NY Observer > John Whitehead http://www.observer.com/taxonomy/term/25077/feed Articles from Observer.com en Putting on the Spitz: Eliot's Brain Trust http://www.observer.com/node/52515 When State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sat down to breakfast with storied financial consultant Fe  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/52515#comments Felix Rohatyn Harry Siegel John Whitehead Robert Yaro Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Jason Horowitz 52515 at http://www.observer.com Putting on the Spitz: Eliot’s Brain Trust http://www.observer.com/node/39230 When State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sat down to breakfast with storied financial consultant Fe  read more »]]> http://www.observer.com/node/39230#comments Felix Rohatyn Harry Siegel John Whitehead Robert Yaro Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400 Jason Horowitz 39230 at http://www.observer.com Spitzer v. Whitehead, II http://www.observer.com/node/35009 Remember the Eliot Spitzer-John Whitehead pissing match that was all that was all over the New York Post just three months ago? Spitzer apparently apologized (sort of), at least to the businessmen who gathered in Felix Rohatyn's living room. In this week's Observer, Jason Horowitz relates the conversation:
"There was this big controversy with John Whitehead. He took it, he explained it, tried to explain," said Mr. Rohatyn, adding, "He understood that he'd made a mistake and we went on."
-Matthew Schuerman]]> http://www.observer.com/node/35009#comments Real Estate Felix Rohatyn Jason Horowitz John Whitehead Wed, 02 Aug 2006 10:18:51 -0400 Observer Staff 35009 at http://www.observer.com Whitehead: "More Advanced Age to Enjoy" http://www.observer.com/node/34721 The 84-year-old John Whitehead, a World War II veteran and former Goldman Sachs head, resigned as chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation.

"Four-and-a-half years is a long time for a supposedly retired person of advanced age and I hope to have more advanced age to enjoy," he said at a meeting this morning.

The Governor and Mayor will choose his successor at the L.M.D.C. At the foundation, The Times said this morning that Thomas Johnson, now chairman of the executive committee who already took over many administrative duties, would succeed him. Foundation spokeswoman Lynn Rasic would not confirm that, saying that the full foundation board would vote on the new chairman at the next board meeting, scheduled for July. -Matthew Schuerman]]> http://www.observer.com/node/34721#comments Real Estate Goldman Sachs Group Inc. John Whitehead Lower Manhattan Development Corporation World Trade Center Memorial Foundation Thu, 11 May 2006 11:42:05 -0400 Observer Staff 34721 at http://www.observer.com O'Donnell and Whitehead, Cont'd http://www.observer.com/node/28447
I still don't have a clear explanation as to why Spitzer foe John Whitehead gave $10,000 to a Democrat, Denise O'Donnell, promising to "make sure that we continue the Elliot Spitzer tradition of strong, professional and non-political leadership in the Attorney General's office."

But O'Donnell's campaign manager (and son) Jack offered a partial explanation. The two were introduced, he said, by fund-raiser Robin Duke. They actually "argued" about Spitzer, with O'Donnell defending him

"She said that just because things were tolerated for years doesn't mean they aren't crimes," he said. Then Whitehead amiably promised a check; the campaign was surprised by the $5,000 sum, and then by another, unsolicited $5,000 from Whitehead that floated in several weeks later.
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/28447#comments Politics Denise O'Donnell Eliot Spitzer John Whitehead Fri, 20 Jan 2006 05:51:00 -0500 Observer Staff 28447 at http://www.observer.com Re-enter Gehry http://www.observer.com/node/34084
The ultimate beneficiary of Governor Pataki’s $80 million gesture to Ground Zero seems to be Frank Gehry’s performing arts center, which had been put on the back burner because of its enormous price tag (rumored at more than $400 million).

John Whitehead, the chairman of both the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, said today, “The foundation will continue its capital campaign to raise $500 million. The excess of that will go to the performing arts center. And now the governor has announced that he will pay the cost of the Snohetta building, which would have had to come out of our total.”

Previously, it was awfully vague just how much the Gehry building would have received of the $800 million that the memorial foundation hopes to raise from private sources and the L.M.D.C. Presumably, after the memorial, memorial museum, the Snohetta, and an operating endowment, not a whole lot. Instead, the performing arts center was to be left to “a second phase” (a.k.a. never).

So was Pataki’s announcement today a mea culpa for nixing the International Freedom Center? Or was it a challenge to Mayor Bloomberg to contribute some dough from the city treasury?

-Matthew Schuerman
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/34084#comments Real Estate Frank Gehry John Whitehead Manhattan World Trade Center Tue, 10 Jan 2006 15:04:00 -0500 Observer Staff 34084 at http://www.observer.com Whitehead's Motives http://www.observer.com/node/28323
Over on The Observer's Real Estate site Matt Schuerman picked up a little dissonance in John Whitehead's account of being threatened last spring by Eliot Spitzer.

Whitehead's explosive Wall Street Journal piece was, Whitehead writes in the piece, occasioned by "rumors in the media" about his confrontation with Spitzer. Problem is, we can't find any such rumors in print.

Of course, this is quibbling. There's nothing particularly dishonorable in what has to be presumed the actual motive behind Whitehead's timing: weakening his enemy at an important point in the electoral cycle.
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/28323#comments Politics Eliot Spitzer John Whitehead Matt Schuerman The Wall Street Journal Tue, 03 Jan 2006 04:49:00 -0500 Observer Staff 28323 at http://www.observer.com All in the Timing http://www.observer.com/node/34028
What’s odd about state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer’s alleged threat to former Goldman Sachs Co-Chairman John Whitehead (“You will pay dearly for what you have done”) is how it ever came into the public eye. Whitehead wrote an op-ed in April denouncing Spitzer’s public prosecution of A.I.G. chief Hank Greenberg. Then the alleged threatening phone conversation took place. Eight months later, after Spitzer conceded his case against Greenberg was too weak to warrant criminal charges, and once rival Democrat Tom Suozzi emerged as Wall Street’s candidate of choice in next year’s gubernatorial election, Whitehead tells all. The justification of going public, Whitehead writes, is that “there have been rumors in the media as to what happened next.”

These “rumors” appear to be a single question in a December 19 interview on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” in which Maria Bartiromo asked Greenberg to confirm rumors whether Spitzer called Whitehead to say that “basically, he was upset that he wrote the op-ed supporting you.” Greenberg said he had heard that also but wouldn’t elaborate.

But the Money Honey’s question was just as tame as earlier renditions of the phone call—so why did Whitehead speak now? The New York Times mentioned in a May 6 report that the Attorney General and Whitehead had a “frank discussion” after the column ran. And in an August 8 column in The New York Sun, Brian McGuire wrote that Spitzer “is said to have responded hotly." Spitzer’s spokesman was quoted as saying that his boss called Whitehead merely to ask where he had gotten his information.

Whitehead is now the chairman of both the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. The largest grant to the foundation announced so far--$25 million--came from the Starr Foundation, which Greenberg controls.

We have a call in to Whitehead's office in case he can elaborate. Meanwhile, The New York Post reports that Republicans have joined the pile-on against Spitzer. -Matthew Schuerman
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/34028#comments Real Estate CNBC Inc. Eliot Spitzer Hank Greenberg John Whitehead Wed, 28 Dec 2005 10:57:00 -0500 Observer Staff 34028 at http://www.observer.com Melville Tricksters http://www.observer.com/node/27866
The Newsday photo desk is developing a reputation for its sense of humor.

Not long ago, the paper's images suggested that the eminent banker John Whitehead was running for an East New York City Council seat.

And today, next to this story on page four, they seem to have gotten Margarita Lopez mixed up with Margarita Lopez Torres. Understandable confusion...particularly if you're in Melville.
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/27866#comments Politics East New York City Council John Whitehead Tue, 18 Oct 2005 11:50:00 -0400 Observer Staff 27866 at http://www.observer.com Post Mortems http://www.observer.com/node/33888
The Mayor adds:

“Although I understand Governor Pataki’s decision, I am disappointed that we were not able to find a way to reconcile the freedoms we hold so dear with the sanctity of the site.”

We are left wondering how it is that the Mayor considers the decision to be the Governor's alone--or rather, we don't really wonder, the Mayor's role in downtown planning was always advisory at best. But it is worth pointing out that just last week, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation announced three meeeting to be held this week for public input.

"Through these efforts we continue our open, public process," LMDC John Whitehead said in the press release.

The press release continues: "The LMDC Board will use the public comments and feedback gathered through this public process to inform their discussions and determine how to proceed."

The Mayor and Governor once had eight appointees each to the LMDC board, but over time, they failed to fill vacancies as they were created, and right now the Mayor is down to four, while the Governor has six. So even if the Mayor wanted to see the issue through another bloody week, and wanted an open vote when the LMDC next met Oct. 6, he would be outvoted. Of course, given the Mayor's comments yesterday, perhaps the Freedom Center felt outgunned anyway.

Meanwhile, The New York Post, which has been championing the center's opponents, is the only major city daily not to have the story on its web site, since it uses only AP national feeds. But we expect there may be something in the paper tomorrow.
]]> http://www.observer.com/node/33888#comments Real Estate John Whitehead LMDC Board Lower Manhattan Development Corporation Wed, 28 Sep 2005 14:05:00 -0400 Observer Staff 33888 at http://www.observer.com