Oct. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Nripata Ray, manager of Wall Street Caterers in New York's financial district, says business hasn't been this bad since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

``We are watching what's going to happen next and we can do nothing,'' said Ray, whose customers included Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., now bankrupt, and American International Group Inc., which had to be bailed out by the government. He may have to get rid of some of his 16 employees, Ray says.

The collateral damage from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression is spreading in New York, slashing business from caterers to limo services to stationers.

``For those that had a strong share of their business coming from Wall Street, they're going to be vulnerable to the contraction,'' said Doug Turetsky, a spokesman for New York's Independent Budget Office, a city government fiscal monitor.

The city may lose as many as 165,000 jobs in the private sector over two years, including 35,000 in the financial industry, Comptroller William Thompson said last week. The projected job losses were 80,000 more than Thompson's last budget report in July.

The securities industry accounts for 5 percent of jobs in the city and 23 percent of all compensation.

Resumes Soar, Offers Plunge

Headhunter John Warren, president of New York's A-List Associates Inc., said the number of resumes he gets daily has tripled to 150, and job offers have dropped 60 percent. About 90 percent of his customers are from Wall Street, he said.

``It's a lot tougher,'' Warren said. ``People take anything right now.''

Club Quarters, a New York membership hotel on William Street in the financial district, had 20 to 30 rooms available in the past few weeks, compared with the usual four it has around this time of year, said Anisul Islam, a guest services manager.

``Some of our guests specifically called and said `I'm not going to come because I lost my job,''' he said.

LimoRes.net, a Web site that books car services through a network of 7,000 limousine services worldwide, has seen a 50 percent surge in cancellations, said Chief Executive Officer Alex Mashinsky. Business in New York from financial services companies fell by more than 25 percent in the past few months, he said.

Buying as Needed

Clients in recent weeks have narrowed the hours in which cars can be hired, Mashinsky said.

``Before things got worse, employees were allowed to take a car after 6 p.m.,'' he said. ``Now we see a trend to 8 p.m. or even 9 p.m.''

The falloff is especially noticeable at hedge funds and private equity firms, he said. ``The only business customers that are still strong are bankruptcy lawyers,'' Mashinsky said.

Businesses are buying as needed rather than planning a week or two in advance, said Bob Novatt, vice president of Jason Office Products on West 31st Street.

``Business is terrible,'' he said. ``They don't buy fine pens. They buy the staple items they need to run their business.''

Matan Feldman, CEO of the financial training company Wall Street Prep, says banks, hedge funds and private equity firms are signaling a slowdown in their 2009 spending. He expects ``more aggressive negotiations'' with clients, he said.

Linen for Silk

Cipriani, a New York catering and events company that gets about 15 percent of its business from banks, is finding that more people are opting for linen tablecloths over the more-expensive silk ones, said spokeswoman Stefania Girombelli.

Au Bon Pain, a Boston-based chain of cafes with Wall Street clients, has trained its call center staff how to respond when customers ask for ways to save money on catered food. Swapping soup for a more expensive meal to maintain a ``hot-food environment'' is one of the suggestions, said Randy Garden, vice president of catering.

Karla Heydorn, account manager at The Coffee Connection in Sewaren, New Jersey, says her business may make it through the slump without much pain.

While her customers, who include financial-services firms, are buying fewer cups and napkins, they haven't given up their morning java, she said.

``Coffee's like alcohol, she said. ``We're in a good business.''

To contact the reporters on this story: Amy Eagleburger in New York at aeagleburger@bloomberg.net; Philipp Schlaeger in New York at pschlaeger@bloomberg.net; Silvia Cernea in New York at scernea@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 20, 2008 00:01 EDT