Daily News from New York, New York • 190

QUOTE OF THE DAY We wanted this sign to be an Icon for the entire financial services sector. Thomas Nelson A Morgan Stanley principal OD ftCo (Mm 1 its Merchants cite Pathmark in E. Harlem credit chill By S0N1A REYES 3 IIIB1HH CUWENCC DAVIS DAILY NEWS EX-BRA V0 market owner Efrain Olavarria closed his Third Ave. store in May. refused to extend him credit "When Pathmark won their first approval in April, the manufacturer told me they wouldn't extend credit because they were not sure I could pay back," says Luna, who has owned the store for 14 years and wanted to buy new cash registers and meat and dairy cases.

He refused to name the company because he hopes to convince it to reverse the decision. Other area merchants say they are seeing their credit lines for supplies shrink. Dennis Estevez, whose family owns two Bravo supermarkets one on Lenox Ave. and 124th St and another at Third Ave. and 110th St says his store's credit was recently" cut to one week from four by White Rose and Krasdale, two grocery suppliers.

Officials for both companies were unavailable for comment But some observers challenge the legitimacy of the storeowners say the current situation is a reg- Daly News Business Writer Independent supermarket owners in East Harlem say they are having difficulty getting credit for supplies, refinancing loans and expanding their businesses with the prospect that a Pathmark superstore may open in the area. Owners of Bravo, Key Food, Associated and C-Town markets in East Harlem say that wholesalers of produce, meat and dairy products as well as contractors and suppliers are becoming extremely wary of doing business with them. These vendors are worried that stores won't be able to pay their bills or may close with the possible arrival of Pathmark, the merchants say. Ruben Luna, who owns a Key Food on Madison Ave. at 114th St, says he -has been unable to remodel his store because a manufacturer of supermarket equipment has ular part of doing business since wholesalers provide large credit lines to merchants and often seek to control what stores owe them.

Besides, they point out, the Path-mark must still pass muster with May- or Giuliani and will take two years to build, if approved. "These merchants have problems, but Pathmark has nothing to do with it" says Henry Calderon, chairman of the East Harlem Chamber of Commerce, which supports the superstore. The $12 million Pathmark project cleared a big hurdle in April, when the 1 Manhattan Borough Board voted to allow the East Harlem Triangle Abyssinian the project's developer, to buy a vacant city-owned lot at 125th St and lease it to Pathmark. vNow the mayor must approve the deal, but he faces intense pressure from local merchants and residents opposed to the store. Many of the supermarket owners worry that they would have to close and point to Efrain Olavarria as evidence that the Pathmark would hurt the area.

Olavarria says he closed his" Bravo supermarket on 120th St and Third Ave. in May after after General Trading a wholesaler, backed out of a refinancing deal. The company says its decision was based on the possible arrival of a Pathmark. "Now 21 people are out of work," says Olavarria. "I have four kids and no job." Suppliers concede the Pathmark project has them worried that other businesses will fail.

"We're watching credit lines, especially now that Path-" mark might go in," says Tony Frazier, president of Porky Products, a meat wholesaler. i 00 $1 mam Motorola DPC-550 Flip Phone DDOdDDD i )) jj jjj SSI V. if Order by Phone Next Day Delivery to your home or office Save $50 No Activation Fee in UJ By TOM LOWRY Daily News Business Writer Wall Street firms are hardly known for their pizzazz, but Morgan Stanley one of Times Square's newest property owners is shedding its conservative, button-down image by turning up the lights on Broadway. The iqvestment bank is adorning the front of its new headquarters at 1585 Broadway, at 47th St, with a multi-million-dollar, computer-controlled sign, featuring flashing video boards, three 110-foot-long tickers and cylindrical world maps, cantilevered, black-mirrored, blue neon-trimmed fins showcasing the 41-story building's address. Nondescript it's not After weeks of testing, the sign will go into operation next month when Morgan Stanley moves 4,000 employes into the building.

As out of character as the sign is for a Wall Street firm, don't be fooled. Morgan Stanley is cutting loose with the flashy sign because it has to. A zoning law for Times Square properties re monxur ture to Broadway's honky-tonk beaming news and stock prices from the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange. "We really tried to push the envelope," said Thomas Nelson, a Morgan Stanley principal. "We wanted this sign to be an icon for the entire finan- cial services sector." To do that, Morgan enlisted Artkraft Strauss, the 98-year-old display firm responsible for designing and building most of the flashy signs in Times Square.

"Morgan Stanley has created more than a sign. They have taken their building and converted it into an information device," said Tama Starr, pres- ident of Artkraft Strauss. In addition to the tickers, the sign will include two 40-by-60-foot progra-mable color display boards, two backlighted maps of Morgan Stanley's international office locations and the time in each of those cities. The company logo will anchor each of the maps. "We've really decided to take a tremendous leap with this," Nelson said.

"We hope New York enjoys it" For Next Day Delivery to your home or office call 1-800-CELL-USA Operators available 7 days a week. in co CellulcrU A Where One Phone Call Does It AH. 58-18 37TH AVENUE, QUEENS, NY forMOrtclaaHomaJr 12-Month srrrice contact nynirtj HjnlMj senictraleofS99off 10 Km includes 10 Jree mmtitef ofar lime per mlh Subject to aeiil apfmai Security defnsil mm required Same restmlum apfiy quires large signage on buildings. So the company decided it would go all out and bring some Wall Street cul- i.