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October 7, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 40
CHALLENGING CAREERS • 16
BY JOHN GOLDEN jgolden@westfairinc.com
O
GOOD THINGS HAPPENING • 35
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Smash Partners Ronnie Portnoy, Richard Greenstein and Howard Novick smash a burger together on the 400-degree flat grill in their newest Smashburger restaurant.
Smashing success • 7
n its first day of business, New York State of Health, the state’s newly branded online health benefit exchange, was not in good health. As the Business Journal went to press, heavy visitor traffic and technical problems continued to hamper the launch of both New York’s health exchange website and the federal operating system for 34 state exchanges in their second day of business. The public health plan markets are mandated by the Affordable Care Act and opened Oct. 1 to individuals and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Individuals and families not covered by a group plan have until next March 31 to enroll for individual coverage that will be Exchange, page 6
Shutdown trickles down to Hudson Valley SBA loans a point of concern for business owners BY MARK LUNGARiELLO mlungariello@westfairinc.com
THE GATES TO ST. PAUL’S CHURCH in Mount Vernon were closed, chained and padlocked Oct. 1, the first day of the federal government shutdown. A worker had Scotch-taped a typed letter to the wrought iron, its font size small enough that it was only legible from up close. “Because of the budget impasse, St. Paul’s Church National Historic Site is closed until further notice,” the letter stated. The church, with its Revolutionary Warera bell tower and historical cemetery, is the
only site in Westchester County operated by the National Park Service. Its closing did not draw crowds of disappointed tourists like those 20 miles away at the Statue of Liberty nor did it inspire protests like those at Washington’s World War II monument. But it served as a physical example of the immediate impact of the federal shutdown on Westchester and as a symbol of more significant problems for the county just below the surface. Thomas Morley is the director of the Rockland Small Business Development Center, a center that offers technical assistance for Shutdown, page 6
Susan Fox
WINNERS CIRCLE • 8