13 minute read
Get to Know the Chamber’s Newest Members
CORPORATE
NEW MEMBERS
SMALL BUSINESS PARTNERS
Century Development Group
33-66 Farrington St., Suite 200, Flushing, NY 11354 centurygroupdevelopment.com An integrated Real Estate Development company founded by George Xu.
Community Care Rx Inc.
86 Front St., Hempstead, NY 11550 commcarerx.com Unique long-term care pharmacy providing comprehensive services.
Cross County Savings Bank
79-21 Metropolitan Ave. Middle Village, NY 11379 crosscounty.com FDIC-insured mutual savings bank founded in 1888 as Bushwick Savings & Loan Association of New York.
EBP Environmental, Inc. 3280 Sunrise Highway, Suite 72, Wantagh, NY 11793 enpenvironmental.com Certified WBE specializing in the disposal and hauling of hazardous and non-hazardous waste.
JBS USA 1313 Wall Street, Beardstown, IL 62618 jhssa.com
Macerich
90-15 Queens Blvd., Elmhurst, NY 11373 macerich.com Leader of top retail and mixed-use destinations in major U.S. markets.
Praxis Public Relations
69 Chichester Road, Huntington, NY 11743 prazisinc.us Consulting and management services for a growing number of private sector, municipal and nonprofit organizations
Amazing Lash Studio 162-38 Cross Bay Blvd Howard Beach, NY 11414 amazinglashstudio.com
Argento General Construction LLC 19-03 75th Street East Elmhurst, NY 11370 ArgentoUSA.com
Divino Pizzeria and Restaurant 164-02 Cross Bay Blvd. Howard Beach, NY 11414 divinopizzeria.com
Eckerd Connects 89-31 161st Street, Suite 200 Jamaica, NY 11432 https://www.eckerd.org
E-J Electric Installation Co. 4641 Vernon Blvd. Long Island City, NY 11101 ej1899.com
FoodtoEat 6111 155th Street Flushing, NY 11367 foodtoeat.com
Gehi and Associates 74-09 37th Avenue, Suite 205 Jackson Heights, NY 11372 gehilaw.com
H2 Architects 6 West 128th Street, Ground Floor New York, NY 10027 h2-architects.com
La Misa Enterprises Inc. (Philanthropy) 19 Locust Ave Glen Head, NY 11545 philanthropyinphocus.com
Montford Workshop 101-01 95th Avenue, 1H Ozone Park, NY 11416 montfordworkshop.com
M&M Piping and Heating Service 95-26 Sutphin Blvd. Jamaica, NY 11435
Noguchi Museum 32-37 Vernon Blvd. Long Island City, NY 11105 noguchi.org
Push Fitness Club 188-10 Union Turnpike Fresh Meadows, NY 11366 pushfitnessclub.com
Reverse Mortgage Funding 41 Pinelawn Road, Suite 200 Melville, NY 11747 reversefunding.com
Solucore Elevator Consultants 100 Park Avenue, 16th Floor New York, NY 10017 solucore.com
Special Olympics New York 211 East 43rd Street, Suite 802 New York, NY 10017 specialolympics-ny.org
Stella Global Trading Inc. 13620 38th Avenue, Apt. No. 9 Flushing, NY 11354
The L Group 18-33 41st Street Astoria, NY 11105
QUEENS CHAMBER PARTNERS & AFFILIATES
our community revitalization programs and community development efforts in the Rockaway Peninsula REMA works alongside businesses, civic groups, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations. REMA works to inform the public about opportunities that exist to strengthen the community, and to create a welcoming and safe environment to help expand economic opportunity in the Rockaway Peninsula.
STEINWAY ASTORIA PARTNERSHIP BID
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.
SUNNYSIDE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
PO Box 4399, Sunnyside, NY 11104 President: Vanessa Ceballos 718.729.4688 sunnyside-chamber.org QUICK GLANCE: With an 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
EXECUTIVE COMMMITEE EXECUTIVE STAFF
Thomas Santucci
Chairperson Patricia Mezeul
Treasurer Patrick Yu
Secretary Nash Roe
Associate Treasurer Richard Dzwlewicz
Associate Secretary Thomas J. Grech
President & CEO Joanne M. Persad
Chief of Operations Alejandra Espejo
Financial Controller Neil Wagner
Business Service Program Manager Brendan Leavy
Business Development Manager Jacqueline Donado
Strategic Program Coordinator Jef Gross
Manager of Committee Development SENIOR ADVISORY COUNCIL
William Blake Dominick Ciampa Joseph Farber Louis D. Laurino Jeff Levine Joseph M. Mattone, Sr Vincent L. Petraro, Esq. George Rozansky Gerard Thornton
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Stephanie Baldwin Fran Biderman-Gross Susan Browning Kenneth J. Buettner Charles E. Callahan Ali Chaudhry Sal Crifasi Steven DeClara Mayra DiRico Richard Dzwlewicz Charles Everett, Jr. Joseph R. Ficalora Tamara Gavrielof Howard Graf Dr. Cameron Hernandez Raymond Irrera Kenneth Koenig Neil Levin Bert Lurch Carl Mattone Patricia Mezeul Melinda Murray-Nyack Maria Odysseus Stephen Preuss Nash Roe Jeffrey Rosenstock Juan Santiago Thomas Santucci Mark Scheinberg Sher Sparano Michelle Stoddart Terri Thomson Henry Wan Mark Weprin Patrick Yu Daniel Zausner
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.
365 Data Centers A&L Cesspool Services Corp AARP Above All Pressure Cleaning Abrams Fensterman Ads Engineers, DPC Aeroterm Amna Construction Corp Antun’s of Queens Village Aora Development Approved General Contracting Inc., ARK Development LLC Aurora Contractors, Inc. Balkan Sewer and Water Main Service Bank of America BedRock Real Estate Partners, LLC Berkshire HathawayHomeservices Laffey International Realty BJ’s Wholesale Club Blumenfeld Development Group, Ltd. Capital One Bank Carben Construction Inc. Carter Milchman and Frank CBRE CDS-Mestel Construction Center for Automotive Education and Training Cerini and Associates, LLP. Champion Elevator Corp. Ciampa Organization Cine Magic LIC Studios, LLC Cipico Construction, Inc. CitizensRx CLEAR Secure, Inc. Combs & Company Complete Supply Cord Meyer Development LLC Cornell Tech Cort CPower Energy Management Crann Integrated Solutions Crescent Properties, Inc Cross County Savings Bank Crown Castle Crystal Window & Door Systems, Ltd Dedline AV Direct Clean Service Solutions East Coast Energy Group Eastern American Technologies EDGE AUTO INC Emigrant Mortgage Company Enterprise Fleet Management EOS Electrical Corp EW Howell Construction Group First Central Savings Bank FLUID MECHANIC’S CORP Forest Hills Financial Group, Inc. Gatsons Electric, Inc. Gil-Bar Industries, Inc. GOLDEN AGE HOME CARE INC goPuff Graf & Lewent Architects Greater NY Automobiles Dealers Association HANAC, Inc. HE2PD, Inc. Healthy Corner Pharmacy Heatherwood Communities Himmel + Meringoff Properties HNY Ferry, LLC Hydro Quebec IKEA Queens INDA, Association of Nonwoven Fabric Industry INF Associates, LLC Innovo Property Group Instacart J Strategies, Inc J.W. Hampton Jr. & Co., Inc. James E Fitzgerald Jason Office Products JGM Construction Development Kasirer Consulting Kaufman Astoria Studios, Inc. Knights Collision Experts Inc. Krispy Kreme Laffey Real Estate Levine Builders Littler Mendelson, P.C. Lyons Mortgage Services, Inc. M & T Bank Madison International Realty Madison Realty Capital McBride Consulting & Business Mega Contracting Group LLC Mesirow Financial Metropolitan Taxicab Board of Trade Molloy College Mondial Automotive Mount Sinai Hospital of Queens Mr. T Carting Corp. My BenefitAdvisor, LLC NBCUniversal New York + Atlantic Railway New York Crystal Cleaning New York Islanders Hockey Club New York Life Insurance Company New York State Energy Coalition, Inc. Nonprofit Sector Strategies, PBC Northwell Health Nuvo Solutions Onegroup Owareco, LLC Patrick B. Jenkins & Associates PGA Mechanical Contractors, Inc. Popular Bank Priority 1 Security LLC ProCleanings Co QSIDE Federal Credit Union Queens College R.A.M.S. Mechanical Inc. Red Eye Group LLC REDI Group, LLC Reef Technology REIL Capital Related Retail Corporation Ripco Investment Sales RXR Realty Safety Facility Services Samaritan Daytop Village Securitech Group, Inc. Signature Bank SL Green Realty Corp. Solo Energy & Electrical, Inc. Solve Together LLC Spectrum Reach Squad Security Inc. St. Francis Preparatory School St. John’s University Standard Group Starbucks Corporation Sterling Risk Structural Engineering Technologies, P.C. Sullivan Engineering LLC SUNation Solar Systems Target TGI OfficeAutomation The Center for Musculoskeletal Disorders The First National Bank of Long Island TLC Virtual Resiliency Total Fire Protection Transmission Developers, Inc. TSC Traning Academy, LLC Ultrasound Solutions Corp. United Airlines United Construction & Development Group Corp United Public Adjusters & Appraisers, Inc. USTA National Tennis Center, Inc. Valley National Bank Vassilaros & Sons Coffee Vista LIC Hotel, Best Western Premier Collection W & M Fire Protection Services W. SCULLY, CPA, P.C. Waste Management of New York LLC Watch Guard 24/7 White Coffee Corp Wisselman, Harounian & Associates, P.C. York College - CUNY
COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Leonard Jacobs Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning leonard@jcal.org Adrienne Whaley Queens Underground Black & Brown Film Festivals queensunderground718@gmail.com
BANKING & LAW
Paul Harrison Chase paul.harrison@chase.com Jackie Harounian Wisselman, Harounian & Associates jackie@lawjaw.com
COMMUNICATIONS
Jake Oliver Anat Gerstein jake@anatgerstein.com Henry Ramos Dedline AV henry@dedlineav.com
HEALTHCARE & WELLNESS
Bert Lurch E Central Medical Management bertl@ecmmgt.com Prabhleen S. Virk Citrin Cooperman pvirk@citrincooperman.com
ENERGY
Marshall Haimson
E-Capital Development marshall@e-capitaldevelopment.com
Jay Solly
Sol Strategies jaypsolly@gmail.com
ENTREPRENEURSHIP & INNOVATION
Bill Staniford Rentigo bill@staniford.com Deepti Sharma Food To Eat deepti@foodtoeat.com
FAMILY-OWNED BUSINESSES
Chad Callahan Plaza College cec4@plazacollege.edu Michael Shoule JW Hampton mikes@jwhampton.com
FOOD, BEVERAGE & HOSPITALITY
Jim Quent Statewide Public Affairs jquent@statewidepublicaffairs.com Vincent Gentile Vassilaros & Sons Coffee vincent@vassilaroscoffee.com
MANUFACTURING
Lina DeLaCruz
Control Electropolishing Corp. lina@controlpublishing.com CORPORATE MEMBERS
Azra Khalfan-Kermali Plaques by Azra azra@azra.com
NOT FOR PROFIT
Larry Grubler Transitional Services of NY lgrubler@tsiny.org Wendy Phaff Gennaro Queens Center for Progress wphaff@queenscp.com
REAL ESTATE
Martin Cottingham Avison Young martin.cottingham@avisonyoung.com Kevin Louie RIPCO klouie@ripcony.com Michael Wang Project Queens michael@projectqueens.com
TECHNOLOGY
Sean C. O’Rourke Combs & Company sorourke@combsandco.com Fred Canone fc1281@gmail.com
TRANSPORTATION
Marlon Taylor NY & Atlantic Railway mtaylor@anacostia.com Phil Jones LIME philip@li.me
Business Wins Big at ‘Make It Awards’
BY JESSICA MEDITZ
jmeditz@queensledger.com
For the fifth consecutive year, the New York Knicks and Squarespace hosted the Make It Awards, which support and celebrate the small, local businesses and entrepreneurs that help New York City thrive.
Hosted at Madison Square Garden, the Make It Awards honors four winners, presenting them with a $30,000 grant to further expand their mission.
This year’s winners include Adapt Ability, a Brooklyn nonprofit that provides custom adaptive bicycles for children with special needs; Harlem Pilates, which helps make health and wellness accessible to diverse communities; Legally BLK Fund, dedicated to supporting aspiring Black women attorneys by providing them with various resources; and COVERR, a Queens-based business that provides financial services that are customized for the gig economy, empowering workers to reach their highest earning potential.
Based in Long Island City, COVERR offers workers a better alternative to a credit card or loan by eliminating traditional barriers.
Kobina Ansah, the company’s founder, said that COVERR started out by him passing out flyers and interviewing Uber/Lyft drivers in Queens, which has grown significantly since.
“It really started out with finding out initially that Uber drivers in New York often pay somewhere between $350 to $500 plus dollars per week to rent the car that they’ll never actually own,” Ansah said.
“It became very clear to me that more than auto finance, liquidity or just cash management was a bigger challenge for Uber drivers, and shortly after, that started providing our business financing and people started getting inquiries from other parts of the gig economy.”
Ansah said that coming from a family of Ghanaian immigrants, he knows what it’s like to be part of an underrepresented community, which is why COVERR’s mission is so important to him.
He said that when he previously worked at Wells Fargo, he did not get to support a lot of people who look like him, and is grateful to now be able to provide services to underserved market segments.
“That’s what compelled me to start to focus on people who worked in emerging markets like the gig economy, which happens to be one of the fastest growing labor segments,” he said. “It happens to be represented by over 50 percent of those who work in the U.S. economy currently are members of the BIPOC community.”
Ansah said he was stunned to have been recognized in the Make It Awards, especially upon discovering that 750 other businesses applied.
He added that with the $30,000 grant, COVERR will use the funds to help further automate the underwriting practice, which will speed up the application process for clients, creating a job board to create greater resources for all clients and research and development.
“Being in a city as vibrant as New York, I knew the competitive landscape was huge And so I feel very fortunate to be selected,” Ansah said.
“Honestly, it’s an affirmation of the hard work that we do, and the importance of the work that we’re doing.”
Four businesses across NYC (Adapt Ability, Harlem Pilates, Legally BLK Fund and COVERR were honored at MSG’s Make It Awards.
MAJOR CORPORATE MEMBERS
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.
