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3 | PSYCHED FOR REVIVAL SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 | VOL. 51, No. 38
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NEW AIR SERVICE TWEAKS MEMBER MODEL BY COLLEEN WILSON cwilson@westfairinc.com
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CHINA CONNECTS IN YONKERS PAGE 23
ommuting can be a chore for some, but Wade Eyerly wants to make it a little easier, and possibly cheaper, for New York-to-Boston commuters with a membership-driven airline service. Eyerly calls his new venture Beacon Inc. and, as co-founder and CEO, launched it earlier this month with a water-cannon salute — a tradition for new airlines or retiring pilots — at Westchester County Airport, where Beaconcontracted planes will make 18 daily trips to and from Boston’s Logan International Airport. The new service will also offer flights to Nantucket and the Hamptons during certain seasons.
Ning Yuan, president of China Construction America and chairman and CEO of Strategic Capital, at a groundbreaking ceremony on the Yonkers riverfront.
Beacon members pay $2,000 a month — until October when the monthly rate goes up to $2,250 — to fly an unlimited number of times between the New York and Boston destinations. This subscription concept, Eyerly said, has only taken off with two other companies in the country, one on the West Coast also co-founded by Eyerly and another based in Dallas for which he was a member of the advisory board. Ryan Morley, Cory Cozzens and Reed Farnsworth are the other co-founders of Beacon, the latter two also co-founded Eyerly’s West Coast venture, which is called Surf Air. In July, Beacon announced it would receive $7.5 million in investment led by Romulus Capital with additional funds from MiVentures and Western » BEACON, page 6
Cuomo minimum wage proposal meets mixed reviews in Hudson Valley BY COLLEEN WILSON cwilson@westfairinc.com
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efore a labor crowd of 1,200 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City earlier this month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo stood with Vice President Joseph Biden to support making New York’s minimum wage laws the highest in the country. “Today we’re putting our steps together to form a march toward economic justice,”
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Cuomo said. “Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will bring fairness to 2.2 million working New Yorkers. Fifteen dollars an hour will be the highest statewide rate in the nation and will herald a new economic contract with America, and it’s about time.” Yet Westchester county, the business community remains hesitant to throw its support behind the $15-per-hour initiative, fearing a quick and significant wage hike
could hurt some businesses. The impact on employers’ payrolls was the main concern voiced by Marissa Brett, president of the Westchester County Association. “Imposing new mandates will increase the cost of operations and make the cost of doing business even higher in Westchester and the region,” she said. » CUOMO, page 6
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