beige. Wal-Mart stores are taking more firefighter and police costumes "especially in New York and Washington." The discounter also expects traditional costumes like Frankenstein, Batman and Spiderman to compete with new characters like Harry Potter and Shrek, said Wal- Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk. Paul Blum, owner of Abracadabra Superstore in downtown Manhattan said people are asking for other national symbols like the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam. Although patriotic costumes are on the rise, some small businesses, including Blum's, are suffering this year. "Business is really crunched," Blum said, "We're not even doing a third of our regular business." Tony Greco, owner of Lillian Costume Co. of LI Inc. in Mineola said, "The season is starting very slow, the phones are not ringing too much. I don't think people are ready to party at this point." So far, he's selling more cowboy and Disney character costumes than anything else. Phil Piacentini, owner of Hickville's Magic Shop, isn't worried about business. "Halloween happens in the last two weeks of October," he said. "Forty percent of sales happen in the last week." Many families are deciding to go about Halloween as normal. Kim Vasquez of East Patchogue, mother of an 11-year-old son who will don a Spiderman costume, feels kids should go out and have a good time. "If we stay home," she said, "we're giving into the terrorists." Tina Wrigley, sales consultant of costume shop Melodee II in Seaford, speaking of her own family and others said, "Halloween is for the children. You can't tell them there's no Halloween this year." But how do the children feel about all of this? Eleven-year-old Kevin Harrington of Holbrook, who plans to dress up as Robin Hood, had advice to give. "Don't think about terrorists, just think of having fun. That's all that counts. That's why Halloween was invented." [Illustration] Caption: Newsday Photo/Dick Yarwood - Tony Greco of Lillian Costume Co.			Malls Full of Shoppers Mark Harrington, Tania Padgett and Danny Lanzetta. STAFF WRITER. Newsday. (Combined editions).Long Island, N.Y.: Nov 24, 2001. pg. A.04 Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001) Shoppers stepped out Friday, lured by bargains and hot toys at malls and discounters across Long Island. The swell of consumers that jammed parking lots and filled stores helped dispel some retailer fears about lower-than-expected sales for that day. Still, the sluggish economy and specter of Sept. 11 affected shopping, some retailers said. On Friday, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani made a pitch for shoppers to fill retailers' cash registers during the holiday weekend at Barneys in Manhattan. The mayor even bought himself an striped necktie. The crowd of shoppers at Roosevelt Field mall in Westbury helped push sales higher than usual at J.C. Penney's, which stepped up its giveaways and sales, said James Skopkowski, the store manager. "We were pleasantly surprised," Skopkowski said. "As of 11:30 a.m., our sales [were] up much more than expected." He had been worried about the store's business after the terrorist attacks pinched sales in September. But the better-than-expected turnout Friday gave him hope for the important holiday season. Eleanor Malone of Woodhaven went to Bloomingdales, Macy's and Eddie Bauer, all in Roosevelt Field, looking for gifts for her two grown children. "I had my list and I put a good dent in it today. ... I think I'm buying as much as I did last year." Special discounts for early shoppers led to overflow crowds at the Tanger Outlet mall in Riverhead. By 11 a.m., lines of cars had spilled beyond the mall's two main entrances, and two massive parking lots were completely full. Shoppers resorted to double parking near the loading docks behind the stores. Spaces that opened up in the mall lots often had three or four anxious drivers waiting to fill them. Lines formed outside stores. At the Tommy Hilfiger outlet at Tanger mall, Carryn Bowell stood waiting in a line of a dozen people just to get inside the designer clothing shop. A security guard drawing on a cigarette allowed in groups of shoppers like a bouncer at a New York club. "It's the first time I've ever seen this," said Bowell, a resident of Stratford-Upon- Avon, in Britain, who travels to the United States three times a year to shop. She stays at an aunt's house in Huntington. Prices in the United States, she said, are cheaper. "I don't have a budget." Among the early risers was Maria Villaplana, a resident of Paterson, N.J., who along with family and friends arrived at Tanger at 6 a.m. By mid-morning, Villaplana's group, which included two friends from El Salvador, were seen stuffing their car with "well over" in merchandise. Asked if economic issues impacted her plans, she said, "Uh-uh. We don't pay attention to that too much." Economic concerns definitely cut the spending plans of Anthony Flores, who waited on a bench at Tanger for his wife and daughter. "I'm very cautious about what we buy," said Flores, a New York City resident, who plans to cut holiday spending by around 40 percent. He also intends to reduce the number of people on his shopping list, he said, to "just family members." Amy Schwartz, a full-time salesperson at Guess in Roosevelt Field, said she actually got "scared" Friday morning because the flow of customers in the store was much less than last year. "Later in the day it began to pick up," said Schwartz, who has worked at Guess for five years. A new Newsday poll showed that one-quarter of Long Islanders and 28 percent of Queens residents expect to spend less on holiday gifts this year - the highest percentages since the poll started in 1997. Retailers are bracing for what could be the slowest holiday season in a decade, thanks to the slowing economy, layoffs and terrorist attacks. But if people were spending less, it was news to Jeri Knobloch, a sales associate at the Oneida silver- and cookware store at Tanger. "People are no more budget conscious than usual," she said, fielding questions from a swelling line of customers. "Traffic for this week has really picked up." The National Retail Federation predicts total holiday retail sales, excluding restaurant and auto sales, will rise 2.5 percent to 3 percent, to around billion. That would make it the worst retail performance since 1990, when sales were basically unchanged. Last holiday sales were up 3.9 percent from 1999. Discounters rank as consumers' first holiday shopping destination this year, followed by department stores, neighborhood stores and specialty stores, according to the Kurt Salmon Associates random survey of 1,000 consumers. Amy Goldsheid, store manager at Target in Westbury, also said that her store's sales were up more than usual. "We are always busy on the day after Thanksgiving," she said. "But we have been busier today because more people have become more cost conscious in this economy." Less well trafficked was the nearby PC Richard & Son electronics and appliance store in downtown Riverhead. Managers Rick Hayes and Chris Bellino said business had picked up dramatically since Sept. 11, was "extremely busy" on Tuesday, and that consumers have not been skittish about buying more expensive electronic toys. "We're selling a ton of high-definition TVs," said Hayes, noting the average set costs ,000 to ,000. Bellino said the store already had sold out of its allotment of Xbox video game sets from Microsoft. "As fast as it comes in it goes right out the door," he said. "We're not going to let them ruin Christmas," said Bellino of terrorists. Not every shopper was buying holiday gifts for loved ones. Some, tantalized by the huge sales, came out for themselves. "It's too much coming here," said Danialle Dumic, a 14-year-old high school student at Elmont Memorial High School at Green Acres Mall. "I came here to shop for myself and my grandmother." After an early-morning rush of holiday shoppers around parts of Long Island, there were signs it had waned by afternoon. At the Swezey's department store in Patchogue, for instance, only around half the parking lot was full by 2 p.m. "It seems a little slow this year," said Erica Martin of Medford, who had just begun her shopping rounds at Swezey's. She started her shopping day in a line at the Wal-Mart store in Middle Island, where she reported a pre-opening line of around 400 people, and said a slow economy won't dampen her holiday spending. TEN QUESTIONS: RICH CUTLER, Owner/manager,MIMS restaurants Danny Lanzetta. Newsday. (Combined editions).Long Island, N.Y.: Nov 5, 2001. pg. C.03 Copyright Newsday Inc., 2001) Q: How did you get involved in the restaurant business? A. I went to college for a short amount of time, and later, I told my father not to waste his money because I knew what I wanted to do with my life. When I was 23, I wandered into MIMS in Syosset and asked for a job and they finally hired me as a busboy. I was taking a big step back from managing clubs, which is what I did after I left school, just so I could get my foot in the door. Q: So you went from busboy to manager? How did you pull that off? A. What happened was customers would start to request me and they eventually made me a waiter, and then I became a prep cook so I could learn about the kitchen. When I was 25, my partner was opening a restaurant in Rockville Centre and I borrowed some money from a friend of my father's so I could buy 50 percent of the restaurant. I told my father that one day I was going to manage a restaurant and here I am today. Q: Tell us a little about your restaurants. A. They are contemporary American bistros with a neighborhood atmosphere. In addition to the restaurant in Syosset, we've opened a new one in Roslyn. Q: What is your greatest accomplishment? A. Building a successful restaurant chain, now that I have two of them, and empowering the people around me to grow. Also, I enjoy giving some nice people jobs. Q: Do you have a mentor? A. George Korten, my ex-partner, was a mentor to me. Also, my twin brother started as a prep cook and now he's my partner and he's the biggest inspiration to me...I couldn't have done it without him. Q: What do you do with your time off? A. I like to cook at home and I'm an avid snowboarder. Also, I go to New Paltz and go rock climbing and mountain biking with my girlfriend. Q: What was the last book you read? A. "Kitchen Confidential" by Anthony Bourdain. Q: What do people say to you when you tell them your story? A. I think I'm an inspiration to a lot of people, because I never took no for an answer. People get inspired because they know that things weren't just given to me. Q: What's next for you? A. I would like to open another MIMS either in Merrick or the Commack/Dix Hills area. Q: What advice would you give to someone who wanted to start a restaurant? A. Don't do it unless you have extensive experience and a passion for the industry. [Illustration] Caption: PHOTO - Newsday Photo / Daniel Goodrich Cutler, 37, lives in Bayville.