Airing Out New York Offices

Environment, ,

office-windowMany studies have been undertaken – and even college courses developed – to ascertain the best way of enhancing productivity in the office.  But it seems that one particular concept has been completely overlooked…and it is free…the air! In a study undertaken by the Harvard School of Public Health, indoor air quality was found to have a significant impact on one’s cognitive abilities.  Those who participated in the study who had increased ventilation and lower carbon dioxide and VOC numbers were shown to display “higher cognitive scores.”  Strangely enough, according to the study’s lead author – Joseph Allen – it seems that “we’ve been ignoring the 90%. We spend 90% of our time indoors yet indoor environmental quality and its impact on health… are often an afterthought.”  Of course this should be the first clue on how to increase productivity at work.

And it seems it is.  Given this result – and the fact that projected need for new office space in Manhattan to reach a staggering 92 million square feet in the next two-and-a-half decades, it seems like New York City office building developers are sitting up and taking note. It also has been found that making these office improvements does not have to warrant a financial burden.  In a recent Crain’s New York article written by Scott Frank, a few inexpensive suggestions were put forward.  These included:

  1. Design ventilation rates should be elevated to 40 cubic feet per person.
  2. Demand-control ventilation strategies should be employed to adjust how much ventilation air is delivered to a space according to how many people are there at the time along with indoor pollutant levels (as detected by sensing devices)
  3. Reduce VOCs by bolstering tenant building standards to include low-emissions
  4. Break down VOCs with air handlers that have bipolar ionization technology
  5. Consider using dedicated outside air systems in existing buildings.

Finally, another way to increase air is by encouraging employees to get out of the office once in a while.  Being tied to one’s desk 9+ hours each day is a sure-fire way to increase the possibility of a drop in both mental and physical wellbeing.

Fourth of July Expenditure

Economy, , ,

expenditureHow much money are New Yorkers spending on their Fourth of July celebrations?  It seems quite a lot. The biggest attraction is probably Macy’s Fireworks, now in its fortieth year.  That causes a lot of expenditure and huge attention.  Millions came to watch it live – America’s largest firework display on the day – with Queens and Hunters Point Park being popular viewing areas.  Macy’s promised it would be their biggest one since the 2000 millennium party they provided.  And it was, with 56,000+ pyrotechnic shells, 22 hues and the New York debut of pyro-writing in the sky, it was a show not to be missed.  And very patriotic at that, with everything synchronized to America’s most patriotic songs.

And talking of the songs of Americas, the US Air Force Band played ‘This Land is Your Land’ and ‘Stars and Stripes Forever,’ while Jennifer Holliday performed ‘America the Beautiful.’

From fireworks and music we move over to food and Americans sure do know how to enjoy the odd hot dog or 7!  According to the NRF $6.77 billion is spend on food for the day.  It helps of course that July is National Hot Dog Month. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council has estimated that out of the 20 billion hot dogs that Americans consume on average each year, 155 million are consumed on July 4.  And then of course there was tremendous expenditure on all the picnics, barbecues and baking contests dotted around the nation in red, white and blue.

Other expenditures included a total revenue of $1.09 billion on fireworks and $4.4 million for imported flags ($4.3 million from China). So all in all, celebrating America’s independence is truly a “fourth” to be reckoned with when it comes to spending money in New York and other patriotic regions in the States.

 

 

New York: A Boost in Employment Opportunities?

News, ,

jobsNew York is encountering a hiring blitz.  Right now, there is a big retail opening from The World Trade Center resulting in around 10,000 new jobs. Over 50 eateries, retailers and vendors are opening their doors in the middle of next month which is leading to more work at the WTC Oculus space and Fulton subway hub.

Indeed, at the end of last month, owner of the Westfield mall hosted a job fair at the Conrad New York Hotel.  Hiring Our Heroes also organized a programs for National Guard, Reserve members and their spouses, along with veterans.

As well, the New York State Department of Labor has a website – Job Express – offering job vacancies throughout the 10 regions of New York, organized by careers and industries. Also on the site is a list of short videos giving information and tips to job seekers such a resume writing and interview handling.  Employers can also post potential jobs.

Jobs in New York

News

constructionFor job seekers in New York, where is the best place to go?  New City Patch can help New Yorkers find work in the following fields: Health Information Management, Hospitality Management and Information Technology.

A recent report written by the New Skills at Work-Lower Hudson Valley Stakeholder Collaborative in conjunction with the Westchester Community College put forward their research on the evolving nature of the regional economy with recommendations for businesses, government and teachers to facilitate the support of education and training required to “empower the local workforce.”

What was found was that businesses in major US industries have a hard time finding “sufficiently trained workers to fill middle skill jobs” (that being defined as people with more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree).  Furthermore, research predicted that by the year 2011-22, almost half of job vacancies (46 %) will be for middle-skilled individuals. So appropriate education and training that is in line with what employers need, has to be given.

for those thinking about relocating to the Big Apple and hoping to find work, the editors of WetFeet assembled some interesting tips a few years ago.

Giving a Voice to Small Business Owners

Economy, ,

small businessSoon, small business owners in Western New York will have a team of advocates working on their behalf.  SEAWNY (The Small Enterprise Alliance of Western New York) was recently launched with a goal of “fill[ing] the void in the local market.”

How is this to be achieved?  By bolstering networking for this demographic providing it with the resources to facilitate the process of launching, operating and maintaining a small business in the area. Along with this there will be seminars, webinars and an annual conference.

According to President and CEO of Welke Custom Brokers USA Inc. (and one of the steering committee members that oversaw the organization’s establishment), the aim of SEAWNY is to: “bridge that gap between what’s happening at the large chambers and what’s happening at the small chambers.”  SEAWNY is taking its organizational model from Northeast Ohio’s COSE – the Council of Smaller Enterprises.

In other good news for SMEs in New York, small firms in the NY metro area received considerably more loans than the national average.  Data was received from the monthly analysis of 1,000+ small business loan requests conducted by the Biz2Credit’s Small Business Lending Index.  In general though, looking at America as a whole, it was found that over the last 12 months there has been a gradual increase of loan approvals.  Further, in May, a new online loan offering program for smaller loan investments of between $10-35,000 was launched by Wells Fargo.

New York’s Economy: Optimistic Stats

News, ,

dollarAccording to a recent report from WalletHub entitled 2016’s States with the Best & Worst Economies, New York is the 8th best state to be in when it comes to the economy.   To measure economic success the report investigated a variety of indicators spanning three main categories: economic activity, economic health and innovation potential.  While New York did great in economic activity and innovation potential, what pushed it to 8th place was its lacking in the innovation potential it facilitates for its inhabitants.

Regarding GDP New York slipped down the list too. It came in 13th for its growth in this area but 6th for its state government surplus/deficit per capita.  Also it’s unemployment is pretty bad as it came in 27th and then 28th for the percentage of jobs it has in high tech industries.

So while a lot of this data is good, the fact that unemployment is so high is a real problem and spreads into the matter of homelessness. One solution to that was with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s endeavors to build affordable housing.  But the issue was not resolved since as Mitchell Neburn recently pointed out, “many if not most homeless individuals and families can’t afford to pay rent, no matter how low it is.”  He further explained that: “those New Yorkers need the city to sponsor more programs that provide employment training and placement in jobs that have low barriers to entry but ample opportunity for career advancement.”

So some serious initiatives need to be taken to solve this. one example is Project Renewal which has the following programs: Next Step Employment Program, Culinary Arts Training Program, Veterans Employment & Training and more.

The government has initiatives too but still more needs to be done to put New York in the respected ranking a large city should be.

What the New City means for New York City

Economy, , , , , , , , ,

NYCNew York City is getting a New (York) City.  At the end of May, a ribbon cutting ceremony took place at the first tower over Hudson Yards – an entire neighborhood smack, bang in the middle of Manhattan.

An endeavor taken on jointly by Bloomberg, Stephen Ros (of Rleated Cos.) and the previous Mayor (Michael Bloomberg), billions of dollars went into  his project that began 10 years ago.  Former deputy Mayor Dan Dotoroff should also be thanked.

It began with Bloomberg’s plan to rezone the Far West Side for mixed commercial and residential use, financing a way for the MTA to extend the 7 line, providing easier access to the rest of the city. The establishment of what some are calling “the largest private real-estate development in US history” should be finished in 2025.

And of course, this is going to result in some additional 55,000 jobs. It will also comprise 28 acres filled with homes, parks and stores and will be occupied by 125,000 residents, etc.  For companies wishing to move to the new area, they will have 10 million square feet of office space from which to choose. Some big names have already signed up such as: Coach Inc., L’Oreal and The Boston Consulting Group and in the future CNN, HBO and TimeWarner are lined up.

This is fantastic news for NYC’s economy.  According to an Appleseed study, it is thought that a staggering $18.9 billion will be contributed to the economy PER YEAR by 2025, with activity comprising 2.5% of NYC’s GDP, yielding $500m in taxes per annum. What’s even more incredible is that until now, this area was pretty much not even used, comprising empty industrial spaces and railroad yards.

And if that wasn’t enough to get New Yorkers happy it seems that Americans are not the only ones seeing the potential of NYC investment. According to president of Stribling & Associates, Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan (who spoke at The Real Deal’s New York Real Estate Showcase and Forum recently) “Buyers from India and Singapore — countries with a growing middle class — see New York as a solid investment opportunity… They see it as a really good place to park their money.” One of the panelists present, Raphael De Niro of Elliman, echoed this sentiment when he said that “New York “makes sense” for Indian investors who speak English but are priced out of the overheated London market, where they may not find properties between $1 million and $3 million.”

So New York is clearly becoming a recipient of some big monies.

 

How Airlines Make Money

Economy, , , ,

airlinesWell, one of the additional new ways they are making money is by charging for skipping the bureaucracy at airports.  Well, not exactly skipping it, but being able to “fly” through airport security rather than waiting on line for hours on end that has, in many cases, led to missed flights.

CEO of Skylark, Paul Tumpowsky, explained how some US carriers are now offering fee-based programs to assist travelers with airport security.  Tumpowsky, who heads the New York City a travel consultancy firm gave examples including: Delta Air Lines (offering a separate entrance at LAX’s Terminal 5 for Delta One business class passengers to check in via a private elevator through expedited security.

Then there is the Five Star Service program for first- and business-class customers offered by American Airlines at 12 domestic and five international airports.  Prices start at $250 for the first adult and then #75 for each additional adult.  Services include: priority security screening; curbside meet-and-greet.

Next there is JetBlue (for a much lower fee).  At a variety of domestic airports, passengers can now purchase an add on to their ticket for a mere $10.  The Even More Speed tickets gives them access to expedited security lanes.  For a comfier journey once up in the air, the additional perk is the Even More Space ticket that provides one with a roomier seat.

The expedited screening program offers passengers access to TSA precheck security lanes (if they are eligible) for a mere $85 for five years.  In this program, one does not have to remove their shoes, belts or light jackets, or remove their laptops, or liquids from their luggage.

While this is all very good news for New York travelers willing to pay the extra bucks, truthfully the problem shouldn’t really exist in the first place.  According to a recent article by the Editorial Board of AM Network, “The inability of the Transportation Security Administration to effectively and efficiently screen travelers at New York’s major airports leaves little choice but to demand that the work be done by private business… The overall airport experience is dreadful, swinging from farce to intimidation as screeners miss too many prohibited items and long lines with waits of more than 20 to 25 minutes result in missed flights.”

So perhaps rather than private companies stepping in, official government bodies should make a ruling to prevent this from being such an issue.

New York Green Festival

Environment


The New York Green Festival®,  took place May 5th to 7th.  Thousands of sustainable living experts, green business entrepreneurs and environmental-loving individuals joined together to check out new, environment-friendly products and services. The festival is America’s largest and longest-running sustainability and green living event (Other venues where it will be taking place include Washington, LA, San Francisco, and Portland).

Employees and volunteers at the Festival are always seeking to increase sustainability with the goal of “a truly zero waste event, where consumers can be assured that companies are committed to environmental sustainability.”

New York’s Top Female Entrepreneurs

News, , , , ,

business-womanTen female entrepreneurs will be receiving a $10,000 business grant.  They received the highest amount of the 40,000 online votes and were chosen from a pool of over 500 women.  These individuals will also get the opportunity to compete for receiving a $100,000 investment.  Judges will include: Tory Burch, Anne Fulenwider, Sallie Krawcheck and others. These 10 women will also become ambassadors for female entrepreneurs nationwide.

The women, in alphabetical order are:

  • Nicole Baldwin of BIAO Skincare
  • Allison DeVane of Teapressa
  • Alexa Fleischman of Savvy Society
  • Kate Glantz of Heartful.ly
  • Ericka Lassair of Diva Dawg
  • Katie McAleer of Bixby & Co .
  • Emellie O’Brien of Earth Angel Sustainable Production Services
  • Kimarie Santiago of Saltopia Artisan Infused Salts
  • Amy Swift of Building Hugger
  • Caren Ulrich Stacy of Diversity Lab

Given this news, it is thus quite disconcerting to learn that in some business sectors, it is very much felt that it is “still a man’s world.” In a recent New York Times article written by Sydney Ember, accusations brought at the J. Walter Thompson agency lawsuit regarding racist and sexist behavior from the firm’s CEO “brought to the surface what women in the industry had talked about for years: that more than half a century after the “Mad Men” era, gender bias, while often unspoken or acknowledged, continues to affect how they are treated at work, whom they interact with and what positions they hold.”

This issue seems to be particularly true in the advertising sector despite the fact that half of advertising employees are female.  Women in the industry feel it is still very much a “white male world” and that they will get passed up or dismissed at work.

Still, John Aidan Bryne wrote in the New York Post that “New York City metro area has an estimated 876,300 women-owned firms, employing 657,600 workers (excluding owners), with estimated sales this year of $140 billion.”  And numbers in American Express’s sixth yearly State of Women-Owned Businesses Report showed that New York has the highest amount of women-owned firms.

So things are changing for women in business in America…especially it seems in the New York region.