Revolving Door
People
First Niagara Financial Group, Inc., named Cathie A. Schaffer to serve as regional president for the bank’s newly formed Tri-State Region, which includes markets in the Lower Hudson Valley; Fairfield County, Connecticut; and Northern New Jersey. In this role, Schaffer will lead a team of bankers responsible for business banking, middle-market lending, and corporate lending activities in the region.
The board of ANDRUS has appointed Mimi Clarke Corcoran as the new president and CEO of the organization, effective July 1. She will replace Nancy Woodruff Ment, who is retiring after 26 years of service, including 10 years as CEO. Corcoran brings to ANDRUS experience in program development, advocacy, and philanthropy. Since 2009, she has been the director of the Special Fund for Poverty Alleviation, implementing a $170 million foundation investment strategy on behalf of George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. In this role, Corcoran’s responsibilities included developing programs to improve access to public benefits such as Food Stamps and Medicaid, broadening educational opportunities at the high school and college levels, and expanding access to employment for low-income individuals, immigrants, disenfranchised youth, communities of color, as well as incarcerated populations.
Co-Communications, Inc., a Mount Kisco-based marketing and communications firm with additional offices in Manhattan and Hartford, Connecticut, has appointed Mindy Gibson as director of Client Services. Gibson, who is based out of the firm’s Manhattan office, will be responsible for senior-level strategy, planning, supervision, and implementation of client services and business-development initiatives. Gibson joins Co-Communications with a background that includes experience in television, online video, and advertising. Her consulting work has included assignments with cable networks Spike TV and the Sundance Channel, as well as the Baltimore-based video-streaming startup TidalTV (now Videology).
The Bristal at White Plains, a new assisted-living community that offers memory-care support, as well as enhanced levels of care, has named Halina McLean executive director. Prior to joining The Bristal, McLean served as administrator at Mount Alverno Center in Warwick, New York. She also held the administrator position at the Elant, Inc., Senior Health and Housing Center in Goshen, New York, a position to which she was promoted following an engagement as director of Placement Management. Additionally, she has served as assistant admissions assessor and managed care nurse at Valley View Rehab Center in Goshen, New York.
Rye’s Dorf & Nelson LLP has welcomed two new attorneys to the practice. Thomas Patalano is an associate in the Litigation Department and works in the Creditors’ Rights and Financial Services Litigation practice group. Patalano was previously an associate at Kavulich & Associates PC in Port Chester. He received his law degree from Pace University School of Law in White Plains and a bachelor of business administration in finance from Pace University in New York. Laura Michelle Horgan, Esq., comes to the firm from Laboton Sucharow LLP in Manhattan, where she assisted in the investigation and preparation of pleadings and motions on behalf of major banks bringing actions based upon the offer and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. Prior to that, Horgan was a member of Gage Spencer & Fleming LLP in Manhattan, where she handled all aspects of white-collar criminal regulatory and complex civil litigation matters.
Judith Simon, executive director of A&J Home Care, Inc., and founder of the dance and movement studio Center for Creative Movement, has been named the 2013 Citizen of the Year by the Mount Kisco Chamber of Commerce (MKCC). Simon will be recognized on Wednesday, May 8, at the Chamber’s 46th Annual Dinner Dance at the Holiday Inn of Mount Kisco. Simon also serves on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, the Library Foundation, and the Zoning Board, and is the incoming president of the Mount Kisco Rotary Club. Simon also served on the original boards of the Northern Westchester Center for the Arts, the Westchester Committee in Education, and The Children’s Dream Foundation.
The United Way of Westchester and Putnam has named Chappaqua resident Alyzza C. Ozer as senior vice president of Resource Development. Ozer, an attorney who specializes in innovative nonprofit fundraising and marketing, brings almost 30 years of experience in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. Prior to her appointment, Ozer was the regional vice president of the Manhattan office of The American Cancer Society, where she led initiatives involving advocacy, family patient services, and fundraising. Alyzza is a founding member of Classwish.org, a nonprofit educational website serving as a vehicle to raise money for school supplies nationally.
NEW BUSINESSES, RELOCATIONS, OPERATIONS
Alvin + Friends—Zagat rated 26 for food, 26 for décor, and 26 for service—moved to a new, larger location at 14 Memorial Highway in New Rochelle. The new venue offers enhanced bar seating for casual dining, a stylish main dining room, and a separate dining room for private parties, corporate meetings, and special events.
The managing partners of Progressive Computing, Inc., (PCI), a computer-consulting and network-installation, -design, and -maintenance firm, were recently joined by elected officials and community leaders for a ribbon-cutting at its new 1,800-square-foot office space at 35 East Grassy Sprain Road in Yonkers. The move to larger space followed PCI’s purchase of a competitor in 2012 and the addition of several new employees. The company celebrates 20 years in business in 2013.
Tarrytown-based Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. is expanding its corporate headquarters and laboratories in a move that is said to create more than 400 new jobs. The expansion plans include the construction of two buildings with 300,000 square feet of laboratory and office space, as well as a four-story, 700-car parking garage on the north side of 777 Old Saw Mill River Road at The Landmark at Eastview. Regeneron fully occupies three buildings on the south side of the address. The company has grown from 682 employees in 2007 to 2,000 today. The new and existing buildings will be connected via an enclosed pedestrian bridge spanning Old Saw Mill River Road, which divides the corporate park between the towns of Mount Pleasant and Greenburgh. Construction is anticipated to begin this year and to be completed in late 2015. According to Govorner Andrew Cuomo, the expansion deal would be partially financed with $8.5 million in tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program, as well as incentives from the Mount Pleasant Industrial Development Agency.
KUDOS
The Building Owners and Managers Association of Westchester (BOMA) has announced that Forest City Ratner Companies and Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center will be the honorees at the Chapter’s 22nd Annual Hall of Honor Awards Dinner to be held May 2 at Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill in Tarrytown. The honorees will be recognized for their contributions to Westchester’s economy.
Hope for Youth Foundation has donated $10,000 to Hudson Valley Hospital Center to purchase specialized pediatric equipment for its emergency room, including age-appropriate blood-pressure cuffs, a hypothermia thermometer, extremity splints, and spine-stabilization devices.
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BIZ BUZZ: OUR BUSINESS BLOG
WESTCHESTER GOES GREEN
A Sustainable Playland inches closer to reality; Pace University seeks to consolidate while SUNY Purchase attempts to put its ‘unusable’ land to use.
Declaring April “Earth Month,” Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino announced a wide variety of “green” initiatives to celebrate conservation and strengthen and improve Westchester’s local natural resources. Throughout April, residents can learn daily “green” facts and tips by following @WestchesterGov on Twitter, as well as visiting westerchestergov.com. Upcoming events include an Earth Day Celebration at the Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla on April 21, which will be a day of fun, food, environmental awards, and the unveiling of a new green initiative to protect the environment. Saxon Woods Park in White Plains will host an event on Arbor Day, April 26, which will encourage the re-planting of trees to replace those lost during Superstorm Sandy, complete with instructions on how to do so from local experts.
The vision of a reinvented Playland for the 21st century moved a step closer to reality when County Executive Robert P. Astorino and the leaders of Sustainable Playland Inc. (SPI) announced they had reached a 10-year agreement, with an option for an additional 10 years, on the management of the iconic park in Rye. Once signed and fully executed, the asset management agreement will shift responsibility to SPI to operate, manage, and maintain the County-owned park as of October 1, 2013, assuming the new operator has obtained all of the approvals and permits that are required, including any needed from the County Board of Legislators.
Purchase College is seeking proposals for the building and operation of a senior-citizen housing development on campus. Instead of leasing roughly 40 acres on campus to a private developer, which was originally planned, officials are now considering having Purchase College Advancement Corporation, a nonprofit arm, oversee the project and bring in a private company to run it day-to-day. For more than a decade now, the college has been trying to develop rental apartments for seniors on the 40 acres of mostly unusable land located by its main entrance, far from its academic buildings and dormitories, although plans for a public-private partnership did not get legislative approval until two years ago.
Pace University meanwhile plans to consolidate its Pleasantville and Briarcliff campuses. The Mount Pleasant Planning Board has set the public hearing for the project for May 2. Pace must obtain site plan approval before it proceeds with the project, which would involve the college selling its 35-acre Briarcliff campus and moving the facilities to its Pleasantville campus. The plan is expected to take five to eight years. The project would include building two student residences, a new athletic field and field house, and new commons areas. The town board recently approved zoning changes to allow the project to go forward.
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HOT PROPERTIES—914INC.’S COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SHOWCASE
Property: 1234 Central Ave, Yonkers
Brokered by: Jonathan Geisinger, Mark Realty Group, LLC
(914) 723-2121
Availability: Different setups are available ranging from 700 square feet to 10,500 square feet.
Selling Points: Attractive professional building on Central Avenue features large windows, lots of natural light, and views. It has a large elevator and is handicapped-accessible. The property features an on-site parking lot in addition to street parking. The buildings naming rights are available. It is strategically located on Central Avenue directly in between the New York State Thruway and the Sprain Brook Parkway.
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914 DATEBOOK—UPCOMING BUSINESS EVENTS
FRIDAY, 4/19/2013
Startupalooza
The Digital Arts Experience (DAE), 170 Hamilton Ave, White Plains, 6 – 9 pm. The DAE, in conjunction with Alan Brody, founder of iBreakfast and Startupalooza, will be holding this event, where local individuals will have the opportunity to showcase their business ideas to the community in a trade-show-style setting and pitch their ideas to a panel of local business professionals and serial entrepreneurs. Learn more at startupalooza.com.
TUESDAY, 4/23/13
Chili Pepper Challenge
bartaco, 1 Willet Ave, Port Chester. You pledge to eat a hot chili pepper, symbolizing the pain that so many of our neighbors in Westchester would experience, if it weren’t for the affordable healthcare provided by Open Door Family Health Clinics. Similar to the way a fundraising walk or run works, Open Door will provide you with easy-to-use online and offline tools to ask your contacts to sponsor you in the Chili Pepper Challenge. Contact Cristina Sanjuas-Dopazo at (914) 502-1410 or opendoormedical.org.
THURSDAY, 4/25/2013
White Plains Gala Fashion Show
800 Westchester Ave, Rye Brook, 6 pm. In celebration of White Plains Hospital’s 120th anniversary, it will hold a gala fashion show in partnership with Oscar de la Renta. The show will feature the designer’s fashions in a runway show, along with a video presentation, live auction, and a cocktail and hors d’œuvres reception. All proceeds will directly benefit White Plains Hospital. Tickets are $200 per person. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit wph120.org or call (914) 681-1040.
FRIDAY, 5/3/13
Westchester Grow Conference
Gateway Center at Westchester Community College, 75 Grasslands Rd, Valhalla, 8 am – 5 pm. Westchester Community College’s Gateway to Entrepreneurship (G2E) Program will host its first conference for entrepreneurs on May 3. The event is being held in partnership with Community Capital of New York, The Business Council of Westchester, and the Women’s Enterprise Development Center. The cost to attendees is $50, which includes continental breakfast, lunch, a wine-and-cheese closing reception, as well as access to business experts during the conference. Keynote speakers will be Dr. Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of The Business Council of Westchester, and Tom Kallish, founder and CEO of Tommie Copper. To learn more, call (914) 606-5616, contact the G2E at g2e@sunywcc.edu, or visit mysunywcc.org/page/GrowConference.
MONDAY, 5/6/13
Not For Profit Leadership Summit
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Tarrytown, 455 S Broadway, 8 am – 4 pm. The United Way of Westchester and Putnam, in partnership with the Westchester Community Foundation, presents the Not-For-Profit Leadership Summit XI, which features keynote speakers author Seth Godin and Human Rights Advocate Ilir Zherka. Sponsorships and vendor tables are also available. Prices begin at $30 at the door. For more information, call the (914) 997-6700 ext. 704. To learn about sponsorships, becoming a presenter, and early registration, visit uwwp.org/summit.shtml.
FRIDAY, 5/10/13
Westchester Children’s Museum Annual Benefit
The Ritz-Carlton, Westchester, 3 Renaissance Sq, White Plains, 7 pm
Westchester Children’s Museum will celebrate its “Boardwalk Bound” status at its annual benefit. The evening will be emceed by TV personality, author, and Westchester resident Jené Luciani and will honor Lynn and Ray Quartararo of Rye. The event will feature a silent auction, cocktails, and dinner, as well as the presentation by Helen Williams of the Milton A. Williams Jr. Scholars in Education Award to Dr. Barbara Peters, superintendent of the Elmsford School District. Tickets are available by calling (914) 421-5050 or at discoverWCM.org/gala.
TUESDAY, 6/25/2013
Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester’s 11th Annual Golf Invitational
Westchester Hills Golf Club, 401 Ridgeway, White Plains, 10:30 am. Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester (HPCW) will host its 11th Annual Golf Invitational. All proceeds from the event will benefit HPCW’s continuing effort to provide comfort, care, and compassion to every individual and family facing a serious or life-limiting illness. Registration begins at 10:30 am with brunch/lunch. A shotgun start will follow at 12:30 pm. A cocktail reception, to include dinner and an awards ceremony, will follow at 5 pm. Ticket prices are $400 per golfer and $1,600 per foursome. For ticket purchases and sponsorship packages, contact Holly K. Benedict at (914) 682-1484 ext. 122.
Do you have tips, scoop, or gossip concerning business in Westchester? If so, our INComing blogger, Lisa Cesarano, is all ears. Please e-mail her with a short pitch to 914incoming@gmail.com.
Upcoming events should be submitted no later than Sunday, April 21, to be considered for the April 30 edition. Please submit business-related events only; no fundraisers or consumer events.
