Celebration of Queens June 2013 by Queens Chronicle

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Saluting the job creators 2013

16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS

Queensâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Largest Weekly Community Newspaper Group

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Published every week by MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC.

MARK WEIDLER

President & Publisher SUSAN & STANLEY MERZON Founders Raymond G. Sito General Manager Peter C. Mastrosimone Editor-in-Chief Liz Rhoades Managing Editor Joseph Orovic Asst. Managing/Online Editor Michael Gannon Editor Josey Bartlett Editor Domenick Rafter Editor Tess McRae Reporter Terry Nusspickel Editorial Production Manager Rya Bodlander Production Assistant Jan Schulman Art Director Moeen Din Associate Art Director Ella Jipescu Associate Art Director Ehsan Rahman Art Department Associate Richard Weyhausen Proofreader Lisa LiCausi Office Manager Stela Barbu Administration Senior Account Executives: Jim Berkoff, Beverly Espinoza

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Account Executives: Donna DeCarolis-Folias, Patricia Gatt, Debrah Gordon, Al Rowe

Contributors: Lloyd Carroll, Ronald Marzlock

Photographers: Rick Maiman, Steve Malecki

Interns: Mollie Galchus, Laura Shepard

Office: 62-33 Woodhaven Blvd. Rego Park, NY 11374-7769 Phone: (718) 205-8000 Fax: (718) 205-0150 Mail: P.O. Box 74-7769 Rego Park, NY 11374-7769 E-mail: Mailbox@qchron.com Website: www.qchron.com TOTAL CIRCULATION:

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MEMBER

• Organic food firms growing together ........ 14

• JetBlue touches down to stay in LIC ...........7

• Mom-and-pop shops hold their own ........ 18

• Dress for Success: not just the clothes.......8

• Temp jobs can yield long-term careers .....20

• For film studios, tax breaks mean jobs .......9

• Citibank tower transformed LIC ................22

• LGCC incubates design, tech startups ..... 10

• Queens Library aids the job seeker ..........24

• Resorts World a good bet for jobs ............ 12

• Construction on the rise at Hunters Pt. ....26

• Crystal Windows: made in Flushing .......... 30 On this page: JetBlue employees starting their day at the airline’s Long Island City headquarters. Photo by Michael Gannon. On the cover: The Citibank tower in Long Island City, Queens’ largest office building; and, clockwise from top right, assisting passengers aboard a JetBlue flight; working on a production at Kaufman Astoria Studios; crafting pianos at Steinway & Sons; and building Resorts World Casino New York City. Photo by taigatrommelchen / Flickr and, inset, file photos; Illustration by Ella Jipescu. Supplement editor: Peter C. Mastrosimone; Design: Ella Jipescu; Editorial Layout: Terry Nusspickel.

t’s been five years since the economy went south, and the recovery has been one of fits and starts Editor-in-Chief ever since. Yes, the stock market has rebounded, but the gulf between Wall Street and Main Street has never seemed wider, as unemployment has remained stubbornly high. In Queens it hovered around 8.5 to 9 percent for years, sometimes dipping a little but only recently improving in a measurable way. And even when the jobless rate fell below 8 percent, a closer look at the numbers showed that was due more to people dropping out of the workforce than to a real improvement. Until now. At last, after half a decade of a weak job market, there are signs of a real recovery for the working man and woman. The unemployment rate for Queens in May was 7.4 percent, according to the state Labor Department, which released last month’s county-bycounty figures Tuesday. That compares to 8.4 percent in May 2012, marking a substantial improvement. And it’s not just due to people running out their unemployment, giving up on finding jobs and dropping off the rolls. The number of people working in Queens last month was 1,047,100, a percentage point higher than the 1,036,900 who had jobs a year before. The difference is more than 10,000 jobs. So in this, our 16th Annual Celebration of Queens special edition, we salute the job creators, those companies

by Peter C. Mastrosimone

16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2013

• Where the jobs are in Queens ....................6

SALUTING THE

CREATORS big and small that have been and are now providing our residents with meaningful employment, with not just a paycheck but the satisfaction and dignity that come with it. Along with the actual employers, we’re celebrating what you might call the employment expediters — organizations that help people find work, whether by directly assisting the unemployed or by helping the companies that provide jobs themselves. In these pages you’ll find reports on corporations such as JetBlue, one of the borough’s top employers, which has more than 1,100 people working at its Long Island City headquarters and is helping brand Queens to the rest of the world, just by being based here. You’ll read about the success of Resorts World, the casino in Ozone Park,

which is not just a great entertainment destination but is employing more than 1,700 people, more than twice initial projections — most of them Queens residents. You’ll also hear directly from the proprietors of some of the borough’s small, family-owned businesses, the vaunted mom-and-pop shops, which may only employ a handful of people apiece but collectively remain strong job creators, even in the face of growing competition from major chains. That includes everyone from Claudine & Co., a popular hair salon in Howard Beach, to Ben’s Best Deli in Rego Park, a kosher staple the owner thinks of as “the extension of the family table.” You’ll learn about Dress for Success, the organization that helps women re-entering the workforce with everything from the quality clothing that inspired its name to resume writing and interview tips. You’ll read about the various programs the Queens Library offers to assist job seekers. And you’ll see how business incubators help entrepreneurs take their ideas from the drafting table to the marketplace, enabling them to hire as they grow. Are you out of work? Don’t give up. Things are tough but improving — we’ve seen the data that prove it. We hope you’ll find inspiration in these pages, maybe even concrete ideas to help turn things around. And if you’ve already got steady work, we’re glad you’re joining us in celebrating some of the many job creators in the borough, here in the pages of the Queens Chronicle, your Q community newspaper.

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Still living at home and proud of it.

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TRAVEL, RETAIL AND TECH JOBS GROWING Three key sectors in Queens, expanding now and in the foreseeable future by Peter C. Mastrosimone

Unemployment rates

ueens’ much-touted diversity isn’t just a matter of ethnicity; it’s also a matter of economics. And just as the powers that be cite the borough’s ethnic diversity as a strength, there’s no doubt that playing host to a wide and growing variety of industries opens up employment opportunites. As the old saying goes, you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. And Queens has a lot of baskets. That fact, along with a slowly but generally improving economy, could be one reason why the unemployment rate is dropping here, lately at a faster rate than it has been nationally. “We were never in it as bad as the rest of the country and the region,” Queens Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jack Friedman said, referring to the recent recession, “and we’re coming out of it stronger than the rest of the country and the region.” The jobless rate in the borough was 7.4 percent in May, according to statistics the state Labor Department released this week, compared to 8.4 percent in May 2012. Just as importantly, that improvement of a full percentage point was reflected in the number of people working in the borough, meaning

Location

May 2012

Apr. 2013

May 2013

8.4% 9.2% 8.4% 7.9%

6.9% 7.7% 7.3% 7.1%

7.4% 8.3% 7.4% 7.3%

Queens NYC NYS U.S.

Source: NYS Department of Labor

More and more national retailers are moving into Queens, adding more than three thousand jobs between 2010 and 2012, according to the state Labor Department. Above is the scene at the PHOTO BY STEVE MALECKI Queens Center mall in Elmhurst on Black Friday last year. that the change wasn’t a result of people dropping off the unemployment rolls, as it so often has proven to be in the past. More than a million people in Queens are working. In May the total was 1,047,100, according to the Labor Department, compared

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to 1,036,900 in May 2012. While the unemployment rate here did increase between April, when it was 6.9 percent, and May, economists point out that it’s the year-to-year figures that really matter, because seasonal factors affect month-to-

month statistics. Other state figures demonstrate that over the long term, job growth is occurring in a variety of sectors in Queens. One is retail, as more and more national chains move into the borough. In 2010, there were 6,532 retail companies in the borough, according to the Labor Department, with their average employment over the year totaling 55,531. By 2012, the number of retail firms had grown to 6,826, and their average number of workers had increased to 58,673. “With large retailers, we had been underserved, and we’re seeing large national chains moving in,” said Elena Volovelsky, an economist with the Labor Department. “Queens is continued on page 23

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Airline invests in jobs for the present and long-term future by Michael Gannon t was known for a few years that JetBlue Airways was going to leave its corporate offices in Forest Hills Towers when its lease expired in 2012. So both elected officials and the business community celebrated when the company announced it would be moving its operations and more than 1,000 employees to the historic Brewster Building in Long Island City. “Orlando was offering them everything — land, and of course, the taxes,” Jack Friedman, executive director of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, said. “This was huge not just for Long Island City, but for the image of the entire borough.” In the end, the airline and industry analysts said some major considerations for the domestic carrier were its historic roots in New York City, proximity to two of the largest, busiest commercial airports in the world, and closer connections with some of its inter national par tners, such as Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Japan Airways and Aer Lingus. Not to be outdone by Orlando, the city and state stepped up with $30 million in tax breaks and f inancial assistance for the expansion of JetBlue’s terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport; and the right to display the state’s “I Love NY” logo in promotions.

And the love is requited, according to Joanna Geraghty, an executive vice president with the company. “We’re proud to be a part of the Long Island City community,” Geraghty said in a statement released by the airline. “Our involvement in projects like the restoration of Andrews Grove Park as well as our partnerships with local schools like Aviation High School is truly important to us. Our over 1,000 [employees] at our Long Island City Support Center are certainly excited to see the benefits of supporting businesses and career growth in the area.” Icema Gibbs, director of corporate social responsibility for the airline, said its commitment to jobs in the area is both direct and indirect. She said the Aviation High school arrangement is part of the nonprofit Pencil Partnership program that links businesses with individual schools, and that JetBlue CEO David Barger, who chairs Pencil, is an active, hands-on leader in the program. Published reports state that numerous Aviation alums now work for the company. And while any large employer coming to town can have a positive impact on the local service industry and related small businesses, Gibbs said JetBlue was not content to be a passive observer in the process. “We took our crew members who would be coming to Long Island City on a bus tour, showing them the neighborhood, the stores and the restaurants they could eat in,” Gibbs said. “We wanted our crew members to know

this was more than just an office site.” And when a large or important business meeting is scheduled to take place with a client, vendor or contractor coming to town, JetBlue holds it in Long Island City whenever possible.

The main entrance at Long Island City’s historic Brewster Building is a busy one at the start of the work day. JetBlue Airlines relocated from Forest Hills in 2012, choosing to remain in the borough despite attractive offers from out of state. .

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Welcome to the neighborhood.

With numerous suitors interested, JetBlue moved its headquarters to 200,000 square feet in Long PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON Island City’s historic Brewster Building in 2012.

This, Gibbs said, is on top of tree plantings in parks, playground renovations throughout the borough and supplying food, water and volunteers in the Rockaways for several days in the wake of Hur ricane Sandy in 2012. A spokesman for the airline said JetBlue already has added more than 100 new employees to the 1,029 it brought over from Forest Hills, with room for future growth. “It’s also useful to note that approximately 30 percent of our [employees] at our Long Island City Support Center are now also residents of Long Island City,” he said. Friedman reiterated that the company’s decision to stay and expand has been felt boroughwide. “It’s not just the number of jobs,” Friedman said. “I would rather have JetBlue with 850 jobs than Bob’s Plumbing with 3,000.” He said it is a matter of branding the borough in the business marketplace. “If we had lost JetBlue, we would have lost not just the employees but a huge brand name,” he said. “It was one of the few corporate headquarters in the borough. Other companies would have looked at that and asked themselves why JetBlue was leaving Queens.” Instead, Friedman said, they now look at reasons the airline chose to stay, and not just the cache of being in New York City. “It is close to Manhattan but you can rent at bargain prices,” he said. “They like the mature workforce. It’s convenient to the Manhattan business district — you can get there in minutes, and enjoy the same benefits of Manhattan. And you’re working right Q near the airports.”

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JETBLUE WORKS FOR LI CITY, BOROUGH

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HELPING WOMEN, ONE PANTSUIT AT A TIME Dress for Success gives ladies the confidence to enter the workforce by Tess McRae here are many factors in finding a job. The resume, the interview, the cover letter and more all play a role, but when the process is unfamiliar, it can be intimidating. For some, even f inding the proper clothes for an interview poses an obstacle. “One of the biggest issues is that women are expected to wear certain attire,” Joi Gordon said. “It’s the catch-22 of not being able to get a job without having a suit but not being able to buy a suit without a job.” Gordon is the chief executive officer for Dress for Success, a nonprofit that provides disadvantaged women with professional attire and career development tools to help them succeed. “We pride ourselves in treating all women with respect and to make them feel dignified,” Gordon said. “We don’t want them to feel like it’s a thrift shop or a handout, and we try to dress her on the inside before the outside so she’ll have all the tool she needs.” Women like Angelica Vazquez, who visited the Dress for Success Queens headquarters in Richmond Hill to pick out a suit. She was nervous, fiddling with her bag and look-

ing down shyly while she waited for volunteers to meet with her. Having been a child care provider for a long time, Vazquez hasn’t been on an interview in four years. “We sit down with them and discuss their size and figure out what their style is as well as what position they will be interviewing for,” Lakindra Askew, the program coordinator of the facility, said. “Usually we’ll already have two suits in the fitting room when she goes in. We want it to be as relaxing as possible.” Vazquez’s fitting room had two pantsuits, one black and one gray — her favorite color. Naturally, she tried the gray suit first but wasn’t thrilled with the fit. Trying on clothing can be an emotional process for many women, and one they often do with friends or family who validate the clothing choice. To reinforce confidence in Vazquez, Askew and the volunteers fill that void by repeating lines of encouragement and assurance. “For most women, they don’t know what to expect when they come to us so they don’t expect much,” Gordon said. “We want to wow her and we want to make sure she looks good, so we give it the feel of a boutique and continued on page 25

Program coordinator Lakindra Askew, left, shows client Angelica Vazquez an option for her upcoming PHOTO BY TESS MCRAE job interview.

16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2013

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State tax credit adds to employment at LIC-based film, television studios by Josey Bartlett

oth Kaufman Astoria and Silvercup studios are part of real estate development busi-

nesses. The Suna brothers, Stuart and Allen, both trained architects, of Silvercup have developed several residential properties around Queens and continue to shop around for more sites. Similarly the Kaufman Organization, based in Manhattan, operates as a mega commercial real estate firm, controlling about 7 million square feet of land around the city. That real estate and development side certainly makes money and creates jobs; however, not with the pizazz of their movie studios, based in Long Island City and Astoria, respectively. After all these movie and television studios have helped create some memorable pieces of pop culture history. Silvercup, near the Queensboro Bridge, housed the couch sets where the older couples in “When Harry Met Sally” are interviewed, sharing how they met and fell in love. Samantha, Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte’s bedrooms were at Silvercup, and when these “Sex and the City” girls went to Dubai in the second movie, their plane never left LIC. The recently passed James Gandolfini of “The Sopranos” wheeled and dealed right there as well. Nearby Kaufman Astoria Studios, located on 35th Avenue where LIC meets Astoria, has hosted iconic programs such as “The Cosby Show.”

Kaufman Astoria Studios revitalized 35th Avenue by turning empty buildings into filming stages and bringing dozens of COURTESY PHOTO tenants to a once desolate neighborhood. “When we had the original ‘Cosby Show,’ it told Hollywood that we could do that type of work in New York just as well as they did it in Los Angeles,” KAS President Hal Rosenbluth said, “and that was a big deal.” Kaufman also hosts “Sesame Street” and feature films including “Men in Black III” and the 1996 flick “Ransom” with Mel Gibson, which at the time was the studio’s longest-running tenant of about nine months. Before then production teams used the stages for TV pilots or for 12-episode seasons. Feature f ilms created a larger

nies must use a certified stage at least once, Suna said. That’s where these Long Island City- and Astoria-based studios come into play. “We’re like an airplane,” Suna said. “Sometimes it’s empty and sometimes it’s full. Once the day is over we don’t get that time back. We rent time.” Silvercup for the last decade has employed 60 people without much fluctuation, but where they have seen lots more jobs is in how many production company employees use the space on any given day. “There can be anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 employees,” Suna said. Similarly KAS employs anywhere from 50 to 100 people directly, Rosenbluth said, but through production it sees another 1,500 workers. But the effect on jobs is not just inside the studio walls. The areas’ businesses see increased action. The producers of “Gossip Girl,” filmed at Silvercup, used the coffee shop Communitea on Vernon Boulevard for many scenes, eventually building a Communitea set at the studio. “Gossip Girl” producers also made a point to decorate the apartments seen on the show with artwork from Queens artists, Suna said. “We encourage using local businesses,” Suna said, listing LIC lumber company Lenoble Lumber as one. KAS won the right to develop the buildings it currently occupies from the city in the late ’70s.

Hal Rosenbluth is the president of Kaufman Astoria Studios, home to beloved Sesame Street characters such as Oscar the Grouch. COURTESY, TOP, AND FILE PHOTOS

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Silvercup Studios, which is nestled up to the Queensboro Bridge in Long Island COURTESY PHOTO City, was home to shows such as “30 Rock” and “Gossip Girl.”

impact by using the space and utilizing the neighborhood for a longer time period. It’s clear by their resumes film and television production teams like New York, but nevertheless incentives do help. Both studios cite the New York State production tax credit as their biggest job creator. “The biggest impact as far as jobs and revenue has been thanks to that tax credit,” Silvercup Studios President Stuart Match Suna said. Since 2004 the state program has given production companies a refundable tax credit on below-theline costs. These costs are not payment of the directors, writers or actors but most of the wages for other professionals such as carpenters, scene artists and lighting experts. It started as a 10 percent credit, but thanks to competition from nearby states it has grown to 30 percent. “It’s the biggest marketing tool we have ever been given,” Rosenbluth said. “We have enough data that proves it creates positive revenue and jobs. “Next time go you to the movies stay until the very end,” he said. “Every name that crawls by is a job.” Since its inception the credit has attracted 665 film and television projects, generating $10.1 billion in economic activity for the state, according to the state’s website. There are some qualifications, one which is the production compa-

For years the buildings were vacant. “Parents wouldn’t let [their children] come north of Broadway,” Rosenbluth said. “For a parent nothing good comes from vacant buildings.” The studio’s goal was always to create a campus and turn that dangerous avenue into what it is now. It found tenants like the movie theater, Pizza Uno and Starbucks, Applebee’s and smaller businesses such as a waxing salon, dry cleaners that deal with the thousands of costumes, a gym and the many mom-and-pop restaurants. “Every one of these businesses brings jobs and creates jobs,” Rosenbluth said. “Just come here at lunch time and watch every food delivery person that comes in.” On the cultural side, Rosenbluth said, KAS helped attract the Museum of the Moving Image, which George Kaufman donated $1 million to for a renovated cour tyard, the Frank Sinatra School for the Arts and new tenant Queens Council on the Arts. “It’s about nurturing an area and encouraging the growth of a camQ pus,” Rosenbluth said.

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SILVERCUP, KAUFMAN BRING JOBS TO NABE

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DESIGN, TECH FIRMS GET A HELPING HAND LaGuardia CC business incubator assists startups, adding to job creation by Peter C. Mastrosimone f you’re starting a small business in the design or high-technology sectors, you could hardly pick a better location in today’s New York than Long Island City. The rapidly developing area’s got it all: a fastgrowing population, high-rise development to accommodate it and the glamour of Manhattan so close it almost looks like you could touch it. And if you’re starting small but have a promising idea likely to result in growth — meaning you’ll be hiring at some point in the not-too-distant future — the best spot for you in LIC just might be one at NYDesigns, the business incubator at LaGuardia Community College. NYDesigns can give your startup everything from off ice space at below-market rates to business advice, pro bono legal guidance and access to a high-tech lab for making prototypes of your product. And you get to share the space with a number of other startups, none of which will directly compete with your firm, all of which are coping with some of the same issues you are as you work to establish yourself. “I’m really blown away by what we have created here and how meaningful this has been to our clients,” said Natalia Arguello, the NYDesigns director. “I think we have a lot of happy clients. It’s great to hear that our services are really meaningful and help them take that step that they were planning to take before they got here. It’s really rewarding.”

NYDesigns Director Natalia Arguello COURTESY PHOTO

Since its establishment, NYDesigns has hosted more than 50 companies, Arguello said, helping create an untold number of jobs. “We’re an economic development program, so the reason we were created was to help the economy and the community grow,” Arguello said. “So that is why the number of employees is the most important thing. We are looking for companies that can grow and invest in employees, and in training their employees. That’s also one of the metrics we use to see if we are doing our job right.” Typically, a company might start at the incubator as a one-person firm but employ half-a-dozen people by the time it moves out after the standard three-year tenure, she said. “What we do with a lot of them is transition them from being a consultant or freelancer to being a company,” she explained. “We’ve had over 50 clients go through the program. Some of them moved out before because they grew quickly and we didn’t have space for them.” NYDesigns started out with just two clients, and now 26 companies call the incubator home. Anyone interested in applying for a space can call Arguello at (718) 663-8404 or email her at info@nydesigns.org. Among those 26 is Zimba Collections, a high-end fashion design firm that makes custom gowns and suits for women, made-to-measure lines for retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, and uniforms for luxury hotels and casinos in Las Vegas — everything from waitresses’ cocktail dresses to the outfits worn by front desk staffers. Zimba’s sole employee is principal and designer Kelsy Zimba, but she has a number of vendors, including the four design studios and factories that turn out her clothing — one in College Point, one in Manhattan’s Fashion District, one in Brooklyn and one in her native Minnesota — material suppliers and other freelancers, contributing to a number of jobs in the industry. “The Fashion District in general in New York needs a lot of support right now, and I do what I can to help maintain that,” Zimba said, adding that she will be hiring eventually. “We’re definitely growing,” she said. “Down the road, it’ll happen.” NYDesigns was the perfect location for her company, which she founded in 2009 and turned into an LLC last year. “I knew I wanted to be in Long Island City because it’s so close to

Designer Kelsy Zimba, left, whose firm is based in the NYDesigns business incubator at LaGuardia Community College, PHOTO COURTESY KELSY ZIMBA works with model Abigail Culver, publicist Sandra Bennett and videographer John Flynn.

The NYDesigns fabrication lab and Steven Bukowski, right, the co-owner of PHOTOS COURTESY NYDESIGNS design and production firm Automata, working in it. the Garment District, and NYDesigns was by far the best space I found in my hunt — and I think I looked at 20 different places,” Zimba said. “I like being around the other creative professionals that are here. It’s a great community environment.” Another firm that’s part of that great environment is Vengo, which builds and manages small, high-tech vending machines. Only 2 feet tall, a foot and a half wide and 4 and a half inches deep, the machines offer “everything from cell phone chargers to Sour Patch Kids,” in the words of co-founder Brian Shimmerlik. They’re located in a growing number of offices, bars and tourist spaces, with the company working toward getting them installed in taxis too.

“We have a team of aerospace engineers who have built this machine from scratch, and we don’t think anyone can build it quite as small as we have,” said Shimmerlik, who came up with the concept. Shimmerlik won the city’s 201112 Next Idea competition with the notion, then called TaxiTreats, brought in two co-founders and used the prize money to get the prototype built. Now Vengo has five full-time employees, three part-timers and six “wonderful interns.” It’s also looking for warehouse space in Queens. “We love Long Island City; it’s a great place to be,” Shimmerlik said. “We have an incredible amount of space here that allows us to do things like assembly. We are building every-

thing in-house and we really want to keep everything in the region. We’re doing everything we can to impact the economy and bring manufacturing back to New York City.” That’s just what you might say about the NYDesigns incubator on the whole, as well as LGCC’s many other business-oriented, job-creating services, such as the student entrepreneurship program funded by Capital One bank, which provides those with promising ideas up to $1,000 in startup funding. Arguello said the college offers similar services to the people it serves in both programs. College President Gail Mellow touted both in an emailed statement. continued on page 25

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RESORTS WORLD WORKS WITH THE COMMUNITY New casino stresses importance of neighborhood outreach and staff morale by Tess McRae he process of bringing big-name stores, companies and vendors into the city has proven difficult for many businesses. It is a gamble and often requires a lot of community outreach. So when it was announced that an operator had finally been selected for the city’s first casino, right here in Queens, administrators of what would become Resorts World Casino New York City knew they had to make it about the community. “From the moment we started the opening of this facility, we wanted to work closely with the community and bring jobs to Queens,” Stefan Friedman, a spokesman for Resorts World, said. The all-electronic gaming casino, which celebrated its one-year anniversary last fall, sits right next to the Aqueduct Race Track in Ozone Park and features two full floors of games and one for concerts and entertainment. Originally, Resorts World was projected to bring in 800 permanent jobs but now, over 1,700 people work for the casino, 1,100 of whom are from Queens and 30 percent of whom are minorities or women. In 2011, it created more jobs than any other company in the entire state.

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“When we would go to Community Board 10 meetings, people were clear not only that they wanted jobs, they wanted local jobs,” Friedman said. “We have the most talented workforce, not just in Queens but in the entire city.” In addition to working with the community board, Friedman and Resorts World administrators worked with the local precinct as well. “We maintained active and open communication with CB 10 and have worked hand in hand with the 106th Precinct, and since the casino has been open, we’ve noticed that crime has started to come down. Understanding that we are in the community and not an entity onto ourselves is of the utmost importance.” According to the Resorts World website, by October 2012, 134 employees had been promoted within the first ten months of operations. Hundreds of others were accommodated with transfers to other areas where they wished to build their careers. “We had 50,000 applications for these jobs,” Friedman said. “Many were from Ozone Park in particular and that’s great because it’s important to hire in the community because people are excited to work.” Another way the casino was able to support the community was providing shelter for those continued on page 23

The main bar on the second floor of Resorts World is a popular spot for patrons to have a drink and play some electronic poker. A stage in the center of the bar hosts live entertainment regularly. PHOTO BY TESS MCRAE

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FOOD INCUBATOR FERMENTS 50 NEW JOBS Several companies brew, bake and freeze their products at the LIC space by Josey Bartlett he Organic Food Incubator in Long Island City creates a space for people’s ideas to bake, ferment and harden in a quite literal way. About two years ago Bad Ass Organics, which produces 17 items from kombucha to raw slaws, hot sauces and energy shots, began looking for a new spot to locate its Hell Kitchen-based business. Co-founder Mike Schwartz and partners set out looking in most of the boroughs for a 3,000-squarefoot-space. “But we didn’t find it, because it doesn’t exist,” Schwartz said. Instead they found the 12,000square-foot industrial warehouse at 23-23 Borden Ave. “The small food manufacturing community is small and you meet people,” he said. And those people they met needed a certified commercial kitchen to bake their gluten-free breads, set their sorbets and ice creams and create their turmeric drinks. So BAO set to work turning its giant cement room into 11 200-square-feet kitchens and one communal kitchen, since the growing organic food company only needed about 300 of those square feet for its own endeavors. Companies such as Alchemy Creamery, Da Rosario Organics, Turmeric Alive and Kombrewcha moved in and helped create the conglomerate of food manufacturers — and pay the rent. “We’re packed full,” Schwartz said. Not only has the incubator taken off but BAO grew from two

Mike Schwartz, the co-founder of Organic Food Incubator and Bad Ass Organics, outside his Long Island City kitchen. PHOTO BY JOSEY BARTLETT

employees in Manhattan to seven. And the incubator provides far more. “We grew from two employees to 50. They aren’t all with Bad Ass Organics, but we helped to grow this,” Schwartz said. “I’m pretty proud. Fifty jobs in this city is nothing, but it’s still 50 jobs.” BAO has expanded into the contract manufacturing business as well, which means it bottles, labels or creates from a recipe products for other groups. Some companies choose to hire someone else to package their product for a variety of reasons. Some would like to stick to the creative process, while others would like to skip the lengthy state licensing process that is required to bottle a

Ariel Glazer, founder of Kombrewcha, tests a new batch PHOTO BY JOSEY BARTLETT of tea on Friday afternoon.

product themselves. BAO has that certification and therefore can legally bottle, box and wrap items. Schwartz recently acquired a commercial space upstairs from the incubator where he is in the process of constructing 11 more kitchens, four of which are already rented. He also invested in a bottler — a machine that can fill 2,000 bottles in an hour. “It will help grow our business,” Schwartz said. “It even bottles carbonated drinks, which is hard.” BAO co-packs for about seven companies. Brooklynite Ariel Glazer founded Kombrewcha to brew an alcholic kombucha, which is a fermented tea, about a year ago at the incubator. It takes about two months for a

new flavor of Kombrewcha to go from idea to bottle. BAO bottles the beverage and then the liquid is moved to another location to be created into an alcholic beverage. In the last month Glazer hired a full-time sales associate, growing his business 100 percent, in the hopes of getting the boozy tea on the shelves. “We’re going to hopefully start selling soon,” Glazer said. BAO also collaborates with organizations such as the Doe Fund, the Osborne Association and Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow — nonprofits that help at-risk youth, the homeless or individuals recently released from prison — to fill job openings.

Co-founder Louis Songor stirs a kettle at the Organic Food Incubator for a line of COURTESY PHOTO cocktail mixers for the startup Cocktail Crate.

The businesses at Organic Food Incubator are not all organic, though BAO can help them obtain their organic certif ications, Schwartz said, but they can’t produce “any garbage.” “No high-fructose corn syrup, no GMOs, no garbage here,” he added, referring in part to genetically modified organisms. Each of the 11 kitchens costs about $1,900 for a monthly rental or some companies such as Cocktail Crate rent time in the communal kitchen on a when-they-need-it basis. “I haven’t grown to the point that I have hired anyone, but the incubator has been instumental to me because I started really small,” Cocktail Crate co-founder Alexander Abbott Boyd said. “They have a hot fill machine, a label machine, a steam kettle — I couldn’t afford any of that.” Abbott Boyd rents the kitchen a few hours a week to create his bottle of cocktail mixers, which he sells in speciality stores around the city and at Smorgasburg, an outdoor weekend market in Brooklyn. Beyond the equipment needed for his business the incubator also provides a beneficial network of like-minded entrepreneurs. “There are great benefits from just being in the space,” Abbott Boyd said. “I have been able to connect with people who are running similar beverage companies but three years out.” Within the next year Abbott Boyd hopes to rent a kitchen full time and perhaps even hire an Q employee.

The incubator’s new snazzy piece of machinery allows employees to bottle 2,000 beverages an hour. PHOTO BY JOSEY BARTLETT

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MOM-AND-POP SHOPS HOLDING THEIR OWN Though tested, the quintessential Queens store is stil down the block by Mark Lord hey’re small, independent, and, to many in the community, irreplaceable. Momand-pop-type shops have seemingly forever lined Main Streets everywhere and, today, despite threats from hard economic times, unsympathetic whippings from Mother Nature and the domineering presence of big-box stores, some with employees numbering in the millions and net incomes in the billions, they continue to thrive. Of course, most no longer fit the picture of what a typical mom-and-pop used to be, what with computerization, websites and the like. Still, they provide, as they always did, jobs often for the young and unskilled in particular along with a welcome lift to a neighborhood, both spiritual as well as financial. Is it the exceptional service they tend to offer? Or, perhaps, the ability of shopkeepers to make a customer feel like family? For the past six years, Egyptian-born Ayman Alim and his Malaysian-born wife, Winnie, have run J&J Super Star, a deli and grocery store on Woodhaven Boulevard in Rego Park. “ It’s good for the neighborhood. Big stores are for weekly shopping. Small stores are for hourly shopping,” Alim said. “It’s nearby. You don’t have to drive to a big supermarket. If you get stuck at night, it’s just around the corner.” And nearby workers stop in on a regular basis. Lisa Vasquez, a frequent customer who works in a radiology office next door walks in and immediately Alim tries to engage her in some good-natured flirting. When he persists, she finally says to him, “I feel sorry for your wife,” who, at that moment, just happens to be serving her at the deli counter. In the past, Alim had employed four or five workers. Now he has several part-time helpers, students mostly, who extend the store’s international flavor: one is Jamaican, another Mexican, a third Russian. The Alims’ son, Joseph, also pitches in, as does a cousin. And, Alim said, sometimes friends stop by for coffee and end up helping out in the store. That kind of close relationship with the community has its pluses and minuses. “I have girls broke all the time who ask, ‘Can I have credit?’” Alim said. Does he give it? “Of course,” he answered, as if everybody would. “Half of this block owes me money.” Always considering his next move, but unsure as to what his next business venture might be, Alim is certain about one thing. He doesn’t plan to work for anyone else. “I used to work for a lot of companies,” he said. But “working for other people you make them money.” He’s not a job taker, he’s a job creator. Meanwhile, the store, which bills itself as the “Home of the Best Made Sandwiches,” continues to serve up everything from crab meat salad on a roll and falafel on pita, to Caesar salads and full party heros and platters. Delivery service is

Claudine Noce tends to a customer at Claudine & Co., the Howard Beach salon her parents, Vincent and Terri Punzi, below left, named for her when PHOTOS BY MARK LORD they started it more than 25 years ago. The family is “the nucleus of the business,” Vincent Punzi said.

available. And free ... of course! Over in Howard Beach, several familyowned businesses which were temporarily interrupted by Hurricane Sandy’s devastation are up and running, among them Cross Bay Travel Service on Cross Bay Boulevard. Now in its 36th year, the store was “closed because of water damage like everybody else,” said Nicholas Gramenides, whose family owns the business. He attributes the store’s longevity to “the personalization and relative closeness that everybody has for one another and connections between our friends and our families and longtime friendships.” Gramenides, whose son Peter arrived by bicycle and promptly took his position at the desk closest to the entryway, said he currently employs two additional workers, a number which has remained constant over the years. During the refurbishing, the business operat-

Another family business is J&J Super Star Deli in Rego Park, headed by Winnie and Ayman Alim, center. They’re joined here by family friend and former employee Taher Edris, left, their son, Joseph Alim, a cousin, Mohammed Alim, and employee Victor Darlington. The store was named for Joseph PHOTO BY PETER C. MASTROSIMONE and his sister, Jasmine. ed out of a satellite office in Ozone Park, Gramenides said. Now, it’s back to business as usual for Gramenides, who said he “pretty much knows everybody who comes in the door. “Once people fix their homes, people want to get back to their lives,” he said. “We’re a worldwide travel agency. You pick the place, we’ll send you there.” The agency books all cruise lines and han-

dles all tour, destination wedding, honeymoon, family vacation, and plane ticket arrangements. Just a few blocks away is Claudine & Co., a beauty salon that provides haircuts, hair extensions, hair removal, hair straightening, spray tanning, manicures and pedicures and other treatments for those wanting to look their best. This family-owned business suffered extencontinued on page 28

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WHEN TEMP JOBS LEAD TO GOOD CAREERS Good Temps seeks to bridge the gap between jobs and those looking for them by Domenick Rafter he idiom goes “Could you tell me how to get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice.” That may also be the answer for “How do I get a good job?” When looking for a job, many employers seek those with experience. But how does one get experience without a job? For some, temporary employment may be the answer to f illing a resume. Good Temps, a branch of Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, helps get unemployed people into temporary staffing positions that they hope will lead to more permanent positions. David Schoch, senior vice president of Good Temps, said the organization puts a majority of its clients into jobs with the city and state, in agencies such as the Department of Education and the Metropolitan Transit Authority.

“We use a temporary staff ing model to place those whom we serve, including people with disabilities and other barriers to employment,” he said. Many of those hired through Good Temps get jobs that last years. The average length of a temp job acquired through Good Temps is eight months, Schoch said. The program has helped tens of thousands of people across the city, including many in Queens, find temp work that often leads to full-time jobs and references. “A lot of temporary staff ing positions are long-term and can lead to long-term employment,” he said. “It serves as a stepping stone into a career job. It gives you the experience you need and enhances your skills.” In May, Good Temps teamed with state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (DHoward Beach) to hold a job fair at Resorts World Casino New York City, where more than 20 nonprofits came together to help victims of Hurricane Sandy and others looking

for work in southern Queens, where unemployment has been high for several years. More than 3,500 people came to the event, which offered 2,500 positions at 238 employers, but Schoch said they were still tallying the final numbers from the job fair. According to Goodwill spokesman Jose Medellin, more than 8.500 people in the New YorkNew Jersey area have been placed into jobs by the organization. Schoch said Good Temps decided to join other nonprofits for the job fair to step in where there is a need — areas hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. Many of those who were directly affected by the hurricane lost work due to damage to their places of employment or inability to keep a job while dealing with the storm’s aftermath. Some are looking for extra work to help pay off Sandyrelated bills. “We saw this as an opportunity to help people get back to work,” Schoch said, noting that he took part in a similar job fair held after 9/11.

Representatives from Good Temps and its parent organization, Goodwill Industries of New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc., meet with state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. during a jobs fair the agency took part in at Resorts World Casino New York PHOTO COURTESY NYS SENATE City in May. “Create immediate employment opportunities and stimulate the employment environment,” Schoch said in May. For more information on Good Temps and how to find employment through the organization, visit Q goodtemps.org.

He added that the jobs situation in South Queens had been bad for many years before beginning a noticeable recovery in 2012. Sandy stunted that progress. There were two main goals Good Temps and the other nonprof its wanted to achieve out of the job fair:

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ABOVE THE HORIZON, AHEAD OF THE CURVE Citi Tower: fun facts behind a business behemoth in LI City of the same things JetBlue Airways was seeking in 2012 when it chose to relocate its headquarters to Long Island City within several t 50 stories and 658 feet, it is the tallest building on geo- blocks of the tower — a mature, educated workforce, convenient graphic Long Island and the tallest in New York State outside access to the world’s commercial and financial capital, and, on a more practical point, real estate and rental prices that are lower than Manhattan. But the Citigroup Building, located at One Court Square in Long those across the East River. “They’re bringing jobs here,” Friedman said. “But they’re also Island City, is far more than the answer to a trivia question as far as bringing a powerful message. Queens has no real central business Queens is concerned. district; but Long Island City is close to The skyscraper with its distinctive green glass becoming one.” facade opened in 1990 largely as an overflow for The financial sector, he said, always has Citigroup’s Manhattan operations, which are ueens has no real focused on southern and then central New based in the Manhattan tower with the distincYork County, even after Citigroup set up shop tive slanted, 45-degree roof on Park Avenue. central business ditrict; in Queens. Jack Friedman, executive director of the “But more and more, they are looking Queens Chamber of Commerce, said the multibut Long Island City is toward places like downtown Brooklyn and national corporate giant fits in very nicely in a close to becoming one.” Jersey City,” he said. “They are moving out of part of the city where it was ahead of the curve. Manhattan.” “There are not a lot of corporate headquar— Jack Friedman, executive director, For the scientifically minded, the website ters in Queens,” Friedman said. “There is Queens Chamber of Commerce licsundial.net explains and illustrates how the room here for corporate growth. It is one subtower with its unique profile on the Western way stop from Manhattan.” Queens landscape acts as a giant sundial. Friedman said that would have been part of But, again, the business community regularly regards it as far more the company’s thinking when it first chose the location — to have its workforce so conveniently close. The tower, along with Citi’s neigh- than a curiosity. Real estate investors led by David Warner last year thought so boring Two Court Square, can house thousands of workers. Just around the corner of the larger building’s main entrance is much of the building and the location that they plunked down what the Court Square subway station where one can catch the E, G, M multiple published reports said was in excess of $500 million to purchase it from SL Green Realty and JP Morgan. and 7 trains. Q Citigroup’s current lease extends through 2020. Friedman said Citigroup has been able to take advantage of some

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continued from page 12 birthday. All of these things help build a stronger staff.” who were affected by Superstorm Sandy. “We had FEMA set up their headquarters Employees at Resorts World have an air here and we housed 2,500 people,” said about them that makes guests feel welMichelle Stoddart, director of public relations come. From staffers at the 10 restaurants, and community development for Resorts one of which the Daily News claims serves World. “But it wasn’t just those people who the best dim sum in the city, to the security needed help. We opened our doors because guards, guests are greeted with a smile. people needed a place where they could go “We try to make this a place where peoand relax, regroup ple feel comfortand gather their able,” Stoddart thoughts. Just havsaid. “There may ing a place to come be guests who are nderstanding that we and get warm and sad because they are in the community charge your phone lost money or was beneficial for something so it’s and not just an entity these people.” important for the Stoddart added staff to be friendly unto ourselves is of that many of the and make the expethe utmost importance.” rience as positive Resorts World employees felt the as it can be.” — Stefan Friedman, Resorts World spokesman wrath of the storm Currently, there and that there were is legislation penda few who slept on cots on the top floor of ing in Albany that would allow live table the casino. games at select locations in the state but “We have an incredible staff and we not at Resorts World. However, Friedman think it’s important to recognize exception- said that the company is more concerned al work performances,” she said. “Having right now with maintaining a strong relamanagement there to encourage the tionship with the neighborhood. employees and just say ‘thank you’ when “The people in the community who we you see a staff member who is going above work with every day have all been wonand beyond means a lot. We celebrate all of derful partners,” he said. “If you do the the major holidays together and we try to right thing by the community you’re in, Q do something special when someone has a you’re going to well as a business.”

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continued from page 6 in a sense like Brooklyn. A lot of the growth is coming from industries that serve the local population, so these are often smaller businesses, but more larger companies are moving in, so we’re seeing more of a balance.” Friedman noted that if the Willets West development proposal next to Citi Field goes through, even more national chains will move into the mall that’s planned there. Another key sector in Queens, maybe the most important, is transportation and warehousing, mostly thanks to the presence of two of the nation’s busiest airports. As with retail, the industry has been growing, according to the state figures. A total of 2,003 companies provided 56,182 jobs on average in 2010, rising to 2,045 firms and 59,391 positions in 2012. And travel naturally has an impact in other areas, especially hospitality, with more and more hotels going up, especially but not only in Western Queens. “The airports obviously are big employers, and right now we’re seeing a pickup, especially with business travelers,” Volovelsky said. “That’s one of the reasons the hotel industry is expanding as well, in addition to the fact that every year we’re more and more popular as a tourist destination.” Friedman agrees. “The biggest growth potential is hospitality and tourism coming off our airports,

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Page 23 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 27, 2013

Jobs growth

which are probably the biggest employers, when you consider all the ancillary businesses — the transportation business, the food business, hotels and restaurants — it’s all connected to the airports, ” he said. “The number of hotel rooms has grown exponentially, over 9,000. There are literally dozens of hotels opening.” Another growing sector, one whose potential is only just beginning to become clear, is high technology. While traditional manufacturing continues to decline, companies such as Shapeways, the 3-D printing firm in Long Island City, are bringing a whole new type of production to the borough, Friedman said. More high-tech growth is expected, especially in Long Island City, thanks to the $2 billion technology school Cornell University and Technion University of Israel plan to build on Roosevelt Island. As the new campus is built, “You’re going to find that Long Island City will become a tech center because of its proximity to Cornell-Technion and because of the kind of space that tech companies want,” Friedman said. The change to the borough’s commercial mix doesn’t mean all traditional businesses are going away, however. Friedman said the mom-and-pop shop is holding its own — especially those owned by recent immigrants that appeal to a certain ethnic niche. And according to Volovelsky, the restaurant business is growing. All the workers at those new companies and all the borough’s Q new residents need to be fed.

16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2013

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 27, 2013 Page 24

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SHHH! PEOPLE ARE LOOKING FOR JOBS From tech to resumes, Queens Library offers multiple layers of help to job seekers by Joseph Orovic dna Powell stared out at the four strangers looking back at her, anxiety scrawled across their faces. “What is a job interview?” she asked, pointing at a PowerPoint slide splashed at a wall across from her. For the next hour, Powell guided them through the basics of acing a job interview, her presentation just one part of the Queens Library’s broader job search and computer training program. The Queens Library’s Central Library Job Information Center is the hub for a boroughwide slate of programs, classes and help for the county’s job seekers. From rudimentary computer classes to mock interviews, the library’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program offers a slate of opportunities for the borough’s paycheck seekers to improve their chances. BTOP has helped over 48,000 residents since April 2011, totaling 56,000 hours of work for its relatively small staff of volunteers, interns and some paid workers. But according to BTOP coordinator Tara Lannen-Stanton, it’s the 1,968 computer training classes that have been held since April 2011 that most often help people find solid footing in the modern work force. “It’s still a really tight job market out there and we don’t do job placement,” she said. “What we give you are the skills you need to find a job and the confidence also to find a job.” Given the plugged-in world many of us take for granted, it’s jarring to hear LannenStanton describe the number of people roa ing around lacking even basic knowledge of how to use a computer.

Rosalyn Conyers, a member of the Queens Library’s Job Information Center staff, shows off the bell rung every time the library helps a PHOTO BY JOSEPH OROVIC customer find a job.

One of the many workshops held as part of the Queens Library’s various job readiness classes. COURTESY PHOTO

“We see many, many people who need to work, want to work but may not necessarily have the skills,” she said. “We see a pretty significant amount of people who have no computer skills whatsoever or maybe they have a little bit. They’ve used it for work, for maybe very specialized purposes. We also see a lot of people who know how to work their smartphone but have no idea how to work a computer.” The Central Library in Jamaica features a lab with laptops, which allows for learning en masse, led by an instructor. Within its orange-and-white walls, more than 30 participants at a time can get into the nitty gritty of Excel, Microsoft Word or any of the other 38 classes the library holds. BTOP also goes beyond the Central Library to 10 other locations, including Long Island City, Flushing, Astoria and Corona. “A lot of people enjoy that individualized, one-on-one assistance with their job search and technology,” Lannen-Stanton said. Since May 2012, the library has also added the Metrix Learning system, an online program that offers at-home courses that prepare participants for professional certification training and vouchers. The program has 1,800 users so far, with over 18,000 hours of training performed. At the end, participants can bolster the “Skills” section of their resume with actual certifications. “It’s everything from basic Microsoft Word all the way up to things like project management, really complicated IT things I don’t even pretend to know,” Lannen-Stanton said. The tech-savvy group at BTOP all have some level of techno-philia, she added. But when it comes to their customers — as they

On occasion, a desperate case comes through the doors of the library. Money is tight and a job application should be already on its way to potential employers. In those instances, the Job Center staff will usually help with a resume work sheet and ask the customers to write it out. After a review of the sheet, the customers are told to type out their information. According to Lannen-Stanton, the staff is strict about not writing out resumes for people. But it does help them. Which brings us back to Edna Powell and her primer on job interview readiness. “You have to keep in the back of your head,” she says in a thick Caribbean accent, “They want to know what [you] can do for the company.” The “intern,” who actually has a masters deg ree in social work, offers practical advice, ranging from how to dress to holding your jacket on a hot day. “I love to help the underserved and the marginal,” she said after her presentation, noting she’s been doing the job interview presentation for years. Occasionally, though not often enough, the members of the Job Center encounter a grateful success story. Lannen-Stanton has no means of tracking who does and doesn’t find a job, so her ability to gauge her success is virtually nil. But once in a while, a now-employed former customer comes in, sometimes bearing gifts (Powell once distributed chocolates to the entire staff). And then, the staff at the Job Information desk in the Central Library rings a victory bell. Yes, the ding-a-ling of a bell in a library seems incongruous. But given the economy, one can empathize with a celebratory bell ringing for someone who has found a job. To learn more about the Queens Library’s programs, visit queenslibrary.org/jobhelp or Q call (718) 990-0746.

refer to them — demographics and income level do not pan out in a way that labels one group of Queens residents as behind the times. “When we’re talking about technology, it’s changing so fast that it can be hard for people of any income, any demographic factor to keep up with it,” she said. Same goes for those seeking employment. “In terms of your job search, we see everyone from high school dropouts who not only need to get job search help but also need to get their GED to people who have very high levels of education and training and maybe they just need someone to review their resume.” Chief among the most popular services: mock interviews. For these, Lannen-Stanton said, the applicants run from those in the midst of switching jobs to others on the market for some time. The strict process includes an appointment, required attire and a copy of the resume. Sometimes the mock interview will feature a familiar face, but often it’s done by a complete stranger. The “job applicants” are put to the test: They can’t show up late, must come appropriately dressed and bring a full copy of their resumes. The whole process is not reviewed until the mock interview is over. “It’s all part of making sure people are ready for a professional work environment,” The Central Library’s barrage of laptops, home of its computerPHOTO BY JOSEPH OROVIC centric job readiness courses. Lannen-Stanton said.

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they need to launch their idea and realize their dreams.” At NYDesigns, Arguello said, “Most of the companies here are going through the same things: the pains of COURTESY IMAGE growing a company and the joys of starting something that is your own. It’s something spectacular when you see your product out there.” And it’s something spectacular when your product’s success means it’s time to hire people to make more of it, as so many Q NYDesigns clients have done.

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continued from page 8 Success representative will contact her and we take as much time as necessary with see how everything went. her because these suits, in a way, become “When the woman gets the job, that’s her suit of armor when she’s sitting down when the real fun begins,” Murphy said. for an interview.” “They come back here and they’re excited Dress for Success receives clothing and ready and we’re excited for them.” through donations from retailers and individAny woman who receives a job offer uals. All of the clothing is either brand-new but cannot afford or does not have access or nearly new. In fact, a number of high-end to proper attire can come back to Dress for items can be seen hanging on the racks. Success, where she can receive five to 10 “I was at the Manhattan headquarters pieces of clothing. recently and I saw this peach color dress “We also have a few special partnerthat I thought was beautiful and when I ships,” Gordon said. “Bobbi Brown is on went over to look at it, I read the label and our board of directors and so we give it was Versace,” Katie Murphy, the senior every woman a Bobbi Brown makeup kit. manager for communications and market- We also provide women with a piece of ing for Dress for Success ,said. “Just a Lia Sophia jewelry that she donates to our Versace dress hangboutiques. Then there ing on the rack.” is the partnership “We have people with Walmart.” come here with The Going Places boxes of clothing Network by Walmart e pride ourselves in every week,” helps unemployed treating all women with and underemployed Askew said. “We had one woman clients gain profesrespect and to make come in with 24 sional skills to accelboxes one time.” erate their job search them feel dignified.” In the end, and build confidence. — Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress for Success The program meets Vazquez decided on a black pantsuit weekly for eight to 12 with a white blouse weeks and was pilotand black flats. But Dress for Success’ ed in New York City in 2009 after the ecomission isn’t finished when a woman finds nomic collapse left many unemployed. her garb — that just begins to scratch the What’s more, there is a 60 percent job surface. placement rate for women who utilize the “The mock interviews are something Going Places Network. that can really benefit a woman because By the end of her session, Vazquez some of them may not know how they seemed to be a bit more confident. should act during the interview process, so “I hope this works out and that I get the this acts as just a boost of confidence for job,” she said. them,” Murphy said. “It’s just the reassur“Oh no, we don’t use ‘hope,’” Askew ance that some of them need.” said. “We use ‘know’ and ‘am.’ You pracThough the volunteers are kind, they are tice how you play and you’re never alone. also honest. During Vazquez’s mock inter- We are always here for you.” view, she clutched her purse to her chest as With that, Vazquez was sent on her way she nervously answered questions. Murphy to prepare for her interview to be an was quick to point out the tiny mistake. administrative assistant, knowing that she “I know it’s hard for a lady to put her will have the support of the Dress for Sucbag on the ground but it’s important to sit cess staff for as long as she needs it. correctly and show an employer that you Dress for Success is open six days a know how to sit and you can be pre- week. Nearly all women who utilize the sentable,” Murphy said. group’s services are referred to it, though Once a woman picks out an outfit and if you feel you might be an eligible candiQ goes on her actual interview, a Dress for date, visit dressforsuccess.org.

Page 25 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 27, 2013

Dressing women for success

16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2013

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BUILDING ON THE BANKS OF THE EAST RIVER LIC development brings needed construction jobs, economic boost to Queens by Domenick Rafter t wasn’t that long ago that the East River shoreline at Hunters Point was a dirty, urban, often slummy-looking area, home to a decaying manufacturing zone. Industry still finds a home in Long Island City, in the area between Van Dam Street and Vernon Boulevard — but closer to the banks of the river, what was once a center of industry where cargo was transported from ships to Long Island Rail Road trains is now a thriving urban neighborhood. And with that community comes thousands of construction jobs. The sound of hammers, drills and air horns warning of a crane in use echo through Hunters Point, even as many of the apartment towers that rise there are completed and occupied. On any given weekday, hundreds of workers donning hardhats scurry around construction sites, slowly piecing together the future of this corner of Queens literally nail by nail. South of 50th Avenue, work moves forward on the next phase of development along the Long Island City waterfront — Hunters Point South. The project, spearheaded by the New York City Economic Development Corporation, is being developed by Related Companies, which has also worked on several massive developments in Manhattan such as the Time Warner Center in Columbus Circle. Their partners are Phipps Houses, the oldest nonprof it developer, owner and manager of

Hunters Point South will feature apartment buildings with panoramic views of the Manhattan skyline across the East River. PHOTO BY DOMENICK RAFTER

Construction work at the Hunters Point South project near Borden Avenue and 2nd Street, where two new apartment buildings will rise in the next two years and feature 925 new PHOTO BY DOMENICK RAFTER affordable housing units. affordable housing in New York City; and Monadnock Construction, which has worked on dozens of projects across the city and in Queens, including most recently the Bernard Fineson Center senior housing development in Howard Beach. Ground broke on the first two residential towers in Phase I of the development in March. At the time, the project was heralded as a major part of Mayor Bloomberg’s development policy: waterfront and expansion of affordable housing. “Two of the hallmarks of Mayor Bloomberg’s economic development agenda — enlivening our waterfront and an historic expansion of affordable housing — are being fur ther advanced with the prog ress of Hunters Point South,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Steel. “This is an extraordinary accomplishment that will create a dynamic new community on the Queens waterfront.” When completed, Hunters Point South will be the largest affordable housing development built in the city since the early 1970s, when Coop City and Starrett City in the Bronx and Brooklyn, respectively, were built. More buildings are expected to be constructed later in the decade along the waterfront down to the actual point at the mouth of Newtown Creek, developing an area that has always been at best an industrial center, at worst a patch of vacant land. At least 5,000 new residential units will be constructed, about 60 percent of which will be reserved for middle-income households. The two buildings in Phase I will include more than 900 housing units and roughly 20,000 square feet of new retail space. One hundred percent of the housing in the towers will be for low-, moderate- and middle-income families. Other additions will include five acres of new waterfront parkland, which is nearing completion; a new school, PS/IS 404, slated to open in September; as well as new retail

space, and parking. Phase I construction is expected to finish in 2014. Jessica Scaperotti, the spokeswoman for Related, said the project, which is only at its beginning stages, will create at least 1,200 jobs. And the revitalization of the Hunters Point area has employed thousands more in the last couple of decades. The neighborhood saw its first apartment tower rise in the mid-1990s with the Queens

West development. For years that was the only building in the area It wasn’t until the early 2000s that more developments began rising along the waterfront. Hunters Point was the proposed site of the Olympic Village in New York City’s failed bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The plan was for the athletes to use the buildings during the games and then have them become residential apartments afterwards, establishing a new community, similar to what happened in other cities that have hosted the games such as Barcelona and Sydney. But even though the world’s best athletes never called the neighborhood home, development continued through the last decade with at least a half-dozen more apartment towers being constructed on the riverfront. With them came the revitalization of Gantry Plaza State Park, which first opened in 1998 at the site where cargo was transported from ships to trains, expanded northward in 2009 and soon will include the waterfront all the way south to the mouth of Newtown Creek. A section of the new parkland will open next month. Some residents in the area are anxious to see what the project means to the the fastchanging neighborhood. “This area has definitely seen a lot more action recently,” said Tara Cooper, who has lived in the neighborhood for almost a decade, noting the number of new restaurants and stores that have opened up in recent years. “It’s certainly a new and exciting place. I can’t wait to Q see what it looks like over there.”

A rendering of the Hunters Point South project along the East River between 50th and Borden avenues, which is currently under construction. At center left is PS/IS 404, a public school due to RENDERING COURTESY NYCEDC open this September.

C M CELEB page 27 Y K Page 27 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 27, 2013

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16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS • 2013

16TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF QUEENS

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 27, 2013 Page 28

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Mom and pop, still open for business continued from page 18 sive damage from Sandy, according to patriarch Vincent Punzi, who runs the business with his wife, Terri, and their daughter, for whom the salon is named. “We’re the nucleus of the business,” Punzi said. “We’re here since 1987. We took over this place from someone else. We changed the image.” The storm caused at least $50,000 in damage, Punzi estimated. “We didn’t get any money, absolutely nothing,” he added. “We applied but got turned down.” Punzi said the shop was under 30 inches of water. “We had to completely renovate,” he said. “We had to redo the floor. We replaced all the equipment. The only thing not touched was the second level.” Sandy was the second disaster for Claudine’s, which faced a fire two and a half years prior. Besides the family, Punzi said he currently employs eight full-time workers, plus “a few part-time shampoo girls.” Even during the renovation process, “We couldn’t really close. We’re a landmark,” Punzi said. “We made it palatable, but it’s hard to work that way. We got it together right away. We were open for Christmas.” He said people seem to like the mom-andpop feel of the place. “We know some of these people since they grew up,” he said. “It’s like family. You come in, you know everybody.” One customer who came by last weekend, Kenn Brown, said he has been having his hair cut by Punzi since 1971 and still comes to him from his home in upstate Saratoga Springs. “You might say we have a relationship,” joked Punzi, who said he’s looking forward to another 25 years in the business. A long-popular destination in the Rego Park area is Ben’s Best, a gourmet delicatessen restaurant and caterer where, as the cover of the menu says, “Quality speaks for itself.” The Ben after whom it was named founded the establishment 68 years ago. Today, as it has been for the past 33 years, it is run by his son, Jay Parker, who takes obvious pride in the long family history. “This is my life,” he said. “This supported three generations of Parkers. This is a living and breathing family organ.” Of his father, he said, “It was important to him that everything was to his satisfaction,” and now the son is left to carry on the legacy. “The Kosher sign in the window marries us to the community,” he said. “We were always the extension of the family table.”

Ben’s has a lot of return customers, Parker said. “I know everybody personally, if not by name then by face. A lot of our customers are proud they’ve been eating here for so many years,” he said. A new customer stopped by recently to celebrate a special honor: Arvind Mahankali, winner of the 2013 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The Bayside Hills resident won with the word “knaidel,” a small mass of leavened dough most commonly found in dumplings. Ben’s knaidels will hereafter be named for him. According to Parker, Ben’s is one of only 16 kosher delis remaining throughout the five boroughs, a fraction of what there used to be. The number of employees at Ben’s has remained constant, he said, around 30 full- and parttimers. But the business has evolved over the years to the point where Parker said, “It’s a different mom-and-pop. They’re gone. No way could they have kept up with the bureaucracy. This is an incredulous thing to navigate. You need lawyers, accountants. Single proprietors remain, but it’s bizarro-land!” Down in neighboring Forest Hills, anyone who stops in at Twist It Top It, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop on Metropolitan Avenue, is likely to encounter two of its regulars, Dom Allegro and Teri Basile, either at a table inside or on the chairs out front. Allegro, who lives atop the recently opened store, said he comes down every morning for some chocolate yogurt with fresh strawberries. And he enjoys the personal touch provided by one of the owners, Angelo Gurino. “I want him to do well. He’s the nicest person,” he said. In fact, Allegro appreciates all the local mom-and-pop stores. “I don’t go to CVS,” he said. “I go to my friend Norman” in the local pharmacy. Basile, who owns the shop next door, Art World, a fixture in the neighborhood that provides custom framing and home furnishings, said, “We all eat the yogurt. We love Angelo.” She said his move into the space is “very good for the avenue. He’s brought a lot of business. We need more retail stores. He brought life and color.” Basile employs five full-time workers in her store, but said, “The owners run their own stores.” She rattled off the names of half a dozen storeowners on the block. “We have workers,” she said, “but we work with the customers.” Just as the mom-and-pop shop in Queens Q always has.

The guys behind the counter at Ben’s Best Gourmet Delicatessen and Caterers in Rego Park: Mustafa Choudhury, left, Jay Parker, whose father founded the business 68 years ago, and Richard Meseika.

Service with a smile is what you’ll get from Nicole Bongiovi, left, and Jasmine Rodriguez at Twist It Top It, the new frozen yogurt place in Forest Hills. The shop is the second location of a business PHOTOS BY MARK LORD that first opened in Howard Beach.

Among the regulars at Twist It Top It in Forest Hills are Teri Basile, left, herself a small business owner, and Dom Allegro. And talk about regulars — Kenn Brown, in striped shirt, still gets his hair cut at Claudine & Co., the Howard Beach staple owned by the family of his friend Vincent Punzi, even though Brown moved to upstate Saratoga Springs.

Nicholas Gramenides and his son, Peter, outside their business, Cross Bay Travel Service of Howard Beach. Having faced down Hurricane Sandy, they make a point of saying they’re not going anywhere.

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CRYSTAL: CREATING JOBS A WINDOW AT A TIME Flushing-based window company makes a name for itself nationwide by Joseph Orovic hen it comes to f inding a quality employer in Queens, few have been providing the borough’s residents with steady work for as long as Crystal Windows and Door Systems. The mass-market manufacturer has been making state-of-theart residential and commercial windows and doors in Flushing for more than 23 years. In that time, it has consistently been ranked one of the top window manufacturers in the nation by industry publications. It has also been a leader in innovating its product, promoting energy-conservation through architectural work for years. In fact, the producer has become so ubiquitous that if you live in one of the city’s newer developments, there are pretty good odds the glass standing between your home and the outside world was made in Flushing, and that means a lot of jobs. The appeal stems from the company’s Low-E glass, which stands for “low thermal emissivity.” The technology essentially sandwiches a barrier of insulating gas between two sheets of glass. The resulting temperature regulation keeps fuel bills low in the winter and electricity bills even lower in the summer, as both the need for either the heater or air conditioner drops significantly. “[It] is able to keep heat out and maintain cold air in the room,” said Steven Yu, the company’s marketing manager, during a previous interview. “Therefore, the AC doesn’t need to work as hard. And when next winter comes, it’s able to keep cold air out and warm air in.”

Crystal Windows and Doors’ home in Flushing. PHOTO BY JOSEPH OROVIC

“Most homeowners do not realize this, but they’re not that much more expensive than a no-frills base window,” he added. The company’s products were recently selected to be the only kind used in A&E’s TV show “Flipping Boston.” Every home fixed up by the producers in Beantown ended up with a Crystal Windows and Doors product at every opening, a point of pride for the company, Yu said. The manufacturer has four factories across the country, with

its Flushing home the largest in New York State. The company moved to the borough in 2000. The company’s products are built-to-order, and come with a limited lifetime warranty. But if you’re a homeowner, don’t go reaching for the phone just yet. Crystal does not actually install its products. It deals directly with contractors, not homeowners. If someone wants the company’s products and has not chosen a contractor, Crystal is happy to provide a referral to an installation specialist. The Flushing location serves a dual purpose: as both a manufacturing location but also a showroom. The front-of-house operation, away from the machines shaping aluminum to specifications, showcases a bevy of available window and door products. “Getting new windows and doors enhances home value for better resale value down the road,” Yu previously said. “Replacing windows not only looks good, but provides year-round savings on utility bills. Now is the perfect time.” Besides creating jobs in the borough, the company’s founder, Thomas Chen, has done his best to be a good neighbor. The Taiwanese native in the past committed $250,000 to Queensborough Community College for the creation of a “Port of Entry” program, giving immigrant students the opportunity to participate in English and cultural programs. Chen also created The Crystal Foundation in 2002 to enhance the presence of Asian arts and culture in the United States. Crystal Window & Door Systems, Ltd. is located at 31-10 Whitestone Expressway in Flushing. For more information, visit the company online at crystalwindows.com or call Q (718) 961-7300.

Hometown Lawyers You Can Rely On Where Every Case is Personal Advance planning is interest-free, tax-free AND easy. One of the greatest gifts you can give to those you love is a sense of security — the knowledge that you have taken care of everything. A religious Cemetery open to people of all faiths, St. Michael’s is proud to offer the beautifully designed St. Joseph’s Mausoleum. For more information including a free Resource Guide call (718) 278 3240 or visit us at www.stmichaelscemetery.com. Save $1,000 on a Companion Crypt in our St. Joseph’s Mausoleum. A $500 value when applied to single crypt.

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