Mr. Hedges said he was not aware of such complaints from any other employees.

Mr. Hedges said that he knew of at least three hedge funds that had set up such units in the last 90 days.

"Maybe one of his advisers will interpret it for him," Mr. Hedges said.

Mr. Hedge said he was confident that with design work nearly done, construction could get under way by next year at the latest.

Mr. Hedge said he hoped to "keep something happening at the theater," but not if it is going to result in problems like that.

"We don't go in and try to raid other states," Mr. Hedges said.

"Brooklyn is a great community for writers," Mr. Hedges said.

"We had two choices," said Mr. Hedge, who is now chairman of the theater's board.

"Very few soft drinks have tried to talk to adults," Mr. Hedge said.

Mr. Hedges said today that the explanation was "hard for me to believe."