Crains New York - July 8, 2013 - (Page 11)
Manhattan beep
issues are debatable
I
f it weren’t for Brooklyn Borough President Marty
Markowitz, there wouldn’t be a Barclays Center or Atlantic Yards.Not only did he prompt Bruce Ratner to undertake the project, he provided unstinting support and
political cover during the years-long struggle to overcome opposition.
If Adolfo Carrión had been Bronx borough president in late
2009, the long-vacant Kingsbridge Armory today would be a
retail center with hundreds of jobs, a
modern supermarket and other outlets. Because the borough president
was Ruben Diaz Jr., who doesn’t like
low-wage retail jobs, the plan was
blocked. Ultimately, the one he
backed—a skating rink with fewer
but higher-paying jobs—advanced.
Borough presidents can make a
difference, which is why on
Wednesday, July 10, Crain’s will
sponsor a debate among the four
candidates for Manhattan borough
president that will focus on important business and economic issues.
You can still register by clicking on
“events” at crainsnewyork.com.
The Manhattan borough president’s race is different from the contests in other boroughs, which tend
to be fights among the various factions of political insiders,and attracts
more interest. It historically has been
seen as a stepping-stone to a mayoral
run—successful for David Dinkins,
GREG DAVID
unsuccessful for Ruth Messinger and
helpful,in a way,for incumbent Scott
Stringer.He withdrew from the 2013
mayoral race when he couldn’t get
traction, but is now cruising toward a
victory for city comptroller.The borough president race is up for grabs,
with the only poll made public showing 48% of the voters are undecided.
The four candidates include three
politicians and one community activist. The front-runner is Upper
West Side Councilwoman Gale
Brewer—at least according to a poll
she commissioned.Ms.Brewer is the
sponsor of the paid-sick-leave bill
just enacted, which is anathema to
small business, and a zoning proposal to protect small retailers,which angered the real estate community.
The two other council members
seeking higher office are West
Harlem Councilman Robert Jackson, who chairs the education committee, and Upper East Side Councilwoman Jessica Lappin. A former
community board chairwoman from
lower Manhattan, Julie Menin,
rounds out the field, although she
desperately needs to raise her profile
and basement poll numbers.
As in the other campaign debates, the candidates will be asked
how they will improve the city’s
economy and how they intend to
help—and to regulate—business.
Because of their advisory roles on
zoning decisions and their political
influence,borough presidents tend to
make their biggest impact on development issues. As a result, many of
the questions will focus on whether
they are pro- or anti-development, as
well as where they stand on key controversies: the midtown east rezoning
and landmarking, to name only two.
The unhappiness of the borough’s small businesses will be in the
spotlight with sick leave, plans to
limit tobacco sales and the perennial problems of fines and harassment.
To suggest questions, just email
me at gregdavid49@gmail.com.
NICOLE GLAROS
Patent trolls plague
city’s tech startups
I
have worked with technology startups my entire career,
and I know what entrepreneurs look like. All are tireless
and passionate, and they have the courage to create
something new and start a business.
Collectively, America’s entrepreneurs are rebuilding
our economy. In 2012, the app economy in New York state generated about $2.3 billion in wages. But every day, New York’s
burgeoning tech sector is threatened as entrepreneurs face extortion by patent trolls.
“Patent troll” is the fitting, common name for a “patent assertion
entity.” These are companies that
generally purchase patents solely for
the purpose of extracting money
from other companies. The
patents—particularly for software—are often vague, outdated
and overly broad. For example, one
troll is relying on a patent granted
for a fax machine to demand royalties from developers that offer inapp purchasing options to smartphone users.
When the U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office approves bad
patents, thereby granting so-called
inventors a 20-year monopoly, it’s
an invitation to trolls to make a buck
by taking advantage of the system.
One recent graduate of TechStars, a mentorship-driven startup
accelerator in New York, is an example. The founder did everything
right, including getting funding and
customers and hiring several employees.But he crossed onto a patent
troll’s radar and was sued for patent
infringement because his app presented consumers with data that
were offered by the startup’s business customers (just as eBay and
CarsDirect.com do every day). It is
preposterous that this basic business
activity is patentable, and outrageous that the troll chose to bully a
startup because the settlement payment might be easier to obtain.
Several months later, the startup
is paying lawyers with capital that
otherwise would pay for three more
employees. And legal fees keep
mounting.
By letting patent trolls abuse a
flawed system, we discourage our
best innovators from becoming entrepreneurs, and we discourage investors from financing software
startups. We’re slowing the pace of
innovation and restraining jobs and
economic growth.
Sen. Charles Schumer recently
introduced a bill that would help
startups fight trolls by allowing
more patents to be challenged in a
streamlined Patent and Trademark
Office proceeding, instead of waiting to be dragged into expensive
federal litigation. Mr. Schumer’s bill
will not solve the problem, but it is a
big step in the right direction.
Patent trolls are a tax on innovation, a brake on job creation and
dead weight dragging on Silicon
Alley. I like to think they are called
trolls because they hide under a
bridge that someone else designed
and built, then demand outrageous
tolls when real inventors cross. I am
pleased that Mr. Schumer and
some of his colleagues are standing
up for real innovators, but we need
more leaders and more job creators
to put patent trolls out of the misery business.
Nicole Glaros is a managing director for
TechStars and co-managed TechStars NYC
this spring. She is a board member of the
Application Developers Alliance.
BRAND NEW RETAIL
3 WEST 36TH STREET
3,600 SF Ground
1,500 SF all windowed 2nd flr
1,000 SF Bsmnt
at base of new luxury residential tower
Vented, Ideal Restaurant, any use
Adjacent Setai, Empire State Bldg, Lord & Taylor
Neil Polon · 212-686-5252 · neilempiremgt@hotmail.com
Empire Management
July 8, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 11
http://www.crainsnewyork.com
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events-lawksy
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events-lawksy
http://www.CarsDirect.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - July 8, 2013
Crains New York - July 8, 2013
IN THE MARKETS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
SMALL BUSINESS
INSIDER
REAL ESTATE DEALS
OPINION
GREG DAVID
NICOLE GLAROS
IN THE BOROUGHS
TOURISM REPORT
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR THE RECORD
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS
Crains New York - July 8, 2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130729
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130722
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130715
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130624
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130617
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130527
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130520
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130513
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130429
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130422
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130415
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130325
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130318
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130225
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130218
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130128
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130121
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130114
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121224
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121217
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121203_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121126
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121119
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121029
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120924
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120917
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120910_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120827
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120820
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120813
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120806_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120730
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120723
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120716
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120625
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120618
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120528
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120521
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120514
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/nxtd
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com