Metropolitan Diary: New Friends Upstairs

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New Friends Upstairs

Dear Diary:
When we first moved to New York 11 years ago, it was into a lovely, and affordable, duplex in Fort Greene.
One evening after we had lived there for a few months, we found a bottle of wine by the door with a note that said, “Sorry for the noise. Enjoy the wine! Your new neighbors from upstairs.”
We didn’t realize someone had moved in, but we loved the gesture and decided we had to share the bottle.
We went upstairs, knocked on the door and met a lovely young couple. She was studying for a master’s degree in psychology and he was an illustrator for magazines. They accepted our invitation to join us downstairs.

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I only had peanuts to offer as a snack, and I placed a large bowl on the coffee table in front of them. I noticed they didn’t touch it the whole evening.

About a year later they moved to another part of Brooklyn, to a larger place where they could start and raise ..

White Collar Watch: Why Elizabeth Warren’s Effort to Hold Bank Executives Accountable May Fall Short

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Supported by Why Elizabeth Warren’s Effort to Hold Bank Executives Accountable May Fall Short Photo Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, introduced the “Ending Too Big To Jail Act” last month. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times A persistent complaint about the government’s response to the financial crisis has been that the executives who helped push the economy to the brink were not charged with crimes.
Prosecutors have not been able to prosecute managers with the usual tools for pursuing white-collar cases, like wire fraud or false statements, because defenses of ignorance or good faith could not be overcome.
One way to remedy that problem would be to lower the level of intent needed to establish a violation. Doing so might make it easier to hold an executive who is not part of day-to-day decisions responsible for wrongdoing.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, is the latest official to try to change the calculus for holding executives accounta..

Spotify’s Wall Street Debut Is a Success

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Supported by Media Spotify’s Wall Street Debut Is a Success Photo The music streaming service Spotify was valued at $26.5 billion at the close of its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday. Credit Spencer Platt/Getty Images Spotify is a hit.
On its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the music streaming service finished with a valuation of $26.5 billion. The share price closed at $149.01, giving Spotify a market value similar to that of companies like M&T Bank and General Mills.
For the music business, Spotify’s listing on the Big Board symbolized the ascent of streaming as the new dominant format. It also represented some rare good news for an industry deeply affected by technological change. Buoyed by subscriptions from services like Spotify and Apple Music, record labels have begun to have significant revenue growth for the first time in nearly two decades, drawing attention from investors.
“There’s a healthy appetite among public market in..

Janka Nabay, 54, Dies; Carried an African Dance Music Worldwide

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Janka Nabay, 54, Dies; Carried an African Dance Music Worldwide Photo Janka Nabay performed in 2017 at a music festival in Rennes, in northwest France. He modernized bubu, a traditional musical style from his native Sierra Leone. Credit Loic Venance/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Janka Nabay, a singer, songwriter and bandleader from Sierra Leone who modernized an ancient tradition called bubu and carried it worldwide, died on Monday in the Kambia District in northern Sierra Leone. He was 54.
His American record company, Luaka Bop, said the cause was a stomach illness that had not been diagnosed.
During the 1990s, Mr. Nabay took the speedy beat of music that had been heard for centuries in parades and celebrations and transferred it to Western instruments. His songs became hits as civil war tore Sierra Leone apart and were claimed by both sides, although his music increasingly held direct antiwar messages.
Mr. Nabay emigrated from Sierra Leone in 2002. Living in New York City, he s..

Morgan Stanley Fires Broker With History of Abuse Claims

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Supported by Business Day Morgan Stanley Fires Broker With History of Abuse Claims Photo A mug shot of Douglas E. Greenberg, one of the top earners in Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division, from 2014. Credit Clackamas County Sheriff's Office Morgan Stanley said Tuesday that it had fired a star financial adviser who has been accused by multiple former wives and girlfriends of physical abuse and stalking.
The New York Times reported last week that Morgan Stanley executives for years had known about the allegations against the financial adviser, Douglas E. Greenberg. The Wall Street firm placed Mr. Greenberg, who worked in Portland, Ore., on administrative leave last week after being contacted by The Times.
In a statement on Tuesday, a Morgan Stanley spokeswoman said the bank needed to “do better” at handling such employee misconduct issues.
“We believe that our employees should behave in a manner consistent with our firm’s values and the trust our clients place in us, bot..

YouTube Shooting: Police Believe Female Suspect Killed by Self-Inflicted Wound

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Supported by Business Day Police Believe Female Suspect in YouTube Shooting Killed by Self-Inflicted Wound Photo Police in San Bruno, Calif., responding to reports of an active shooter near YouTube’s headquarters on Tuesday. Credit Reuters Police descended on the headquarters of YouTube on Tuesday afternoon after reports of an active shooter at the building in San Bruno, Calif.
Images of the scene and accounts of the terrifying moments experienced by those inside immediately began spreading online. Authorities said they believed a female shooter had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. At least four others were injured.
Read the latest updates in our live briefing »
What we know happened at YouTube’s headquarters• The police who searched the building discovered the body of a female who they believe to be the shooter. She had apparently killed herself, according to Ed Barberini, chief of the San Bruno Police Department. He said there was no information to indicate there was anot..