Kinney Parking Company

Kinney Parking Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Parking services
Founded	1945
Founder	Manny Kimmel
Headquarters	United States
Area served	New Jersey, United States

Kinney Parking Company was a parking lot business based in New Jersey, established in 1945 by businessman Manny Kimmel. Ownership also included Sigmund Dornbusch and the organized crime figure Abner Zwillman.

History

In 1961, Kinney entered into a strategic alliance with Abbey Rent-A-Car, trading complimentary parking services for a 25% ownership in Abbey. This partnership paved the way for a merger that united Kinney Parking, Abbey Rent-A-Car, Riverside Memorial Chapel, and City Service Cleaning Contractors under the newly formed Kinney Service Corporation, which subsequently became a publicly traded company. By 1964, Kinney Service Corporation reported revenues of $29 million, managed a fleet of 6,000 vehicles, and operated through 100 franchised dealerships across six states. That same year, the company expanded its funeral services by acquiring Walter B. Cooke, Inc., which added nine funeral homes located in New York to its holdings.

Final years and merger with National Cleaning

In 1965, Kinney revealed plans to merge with Terminal Maintenance L.I. Inc., a cleaning company based on Long Island; however, this agreement did not come to fruition. Instead, in 1966, Kinney combined forces with National Cleaning Contractors, Inc., an enterprise founded in 1886 by Louis Frankel, resulting in the creation of Kinney National Company. Under the guidance of CEO Steve Ross, who joined through family connections to Edward Rosenthal, the company aggressively expanded through acquisitions. Ross led Kinney National to broaden its market presence by purchasing key subsidiaries such as National Periodical Publications (the publisher behind DC Comics), the Ashley-Famous talent agency, Panavision, and Warner Bros.-Seven Arts by 1969.

Kinney Services Corporation

Emerging from the merger of Kinney Parking Company, Riverside Memorial, and Kinney System Rent-a-Car, Kinney Services was headed by CEO Steve Ross who took the firm public in 1962. The corporation grew through acquisitions spanning funeral services, cleaning operations, and entertainment industries. Notably, it acquired National Periodical Publications (the forerunner to DC Comics) and Warner Bros.-Seven Arts. By 1971, it divested certain non-media assets and separated remaining non-entertainment holdings into National Kinney Corporation.

Warner Communications

After experiencing a financial scandal related to its parking business, Kinney divested all non-media properties and rebranded itself as Warner Communications in 1972. The company launched a cable television division (which evolved into Time Warner Cable and is now Spectrum) and purchased Atari, though this acquisition led to substantial financial losses. In 1990, Warner Communications merged with Time, Inc, creating the initial version of Time Warner—a predecessor of today’s Warner Bros. Discovery.

National Kinney

National Kinney redirected its focus from parking and building maintenance toward real estate by acquiring the Uris Buildings Corporation. However, it suffered significant setbacks during the 1973–75 recession, including foreclosure on major assets like the Uris Building.

In 1979, National Kinney sought to jointly acquire the Las Vegas Aladdin hotel and casino alongside entertainer Johnny Carson. This venture collapsed amid insider trading controversies connected to stock transactions surrounding the announcement.

By 1982, National Kinney had sold off its National States Electric division and divested its parking subsidiary, Kinney System Inc., transferring ownership to chairman Daniel Katz and other investors. The company rebranded as Andal Corporation in 1985 and disposed of its remaining stake in Kinney System parking operations. Andal subsequently invested in struggling ice cream brands Steve's Ice Cream and Swensen's before eventually selling these businesses and ceasing operations by the late 1990s.