Category Archives: News

New Job Opportunities in New York

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Amazon is building its first fulfillment center in Staten Island, NYC. This warehouse will ultimately be responsible for the provision of 2,250 new jobs, where workers – together with the firm’s robots – will pack and ship orders to the tri-state area.

Given this, the company hosted a job fair on August 2, so that it can fulfill its goal to hire 50,000 new fulfillment employees over the coming months. On that one day alone, the firm received 20,000 applications for the positions which begin at $12 per hour plus benefits.

Barclays Bank is also anticipating job creation in New York.  As a reaction to Brexit, the investment bank is likely to feel the pain with lawyers joining bankers in moving away.  According to Barclays investment bank architect Bob Diamond (based in London), “People are beginning to understand Brexit is going to be far more profound and long-lasting than they thought. I’d be very surprised if support services and legal services don’t move,” which will ultimately be beneficial to New York job seekers.

New York SMEs: Making the Connection

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The City of New York is attempting to assist small business owners, as well as businesses owned by minority groups.  The way they are doing this is through certification.  One example was what happened with black-owned business Dabar Development Partners back in 2009.  Being certified by the city as a “minority-owned business,” the firm’s owner, Dawanna Williams was thenceforth awarded over $100 million in city contracts. This resulted in an increase in steady revenue as well as putting her and the business more in the spotlight, leading to even more business.

Companies can be certified either as a minority or woman owned-business (M/WBE) within the city of New York.  As if that wasn’t positive enough for NYC, it just so happens that women and minority business owners are at the prime time for opening new businesses.  For the first time ever, city agencies are joining together to assist owners of local small businesses by reducing bureaucracy and streamlining the process of opening a business in the city, thanks to the Small Business First plan.

In addition, the Mayor has recognized that facilitating the building of strong, diverse businesses will ultimately support his work and that of the government in the establishment of a stronger city.

Trump Bump NY Tourism

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At one point there was some anticipation in loss of revenue in tourism due to the Presidential election (and the resulting anti-immigrant rhetoric). That has been eliminated and replaced with what people are terming the “Trump Bump” as tourism-related revenues have increased this year compared to the same period in 2016.

Indeed, if you look at the latest report from the U.S. Travel Association’s Travel Trends Index, there was a 6.6 percent growth in international travel to America in April and 5 percent growth in May compared with the same months last year. In addition, STR (hotel tracking industry) ’s senior VP Jan Freitag said that the first five months of 2017 witnessed higher hotel occupancy “than ever before.” And there has been no deceleration in US meetings/events recorded by AMEX Meetings & Events.

New York will, no matter what, always be an icon and a place people from around the world will flock to visit.  Clearly the alleged Trump Trauma has not put a damper on that.

New York Businesses

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Atena (a diversified healthcare company) is to move into New York in the near future.  Rejecting Boston in favor of the Big Apple, in 2018 the company will be making NYC’s 61 Ninth Avenue its new home, relocating 250 employees.  In addition, innovators from the area’s “deep talent pool,” will, according to Mark T. Bertolini, company Chair and CEO, provide for “an invaluable resource as we consider additional investments in the city going forward.”

This will be a fiscally beneficial move since the office of the New York Mayor has stated the company will receive tax breaks worth $24 million from the state over the next 10 years, facilitating the building of its new headquarters in the region.

Atena is not alone in large companies showing their favoritism to New York. Sportswear giant Nike also showed its adoration with its #NewYorkMade campaign, featuring a slew of community collaborations and interventions around NYC.

Summertime Changes in New York

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When the weather starts heating up and the summer months arrive, how does this impact small business owners?  What kind of changes – if any – do businesses implement in the New York area come June?

The feeling is most notably there at Gregorys Coffee.  Owner of the New York coffee place Gregory Zamfotis speaks about the difference in purchase choices between the seasons.  He explained that in the beginning of May he starts to follow the weather forecast and thereafter email his store leaders. Why?  Because according to Zamfotis’ estimation, most of the year, the coffee sold is split 75 percent (hot) and 25 percent (iced).  Come iced-coffee season, the numbers almost completely do a 180 with 65 percent (iced) and 35 percent (hot); changed which can occur literally overnight.  As he explains: “You don’t want to get caught and run out by 9 a.m.,” which is a real possibility since they only use cold-brewed coffee to make their iced coffee – a process which takes 12 hours.  With this “smooth, round and lush” drink that is the result of this long-process, at the peak of the season, Zamfotis believes he sells around 10,000 servings daily!  And there is no way to rush the cold brew process so anticipation of weather changes is crucial.

Penn Station commuters might not be thrilled about the upcoming summer months due to the recent announcement by Amtrak of its summertime service changes (read: reductions) for extensive repairs following the report of derailments and other delays.  It is anticipated that three out of the station’s 21 tracks will be closed (alternately) for around seven weeks come  July. The work was ordered after two recent derailments and numerous other delays. It’ll be the New York commuters most impacted due to the reduction in service between NY/Washington, D.C., (Northeast Regional line) and commuters using the New York/Harrisburg, PA (Keystone service). These will impact commuters from July 10 to September 1, 2017.

In conjunction with IMPACT Melanoma and Bright Guard, NYC Parks is installing 100 sunscreen dispensers in the parks.  As a protective measure, this pilot program will enable sun lovers to protect themselves from the sun’s rays with each dispenser holding 1,000 liters of SPF 30 sunscreen.  Beaches in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island have already received such dispensers.  As IMPACT Melanoma Executive Director Deb Girard said:  “We are thrilled to expand on our highly successful program across the country and continue to offer sunscreen units for public and private distribution throughout the country, NYC is an exciting place for us to bring sunscreen.  We hope sunscreen dispensers will become as commonplace as hand sanitizers over the next few years.”

NY’s Labor Law Policies

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There are currently no laws/regulations in New York that deal with payroll debit cards and how to use them.  According to the NYDOL (New York Department of Labor), when used voluntarily, payroll debit cards are allowed. Last year a rule was established by the NYDOL for supplementary requirements to use direct deposit consent forms as well as payment by payroll debit card – a rule that was meant to become effective last month.

As such, for those employers paying their employees with payroll debit cards, they would not be able to use this for paying salaries without the employee being able to use at least one ATM offering withdrawal with no fees as well as a way of withdrawing the entire salary for each pay period or the remaining balance (without having to pay a fee).

However, a month before it was to become law, it was invalidated and revoked by the New York State Industrial Board of Appeal, reasoning that the NYDOL did not have the authority to take on the rule due to prohibitions and restrictions outside the Labor Code. The rules, argued the Board “go beyond regulation of the employment relationship and into the area of banking law, which is outside respondent’s competence and expertise in the regulation of employment and occupational safety and health.”

Furthermore, employers are not allowed to prevent employees from asking about/discussing their wages with a colleague.  Employers are allowed to restrict employees who have access to salary data of other employees, according to New York Labor Law §194(4).

Contained in a fact sheet provided by the NYDOL, on the matter of regulated speech between employees, it was written that: “[s]uch restrictions may not specifically reference the inquiry, discussion, and disclosure of wages.” Thus employers would be allowed to tell staff members to discuss matters directly related to their job duties during designated work periods, but this cannot be extended to salary discussions.

Moving Manufacturing Back to NYC

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Historically, New York was the place to be when it came to the making of clothing. And given that NYC is still home to one of the world’s most prestigious fashion centers (with the Garment Center at its heart, in Manhattan) wouldn’t it make sense for the garment-making to take place there as well?  Because current figures are suggesting that is not the case.  For example, a Queen’s College Census Data Report found that in 2015, around 23,000 employees over 16 worked making apparel, accessories and finished textile products.  But if you look back to 1950 that figure was 323,669.  By the year 2000 that had dropped to 59,049 but now it’s dropping even more.

Given this, over the last few years, the city of New York has undertaken a variety of initiatives to change the balance. One example of this is the partnership that was formed between the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the NYCEDC (New York’s main City’s main generator for economic development).  Launched in 2013 with $6m, this public-private partnership program was established to bolster local fashion manufacturing and endorse inclusive economic growth throughout the City’s fashion sector which was set up to “support local fashion manufacturing and promote inclusive economic growth.”

And it has done it.  It has given 19 companies grants totaling $1.8 million to pay for technologies that help cut costs and maximize output. Some of the recipients since 2013 have included: Design Incubator, Dye-Namix, Dynotex, New York Embroidery Studio, Oomaru Seisakusho 2, Rainbow Leather, Sunrise Studio, Create-a-Marker, High Production, In Style USA and Martin Greenfield Clothiers.

A New Yorker’s Dedication to CPR Training

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Defibrillator, or AED. Photo courtesy of Fmalvarez.

During an ordinary day in August, 2016, New York businessman Jeff Feig was vacationing with his family in the Pine Lake Park bungalow colony in Cortlandt Manor, New York. Suddenly, with no warning, he collapsed, having suffered a massive heart attack. The chances are high, that if it weren’t for his fellow bungalow colony residents training and presence of mind, Jeff Feig would not have survived.  His wife Michelle & their 3 young sons would have been left to cope with this loss.

But Jeff Feig did survive, and this is why: his neighbors at the colony had training in CPR and the use of what is known as an automated external defibrillator, also called an AED. When Feig collapsed the people around him kept cool and helped him so efficiently that not only did Feig survive, he suffered no damage to his heart or to his brain.

Four people came to his aid: one called an ambulance; another administered mouth-to-mouth ventilation to keep oxygen flowing into his body; a third did chest compressions to keep his heart pumping blood throughout his body; and a fourth ran to get the AED to re-boot Feig’s heart. Ten minutes later the ambulance arrived, a length of time that would have been too late for the brain, which cannot survive lack of oxygen for more than four minutes.

Since that fateful day, Feig, who spent over 25 years in the financial sales and trading industry, has been spending much of his time promoting CPR training and purchasing of AED machines to be placed in public places. What is so amazing about Feig’s rescue from death is that the four laypeople who saved him had just had CPR and AED training only two weeks prior to his heart attack. This fact serves to underscore the urgency that more people from all walks of life are trained in this life-saving procedure.

Pet Ventures in NYC

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Pet business ventures seem to be making it big in New York these days.  Three examples discussed here are: Doggy Day Care, “cat” therapy robots and Pet Plate.

Doggy Day Care is a big thing these days but one of the initial companies that offered this service in the New York area is now opening another one in the same place.  Pupculture (that originally opened in Soho in 2002) is planning on opening a branch in Northwest Tribeca at the beginning of next year, on the corner of Hudson and Laight.  Offering “pet pampering services” (including: boarding, daycare, grooming, spa treatments and more), New Yorkers can bring their furry friends to the Center for a few hours, a day or even a couple of months.

For those who are more into cats, they are making their way into the entrepreneurial industry as well.  Some of the newer therapy “cats” are being used to help seniors living at old age homes in the Bronx who are suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s and other cognitive, neurological conditions.  The Robotic therapy pets are able to relieve residents’ agitation that often comes with these conditions.  It saves money at 3am when one might not necessarily have to call in an aide to take care of this situation.

Another pet-based business venture in New York is PetPlate, a company which is humanizing pet food.  Now, instead of just humans being able to get tasty and healthy meals (such as hummus and guacamole), their four-legged loved ones can too. Only clinically-approved ingredients are used to ensure satisfaction of the pet’s palate.  It is the very first pet food delivery service in America that is distributing freshly-cooked, pre-portioned USDA food.  PetPlate uses meals based on recipes that veterinary clinical nutritionists have created.