World Trade Center Opening

November 27, 2014ArchitectureDurst Organization, Jordan Barowitz, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, World Trade CenterNYBusDist

It’s been a long time since business took place at the site of New York City’s Twin Towers. Over 13 years ago when terrorism struck, the place was shattered in every single way. But now, according to an official from the Durst Organization (behind the construction), Jordan Barowitz, “the building is open for business.”

1 World Trade Center was developed by the Durst Organization in conjunction with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. It measures at 1,776 feet in height, and is just a few meters away from the original building. Construction began back in 2006 but today, this impressive building – spanning 20 professional football fields – is ready to resume business.

Of course, those who perished will always be remembered. The new building is situated just a few steps away from the memorial that honors them.

Beyler Eyubov: Loving Jazz is Good Business Sense

November 20, 2014EntertainmentBeyler Eyubov, George Wein, Kenneth D. Kitchings, Newport Jazz FestivalNYBusDist

It’s not only jazz lover Beyler Eyubov who enjoys frequenting Side Door. The club opened about a year-and-a-half ago and has been inundated with returning customers. However, owner Kenneth D. Kitchings is not necessarily what one might expect from a successful New York businessman. And, especially given the fact that making money out of jazz isn’t so easy either.

But something Kitchings did must have been right. Located at Old Lyme – not the liveliest of locations – this jazz club has become quite the hubbub of jazz lovers from near and far. Other than jazz fan Eyubov, Newport Jazz festival founder, George Wein, a pianist himself, who has been frequenting the club, explained his success like this:

“He couldn’t fail. He’s not an owner who’s looking to make money. He loves jazz and gets more enjoyment from it than his customers do.”

So maybe a love of what one does is more important to business success than a love for money. It sure seems to be working for Kitchings.

Opening of Fulton Center Station

November 17, 2014NewsMichael Horodniceanu, Santiago Calatrava, Thomas PrendergastNYBusDist

Thomas Prendergast, Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, referred to it as “New York’s next great public space.” Centrally located at Broadway and Fulton Street, the building has real presence. Built at a cost of $1.4bn, taking 10 years, the glass-and-steel entrance opens up to a 90-foot skylight. Featuring the nine existing subway lines within 180,000 square feet, it is due to serve 300,000 passengers per day.

The key engineer on the project, Michael Horodniceanu called it “the station of the 21^st century.” It is quite a change from the old Fulton stop where passengers were forced to rush through narrow corridors, trying to avoid other passengers, trying just to not get knocked down!

There are 27 entrances into the building – all of which are handicap accessible. There is a 350 foot tunnel that connects the Center to the Santiago Calatrava as well as the PATH commuter New Jersey train.

Culturally, the new station is also impressive since the historic building brings everything full circle, back to the 19^th century when the place was actually central to New York City.

Ed Sayres: Growing Your Business

November 11, 2014NewsCisco, Ed Sayres, Forrester Report, Richard BransonNYBusDist

There are many ways to grow a business. Even in the most challenging of situations – such as recession, competition, and failed products – a business can thrive. Often it is just a matter of getting the right consultant and advice for the best guidance.

Ed Sayres has earned a reputation for establishing and developing organizations for sustainable growth. Within this role, he advises top executives on fiscal and crisis management, fundraising, strategic building, etc. His approach over the years has come up against even the most difficult circumstances – and it is based on “disciplined innovation, collaboration, transparency and accountability.” He also does a lot of philanthropic work, most notably via animal welfare organizations.

Another way a company can grow is by taking note of studies to see what methods successful businesses have used to thrive. For example, a Forrester Report put out in 2009 showed that by 2016, 43 percent of the US workforce will be working from home. Perhaps more interestingly, it also found that by giving employees these kind of freedoms, reported a revenue growth of 10 percent or more within the last year, as compared to firms that did not implement this policy. As well, it was estimated by Cisco that remote work saved $277m per year from productivity gains.

Business executives can also take a leaf out of someone like Richard Branson’s book. He recently put up a top ten list of how to ‘do business the Virgin way’ – i.e., successfully. He said that while there are no shortcuts to success his top two ideas fit in quite well with Ed Sayres’ motto: follow your dreams and do some good.

So it seems that to be successful in business, one needs to think outside the box and not just focus on the business – branch out a little and see how you can be beneficial to society.

Scouting Out Restaurant Real Estate in NYC

November 7, 2014ArchitectureMalkin Family, Nick Valenti, Patina Restaurant GroupNYBusDist

When it comes to scouting out great places for New York restaurants, the Patina Restaurant Group seems to have gotten it down. It currently has three restaurants at the Rockefeller Center, as well as a location in Lincoln Center and Madison Square Garden.

Its most recent addition to its portfolio has been the State Grill and Bar that it opened at the Empire State Building. At this venue, one can order classic cocktails from the Art Deco period as well as upscale American cuisine – a true fusion of worlds.

Part of Patina’s strategy is to scout out such locations. One way of doing this is through the great connections the firm has, such as the Malkin Family that has known Chief Executive Nick Valenti for decades. Valenti is in charge of the Empire State Realty Trust.

“It is our strategy to look for these locations,” Valenti mentioned, and that it seems, is exactly what he is doing.

Jack Lefkowitz, Rabbi Berman and Others Who Make a Difference

October 30, 2014Newsjack lefkowitz, NYCFC, Rabbi Berman, Refuah Resources, Team ContinuumNYBusDist

Dealing with an illness, particularly one that is life threatening, is harrowing for anyone. It is particularly scary for people who don’t have a social network where they live and don’t know where to turn. In the New York area, there are a number of organizations that are working to alleviate such fears and to offer resources to those in need.

The New York City Free Clinic is one location worth knowing about for those who are sick. They provide free and comprehensive care and they have an extensive relationship with hospitals, clinics and non-profits throughout New York City. They have ties with the New York University School of Medicine, the Institute for Family Health, Bellevue Hospital Center, New York University Langone Medical Center and more.

Another organization that everyone in New York should be aware of is Refuah Resources, directed by Rabbi Shuky Berman and co-chaired by Jack Lefkowitz. Their team of medical referral coordinators helps patients to work through the medical system in New York and to guide people to identify the preferred doctor for each of their situations. Working tirelessly, Rabbi Berman, Jack Lefkowitz and so many others help to alleviate the burden of dealing with serious illness by providing guidance and direction.

Finally, for those battling cancer, Team Continuum is there to help. This nonprofit helps cancer patients and their families to minimize the disruptions and hardships that are inherent with the disease. They help families to pay household expenses, they offer friendship and moral support and they help to fund health care facilities to enhance the delivery of care to patients.

These are just a few of the many health care programs around New York that assist those in need. Organizations such as the NYCFC, Refuah Resources with Rabbi Berman and Jack Lefkowitz, and Team Continuum make a difference in the lives of those in New York every day.

New York Entrepreneurial Stars

October 27, 2014NewsEgg Collective, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.’s American Made Program, WHITNYBusDist

2014 is the third year of the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc.’s American Made Program. This year, there were three companies from the New York area that won. The program – that honors top entrepreneurs in the handcraft industry – “celebrates entrepreneurial stars of the growing ‘maker’ culture who have turned their passion for handcrafted, well-designed goods into small businesses and proudly manufacture their products in America.”

3,259 entrepreneurs were nominated from 50 states. Nine were chosen by Martha Stewart and her panel. The tenth was selected by online votes from the Audience Choice category.

The three New York winners were: Brooklyn’s Egg Collective (for the design category), WHIT and Clark’s Botanicals (style category).

Affordable New York Housing

October 17, 2014Newshousing, New York City, State Attorney GeneralNYBusDist

New York’s State Attorney General’s Office is implementing a policy change to help keep the city’s housing affordable. Owners of buildings that rent out properties to people of differing incomes will be able to sell apartments at market rate on the condition that they maintain low-income rentals or create new apartments for those on restricted incomes.

According to state officials, before the change is implemented, the city will make sure that property owners will make at least a fifth of their units “permanently affordable.” This will include properties that have been subsidized by tax breaks and bond financing.

Up until now, proprietors were not allowed to sell their property until the affordability restrictions were lifted. Sometimes this took tens of years. And at that point, owners converted the whole property to market-rate units or condominiums. With this new ruling, it is anticipated that many thousands of low-income apartments will be preserved in New York City.

Both landlords and tenants in New York City are equally pleased with the move.

Soda Companies Join Forces

October 7, 2014NewsBeverage Digest, Clinton Global Initiative, Coca Cola, Dr. Pepper, PepsiCo and SnappleNYBusDist

In a new effort to battle the bulge in America, the three leading soda companies – Coca Cola, PepsiCo and Snapple/Dr. Pepper – are joining forces. The commitment was made a couple of weeks ago in New York at the Clinton Global Initiative. It was welcomed wholeheartedly by President Bill Clinton who noted that sugared-soft drinks account for approximately 6 percent of the average consumer’s daily calorie intake.

The goal of these three companies is to reduce the caloric consumption of sugary drinks of Americans by 20 percent in the next 11 years. They aim to do this by expanding the market of low- and no-calorie drinks as well as smaller-volume drinks. Marketing and promotional materials will be focused on education about America’s obesity problem and how sugary drinks contribute to this.

Vis-à-vis the economics of this, sugary drinks companies shouldn’t really lose out too much. Figures put out by Beverage Digest showed that between 2000 and 2013, there was a plummet of 12 percent in the consumption of calories from sugary drinks. So it’s not new. The way soda companies responded to this (and to continue to profit) was by increasing sales of water based, low-calorie or no-calorie drinks.

If this is the way the market is going, it will not have a negative impact on US business and will rather simply enhance health in the region, by attacking obesity.

New Electric Power Resource in NY

September 27, 2014NewsNYC electricityNYBusDist

New York State is set to put in a place a new hydroelectric plant. This should generate 14 megawatts of electric power, enough to provide electricity to around 6,000 homes. New York City will then sell that the New York power grid. It will cost around $72m to build, but will generate around $2m revenue annually from electricity sales.

Using this resource (instead of oil or coal) the plant can avoid major environmental issues. One of these is not having around 25,620 metric tons of greenhouse gas emission each year. Environmentally, this is the same as taking around 5,400 cars off the road.

Should this project go as planned, it will be New York’s largest hydroelectric development in over 20 years. It will also mark the first time that power will be generated directed from a branch of Delaware River.

Construction is set to begin in 2016.