This Is Queensborough - April 2020

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April 2020 . Volume 16 . Issue 4

COVID-19 HITS QUEENS

• CHAMBER GOES VIRTUAL TO HELP BOROUGH’S SMALL BUSINESSES • LOCAL RESTAURANTS ARE ‘FUELING THE FRONTLINES’ • WHAT EMPLOYERS NEED TO KNOW AS OUTBREAK CLOSES MANY DOORS

“MY HEART IS WITH QUEENS. WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS.” - LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL (SEE PAGE 11)

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April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

THIS TOO SHALL PASS The past several weeks has been, is critical during this time as we’re to say the least, a life-changing all looking for answers. experience for not only As business owners New York City, but our with an entrepreneurnation and the world. ial spirit, challenges Life as we know it has and obstacles are all shifted, and those withpart of the process. The in the business commost important thing to munity especially are remember during this feeling the impact of time is this too shall COVID-19. pass.

On behalf of the We’ll return to a sense Board of Directors, of normalcy, communiwe’re working diligent- TOM SANTUCCI ties will thrive, busily along with the staff CHAIRPERSON nesses will prosper and of the Queens Chamber this will be behind us. of Commerce to continThank you for supue meeting your needs and assist in porting the Queens Chamber now providing you access to resources more than ever. We’re committed available at all levels. to making sure you’re healthy and Since the Chamber was founded strong. in 1911, we’ve pledged to advoPlease visit queenschamber. cate, educate and create network- org for relevant information and ing opportunities. That latter piece updates.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO

THE GOOD, BAD & DETERMINED I’ve been in the business world we’re all adapting to. Social disfor a number of decades and have tancing and working remotely has witnessed numerous highs and become the new reality. lows. All for various reasons, of I made the decision early last course: sluggish econmonth, for the health omy, natural disasters, and well-being of and 9/11 to name a our Queens Chamfew. ber staff, to close our In the midst of all offices prior to the these challenging governor’s mandate. times, good, bad or One thing is remained otherwise, one comunchanged, however, mon thread remained, and that is that we’re and that is the detercommitted 100 permination of business cent to meeting your owners.

They’ve THOMAS J. GRECH needs and providing rolled up their sleeves PRESIDENT & CEO resources to help you and fought their way navigate through this back from the unimaginable. crisis.

COVID-19 is yet another beheNew Yorkers are resilient by moth challenge facing the busi- nature. The next few weeks and ness community we’ve never month will carve out a new chapter experienced before, not just here for us as a community, but together in Queens, but across the nation. we’ll come out stronger.

But one thing is certain, we’ll get Queens Chamber is indeed open through this together. for business, but in a slightly less Governor Andrew Cuomo’s direct way. We’ll continue to update call for a five-borough “pause” our website AT queenschamber.org last month had a ripple effect that I’m grateful to each of you for impacted every sector of the com- your continued support. Remember munity. There’s a new normal that determination is key.

love WHERE YOU

live LETS BEAUTIFY JAMAICA TOGETHER ZARA'S PHILANTHROPY Involvement on community boards richmond hill hs computer lab Voices of Jamaica features community events Fundraising

Luxury Apartments in Jamaica, Queens 166-07 Hillside Avenue Jamaica, NY 11432 718.291.3331 • application@zararealty.com

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QUEENS QUICKLY

BORO HALL OPENS 2020 CENSUS CENTER

As the 2020 Census count gets underway, Borough Hall has set up an office to help residents take part.

Acting Borough President Sharon Lee joined former deputy borough president Melva Miller and the Queens Complete Count Committee last month to cut the ribbon on the new Resource Assistance Center.

The center, located on the second floor, will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from March 5 through July 31.

“We’ve got prime real estate here at Borough Hall because that’s just how critical it is,” Lee said.

Residents who visit the resource center can access Census outreach materials, ask questions in their own language, and even apply for 2020 Census-related jobs.

They can also fill out the nine-question Census form using electronic devices at the resource center. No appointments are required, and walkins are welcome.

The Queens Complete Count Committee, which was formed in January 2019 by then-

borough president Melinda Katz, will train volunteers to staff the center. The committee is made up of more than 100 community leaders and organizations charged with maximizing participation of the 2020 Census in their neighborhoods.

“We’ve been doing so much legwork because we are the biggest borough,” Lee said, “so we have a lot of ground to cover.”

According to Lee, Queens is the first borough to open a resource assistance center in partnership with Association for a Better New York.

Miller, who served as deputy borough president under Katz, now works as executive vice president of ABNY. Miller said the organization is opening more than 30 of these centers with 14 different partners, such as the Greater New York Hospital Association, as part of a comprehensive strategy to reach as many residents as possible.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, households will begin receiving information in the mail between March 12 and March 20 with detailed information about how to respond to the census online, by phone or email.

Between May and July, census workers will visit homes that haven’t responded. The Census Bureau will complete its count on July 31.

Miller said in 2010, the national self-response rate was 76 percent. In Queens, however, that rate was only 67 percent. In some parts of the borough, the response rate was as low as 45 percent.

The census determines not only representation in elected office, but also federal funding for schools, roads, bridges, health services and more. According to Miller, $74 billion gets allocated to New York state alone.

“We can’t lose that money,” she said. “We need that money for the vital services that protect our city, that services the most vulnerable communities like seniors and children.

“We need to do better,” Miller added. “There’s

a lot at stake.”

Despite the many challenges to having a complete count, from the aftermath of the attempted citizenship question to the new online form and a reduction in Census Bureau staff, Miller believes New York is in a “really good place” in terms of preparation.

She noted that New York City has invested $40 million on outreach, primarily for trusted community-based organizations. The state has allocated a record $70 million for efforts as well.

Ten years ago, the total dollar amount spent on census outreach was closer to $5 million, she said.

In addition to community groups, census outreach includes nontraditional partners, like retailers, banks and even casinos.

“We are prepared not only financially to support the community-based organizations who are the trusted voices in communities,” Miller said, “but we also have the infrastructure and enthusiasm.”

STUDY: REDLINING ALIVE & WELL IN QNS On a walk down 71st/Continental Avenue between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street, a distance of nearly 530 feet, you pass seven different bank branches. Traverse the same distance on Sutphin Boulevard from Archer Avenue toward 90th Avenue, and you will count just three.

Census Bureau estimates reveal the total population of Jamaica to be double that of Forest Hills, so why does the latter have a higher concentration of banks?

According to a study done by the office of Congressman Greg Meeks, the deciding factor in this matter is race: Jamaica is 84 percent black and Hispanic, while Forest Hills is 82 percent white and Asian.

Through an analysis of isolated Census data, the report found that in Queens zip codes where the population is less than 25 percent

TABLE OF CONTENTS Promotions, Announcements & Appointments ........................................6

EDC Unveils Sunnyside Yard Master Plan ............................................................18

EXPERT ADVICE: Employment Ramifications of COVID-19 ........8

ONE ON ONE: Steve LaFredo of Piermont Bank ..............................................19

SBA Offering Economic Disaster Loans ...................................................9

Partners & Affiliates News and Happenings ........................................................20

Local Restaurants Are ‘Fueling the Frontlines’ ......................................10 Chamber Hosts Virtual Town Hall for Small Biz ..................................11 Chamber Hosts Annual St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon ............................12 Stay Connected Several April Webinars ...................................................17 4

PUBLISHER Walter H. Sanchez

MANAGING EDITOR Shane Miller

MARKETING DIRECTOR John Sanchez BQE Media, 45-23 47th St., 2nd Floor, Woodside, NY 11377 Phone: (718) 426-7200 Fax: (347) 507-5827

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4 black and Hispanic, there is one bank for every 3,159 people.

When the neighborhood demographic changes to more than 75 percent black and Hispanic, the ratio is one for every 22,936.

By this comparison, the math indicates there are seven times fewer banks in predominantly black and brown communities in Queens than in those with different ethnic makeups.

Meeks explained that this disparity is consistent even in cases where there is no significant difference in the average incomes.

“You can’t say there’s money in one place and not the other,” he said at a field hearing convened by the House Consumer Protection and Financial Services Committee in downtown Jamaica last month. “There is only one difference, and that’s the ethnicity of the people.”

Meeks, who chairs the committee, was joined by fellow members of Congress in hearing testimony from a panel of experts on affordable housing and banking marginalized communities, including Chhaya CDC, National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, National Bankers Association, and Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.

QUEENS QUICKLY Addressing findings from the Queens study, in addition to an analysis by the Center for Investigative Reporting, the committee implicated the actions of financial institutions as modern-day redlining.

Coined by sociologist James McKnight in the 1960s, redlining is defined as a practice that denies services to whole neighborhoods on the basis of race or ethnicity.

The term derives from instances of lenders literally drawing a red line on a map to signify communities they would not invest in, usually due to demographics alone, and most often in black inner-city neighborhoods.

Examples of redlining can be pointed to in various financial services such as mortgages, student loans, credit cards and insurance. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) of 1977 made all of these practices illegal, but lawmakers last week made it clear that they believe this kind of discrimination still exists.

“Redlining is among the unfinished business of the Civil and Human Rights Movement,”

said Congressman Al Green from Texas.

“Today’s hearing revealed that redlining and discriminatory conduct persist, and that we have much more to do.”

The committee argued for the preservation of the CRA, as the White House and the FDIC have proposed reforms that would relax some requirements mandated by the law.

Members repeatedly called for even greater measures of testing in order to prevent redlining from slipping through the cracks.

They also stressed the importance of protecting minority banks and credit unions, as well as Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) in these neighborhoods, which empower individuals and small businesses in communities of color.

“We want to reverse these banking deserts in our communities,” said Meeks “A loan is your future. And when you’re deprived of that, then you’re deprived of a future.

“Invest capital in CDFIs,” he continued, “and watch our communities flourish.”

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PROMOTIONS, ANNOUNCEMENTS & APPOINTMENTS GatewayJFK adds Jean to full-time staff In order to help improve services in the district, GatewayJFK has hired Dieusita Jean to fill the newly created position of operations manager.

Jean was born and raised in Southeast Queens and has direct experience that will help her quickly adapt to the role, including a history of work in communications, event planning, and coordinating services with city agencies as a staff member for Assemblyman Clyde Vanel.

The operations manager position is the second full-time staff position for the team at GatewayJFK. Jean will perform a critical role in managing GatewayJFK’s public space initiatives.

Her responsibilities will include overseeing contracted venJEAN dors, collecting and managing data and analytics related to public space, and working with businesses, residents and City agencies to improve quality of life metrics in the area.

As part of that work Jean will be monitoring and improving the responses submitted through the GatewayJFK quality of life form, a website tool that helps workers and residents report issues including flooding, downed telephone poles, abandoned vehicles, and illegal dumping.

Jean will directly help solve these problems by navigating government relationships and spending time to solve problems that our business owners and community members may not have time to deal with.

Casals to lead city’s Cultural Affairs Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed Gonzalo Casals as commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Casals, who has called Jackson Heights home since 2002, currently serves as director of the Leslie-Lohman Museum in Manhattan.

“I came to New York City nearly 20 years ago, drawn by the opportunity to be a part of the world’s greatest cultural community, one as diverse and vibrant as nowhere else,” said Casals. “Since then, my admiration and respect for the people who drive this incredible cultural sector has only grown.”

As commissioner, Casals will lead the Administration’s efforts to foster a more diverse, equi-

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table, and inclusive cultural sector. He’ll also be charged with stewarding the largest local funder of arts and culture in the United States.

Casals was part of the team of cultural experts who led public engagement for CreateNYC, New York City’s first comprehensive cultural plan. He was also a member of the New York City Mayoral Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments, and Markers, which developed guidelines on how the City should address controversial monuments.

Casals came to New York City from Argentina in 2002. Before being appointed the director of the Leslie-Lohman Museum in 2017, he was vice president of Programs and Community Engagement at Friends of the High Line, where he led the team in a process that shifted the focus of the organization to equitable cultural practices to impact surrounding neighborhoods.

For over seven years, Casals held various roles at El Museo del Barrio. His tenure as director of Education and Public Programs focused on cultural production as a vehicle to foster empowerment, social capital, and civic participation.

A regular guest speaker on arts, culture, equity, and CASALS inclusion, Gonzalo teaches at the University of the City Of New York, New York University, and Yale University.

“I’ve seen firsthand how New York City’s cultural sector so profoundly shapes the lives of residents in every neighborhood,” Casals added.

“Art and culture don’t just contribute to New York’s communities – it is the foundation of so many of our communities, and so central to what makes our city great.”

Sheppard receives Excellence Award Dr. Beverly Sheppard, a Jamaica-based physician and chair of the Pediatrics Department for AdvantageCare Physicians (ACPNY), was awarded the 2020 Celebration of Excellence Award during the recent Big Apple Health News and Event’s 2020 Black History Month Reception.

The award recognizes the contributions of prominent African Americans in health care.

“I feel honored to be among a group of recipients who are collectively driven by one essential

purpose: helping others,” said Sheppard. “I’m grateful to be a part of AdvantageCare Physicians, an organization that is deeply committed to serving the African American community.”

Sheppard oversees pediatricians across AdvantageCare’s medical offices in New York City and Long Island. Her 35 years of experience includes previous positions at the Harlem Hospital Center and the Queens-Long Island Medical Group.

She currently serves as an assistant professor in pediatrics at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra SHEPPARD Northwell, teaching second-year medical students.

Sheppard is a board certified pediatrician and completed her residency from New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. She earned her medical degree from SUNY Downstate Medical Center and completed her undergraduate studies at Princeton University.

“Dr. Sheppard not only provides exceptional care to her patients, but she also embodies AdvantageCare Physicians’ model of caring for the whole patient, starting with a healthy foundation early in life,” said Dr. Navarra Rodriguez, president and chief medical officer at ACPNY. “We are fortunate to consider her one of our own.”

Queens Chamber of Commerce 75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Suite 140 Jackson Heights, N.Y. 11370-1131 Entire Contents Copyright 2020 by Queensborough. All letters sent to the QUEENSBOROUGH should be brief and are subject to condensation. Writers should include a full address and home and office telephone numbers, where available, as well as affiliation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of the QUEENSBOROUGH. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to the QUEENSBOROUGH within five days of publication.

Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. BQE Media assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold the QUEENSBOROUGH and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement.

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EXPERT ADVICE: LABOR

EMPLOYMENT IMPACTS OF COVID-19

BY STEPHEN HANS As we all know, there is only one issue in the news right now: the novel coronavirus (COVID19), its varied impacts upon global societies, and the increasingly extraordinary measures being taken by nations, states and local governments to minimize the adverse health consequences to vulnerable populations.

If you are a New Yorker reading this article, you are no doubt seriously worried about the possibility of contracting the virus. Even for the relatively young and healthy among us, the fear of community spread to family and friends who may be elderly or immunocompromised is very real, as they are at heightened risk of serious health complications.

Here in New York City, as public schools and many businesses have been closed for the foreseeable future, people are wondering how this constantly evolving situation may impact their livelihoods, and are looking for ways to survive what may be a potentially long and painful period of economic pain.

This article will provide some helpful information for employees and employers looking for some relief in these difficult times.

Information for Affected NYC Employees Many businesses in the service and hospitality sectors have already been ordered to close by city and state governments. Additionally, many other businesses have either been forced to shutter or have vastly reduced staffing levels due to serious decline in customers and revenues as most New Yorkers begin to shelter in place.

If you have been laid off or furloughed by your employer, you should immediately apply for unemployment insurance benefits, as New York has waived the normal seven-day waiting period before filing a claim.

This means that workers who lose their jobs or experience a

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reduction in their work hours can immediately receive partial income replacement. To file a claim, visit labor.ny.gov or call 888-209-8124 during regular business hours.

Due to a very high volume of claims being filed, the state Department of Labor has experienced some slowdown issues and website crashes in recent days due to an overloaded server, so you may have to try several different times before completing a successful application.

Remember, unemployment benefits currently last up to 26 weeks and for most workers only provide a partial income replacement, but they may be a crucial lifeline for those looking to meet basic needs during this pandemic.

If you are fortunate enough to still have a job at this time, please do your best to practice social distancing to the greatest extent practical during your commute and in the workplace, keeping at least six feet away from other people if at all possible. Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face or physical contact with coworkers and customers.

Should you begin to feel symptoms of an illness, you should inform your employer immediately and cease working right away.

Most New York City employees are guaranteed at least 40 hours per year of job-protected sick leave, which are also paid sick days for those working for employers with five or more employees. Workers should not hesitate to use such paid leave if needed, in order to protect their fellow New Yorkers from possible transmission.

If you are healthy, but are unable to work because you must provide care for a family member who is ill, you may be entitled to receive partial wage replacement for up to ten weeks through New York’s paid family leave program.

In order to qualify, the person requiring care would have to be certified by a health practitioner as having a “serious health condition.� For more information about

filing a claim for paid family leave benefits, visit paidfamilyleave. ny.gov or call 844-337-6303 during regular business hours.

Information for Affected NYC Employers If you are a business owner fortunate enough to still be operating at this precarious time, you are likely to face a number of very difficult choices as you try to stay afloat over the coming months.

In order to keep your employees healthy and working, your best bet is to regularly clean and disinfect all workplace surfaces, and to physically separate employees as much as possible to limit opportunities for disease transmission. While employers could require employees to wear personal protective equipment, such as respirator masks and disposable gloves in the workplace, these items are in extremely short supply and thus difficult to obtain, and their use by healthy individuals is not recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

In industries where it is feasible to do so, employers should strongly consider allowing employees to work from their homes. However, before doing so, employers should carefully review their policies and procedures for remote work to ensure that they are in full compliance with all employment laws and regulations, including having appropriate procedures in place to track the time worked by hourly, non-overtime-exempt employees.

Perhaps the most difficult decisions that employers may have to make will involve balancing the desire to financially assist struggling, furloughed employees with the need to ensure that a business remains viable through what many experts now expect to be a lengthy economic recession.

The federal government is currently working on coronavirus stimulus legislation, which hopefully will include assistance for businesses in the form of tax credits, filing extensions, and other economic relief.

In the meantime, small businesses that have seen a dramatic drop in revenues and which lack access to credit may be able to obtain low interest working capital loans of up to $2 million from the United States Small Business Administration.

Visit sba.gov/disaster or call 800659-2955 for information on eligibility and to apply.

City businesses with fewer than 100 employees who have seen sales decreases of 25 percent or more will be eligible for zero interest loans of up to $75,000 to help mitigate losses in profit, while the smallest city businesses with fewer than five employees may be eligible for grants to cover 40 percent of payroll costs for two months.

For more information and to apply, visit nyc.gov/sbs.

It has been over 100 years since the last viral pandemic of this magnitude, the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918. Because of this, there is no appropriate modern-day precedent for what we will face over the coming weeks and months.

It is vital that employers and employees throughout New York City all do their best to work with one another to ensure our common safety and survival. We will get through this crisis together, and there will be better days ahead.

Stephen D. Hans is an attorney in Long Island City.

Stephen D. Hans & Associates represents small and mediumsized businesses in labor and employment matters.

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

SBA OFFERS ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER LOANS

BY BENJAMIN FANG Small businesses and private nonprofit organizations that have been impacted by the COVID19 pandemic can now apply for economic injury disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

On March 27, Man-Li Lin, an economic development specialist with SBA, hosted a webinar with the Queens Chamber and Ying Zhou, director of the Queens College Tech Incubator, about the loan application process. Hundreds of small business owners tuned in to watch.

Lin explained that the economic injury disaster loan is up to $2 million, with no payments for 12 months. Small businesses and private nonprofits of any size are eligible.

Businesses that are not eligible include those in the gambling industry, pawn shops, religious organizations, and investment or lending companies.

The loans can be used to help pay fixed debts, such as insurance and rent, payroll, accounts payable and other bills affected by the disaster.

“The money is not for you to pay back your lost sales,” Lin said.

“This money is to keep you going forward.”

Small businesses with credit available elsewhere are also ineligible. Those without credit options will have a 3.75 percent interest rate. The loans for private nonprofits will have a 2.75 percent interest rate. They will have up to 30 years to repay.

“We encourage everyone to apply,” Lin said. “SBA will make the final decision.”

There is no cost to apply.

Businesses that are offered the loan also don’t have to accept it.

Lin added that the amount should reflect six months of operating expenses.

“We hope up to six months later, your situation will be better,” she said.

Applicants can have an existing

SBA disaster loan and still qualify.

Lin advised that if applicants have other loans, such as from city agencies, they should disclose it in their application.

Loans under $25,000 will not require collateral, but those more than that amount will require collateral, including real estate when available.

SBA will look at three specific criteria for the application: credit history, repayment ability and eligibility. Businesses will be asked to submit documents to support their application, such as personal financial statements, up to two years of tax returns, monthly sales

figures and a schedule of liabilities.

To apply, Lin said applicants should download the form online, fill in the information and upload the forms or send them by mail.

Applications with incomplete or missing information will be set aside, and SBA will inform the applicant of what they are missing.

“Don’t rush it,” she said. “Get all the information and the forms you need.”

Once the application is submitted, SBA will verify the information, check the applicants’ credit and determine a loan amount. Decisions will be made in four weeks.

Applicants who receive a loan

will have to sign and submit loan documents, followed by the initial disbursement within five days.

If a business or nonprofit needs more funds, they can submit documents to apply for an increase, Lin said. Conversely, if they don’t need as much, they can request a reduction.

Those who are denied a loan can provide more information and a written reconsideration request within six months.

Lin added that businesses can ask SBA to hold onto the loan for six months.

“If you still need it,” she said, “we can reactivate it.”

LOCAL COMPANIES DONATE MASKS

BY SARA KREVOY

Last week, AZ Painting & Home Improvement teamed up with the Sherwin Williams Paint Store on Austin Street to make a donation of 170 vital N-95 respirators to Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital.

Emerging as the eye of the storm for the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak, New York City is currently facing a critical shortage of protective gear for hospital staff working with infected patients. The N-95 masks are in particularly high demand, as they filter out all but five percent of airborne particles, according to the CDC. Realizing the severity of this situation, AZ Painting head Indrit Gjata and Sherwin Williams location manager Philippe Chahinian made a point to get the coveted respirators into the hands of local medical personnel.

“They’re on the front lines,” said Chahinian. “All of us want masks, but who really needs them? The people who are coming into contact with this every day. We got our shipment and we wanted to do the right thing.”

Both companies have regular access to N-95 respirators, as they are commonly used for woodworking and sanding painted surfaces.

Gjata says he has donated nearly

Philippe Chahinian with a pallet of masks donated to hospitals.

300 masks during the city’s escalating coronavirus crisis, including those he delivered to elderly customers so they could be protected while running essential errands like grocery shopping.

“Even though I live in Glendale, most of my business is in Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Rego Park,” he said. “So I wanted to give back to the community.”

Sherwin Williams has been doing its part in the neighborhood as well, sending a 120-mask supply to the 112th Precinct, in addition to accommodating local doctors

and nurses who stop by requesting respirators.

The store also set aside 795 masks on Friday specifically for Elmhurst Hospital, which lost 13 patents to the virus in one day and is in desperate need of supplies.

“We’re more than just a paint store,” explained Chahinian. “We want to do right by the community and let them know we are here for them.

“The donations only make a little bit of a dent,” he continued, “but if everyone did a little bit it would be tremendous.”

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CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK QUEENS RESPONDS TO PANDEMIC WITH LOCAL ACTION

BY ROB MACKAY As news outlets from around the world report on daily COVID19 deaths and hospitalizations in Queens, it’s easy to focus on the negative. But believe it or not, there’s some positive news in the borough these days. Many businesses, nonprofits, and regular residents have responded to the crisis with grit, determination, and a strong desire to help others.

In late March, Acting Borough President Sharon Lee started funding and organizing efforts by the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) and the Queens Night Market (QNM) to send freshly prepared meals to the nine local acute-care hospitals. Within a week this initiative, dubbed “Fueling the Frontlines,” joined forces with another recently formed group, Queens Feeds Hospitals, to expand services.

It’s a rather basic process. The restaurants get some business during a time of quarantine and social distancing, while the overworked, overstressed health care providers enjoy delicious food on their breaks.

Participants are clients of QEDC’s Entrepreneur Space, a commercial kitchen incubator in Long Island City, QNM vendors, and restaurants recruited by Queens Feeds Hospitals. They include Applebee’s, Arepalicious of Ozone Park, Austin Ale House, Ben’s Kosher Deli, Cooking with Corey, Magnolia Café, The Malaysian Project, Quiaufa’s Kitchen, and Treat Yourself Jerk Chicken.

They make and package about 300 meals at a time. QEDC and QNM waive administrative costs.

The borough president’s grant planted the seed, but soon thereafter Queens companies – including BNB Bank, Con Edison, Driscoll Group, Plaxall, Signature Bank, Silvercup Studios, and the USTA - made donations and QEDC added funds it normally raises from Queens Taste.

Queens Taste is QEDC’s annual gala/fundraiser that usually takes place on the first Tuesday of May, but was postponed until October this year.

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“Fueling the Frontlines” will run as long as necessary and funding is in place. To sponsor, send an email to info@queensbp.org and/or sbornstein@queensny.org with the subject line “Fuel the Frontlines.”

DELIVERIES

The tough times also inspired about 80 residents of the Long Island City area to form LIC Relief: COVID-19 Response, a grassroots group that fights hunger.

The volunteers recruited seven restaurants — Little Chef Little Kitchen, Piatto, Bella Via, Vernon Grille, Manetta’s, Centro, Bareburger, and Manducatis Rustica — to cook between 30 and 75 meals per day. They deliver the fresh cuisine to residents of NYCHA properties such as Astoria Houses, Queensbridge, Ravenswood, and Woodside Houses.

The restaurants make $5 per meal, thanks to private donations by local residents and an initial dollar-for-dollar match from YourLIC, a consortium of local developers that includes TF Cornerstone, Plaxall, Simon Baron Development, and L&L Mag. You can donate at licrelief.org.

PANTRIES

LIC Relief also operates a holding center at Plaxall (5-25 46th Avenue) where people can drop off dry goods such as pasta, beans, rice, and canned soup. It’s open weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m.

A bit to the east, religious and community leaders formed the Woodside/Sunnyside Community COVID-19 Relief Group to establish a food-distribution center at the Mosaic Church’s office at 46-01 43rd Avenue. It’s open on weekdays from 5 to 8 p.m., and organizers can make home deliveries for those with reduced mobility.

Excess food goes to soup kitchens at St. Raphael Church in Long Island City and St. Teresa Church in Woodside. More information is available at mosaicwestqueens.nyc and eugenie.woo@gmail.com.

In Ridgewood, Woodbine, a volunteer-run experimental hub with

Healthcare workers at Mount Sinai welcome a delivery of fresh food. large outdoor and indoor spaces that are often used for special events and workshops, partnered with a citywide homeless outreach agency, Hungry Monk, to launch a food pantry at 1882 Woodbine Street.

Volunteers also make home deliveries. More information is available at woodbine.nyc.

HELPFUL TRIO

Three related restaurants - Austin’s Ale House, Bourbon Street, and One Station Plaza – have started “Food for the Fearless.” They raise money through the “Food for the Fearless” GoFundMe page to prepare quality meals for health care providers in Queens, Long Island, and Manhattan.

ORDER & SUPPORT

QEDC’s Entrepreneur Space, a 12,500-square-foot space with a fully equipped commercial kitchen and clients that make everything from three-course meals to unique desserts in Long Island City, has also launched a for-profit delivery service for fresh and packaged products.

Again, the process is simple.

Shoppers go to the individual client’s website and order what they want. The businesses will then fill the order. For fresh products, the delivery zone is roughly a ten-block radius centered in the vicinity of Northern Boulevard and 37th Street, but out-of-zone customers can use other services, such as UberEats and Seamless. Customers can receive packaged products via USPS and FedEx to anywhere.

Over time, the E-Space hopes to increase the delivery zone and get more clients to participate. Currently, fresh options include Chicken Tortilla Soup or Lasagna Bianca from Ipsa Provisions and Boneless HerbRoasted Chicken Breast or Seared Tofu with Mushroom and Onion Gravy from Quiaufa’s Kitchen.

The options for packaged products run a wide gamut that includes artisan bread, chocolate, doggie treats, healthy snacks, and hot sauces. More information is available at itsinqueens.com.

Rob MacKay is director of Public Relations for QEDC.

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

CHAMBER HOSTS TOWN HALL ON OUTBREAK

BY BENJAMIN FANG

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate the economy, the Queens Chamber of Commerce hosted a town hall on resources for small businesses.

On April 2, business owners tuned in virtually to hear advice from the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Umbrex and more.

The town hall began with remarks

by Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who expressed that the state government’s top priority is to make sure everyone gets through the health care and economic crisis.

“How we respond will define us for the next few decades,” she said.

Hochul said everyone needs help now, and that there’s “no shame in asking” for assistance. She urged small businesses to identify the opportunities that come out of the ordeal.

“My heart is with Queens,” she added. “We’ll get through this.”

Deshaun Mars, director of business outreach with SBS, said the agency is offering both a grant program and a loan program for affected businesses.

The Employee Retention Grant Program was offered to small businesses with fewer than five employees. It covers 40 percent of payroll costs for two months. SBS stopped taking applications on Friday, April 3.

Eligible businesses or nonprofits must be located in the five boroughs.

They must also demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic caused at least a 25 percent decrease in revenue.

Mars added that applicants must have been in operation for at least six months, and have no outstanding tax liens or legal judgments.

The Small Business Continuity Loan Fund offers no-interest loans of up to $75,000 for businesses with fewer than 100 employees within the five boroughs.

Applicants must also demonstrate a 25 percent or more drop in sales due to the pandemic, an ability to repay the loan, and have no outstanding tax liens or legal judgments.

Mars said necessary documents

include payroll records, banks statements and other files to demonstrate revenue loss.

He noted that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) also has a host of loan and grant programs, including the Economic Injury Disaster Loans, Paycheck Protection Program and a bridge loan.

“SBS is here to support your business,” Mars said. “The city is here as a resource.”

Will Bachman, founding partner at Umbrex, a virtual management consulting firm, spoke about a pandemic playbook his company put together. The firm organized a group of 150 management consultants to offer pro-bono advice to small businesses.

“We pair you with a consultant who can work with you one-on-one on a response to the pandemic,” he said.

Umbrex put out a one-page checklist to help business owners guide their response. The checklist includes five main steps.

The first step, Bachman said, is to assess your situation. Businesses should gather information, see what loans and programs they’re eligible for, and what information is required.

They should also assess their cash flow, including how much money they have in the bank and their expenses.

The next step is to develop a plan with a comprehensive set of actions and dates. Bachman said business owners should figure out how to deal with their rent, vendors and customers.

Next, business owners should communicate. Bachman advised that it’s better to over-communicate with stakeholders, like suppliers, vendors and landlords. “Don’t go radio silent,” he said.

The following step is to implement the plan. Finally, owners should continue doing the minimum to operate their business, including paying the bills, handling administrative work and making sure employees are safe.

Bachman also provided a set of recommendations for people who are working from home. He suggested

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul discusses the aid available to small businesses during the virtual town hall. that workers set a place to be their workplace and to set a schedule to “be at work.”

“It’s easy to expand your workday, but set some boundaries around it,” he said. “It’s important to protect your mental health and physical wellbeing.”

He noted that virtual meetings can actually be more productive than in-person meetings. He recommended setting an agenda, sending out materials ahead of time, making the goal for the meeting clear, and checking in with all attendees.

As for managers, Bachman said they should change their mindset while working from home. They should no longer focus on the time their employees work, but rather the deliverables they can complete.

He suggested being clear and well-defined about the project, the deliverable and due date. For multiday projects, he said managers should have periodic chances for feedback on the deliverables. “Don’t wait until Friday,” he said.

To get a small business perspective, Sher Sparano, senior vice president of OneGroup, spoke about the impact COVID-19 has had on her team, which is working from home.

She said the pandemic has been

hard on her company, especially because they work with nonprofits and hospitals. “We’re trying to be there for them,” she said.

Sparano urged everyone to stay upbeat, despite the health care and economic ramifications of the crisis.

“It would be helpful if you have a little bit of positive in your step,” she said. “There is a real thrust for us to survive this.”

She noted that many people and organizations, including the chamber, will put in a major effort to pull businesses back together, despite the “long climb back.”

Sparano said many businesses hurt by the pandemic will find a way to reopen and restructure, but acknowledged that some will decide they can’t afford to do it. She also expressed worry about the fate of restaurant workers, health care aides and nursing home employees.

But she has also noticed the way communities have been responding, especially to care for frontline workers.

“People have been helping others in a tremendous way,” she said.

“They’re lending a hand when they can.

“The kindness we show each other is most important,” Sparano added.

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THIS IS QUEENSBOROUGH

queenschamber.org

QUEENS CHAMBER NEWS & EVENTS

CHAMBER HOSTS ANNUAL ST. PAT’S LUNCH

BY BENJAMIN FANG

Nearly 300 business leaders attended this year’s Queens Chamber of Commerce’s St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon at Antun’s in Queens Village.

With the sound of Irish music filling the catering hall, the celebration honored two prominent Irish-American New Yorkers.

The St. Patrick’s Business Person of the Year Award went to Dan Tubridy, proprietor of the Bungalow Bar in Rockaway Beach and founder of In Good Company Hospitality Group.

Today, the hospitality group runs 13 restaurants and employs over 1,200 people. Some of Manhattan’s most well-known eateries, including Park Avenue Tavern, Parker & Quinn and The Refinery Rooftop.

Their latest venture is the new Rockaway Beach Hotel, which Tubridy said will be the first boutique hotel in the Rockaways since the 1940s.

Expected to open in the spring, the hotel will feature 53 rooms, eight apartments, year-round restaurant, rooftop lounge, pool bar and event space. It will also provide

PHOTOS: DOMINICK TOTINO

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between 150 and 200 new jobs in a community that has the highest unemployment rate in the five boroughs, according to Tubridy.

“The Rockaway Beach Hotel represents, if not a culmination, certainly a significant step in the continued revitalization of an unpolished New York City jewel,” he said, “that has long been a casualty of bureaucratic neglect and administrative mismanagement.”

Tubridy praised small business owners, calling them job creators, risk takers and innovators who are the “backbone of our local economy.”

“Together, we are pioneers who sense opportunity and optimism where others may not,” he said. “Your unique vision and commitment to the unproven has the power to transform entire neighborhoods, and as a result, people’s lives.”

More than 60 of Tubridy’s family and friends attended the St. Patrick’s Day Luncheon, though he admitted some of them were also excited to meet the celebration’s keynote speaker.

The Public Service Award went to Police Commissioner Dermot

Shea, the 44th person to hold the post in the history of New York City and a 29-year veteran of the NYPD. Shea’s parents immigrated from Ireland in the 1950s and met at an Irish dance in New York City.

They settled in Sunnyside, where they raised five children in a onebedroom apartment.

The Sunnyside native was a member of Queen of Angels parish and attended Catholic grammar school there for seven years.

“Everything, I owe to my family growing up,” he said. “My mother and father really teaching what’s important about life.”

Shea joined the NYPD in April 1991 as a police officer in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx. After several promotions, he led the 50th and 44th precincts as commanding officer. He eventually became deputy commissioner of operations in March 2014.

Two years later, he was named chief of crime control strategies before becoming chief of detectives in April 2018. He succeeded James O’Neill, another Irish-American, as police commissioner in December 2019.

The top cop said he was accepting the Public Service Award on behalf of 55,000 members of the NYPD. “I may be sitting on top of the peak here, but there’s an incredible team underneath me of men and women at the executive level,” he said, “right down to the boots on the ground, which is where all the work gets done.”

He added that a “tremendous” support staff of civilians and uniformed members do “amazing things everyday.”

“It’s going home and doing things after hours,” he said. “It’s thinking outside the box, going above and beyond.”

Noting the presence of the Marine Corps at the luncheon, Shea said his father joined the Army and became a sergeant in the 50s. His younger brother, an accountant and lawyer by training, joined the Army after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

“It’s never been lost on me, the men and women that wear uniform,” he said, “protecting our rights across this great country.

“You don’t have to look hard for heroes,” Shea added. “They’re all around us.”

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4

QUEENS CHAMBER NEWS & EVENTS

13

THIS IS QUEENSBOROUGH

queenschamber.org

NOW MORE THAN EVER, FLUSHING NEEDS THIS

Flushing is a vibrant and special community, attracting visitors from throughout New York City and beyond thanks to its international reputation as a culinary destination and ecosystem of authentic and unique offerings provided by its minorityowned small businesses.

While the coronavirus (COVID19) has had a devastating impact both economically and socially on this predominantly Chinese immigrant population, it has historically persevered while being neglected at large with relatively limited government funding.

This economic resiliency has been achieved through entrepreneurial private local investment and strong leadership by Councilman Peter Koo and others, who led Flushing to add the most businesses in Queens between 2009-2017 after the 2008 financial crisis.

During these unprecedented times, now more than ever, the community and city need to unify around what would be a tangible stimulus to the local economy.

Elected officials and community leaders – including Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Grech, among others - have continued to speak in favor of the Special Flushing Waterfront District because it’s what Flushing needs, particularly right now to pick itself back up and survive.

The Special Flushing Waterfront District aims to revitalize 29 dilapidated acres into a flourishing destination that will create permanent jobs - nearly 3,000 total - desperately needed at this uncertain time in the economy. It would also bring billions in private investment to the neighborhood and create tens of millions in annual property tax revenues.

Further, as Flushing is primarily a neighborhood of small businesses, the Special District master plan preserves and protects the fabric of the business community, where the owners have thoughtfully designed their buildings to attract these same types of tenants.

The public benefits, all of which would be privately funded and maintained by the consortium of three experienced developers who have deep roots in the Flushing community, are plentiful.

In addition to the creation of an

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inviting 160,000-square-foot public waterfront esplanade, including an extended shoreline and promenade, benefits also include affordable housing; an extensive publicly accessible road network that will alleviate traffic congestion; extensive infrastructure upgrades related to the existing sewer and drainage systems; and a comprehensive environmental remediation plan that will clean up what is considered one of the most polluted sites in all of New York City.

Each of these benefits is what the community wants and have asked

for. It is why Community Board 7 voted in favor of the project 30-8, and why the developers created responsible, viable plans to make Queens an even more attractive destination to eat, sleep, work and play.

Absent of approval of this plan, these additional public benefits will not be realized and would be precluded from ever taking place.

Flushing is a place of incredible change. It’s a neighborhood in constant transition that continues to hold on to and celebrate its hardworking immigrant roots. Now is the time to

transform its vast, desolate waterfront into something Flushing and all of Queens can be proud of.

During these difficult times, when the proposed Special District will create jobs, provide economic stimulus and generous public benefits, it would be irresponsible to allow this plan to become a victim of election politics.

It’s time to move forward, not backwards.

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted by the developer consortium of FWRA.

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4

EXPERT ADVICE: HEALTH

BUMPS ON THE WRIST? PUT THE BOOK DOWN!

People are justifiably alarmed when lumps suddenly appear on the wrists, and they may become distraught if a relative or friend offers to bash the lump with a heavy book. Besides, librarians take a dim view on this Victorianera treatment. Is there a better approach?

Many of these wrist growths are ganglions. Ganglion means “knot” in Latin, and these fluidfilled lumps are the most common tumor of the hand and wrist.

For unknown reasons, ganglions appear in people between 20 and 40 years old with far greater frequency then in those who are younger or older.

Ganglions most often occur on the back of the wrist in line with the thumb and index finger.

Depending on the tautness of the enclosed fluid, the ganglion may feel either soft or hard. Often it is painful, but sometimes it presses

on a nerve and causes pain, particularly when the wrist is in an extreme position for pushups or downward dog in yoga.

The next most common location for a ganglion is on the palm side of the wrist at the thumb’s base. If it wraps around the artery where one normally feels the pulse at the wrist, the knot may seem to be throbbing. The ganglion may then be mistaken for a problem with the artery.

Ganglions can also occur at the base of the fingers where they join the palm. Here they never get much larger than a BB gun pellet and are therefore not visible.

However, they cause pain with forceful gripping against hard objects, such as a gearshift or briefcase handle.

Without a clearly understood cause, ganglions arise from the flexible ligaments that surround our joints and tendons. The thick

HAVE YOU BEEN INJURED IN AN ACCIDENT?

fluid in ganglions resemble corn syrup in color and consistency, and is the same chemical composition as the fluid that lubricates our joints and tendons.

Because they are filled with fluid, ganglions can wax and wane in size, and sometimes patients accurately recognize that the lump appeared overnight.

Folk remedies include giving the bump a resounding thump with a heavy book. This bursts the cyst wall and allows the body to reabsorb the enclosed fluid. In a medical office, the less dramatic but equivalent treatment is drainage with a needle. Withdrawing clear thick fluid confirms the diagnosis.

Depending on the activity of the area producing the fluid, the needle treatment is curative about 20 percent of the time. Other conditions in the hand and wrist may mimic a ganglion, so doctors do not recommend indiscriminately

Dr. Eitan Melamed is director of Hand Surgery at Elmhurst Hospital. bashing bumps with books for either diagnosis or treatment.

Ganglions that recur after needle drainage and lumps from other causes may require surgical removal. However, there is no absolute need to treat a ganglion, in the sense that displaced fracCONTINUED ON PAGE 18

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THIS IS QUEENSBOROUGH

queenschamber.org

IT’S IN(SIDE) QUEENS RIGHT NOW!

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the monthly It’s In Queens column informed on entertainment and enrichment activities in the world’s most diverse borough. Well, times have changed, but many local cultural groups are providing free programming online. Here are some options for learning, enjoying art, and exercising while sheltering-inplace.

Flushing Town Hall streams prior performances during Facebook Watch Parties every Tuesday and Friday at 7 p.m. (facebook.com/ flushingtownhall/). This includes jazz, world music, South American rhythms, and Asian beat.

At other times, three FTH teaching artists - Colombian musician Martin Vejarano, Chinese dancer Ling Tang, and Indian dancer Abha Roy – offer videos followed by activities that people

can try at home. Participants can post short videos of themselves engaging in the activity.

Plus, users can join a Zoom Community Hang (www. flushingtownhall.org/fth-at-home) every Thursday at 1 pm.

The New York Hall of Science has launched an At-Home Resources page (nysci. org/AtHome) with activities, apps, experiments, games, and projects, organized by grade level. For example, middle school students can follow an interactive graphic novel starring three youngsters who uncover a mysterious virus and become superhero scientists to prevent it from spreading. Staffers update the page every week.

The Alley Pond Environmental Center (alleypond.org) offers its popular “Sunny Bunnies Storytime

Flushing Town Hall is streaming past performances.

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Series” every day. Miss Bonnie and Miss Brenda read books with nature themes, act out some of the characters, and lead group songs.

The Douglaston-based nonprofit also facilitates online STEM-based activities — including experiments — that youngsters can do at home.

Topics include “Leaf Symmetry,” “Sink and Float,” and “How to Crush a Bottle.”

The tenth annual Queens World Film Festival is entirely online at discovered.tv/ QueensWorldFilmFestival. As planned, more than 200 films are organized thematically in blocks such as “Women’s Voices” and “Twisted Love Stories.”

The Queens Public Library hosts periodic live storytimes on its Facebook page at 11 a.m., during which librarians read picture books and sing nursery rhymes.

Plus, the Mail-A-Book teleconferencing and virtual programs are now available to all (queenslibrary.org). This includes art history lectures, a six-session meditation program, a series of Zumba classes, and other healthand-wellness programs. Plus, the digital collection (eBooks, eMagazines, etc.) is free.

Titan Theatre Company, a Woodside-based troupe that is an artist-in-residence at Queens Theatre, joined forces with Artisan N.Y. Productions to offer “Shakespeare Online.”

The program provides recorded staged readings of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, as well as live online talkbacks with cast members, online curriculum, study guides, and master classes.

For more information, contact Artistic Associate Wesley Cady at contact@titantheatrecompany.com or (718) 715-5369.

The Queens County Farm Museum posts #BarnCam via its Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter pages daily at 4 p.m. Staffers such as director of Education Ali Abate and director of Agriculture Anne Mastrogiacomo lead the fun.

Spring has sprung so followers can watch nature come back to life.

The Queens Historical Society has created workshops through

Google Hangouts. After registering (hangouts.google.com), users receive an email with a link to a video during which Education & Outreach coordinator Jeran Halfpap explains the situation. (At times, his face minimizes so viewers can see the workshop materials on his laptop screen in real time.)

Right now, Halfpap narrates two workshops – “Census 2020: Backwards and Beyond” and “Colonial Toys and Games.” He’s developing “The Underground Railroad” and “Native American Archeology.”

For more information, send an email to info@queenshistoricalsociety.org.

The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy, a nonprofit that maintains the eponymous Long Island City public space, has joined forces with agencies that normally perform there: • Andy & Suzanna Kids Music live-streams classes on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10:15 a.m. (andyandsuzanna.com).

• Yogi Beans runs donationbased, live-streaming yoga classes multiple times a week (yogibeans. com).

• Wonderspark Puppets puts on free live shows every Friday at 11 a.m. and hosts DIY workshops every day (wondersparkpuppets. com).

• McManus Irish Dance offers online classes via Zoom. For more information, reach out to McManusIrishDance@gmail.com.

• Teaching Artist Collective hosts its Tots Sing and Play class via Zoom on Mondays at 10 a.m.

Email teachingartistcollective@ gmail.com to sign up.

• Natasha Bhagwanani, an art instructor, has posted downloadable coloring pages on her Bright & Blue Designs website (brightandbluedesigns.com).

• Joy Chen of Cosmic Fit Club streams yoga classes on Instagram every Saturday at 11 a.m. and on Facebook every Monday at 7:30 p.m. (cosmicfitclub.com).

The monthly “It’s In Queens” column is produced by the Queens Tourism Council. More info at itsinqueens.com.

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4

QUEENSBOROUGH CALENDAR OF EVENTS APRIL 4/6, 11 AM

WEBINAR: EMPLOYEE RETENTION GRANT PROGRAM

Topics covered include who is eligible to apply, what documentation is required, ways to calculate revenue loss, and how to go through the application process.

Register at queenschamber.org 4/7, 11 AM

WEBINAR: NYC SMALL BUSINESS CONTINUITY LOAN FUND

Topics covered include who is eligible to apply, what documentation is required, ways to calculate revenue loss, and how to go through the application process.

Register at queenschamber.org 4/7, 4 PM

WEBINAR: PRO TIPS FOR EXPANDING YOUR REACH ON FACEBOOK

Facebook is a powerful tool with many free resources to increase your visibility and your reach. Discover the power of your page’s own feed as well as Facebook Live, Stories, and many more features offered by the platform.

The featured guest speaker will be Catherine Ventura, a social media content strategist at Venn Diagram, Inc. Register at queenschamber.org 4/14, 11 AM

WEBINAR: SMALL BUSINESS TAX

Whether you are self-employed or own a small business, there will be something helpful for everyone at this event. Come with your tax questions and you’ll leave with answers. You will learn about The differences between sole proprietorship, LLCs and corporations and federal tax structure, IRS deductions for different kinds of industries, home/offices and deductions, Affordable Care Act, 1099s, and 2019 tax changes. The featured guest speaker will be Paul Rosenblum, a Quickbooks certified pro advisor.

Register at queenschamber.org 4/28, 4 PM

WEBINAR: IS INSTAGRAM RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Explore and Decide: Is Instagram a good fit for your business? Is it an effective way to reach your ideal customers or clients? This webinar will take a look at what kind of content works, the secrets to getting the right fol-

lowers, and separating your business account from your personal account. The featured guest speaker will be Catherine Ventura, a social media content strategist at Venn Diagram, Inc. Register at queenschamber.org

JUNE 6/25, 6 PM

6TH ANNUAL INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION

For the sixth year running, the Queens Chamber returns to Fort Totten Park for an early celebration of Independence Day. Join the Queens Chamber of Commerce, the Bayside Historical Society, Councilman Paul Vallone, and a host of other local organizations on the 25th of June. The day will feature music, dance, food, fireworks, and even more family fun. The music starts at six, the fireworks at quarter past nine, and the fun will last throughout the night. Free concert and fireworks display by Grucci in Fort Totten Park sponsored by Councilman Paul A. Vallone. Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and picnics for an evening of community fun!

Fort Totten Park Bay Terrace

17

THIS IS QUEENSBOROUGH

queenschamber.org

EDC UNVEILS SUNNYSIDE YARD MASTER PLAN

BY BENJAMIN FANG After 18 months of planning, community engagement and technical analysis, the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has finally released its master plan for Sunnyside Yard.

Last month, the city agency and Amtrak unveiled their framework to deck over the 180-acre railyard to build a new neighborhood in western Queens in the coming decades.

The master plan first calls for the creation of Sunnyside Station, a regional rail hub that would connect the area to other parts of New York City and other cities in the northeast.

Tom Grech, president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, said Sunnyside Yard is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that presents achievable goals,” including the new rail hub.

“As a member of the steering committee, I clearly heard the adamant request for a Sunnyside Station to connect with multiple transit lines,” Grech said, “something that has been discussed for years and will come to fruition under the master plan.”

The plan also calls for 12,000 units of affordable housing, 60 acres of open space, and other “social infrastructure” and amenities.

“Sunnyside Yard presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a new model for affordable housing and equitable development,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “We are fighting for a New York that New Yorkers can afford.”

Half of the affordable homes built in Sunnyside Yard will be for low-income New Yorkers. At least half of those units, roughly 3,000 apartments, will be restricted for families earning below 50 percent of the area median income (AMI), which is currently $48,050 for a family of three.

The other 3,000 apartments will be for families earning 30 percent of the AMI, or $28,830 for a family of three. All rental units will be rentstabilized, according to EDC. The remaining 6,000 homes in the plan will be part of an affordable homeownership program that helps families build wealth through a financing mechanism based on the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program.

This program will target families making around 100 percent of the AMI, which is about $96,000 for a family of three.

According to EDC, the 12,000 new homes would make Sunnyside Yard the largest planned affordable community in the city since Co-Op City in the Bronx was built in the 1970s. The plan offers more affordable homes than Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village combined.

Adam Grossman Meagher, EDC’s senior vice president and director of Sunnyside Yard, said in an interview that the Sunnyside Yard plan is a long-term, generational vision. It would essentially create new public land to build affordable housing, open space and other resources necessary for a

18

neighborhood.

“This is a really exceptional and one-of-a-kind civic asset,” he said. “We should use that asset wisely.”

In theory, Meagher said, the project could have maximized density and had more private development. But what EDC and project consultants heard from residents was a desire for more affordable housing and mid-rise development that was “reflective of the character” of western Queens.

“This is an example of one of the ways the community planning process we went through shaped the plan,” he said. “It’s an intense need that continues.”

While reports have indicated that the deck would cost upwards of $14 billion, Meagher said the cost for public infrastructure, such as new streets, parks and utilities, has yet to be determined, and would likely be public investments.

Creating the deck and developable land will be another set of costs, and who pays for that will depend on the use, Meagher said. Any housing, schools or libraries would require public investment as well.

While the investments in housing are still far into the future, the city is committed to making a “substantial funding contribution” for the Sunnyside Station. Though there’s no dollar amount attached to the regional transit hub idea yet, Amtrak is supportive of the idea and the MTA is “open to the concept,” Meagher said.

“We think it has the potential to be a transformative investment,” he said. “It’s something people brought up again and again.”

In the master plan, EDC also calls for a new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line connecting Queens and Midtown Manhattan, as well as potential for a new subway line in the borough.

Because the Sunnyside Station is something that can be accomplished in the near-term — Meagher said having it done within a decade is a reasonable goal –– EDC will push for infrastructure investments like the rail hub before pursuing the larger housing plan.

Meagher said building out pieces of the deck and all of the affordable housing would likely happen in phases over a period of several decades.

“The plan takes an infrastructure-first approach,” he said.

EDC and Amtrak began the master planning process in summer 2018 by creating a steering committee made up of elected officials, community leaders, policy experts and advocates. Some members, like Congresswoman Alexandria OcasioCortez and Sylvia White from the Justice for All Coalition, left the steering committee in opposition to the project.

Altogether, the process incorporated feedback from four workshops, three public meetings, a digital town hall and over 100 public interviews, according to EDC. “We benefited enormously from those discussions,” Deputy Mayor Vicki Been said in a statement, “and the master plan responds to the feedback by putting neighborhood needs for transit, affordable housing, and open space first, to ensure that future development is responsible, inclusive and fair.”

The immediate next step, Meagher said, is for the city and Amtrak to form a nonprofit entity, an organization that will be responsible for stewarding the master plan over time.

The entity will have representation from elected officials and community groups.

“It’s important that this master plan be institutionalized and be a living document,” she said.

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4

ONE ON ONE: STEVE LAFREDO OF PIERMONT BANK

EFFICIENT BANKING FOR SMALL BUSINESS Piermont Bank is a new bank that looks to fill the gap between FinTech and traditional banking, reinventing how banking works for entrepreneurs. Chief banking officer Steve LaFredo shared what makes Piermont different and its commitment to help entrepreneurs navigate through the uncertain times.

Q: How is Piermont Bank different from other banks?

Steve LaFredo: Speed and efficiency are a key differentiator.

Piermont’s platform is built with the top pain points that entrepreneurs often face in dealing with their banks. We understand entrepreneurs often face high opportunity cost having to wait several months for the credit process, so we automate and digitize our platform to turn around loans in half of the time entrepreneurs would typically experience.

Q: How is Piermont able to execute loan decisions with half the time of a typical commercial bank?

SL: We have developed a proprietary algorithm and a fully digitized platform that allows us to significantly reduce underwriting and processing time. It helps that we are a new platform with no legacy system burden, so we can be creative and leverage the best financial technology.

We also have a very flat organizational structure, which enables us to make decisions quickly, consistently and diligently. Overall as a company, we also champion

responsiveness to clients; a quick no is better than a very slow yes.

All client inquiries are addressed within 24 hours.

Q: How do you think Piermont can help its clients navigate a looming recession?

SL: One of the best ways to find out whether you have the right banking partner is how they can help you withstand a looming recession. People usually don’t think about their bankers when things are going well. When it comes to true relationship banking, it is going through the bad times together as well.

Piermont has the advantage of being the new player because we don’t need to worry about our balance sheet, and we have more room to help clients withstanding a looming recession.

We also take a holistic approach to our relationship and pricing, which means we have clients’ business and personal accounts. This allows a view of our client’s financial strength we can use to come up with different ways to help them go through difficult times.

Q: What is Piermont doing to help small and medium-sized business navigate uncertain times?

We have an express loan decisioning program, which means we turn around loan decision in three days when a complete loan package is received.

If Piermont cannot help we let you know immediately, and we have partners in the ecosystem that we can refer you to. This reduces

EXPERT ADVICE: HEALTH

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

tures need to be fixed. This is a case where the decision for treatment is more up to the patient.

Surgically removing it is a more aggressive treatment with a better chance at preventing the ganglion from coming back. Recurrence does happen is less than 10 percent of cases, although it does not always require another operation.

Surgery can be done through a

small incision over the bump or through arthroscopy. With arthroscopy, a lighted tube is inserted into the wrist joint through a poke hole, and the stalk of the cyst is excised from the inside of the joint.

The proposed benefits of arthroscopic excision include improved cosmetic appearance, quicker recovery, and earlier return to work.

opportunity cost and allows small and medium-sized companies to find new financing support in a more efficient way.

For more information, visit piermontbank.com or email hello@piermontbank.com.

THIS IS QUEENSBOROUGH

queenschamber.org

QUEENS CHAMBER PARTNERS & AFFILIATES 82ND STREET PARTNERSHIP

37-06 82nd Street, Jackson Heights, NY 11372 Executive Director: Leslie Ramos 718.335.9421 82ndstreet.org QUICK GLANCE: Budget of $224,000 with more than 200 businesses under its umbrella.

The district is on 82nd Street from 37th Avenue to Baxter Avenue. The board meets quarterly with the annual meeting in June.

There are free immigration services every Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 71-29 Roosevelt Avenue. All services are free, confidential and open to any member of the community. Some of the services include DACA, TPS and document replacement and renewal. Call (212) 652-2071 with any questions.

BCNA is an approved Small Business Administration Intermediary Lender and a certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). BCNA’s Microloan program is the cornerstone of its services.

They provide small business loans and microloans to business owners who are not able to obtain loans from traditional lenders.

and improves quality of life for the ethnically and economically diverse residents of Jamaica and for the region at large, which benefits from rational, well-planned, and sustainable metropolitan growth.

FOREST HILLS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

84-01 Jamaica Avenue, Woodhaven NY 11421 718.805.0202 gwdcbid@hotmail.com woodhavenbid.com QUICK GLANCE: Budget of $257,000 with more than 350 businesses under its umbrella.

On Jamaica Avenue from Dexter Court to 100th Street. They are providing free benches for store owners along Jamaica Avenue. They also provide 2.5 and 5 percent home improvement loans.

PO Box 751123, Forest Hills, NY 11375 President: Leslie Brown 718.268.6565 FHChamber11375@gmail.com FHChamber@aol.com QUICK GLANCE: Re-formed in 1995, the group has over 225 members.

Chamber meetings are held on the last Wednesday of the month at 9 a.m. at the West Side Tennis Club, 1 Tennis Place, in Forest Hills.

GATEWAY JFK

BAYSIDE VILLAGE BID

213-33 39th Avenue, Bayside, NY 11361 Executive Director: Christine Siletti 718.423.2434 info@baysidevillagebid.com QUICK GLANCE: Budget of $218,000 and over 350 members.

Founded in 2007, the BID includes commercial property owners and residents on Bell Boulevard between 35th Avenue and Northern Boulevard, as well as a block east and west on 41st Avenue.

BAYSIDE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION

41-16 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361 President: Ed Probst Vice President: Judith Limpert 718.229.2277 info@baysideba.com baysideba.com Founded in 2007, the BID includes commercial property owners and residents on Bell Boulevard between 35th Avenue and Northern Boulevard, as well as a block east and west on 41st Avenue.

BUSINESS CENTER FOR NEW AMERICANS (BCNA)

78-27 37 Avenue, Jackson Heights, NY 11372 Business Development: Tshering Gurung 347.730.6468 tgurung@nycbcna.org QUICK GLANCE: Since 1997, BCNA has been serving New York City entrepreneurs.

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Executive Director: Scott Grimm-Lyon info@GatewayJFK.org GatewayJFK.org QUICK GLANCE: Formerly the Greater JFK Industrial BID and founded in 2016, the group seeks to provide support to the off-airport air cargo and services district through supplemental services and improvements, technical and professional services for its members, and advocacy and administration.

GatewayJFK is seeking sponsors for banners on Rockaway Boulevard. Participating sponsors will have their logo displayed on the lower portion of the banners for one full-year. Sponsoring the banner will cost $1,000, but sponsoring three or more banners costs $750 per banner. If interested, contact GatewayJFK at 516-730-3400 or scott@gatewayjfk.org.

GREATER FLUSHING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

39-01 Main Street, Suite 511, Flushing NY 11354 Executive Director: John Choe john@flushingchamber.nyc 646.783.8985 flushingchamber.nyc QUICK GLANCE: Founded in 2014 and representing over 200 businesses.

GREATER JAMAICA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

90-04 161st Street, Jamaica, NY 11432 President: Hope Knight 718.291.0282 gjdc.org QUICK GLANCE: Founded in 1967, the group has 75 members.

GJDC’s work expands economic opportunity

GREATER WOODHAVEN DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION WOODHAVEN BID

JAMAICA CENTER BID

161-10 Jamaica Avenue, Suite 419 Jamaica, NY 11432 Executive Director: Jennifer Furioli 718.526.2422 jamaica.nyc @JamCenterBID (Twitter) @jamcenterbid (Instagram) @Jamaica Center BID (Facebook) QUICK GLANCE: Budget of over $1 million.

Founded in 1979, the Jamaica Center BID serves over 400 businesses on Jamaica Avenue between Sutphin Boulevard and 169th Street.

The BID’s goal is to promote and maintain Downtown Jamaica as a thriving business hub and an enjoyable destination to shop, work, live and visit.

The BID’s sanitation team is out on Jamaica Avenue 360 days a year. The BID offers marketing and promotion for the district, including a value card program, banner and rubbish bin sponsorship opportunities, and supports business owners in opening or expanding their operations.

JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

P.O. Box 300687, Jamaica, NY 11430 Executive Director: Clorinda Antonucci President: Al DePhillips Vice President: Joseph Morra JFKCoCExec@gmail.com jfkairportchamberofcommerce.org QUICK GLANCE: Founded in 1978, the group has over 200 members.

The chamber was chartered in 1978 by a group of business people in and around JFK Airport. It is the only airport in the nation to have its own Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber seeks to create an environment in which members of the business community can

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4

QUEENS CHAMBER PARTNERS & AFFILIATES work together to enhance the growth, well being and economic development of the airport community and its aviation industry.

LONG ISLAND CITY PARTNERSHIP

President: Elizabeth Lusskin 718.786.5300 longislandcityqueens.com Founded in 1979, the Long Island City Partnership advocates for economic development that benefits LIC’s industrial, commercial, cultural and residential sectors. The goal is to attract new businesses to the neighborhood, retain those already here, welcome new residents and visitors, and promote a vibrant and authentic mixed-use community. The LIC Partnership operates the LIC Business Improvement District and the LIC Industrial Business Zone.

MASPETH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

P.O. Box 780265, Maspeth, NY 11378 President: David Daraio 718.335.1300 maspethchamberofcommerce.org QUICK GLANCE: Founded in 1953, they have 120 members and a budget of $115,000.

MASPETH INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (MIBA)

BOC: 96-11 40th Road, Corona, NY 11368 Coordinator: Quincy Ely-Cate 718.205.3773 qelycate@bocnet.org mibanyc.org QUICK GLANCE: Roughly 600 businesses with 30 active members.

The Maspeth Industrial Business Association, a project of the Business Outreach Center Network, provides a collective voice in advocating the needs and interests of industrial and manufacturing businesses in Maspeth.

They help companies in the Maspeth Industrial District in developing workforce, accessing tax credits, obtaining financing, navigating government regulations and, in some cases, finding real estate.

MIDDLE VILLAGE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

79-47 Metropolitan Ave., Middle Village, NY 11379 President: Salvatore Crifasi 718.894.8700 Sal@Crifasi.com QUICK GLANCE: Budget of $8,000 with 35 businesses under its umbrella.

Formed in 1929. MVCC meets annually and focuses on the Metropolitan Avenue shopping district between 69 and 80th streets.

Annual membership fee is $150, and they are

looking to gain momentum through attracting new members. The mission is to improve the area and assist local businesses if they have any concerns or needs.

STEINWAY ASTORIA PARTNERSHIP BID

62-14 Myrtle Avenue, Ridgewood, NY 11385 Executive Director: Ted Renz 718.366.3806 QUICK GLANCE: Budget of $500,000 with over 300 retail and service businesses under its purview.

Board meetings are held four times a year with the annual meeting in June. The district includes Myrtle Avenue in Ridgewood between Fresh Pond Road and Wyckoff Avenue. Program support is provided by the Ridgewood LDC.

25-69 38th Street, Suite 1C, Astoria 11103 Executive Director: Marie Torniali 718.728.7820 info@steinwaystreet.nyc steinwaystreet.org QUICK GLANCE: Founded in 1991, the BID has over 300 members.

The Steinway Street Business Improvement District encompasses all 300 business located on Steinway Street from 28th Avenue to 35th Avenue.

National chain stores such as Victoria’s Secrets, The Gap, Benetton, and Express are side by side with local family owned shops some of them fixtures on the street for some 50 years.

QUEENS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

SUNNYSIDE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

MYRTLE AVENUE BID

12-55 Queens Boulevard, Room 309 Kew Gardens, NY 11424 Executive Director: Seth Bornstein 718.263.0546 queensny.org QUICK GLANCE: Budget of $1.5 million and a resource for over 2,000 businesses in the borough of Queens. Upcoming events include:

ROCKAWAY BUSINESS ALLIANCE

info@rockawaybusinessalliance.org QUICK GLANCE: Budget of $40,000 and a resource for over 200 businesses.

The Rockaway Business Alliance was founded in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy. RBA’s vision is to create business corridors that are clean, safe, and welcoming, with shopping, dining, attractions, and engagement for the local community and the visitors drawn to Rockaway’s beaches and open spaces.

ROCKAWAY DEVELOPMENT & REVITALIZATION CORPORATION

1920 Mott Avenue, Far Rockaway, NY 11691 President: Kevin Alexander 718.327.5300 www.rdrc.org QUICK GLANCE: Founded in 1978, the group has 30 members.

Founded in 1978, the Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation (RDRC) was established to promote the revitalization of the Rockaway’s economic base and neighborhoods by creating long-standing partnerships with city and state agencies.

In 2014 RDRC rejuvenated the Rockaway East Merchants Association (REMA).

REMA membership meetings are held on the fourth Monday of the month at 1 p.m. at the corporation’s office at 1920 Mott Avenue in Far Rockaway.

PO Box 4399, Sunnyside, NY 11104 President: Vanessa Ceballos 718.729.4688 sunnyside-chamber.org QUICK GLANCE: Annual budget of $55,000.

The chamber is an organization built around assisting and helping local business and professionals by providing resources to increase business, safety and historical preservation throughout the neighborhood.

SUNNYSIDE SHINES

45-56 43rd Street, Sunnyside, NY 11104 Executive Director: Jaime-Faye Beam 718.606.1800 director@sunnysideshines.org sunnysideshines.org QUICK GLANCE: Budget of $480,000 with more than 250 businesses under its umbrella.

The BID is still looking for sponsors for Sunnyside Street Banners along Queens Boulevard and Greenpoint Avenue.

There are still a number of locations still available, call the office for more info. Companies that are not located in Sunnyside are invited to participate as well. Sponsorships start at $350 and last for one year.

SUTPHIN BOULEVARD BID

89-00 Sutphin Boulevard, Suite 204C Jamaica, NY 11435 Executive Director: Glen Greenridge 718.291.2110 sutphinblvdbid@verizon.net QUICK GLANCE: The BID was founded in 2004 and represents 134 businesses, 56 properties and 39 property owners along Sutphin Boulevard between Hillside Avenue and 94th Avenue.

The Air Train Jazz takes place on Sutphin Boulevard every Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Jamaica AirTrain Station.

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THIS IS QUEENSBOROUGH

queenschamber.org

EXECUTIVE COMMMITEE

EXECUTIVE STAFF

Thomas Santucci

Richard Dzwlewicz

Thomas J. Grech

Brendan Leavy

Nash Roe

Fran Biderman-Gross

Joanne M. Persad

Jacqueline Donado

Chairperson

Associate Treasurer

Vice Chairperson

Associate Secretary

Treasurer

Immediate Past Chair

Patrick Yu

Susan Browning

Mayra DiRico

Secretary

President & CEO

Business Development Manager

Chief of Operations

Strategic Program Coordinator

Alejandra Espejo

Jef Gross

Financial Controller

Neil Wagner

Business Service Program Manager

Manager of Committee Development

CHAIRPERSON’S ADVISORY COUNCIL William Blake Dominick Ciampa Joseph Farber Louis D. Laurino

Joseph M. Mattone, Sr George Rozansky Gerard Thornton

QUEENSBOROUGH (ISSN0033-6068 is published 12 times a year for $12.50 annually by the Queens Chamber of Commerce of the borough of Queens. 75-20 Astoria Blvd, Suite 140, East Elmhurst NY 11370-1131.

Periodicals postage paid at Flushing NY and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Queens Chamber of Commerce 75-20 Astoria Blvd., Suite 140, East Elmhurst NY 11370-1131.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Stephanie Baldwin Fran Biderman-Gross Joshua E. Bienstock Susan Browning Kenneth J. Buettner Charles E. Callahan KY Chow

Sal Crifasi Steven DeClara Mayra DiRico Richard Dzwlewicz Charles Everett, Jr. Joseph R. Ficalora Tamara Gavrielof

Howard Graf Raymond Irrera Kenneth Koenig Neil Levin Jeffery E. Levine Carl Mattone Patricia Mezeul

Maria Odysseus Jeffrey Owens Albert F. Pennisi Vincent L. Petraro Esq Nash Roe Jeffrey Rosenstock Juan Santiago

Thomas Santucci Mark Scheinberg Caryn Schwab Sher Sparano Michelle Stoddart Terri Thomson Henry Wan

Patrick Yu Daniel Zausner

CORPORATE MEMBERS A&E Real Estate A&L Cesspool Services Corp AARP Adria Hotel and Conference Center Aeroterm AFC Urgent Care - Howard Beach Amaracon Testing & Inspections, LLC American Lions LLC Amna Construction Corp AmTrust Title Andromeda Antun’s of Queens Village Apple Bank for Savings Apple-Metro, Inc. ARK Development LLC Ashnu International, Inc. Assured Environments Astoria Sports Complex Atco Properties Accounts Payable Aurora Contractors, Inc. Avison Young AYC Properties LLC Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP Balkan Sewer And Water Main Service Bank of America Merrill Lynch Bank of Hope Bellozino Bethpage Federal Credit Union Bijal Hospitality - Hyatt Place LIC & Fairfield Marriott LGA Blink Fitness Boyce Technologies Inc. Bridgehampton National Bank Broadway Stages Cactus Holdings Inc Capital One Bank Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens CBRE

Center for Automotive Education and Training Cerini and Associates, LLP. Ciampa Organization Cipico Construction, Inc. Citibank CityMD Clearcell Power Conference Associates, Inc Cord Meyer Development LLC Corporate Development Systems, Inc. Courtyard by Marriott Crescent Properties, Inc Crown Castle Crunch - Rochdale (Please correct spelling in magazine) Cushman & Wakefield Damian Family Care Centers, Inc. Daniels, Norelli, Scully & Cecere P.C. Daroga Power, LLC Dedline AV East Coast Energy Group Ecosave Inc. Emigrant Mortgage Company Enterprise Fleet Management eXp Realty: Andrew Wu Exquisite Construction F & T Group Farrell Fritz, P.C. First Central Savings Bank Flushing Council On Culture & The Arts Forest Hills Financial Group Inc. GF55 Partners Gil-Bar Industries, Inc. Glenwood Infinity LLC (Hello Panda Festival) Global Industrial Goodwill Industries of New York & North-

ern New Jersey, Inc. Graf & Lewent Architects Greater NY Automobiles Dealers Association Greenpoint Manufacturing & Design Center (GMDC) Gum Studios Hampton Inn by Hilton JFK Airport Healthy Corner Pharmacy Hilton Garden Inn Long Island City New York Hook & Reel LLC Hyatt Place Flushing IBIS Styles New York La Guardia Airport INDA, Association of Nonwoven Fabric Industry Innovo Property Group Instacart Intercontinental Capital Group iRCM, Inc. J.W. Hampton Jr. & Co., Inc. James F. Capalino & Assoc.

Jaros, Baum & Bolles Jason Office Products JC Elite Construction JDP Mechanical JetBlue Airways Corporation JFA Insurance Brokerage & Associates Inc. JGM Construction Development, LLC Jones Lang LaSalle Kasirer Consulting Kaufman Astoria Studios, Inc. Kimco Realty Corporation Klein Weath Management/ Hightower Advisors Laffey Real Estate Laguardia Plaza Hotel Laser Bounce of Brooklyn Inc.

Levine Builders Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade Association, Inc. Luxury Office Suites LLC Lyons Mortgage Services, Inc. Madison Realty Capital Manpower McBride Consulting & Business MCT Fine Wine & Spirits, LLC Medisys Health Network Mega Contracting Group LLC MetroPlus Health Plan Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade MicroGrid Neworks, LLC Millennium Dae Dong, Inc. Molloy College Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens Mr. T Carting Corp.

Muss Development LLC My Benefit Advisor, LLC NEOLEDGE Neuman’s Kitchen Newtown Creek New York + Atlantic Railway New York Health Plan Association New York Oil Heating Association Northwell Health NYC Ferry Operated by Hornblower Olympia Court Real Estate OneGroup Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates Patrizia’s Italian Restaurant Petro PGA Mechanical Contractors, Inc. Piermont Bank Premier Paint Roller Co LLC

COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Michelle Stoddart ResortsWorld Casino New York City michelle.stoddart@rwnewyork.com Jayson Simba Festival of Cinema NYC FestivalofCinemaNYC@gmail.com

Marshall Haimson E-Capital Development marshall@e-capitaldevelopment.com Jay Solly Sol Strategies jaypsolly@gmail.com

BANKING & LAW

ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION

Margaret T. Ling, Esq. Big Apple Abstract Corp. mling@bigappleabstract.com Paul Harrison Chase paul.harrison@chase.com

COMMUNICATIONS Cody Fisher Blue Ox Marketing, LLC cody@blueoxmarketing.com Dayana Cabeza Be Growth Consulting contact@begrowthconsulting.com

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ENERGY

Bill Staniford bill@staniford.com Michael Grella Grella Partnership Services mike@socialquityventures.com

HEALTHCARE & WELLNESS

Susan Browning Long Island Jewish Forest Hills sbrowning1@northwell.edu Bert Lurch E Central Medical Management bertl@ecmmgt.com

HOSPITALITY

Jim Quent Statewide Public Affairs jquent@statewidepublicaffairs.com Laura Altimari Fine Taste NYC finetastenyc@gmail.com

MANUFACTURING John Moore Vassilaros & Sons Coffee johnm@vassilaroscoffee.com Lina DeLaCruz Control Electropolishing Corp. lina@controlpublishing.com

NONPROFIT

Larry Grubler Transitional Services of NY lgrubler@tsiny.org Maria Odysseus Investors Bank modysseus@myinvestorsbank.com

REAL ESTATE

Martin Cottingham Avison Young martin.cottingham@avisonyoung.com Kevin Louie Cushman & Wakefield kevin.louie@cushwake.com Michael Wang Politan Real Estate mwang121@gmail.com

TECHNOLOGY Bobby Giurintano TGI Office Automation bgiurintano@tgioa.com Fred Canone Telehouse mwang121@gmail.com

TRANSPORTATION Kris Amato TD Bank Kristin.amato@td.com William Harris Edge Auto Rental william@edgeautorental.com

Premier Payroll Solutions Prime Storage Priority 1 Security LLC ProHEALTH Care QSIDE Federal Credit Union Queens Center Mall Queens Public Communications Corp.

Quontic Bank RCG Mortgage Receivable Collection Services, LLC Rego Park Seniors Club LLC Related Retail Corporation Rochdale Village Community Center Royal Waste Services, Inc. Safeguard Global Safety Facility Services Samaritan Daytop Village Santander Bank SBT Advantage Bank Seagis Property Group, LP Signature Bank Sive, Paget & Riesel P.C. Skyline Risk Management, Inc. SL Green Realty Corp.

Solomon Agency Corp.

Spring Hill Suites New York Jamaica/JFK Airport Squad Security Inc. St. Francis Preparatory School St. John’s Episcopal Hospital St. John’s University Sterling Risk Structural Engineering Technologies, P.C. Suffolk Sussman-Automatic Corporation Target TC Electric TGI Office Automation Thales The Andy Li Team at Compass The Botanist The Durst Organization The First National Bank of Long Island The Flying Locksmiths -Queens NY The Heskel Group The Liquidity Source The Lovett Group The Marcal Group T-Mobile TSC Traning Academy, LLC Ultrasound Solutions Corp.

United Airlines United American Title Agency United Construction & Development Group Corp United Public Adjusters & Appraisers, Inc. USTA National Tennis Center, Inc. Valley National Bank Vanguard Building Solutions, LLC Vassilaros & Sons Coffee Vic Kessler Signs LTD Vishnick McGovern Milizio LLP Watch Guard 24/7 LLC White Coffee Corp Wisselman, Harounian & Associates, P.C. YMCA of Greater New York / Queens Branches York College - CUNY Young Nian Group, LLC Zara Realty

April 2020 • Volume 16 • Issue 4 MAJOR CORPORATE MEMBERS

We hope you are enjoying the newly designed, expanded Queensborough, the monthly publication of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. We, the Chamber, direct and approve all content deciding what stories are covered in each issue, editing all copy and forwarding information that is contained in the publication. BQE Media produces it for the Chamber. We look forward to continuing to highlight the outstanding business persons, services and activities that make our borough unique. We welcome all your letters, manuscripts, etc. Please send all materials to the Queens Chamber of Commerce at 75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Suite 140, Jackson Heights, NY 11370 or call 718.898.8500 for more information. We reserve the right to edit for space limitations. Your support of the magazine is critical to its success. We encourage you to include Queensborough in your advertising plans. To place your ad, please call BQE Media at 718.426.7200.

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