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JANUARY 2016

BITS & BYTESBest biz/tech gift for less than $30.

PAGE 6

ON THE JOBSee this month’s movers and shakers.

PAGE 8

WEEKLY MEETINGSCheck out this month’s happenings.

PAGE 4

www.sibiztrends.com

STEVE WHITE/Business Trends

The Staten Island Bucks Business Network hosted "A Night of Networking" at the Hilton Garden Inn. Pictured,from left, are Kathy Meola, John Tardy, Marc Ribler, Eryn Shewell, Mark Rivera, Donna Grado, Kasim Sulton,Jeanine Tardy, Gerry Amerosa, Jon Cobert, Rocky Bryant and Richard Grado.

A Night of Networking at the Hilton

Building AwardsChamber celebrates construction,

design at annual awardsPAGE 3

Casandra Properties

certified WOBECasandra Properties Inc., a

commercial real estate firmbased in Staten Island, recentlyannounced its certification as aNew York State Women-OwnedBusiness Enterprise.

“I began Casandra Propertiesin the late 1970s when a womanselling commercial real estatewas an exception instead of thenorm,” said Casandra Zappala,broker/owner of Casandra Prop-

erties. “It wasn’t easy for me tobreak into the field at that time. Ihad to be persistent and to provethat I could do the job well. Thirtyyears later, Casandra Propertiesis the leading commercial real es-tate brokerage firm on Staten Is-land, representing more than $1billion in real estate transac-tions.”

Casandra Properties Inc. spe-cializes in consulting, real estatesales, real estate leasing and realestate portfolio optimization.

Richmond BusinessConnections blood drive

Foundation Financial Advi-sors, in conjunction with Fran-Sight and the Richmond BusinessConnections, will sponsor an an-nual blood drive for Staten Island.Chairperson of the event RonaldP. Cutrone of Foundation Finan-cial Advisors and Co-ChairpersonEd Brochin of FranSight, both

members of the RBC, will be run-ning the event. You will be able todonate blood on Jan. 20, fromnoon to 7 p.m. For more informa-tion, please contact Cutrone at(347) 258-8131.

please see BRIEFS, page 2

MONTHLY UPDATE

By TIM RONALDSON

Business Trends

A proposed workers benefit that has beena controversial topic among the private sec-tor in New York is now available for city gov-ernment workers.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced he will

sign an executive order so the city can pro-

vide approximately 20,000 employees withpaid parental leave. The policy provides sixweeks of paid time off for maternity, paterni-ty, adoption and foster care, at 100 percent of salary, or up to 12 weeks when combinedwith existing leave. de Blasio said the city isalso hopeful to enter into talks with its mu-

nicipal unions about extending the policy to

their covered employees.“Too many new parents face an impossible

choice: taking care of their child or gettingtheir paycheck,” de Blasio said. “New YorkCity is leading by example, putting us at the

please see CITY, page 14

City workers to get paid family leave



The event will be held at theNew York Blood Center located at

2791 Richmond Ave. in Staten Is-land. The center is located abovethe Verizon Store. RBC is not onlylooking for donors, but is lookingto expand its group and welcomenew members for 2016. If you areinterested in expanding yourbusiness and generating morerevenue, come meet some of thegroup members at the blooddrive.

Chamber, NYC SBS seekinput on Bay Street

There is much developmenthappening in “downtown” Staten

Island, including the New YorkWheel and Empire Outlets proj-ects in St. George and the immi-nent opening of a large new resi-dential complex in Stapleton.

To prepare, the Staten IslandChamber of Commerce is part-nering with the NYC Departmentof Small Business Services toevaluate the needs of the busi-ness community on the area’smajor commercial artery, BayStreet. They are seeking inputfrom consumers, merchants andproperty owners. Comments willbe used to support the develop-ment of projects that will help im-prove the business and shoppingexperience on Bay Street.

This is the only project focusedsolely on the needs of the BayStreet business community.Those wishing to have their voic-es heard can fill out the consumersurvey(http://goo.gl/forms/5FxOMd1mrV), the merchant survey

(http://goo.gl/forms/VTjop13qe6) or both.

For more information, call(917) 865-0877 or email [email protected].

Wells Fargo selectsleader of new office

Wells Fargo & Company has se-lected Josephine Savastano tolead its first Regional Commer-cial Banking Office in New York’souter boroughs. The group plansto open its doors at 47-40 21st St.,Hunters Point Plaza, in Long Is-land City in March.

With more than 28 years of commercial banking experience,Savastano will build a team in aregion with significant businessopportunity. The outer boroughs

are home to hundreds of middlemarket companies in industriessuch as warehousing, transporta-tion, real estate, manufacturing,distribution, apparel and healthcare. Savastano joined WellsFargo in 2013 as a regional vicepresident for the New York CityRCBO, an office that has seendouble-digit growth over the pasttwo years.

Savastano started her bankingcareer at National WestminsterBank USA and held commercialbanking roles with Citibank andSovereign Bank before joiningWells Fargo. She holds a bache-lor’s degree from St. Francis Col-lege and serves on the boards of the Staten Island Economic De-velopment Corporation and LongIsland City Partnership. Savas-tano was recently named as oneof the New York Business Jour-nal’s Women of Influence, class of 2016.

Sixteen-year Wells Fargo veter-

an Keith Endersen has beennamed as Savastano’s successorin Manhattan –taking the reins of the expanding New York CityRCBO.

2 BUSINESS TRENDS — JANUARY 2016

Parisi Rampulla & Lenza, P.C.78 Martin Avenue | Staten Island, NY, 10314

(718) 761-3333

Short Sales, Mortgage Modification,Foreclosure Defense

BRIEFSContinued from page 1

Monthly Update



JANUARY 2016 — BUSINESS TRENDS 3

Chamber celebratesconstruction, design

at Building AwardsBy LUIS FONESCA JR.

Special to Business Trends

New York City is home to someof the most glorious architecturein the modern world. From theskyscrapers of Manhattan to thebeautiful homes and businessesof Staten Island, many tourists

come to New York just to admirethe breath taking scenery.

While the buildings are ad-mired and glorified by some, mostpeople do not know who is re-sponsible for these works of beau-tiful architecture. The Staten Is-land Chamber of Commerceholds an annual award show thatgives recognition to just thesepeople for construction and de-sign for properties on Staten Is-

land.That annual event is called the

Building Awards and this yearwas the 54th time awards weregiven out..

“For the past 54 years, the Stat-en Island Chamber of CommerceBuilding Awards program hasrecognized the efforts of local res-idents and members of the build-ing industry who want to makeStaten Island a more beautiful

please see CHAMBER, page 12

The complete list

For the full list of honorees,please see page 10.



MONDAYBus. Outreach Ctr of SI/WBCLDCSmall Bus. Counseling –MWBE/BOC Capital: WBCLDC, 705

Forest Ave., 2nd Fl. By appointmentonly. For info, call 718-816-4775.

Kiwanis Club of Richmond Co.:LaFontana Restaurant, 2879 Amboy

Rd. 7 p.m. Call 718-420-1966.

College of S.I., Small Bus. Dev. Ctr.Business Counseling: CSI, 2800Victory Blvd. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nocharge. For info, call the SBDC at

718-982-2560.

TUESDAYGreater New Dorp NetworkingGroup: 8 a.m. Perkins, 1409 HylanBlvd. For information, call SteveLombardo at 718-702-8623.

SI Business Friends: 7:30 - 8:45a.m. Hilton Garden Inn, 1100 SouthAve. For information, call Dr. RichardBove at 718-938-5978 or visitwww.sibfnetwork.com.

Bus. Outreach Ctr of SI/WBCLDCSmall Bus. Counseling –MWBE/BOC Capital: WBCLDC, 705Forest Ave., 2nd Fl. By appointmentonly. For info, call 718-816-4775.

Direct120.com, Ultimate ThinkTank: Lorenzo’s, 1100 South Ave. Forinfo, visit www.direct120.com.

Kiwanis Club of South Shore:LaFontana, 2879 Amboy Rd. 7:30p.m. For info, call 718-370-2770.

SCORE Business Counseling: S.I.Bank & Trust, 1550 Richmond Rd. 9a.m. to noon. No appointment nec-essary. No charge. For info, call 718-727-1221.

Business Guild I of the S.I. Cham-ber of Commerce: Hilton GardenInn, 1100 South Ave. 7:45 a.m. Mem-bers and invited guests only. CallMichael Anicito at 646-606-2111.

Business Network Int’l. (BNI) Net-work Alliance Chapter: Z-OneLounge, 1821 Richmond Ave. 7 to8:30 a.m. For info, call TimothyHouston at 718-981-8600.

Rotary Club Staten Island: LiGre-

ci’s Staten, 697 Forest Ave. 12:30 to1:30 p.m. Members and guests wel-come. For info, call 718-370-3140.

College of S.I., Small Bus. Dev. Ctr.Business Counseling: Chamber of

Commerce, 130 Bay St. 9 a.m. Nocharge. Call 718-982-2560.

College of S.I., Small Bus. Dev. Ctr.Business Counseling: CSI, 2800Victory Blvd. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. No

charge. Call the SBDC at 982-2560.

WEDNESDAYBus. Outreach Ctr of SI/WBCLDCSmall Bus. Counseling –MWBE/BOC Capital: WBCLDC, 705Forest Ave., 2nd Fl. By appointmentonly. For info, call 718-816-4775.

Richmond County Referral Source:Comfort Inn. 7:00 to 8:15 a.m. Forinfo, email [email protected]

Staten Island Business Council:

Andrew’s Diner, 4160 Hylan Blvd. 7a.m. Members and invited guestsonly. For info, call 347-855-4488 orsend an e-mail to [email protected].

Bucks Business Network: Hamp-ton Inn, 1120 South Ave. 7:45 a.m.For info, call 718-351-2557 or visitwww.sibucks.com.

Kiwanis Club of Brighton: Jody’sClub Forest, 372 Forest Ave. 7:30p.m. For info, call 718-348-0505.

Kiwanis Club of North Central:LiGreci’s Staten, 697 Forest Ave.7:30 p.m. Call Len Bosso at 718-442-7804.

Gateway Rotary Club: LaStrada,139 New Dorp Ln. 7:15 p.m. For info,call 718-447-1509.

SCORE Business Counseling:Chamber of Commerce, 130 Bay St.9 to 11:30 a.m. Appointment neces-sary. No charge. Call 718-727-1221.

E.L.I.T.E. (Executive, Leadership,Interactive, Team, Effort) Net-working Group: 1110 South Ave. 8a.m. New members welcome. For

info, call 347-273-1375.College of S.I., Small Bus. Dev. Ctr.Business Counseling: CSI, 2800


s t a tenar t s

Staten Arts Photographywww.statenartsphotography.com

Steve White

6 Genesee Avenue

Staten Island, NY 10308Phone: 718.317.5025

Cell: 917.446.4029

Email: [email protected]

WeddingsSweet 16’s

AnniversariesBirthday Parties

Much much more!..................................

WEEKLY MEETINGS

please see MEETINGS, page 13




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(((#!!&%*###$!&#!STEVE WHITE/Business Trends

City Councilman Steven Matteo was presented with the Richard M.Silberstein Award for his service and support for Staten Island chil-dren and families. Pictured with him is Fern Zagor, Staten IslandMental Health Society president and CEO.

Matteo presented with award



in our opinion

Let’s resolve to give back in 2016For the New Year, we could all give some of our time to lend a helping hand


Most of us are lucky enough to

spend the holidays with our

loved ones. Most of us are

lucky enough to be able to give and re-

ceive presents, to put a home-cooked

meal on the table and to sit back, relax

and enjoy what’s important in life.

There are many, though, living righthere in our state of New York, who are

not as lucky as we are. And these are

the people who need our help the most.

So as we put 2015 behind us and

enter a New Year, let’s all resolve to

give back more in 2016.

We like to think of ourselves as giv-

ing people, but compared to the rest of

the country, that’s just not the case.

A study released recently by the Cor-

poration for National and Community

Service and the National Conference

on Citizenship found that 19.2 percent

of New York residents volunteered

their time in 2014.

That ranked us near the bottom, 50th

out of 51, for all states plus Washing-

ton, D.C., in the nation. Utah topped

the list at 46 percent.

The study found that 3.03 millionresidents volunteered a total of more

than 645.9 million hours of service.

The stats counted only non-paid work

as volunteering.

The good news is it doesn’t take

much to change this trend. Volunteer-

ing doesn’t have to take up all of one’s

free time, and it doesn’t have to include

big monetary donations.

Volunteering can be as simple aspitching in at a soup kitchen, coaching

a Little League team or collecting trash

at a public park. Doing a little can go a

long way. What may seem as not much

to most of us can have a huge impact

to someone else.

So while you’re compiling your list

of To Do’s for 2016, add giving back to

the community by volunteering. You’ll

be surprised at the impact you can

have.

66 Willow Avenue

Staten Island, NY 10305

718-775-3154

JOE EISELEPublisher

TIM RONALDSON

Executive Editor

STEVE COPPOLA

Director

RICHARD GRADO

Director

ROBERT CUTRONA

Director

LAWRENCE RAMPULLA Director

JANET WARREN DUGO

Publisher Emeritus

DAN McDONOUGH, JR.

Chairman

Business Trends is mailed each month to t he

business and community leaders of Staten

Island. To be added to the mailing list, e-

mail joe@sib iztrends .com. To submit a

news release, email [email protected].

For advertising info, call 718-775-3154 or email [email protected].

By BILL DUBOVSKY

Situation

Getting that special gift for abusiness person, tech person ortech-business person can be achallenge, especially when yourbudget is less than $30! Manybusiness/tech people (myself in-cluded) consider coffee a neces-sary daily food group, and every-one likes it made their own spe-cial way.

What is it?The Aeropress Coffee and Ex-

presso Maker is a very low-techdevice for making your coffee ex-actly the way you like it. Youdon’t need to purchase expensive

special coffee pods (you can useas much or as little of your fa-vorite blend) and it can be pre-pared in less than two minutes.

How it worksFirst, place a filter at the bot-

tom of the Aeropress tube andthen put one tablespoon or moreof finely ground coffee into thetube. Place the tube over your cof-fee cup. Next, heat about a cup of water. You can boil water on thestove or heat a cup in the mi-

crowave for about one to one-and-a-half minutes. Hotter water maybring out more taste. When thewater is hot enough, just pour itinto the top of the tube, use thestirrer to thoroughly mix the cof-

fee-water mixture, then place theplunger in the top of the tube andslowly and firmly press down.Lift the tube off the coffee cupand you’re ready for some greatcoffee or expresso. Pull theplunger out of the tube, rinse, dis-card the filter, rinse the tube andyou are ready for another cup.

What you needEverything, including filters, is

included in the product box.

Where to get itAmazon and most home appli-

ance retailers sell the Aeropress.The current price for Aeropresson Amazon is $29.95. Accessoriesyou may want to order include

extra paper filters, a reusablemetal filter or a carrying pouch.

How hard is it to use?Just read the directions that

come with the unit. You’ll bemaking great coffee in a few min-utes.

ProsMakes great custom-brewed

coffee – just the way you like it! Isquick, inexpensive and easy-to-use.

Cons/CaveatsRead the instructions before

you use it. The pressing of theplunger takes a bit of effort, andthe Aeropress only makes one

cup at a time.Bottom-line

If you are a picky coffee lover,this device gives you the opportu-nity to make it the way you like itanywhere you go. And for lessthan $30, it is a very affordableand welcomed gift for any coffee-lover.

Bill Dubovsky is an entrepreneur,educator, and technology reviewer.He teaches at the CSI, School of

Business, CUNY, and at Wagner Col-lege, and is a telecom/network con-sultant with Comtel InformationServices. Contact him [email protected] or onLinkedin.

The best business/tech gift for less than $30BITS & BYTES

Share your thoughts

Do you volunteer, or do you plan tovolunteer in the New Year? Share yourthoughts on this, and other topics,through a letter to the editor.



JOSEPH J. DEPAOLOSignature Bank

Signature Bank announcedthat President and Chief Execu-tive Officer Joseph J. DePaolo

was named the recipient of theAlfred B. DelBello VisionaryAward by the Westchester CountyAssociation, the leading business

membership organization inWestchester County, focused oneconomic vitality and develop-ment in Westchester and the sur-rounding region.

The Alfred B. DelBello Vision-ary Award applauds visionariesand honors the late DelBello,chairman emeritus of theWestchester County Associationand an outstanding public offi-cial, attorney, environmentalist,businessman, mentor, humani-tarian, animal welfare advocateand family man.

DePaolo was chosen to receivethis honor based on his vision forcreating Signature Bank as well

as his passion and drive for subse-quently growing the client-cen-tric institution to $32 billion in as-sets, as of Sept. 30.

DelBello served on SignatureBank’s board since January 2003.He was a partner in the WhitePlains, N.Y.-based law firm of Del-Bello Donnellan Weingarten Wise& Wiederkehr, LLP and had heldseveral public service roles in-cluding lieutenant governor of the State of New York from 1983to 1985, Westchester County exec-

utive from 1974 to 1983 and mayorof Yonkers from 1970 to 1974.While serving on SignatureBank’s board, DelBello made sig-nificant contributions not only asa member but also through vari-ous committee chair responsibili-ties, including leading the Audit,Enterprise Risk and NominatingCommittees at various points intime. In his honor, SignatureBank officially dedicated theboardroom at its midtown Man-

hattan headquarters recently, des-ignating it “The Alfred B. DelBel-lo Board Room.” A plaque depict-ing this resides at the entryway toserve as a constant reminder of DelBello’s commitment and con-tributions to Signature Bank.

DePaolo resides in NewRochelle, where he has lived withhis family for nearly 30 years. Heis a graduate of Iona College inWestchester, which he attendedon a full academic scholarship.He graduated Summa Cum

Laude, earning a bachelor’s de-gree in business administrationin accounting. DePaolo is a mem-ber of the New York State Societyof Certified Public Accountants.During the course of his career,

he has earned numerous awardsfor his business achievementsand local community involve-ment.

FRANCES KINGSTONSeton Hall University

Budding entrepreneurs fromaround the nation gathered re-cently at Seton Hall University topresent their business ideas to a

judging panel of corporate execu-tives. What made this gatheringso fascinating was that the 10 fi-nalists, from a pool of more than250 from 20 states as well as Italyand Zimbabwe, were teenagersparticipating in the inaugural

High School Pirates Pitch compe-tition.Frances Kingston, a Staten Is-

land senior whose “TheresaBakes” is a pan-and related bak-ing equipment system that makesbaking, decorating and serving acake easier and more profession-al, was among the finalists.

“The tremendous responseconfirmed that today’s young peo-ple are truly the entrepreneurialgeneration. The high school stu-dents who participated in our

competition dream big and havethe passion to pursue theirdreams,” said Susan Scherreik,founding director of the Centerfor Entrepreneurial Studies at theStillman School of Business.

Based on the center’s highlysuccessful College Pirate PitchCompetition, the event wasgeared to teaching high schoolstudents entrepreneurship basicsand idea generation as well asrecognizing and rewarding stu-

dents with outstanding entrepre-neurial know-how. All finalists re-ceived a $4,000 scholarship to at-tend Seton Hall University. Final-ists and their families were invit-ed to a special business network-ing and advice reception with cor-porate executives and successfulentrepreneurs.

“With this explosion of inter-est in entrepreneurship, we devel-oped such a great college pro-gram, and we wanted to bring itto high school students and give

them a taste of college competi-tion,” Scherreik said. “Bringingthese entrepreneurs to collegealso exposes them to the No. 1business leadership program inthe country.”


Bill Bergman, Vice President, Leasing (718) 263-3800 x 307

[email protected]

118-35 Queens Blvd., Forest Hills, NY 11375

www.muss.com

Doreen M. Inserra, CPA, PCCertified Government Financial ManagerCertified Public AccountantIndividual & Business Tax Consultant A Professional Corporation

E-File / E-Pay / Direct Deposit

Member

“QuickBooks Professional Advisor Program”Staten Island Chamber of CommerceHonorary Member of SCORE, “Counselors to America’s Small Business”

By Appointment

718-979-5163

on the job




BUSINESS WIRE/Special to Business Trends

Pictured, from left, are Joseph J. DePaolo, president and CEO, Signa-ture Bank; William M. Mooney, Jr., president and CEO, WestchesterCounty Association; Dee DelBello, publisher, Westchester and Fair-field County Business Journals and WAG Magazine; and, Damon Del-Bello, M.D.

DePaolo receives ‘visionary’ award

" " !

Contact Ronald P. Cutrone

718.727.5100

Generate More Revenue For

Your Business




Lee H. Skolnick Architecture &Design Partnership: NationalLighthouse Center and Museum

Gluckman Tang Architects:Staten Island Museum at SnugHarbor

Eden II Programs: Hon. James P.Molinaro Center for Autism

Robert T. Sutter, AIA, NCARB:Hon. James P. Molinaro Centerfor Autism

DeSantis, Kieter, Shall & SanconeLLP

Calvanico AssociatesArchitectural & Engineering:Cromwell Circle

Marcia Caruselle: Cromwell Circle

Peter Salerno: Cromwell Circle

Joseph J. Noce: Todt Hill

Basso Landscaping: CromwellCircle

P&M Carpentry: Cromwell Circle

Anselmo Genovese, Architect:Sandy Restoration

Ronald A. Victorio: Third CountyCourthouse Lobby Renovation

Historic Richmond Town: ThirdCounty Courthouse LobbyRenovation

Ronald A. Victorio: Kruser-FinelyHouse Restoration

Historic Richmond Town: Kruser-Finely House Restoration

Vincent Aiello: Nugent Street

Rock Solid Landscape andMasonry Design Inc.: Residenceof Giegerich Place

Sanna & Loccisano Architects,

P.C.: Residence of GiegerichPlace

Annmarie Ruta of Elegant

Interior Designs: Residence ofGiegerich Place

Rock Solid Landscape andMasonry Design Inc.: Residenceof Jeffrey Place

Standard Burger

Mammoth Inc. Construction:Sonic Restaurant

Nicholas Tamborra: SonicRestaurant

Gail Castellano, Senior V.P.:Tottenville Branch of RichmondCounty Savings

Woof & Tails Lodge

Troost Bros. Inc. : North MadaAvenue

Firebird Contractors: DL DesignConcepts

Arthur McCarthy: Alphabet

Academy

Glen V. Cutrona, AIA: AlphabetAcademy

Glen V. Cutrona, AIA: GolkinBuilding

Annadale Residence homeowner

Gerald Amerosi: Gerald Peters

Glen V. Cutrona, AIA: GeraldPeters

John Tardy: Gerald Peters

The Brielle

Troost Bros. Inc.: Residence atBenedict Avenue

Vincent Aiello: Residence atSturges Street

Building Award honorees and their projects

When the news is sweet, We Tweet!

When the news is bitter, We Still Twitter!

Follow us at twitter.com/sibiztrends



place to live and work,” saidLinda Baran, the Chamber’s pres-ident and CEO. “While some maythink that Staten Island does nothave much to offer in terms of sight-seeing, the truth is in theseawards; for 54 years buildings andhouses have been adding to the al-ready beautiful residency that isStaten Island.”

It may seem as though the

Awards have only one purpose; toacknowledge beautiful buildingsand though that is somewhat truethere is much more meaning be-hind these awards. When asked,Baran said, “The BuildingAwards program also lets usshowcase positive changes inStaten Island. We added a SandyRestoration category to bring at-tention to the many changes inconstruction methods that canhelp protect homes during futurestorms. The TD Bank Best in

Green Award recognizes a grow-ing interest in creating buildingsthat use alternative energysources and materials, and havedesign features that contribute to

natural sustainability.”With all that in mind, it is easy

to see why the Building Awardshas been such a success. It’s will-

ingness to adapt to the worldaround it and the different cate-gories that every building is rec-ognized make it a very uniqueevent.

If further proof is needed of how prestigious this event is,then look no further at the classof judges that rule on each nomi-nee. According to this year’spress release, judges for thisyear’s awards included RonitLapid of aRKAY Designs, Joe

Covello of United Hoisting andScaffolding, Bob Bernabe of Bernabe Home Improvement,Mike Veneziale of StatwoodHome Improvements, DebraMonte of The Green Inspector,Linda Carroll of AAA Thrifty Ex-terminating, Murray Berman of Heritage Hill Homes, and Jeff Geary of Avid Designs Inc., alongwith other members of the Cham-ber’s Building Awards Commit-tee.

“These awards aren’t about

specific tastes in design or per-sonal preferences,” Baran said.“Our judges are professionalswho can recognize quality mate-rials, expert craftsmanship and

exquisite design. This is reallyabout the excellent work ourbuilding and design industries dohere on Staten Island.”

While there are many awardsand many recipients, there is oneaward that stands above the rest – The Chairman’s Award.

“The winners of the Chair-man’s Awards, in particular, arethe best of the best from amongthe many entries we receive,”Baran said.

One of this year’s winners wasthe Honorary James P. MolinaroCenter for Autism. Winning thisaward meant so much to the re-

cipients they actually have athank you quote from the Execu-tive Director of The Eden II Pro-grams on the first page of theirwebsite. The building itself wentunder a total rebuild, and that iswhy it was submitted for anaward. Winning The Chairman’sAward means the building scoredthe highest in every category,which is why it is considered tobe a cut above the rest.

Staten Island may not be thetourist attraction that Manhattan

is, or the most popular boroughNew York City has to offer, but tomany residents it is beautiful anddeserves to be recognized. If asked, the people of The Staten Is-land Chamber of Commerce be-lieve it is recognized, and it’s beenrecognized for 54 years now.


CHAMBERContinued from page 3

Chamber hosts Building Awards

Visit us on the Web atwww.sibiztrends.com




Victory Blvd. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Forinfo, call 718-982-2560.

THURSDAYBus. Outreach Ctr of SI/WBCLDCSmall Bus. Counseling –MWBE/BOC Capital: WBCLDC, 705Forest Ave., 2nd Fl. By appointmentonly. For info, call 718-816-4775.

Richmond Business Connections:Z One, 1821 Richmond Ave. 8 a.m.

For information, call Ronald P.Cutrone at (347) 258-8131.

Kiwanis Club of Staten Island:LiGreci’s Staten, 697 Forest Ave.7:30 p.m. For info, call 718-967-4345or kiwanisclubofstatenisland.com.

Rotary Club of South Shore: Man-sion Grand, 141 Mansion Ave. 12:15p.m. For info, call 718-987-2061 orvisit southshorerotary.org.

Rotary Club Mid-Island: New Dako-ta Diner, 921 Richmond Ave. 7:30 to9:00 a.m. Call 718-981-0700.

SCORE Business Counseling: SI

Bank & Trust, 1550 Richmond Rd. 9a.m. to noon. No appointment nec-essary. No charge. Call 718-727-1221.

Rotary Club of North Shore: LiGre-ci’s Staten, 697 Forest Ave. 7 p.m.For info, call Christine DeHart at718-448-4725.

Business Network Int’l. (BNI) HighAchievers Chapter: PK’s Restau-rant,1281 Arthur Kill Rd. 7 to 8:30a.m. For info, call Timothy Houstonat 718-981-8600.

Business Guild II of the S.I. Cham-ber of Commerce: Hilton Garden

Inn, 1100 South Ave. 7:45 to 8:45a.m. Members and invited guestsonly. For info, call Lou Rizzo at 718-490-0057.

Business Guild III of the SI Cham-ber of Commerce: Hilton GardenInn, 1100 South Ave. 8 a.m. Newmembers welcome. Call Nick Testaat 646-823-4494.

College of S.I., Small Bus. Dev. Ctr.

Business Counseling: CSI, 2800Victory Blvd. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Forinfo, call 718-982-2560.

Community Emergency Response

Team (CERT): 7 p.m. For info. andlocations, call John Tidona at 448-7160 or [email protected].

FRIDAYBus. Outreach Ctr of SI/WBCLDCSmall Bus. Counseling –MWBE/BOC Capital: WBCLDC, 705Forest Ave., 2nd Fl. By appointmentonly. For info, call 718-816-4775.

SATURDAYSCORE Business Counseling: St.George Library, 5 Central Ave. 10a.m. to noon. Appointment neces-sary. No charge. Call 718-442-8560.

SCORE Business Counseling: Rich-mondtown Library, 200 Clarke Ave.10 to 11:30 a.m. Appointment neces-sary. For info, call 718-668-0413.

MEETINGSContinued from page 4

Weekly meetings



forefront of paid parental leavepolicies around the country. Thisis a common sense policy thatwill make for healthier and morefinancially stable working fami-lies – making it good for employ-ees and employers.”

Paid family leave has been atthe forefront of the minds of politicians, employers, employ-ees, business organizations andworkers advocacy groups forsome time now. The state Assem-bly passed a family leave bill earlyin 2015, but the bill did not passthrough the state Senate. That billwould have given workers six to12 weeks of salaried leave to carefor a newborn child or a seriouslyill relative. Similar laws are al-ready on the books in New Jersey,Rhode Island and California.

Private-sector employees inNew York can utilize the federalFamily and Medical Leave Act,which provides 12 weeks of leave

for such situations, but unpaid.Opponents of the proposed bill

say giving employees that muchpaid time off will negatively af-fect the bottom line and produc-tivity of businesses, specificallyin the small business sector,which accounts for a majority of businesses in New York City.

According to the mayor’s of-fice, though, studies have shownthe opposite – that paid parentalleave has a positive impact on not

just employees but also on em-ployers, helping to reduceturnover while ensuring employ-ees are able to return to workwhen ready.

When making the announce-ment of the city’s new bill, themayor’s office cited a 2014 reportfrom the President’s Council of Economic Advisers that foundthat more than 90 percent of em-

ployers affected by California’spaid leave initiative reported ei-ther positive or no noticeable im-pact on profitability, turnover and

morale. Other studies cited by themayor’s office found families thatbenefit from paid leave are lesslikely to receive public assistance,and that the program can “sub-stantially” reduce infant mortali-ty rates and improve a child’soverall health.

“Paid parental leave is an es-sential support for working fami-lies and communities,” said Tere-sa C. Younger, the president andCEO of the Ms. Foundation forWomen, a nonprofit foundationthat looks to build women’s col-lective power for social, economicand reproductive justice. “Whennew parents – women and men – are able to take time to care fortheir children without losingtheir jobs or their pay, it benefitsfamilies, communities and busi-nesses by ensuring that everyonehas the opportunity to contributeand compete regardless of parental status.”

The city’s program will be

funded by repurposing the exist-ing managerial raise of 0.47 per-cent scheduled for July 2017 andtwo days of vacation leave policyto provide the six weeks of paidparental leave to all managerialand original jurisdiction employ-ees. It will not cost taxpayers anymoney, officials said.

The six weeks of paid leavewill be at full salary and can becombined with existing accruedsick and/or vacation leave, so em-ployees can have a maximum of 12 weeks of maternity, paternity,adoption or foster care leave with-out losing pay.

New York City joins Austin,Texas, and Pittsburg, Pa., as citiesoffering paid leave policies.

“This new policy is anotherclear sign that cities across thecountry are realizing the value of family-friendly workplace poli-cies,” state Sen. Kirsten Gilli-brand said. “We need a nationalpaid-leave program that covers all

working Americans. I am thrilledthat Mayor de Blasio is taking alead in this important fight bygiving thousands of New YorkCity workers extended paidparental leave.”


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CITYContinued from page 1

City workers get paid family leave

business trends_january 2016.pdf

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