Edwin C. Forst has been named president and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Forst joins the commercial real estate firm following his tenure at Goldman Sachs & Co. as global co-head of the Investment Management Division. Most recently, he served as an adviser to Fenway Partners, a private investment firm.
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The Mercy College Board of Trustees elected Timothy L. Hall the 12th president of Mercy College. Currently president of Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, Dr. Hall will join Mercy College as president on May 13, 2014. Under Hall’s leadership, Austin Peay experienced significant increases in enrollment and funding, and received distinctions in 2012 and 2013 as one of the Great Colleges to Work For by The Chronicle of Higher Education. In addition, the Chronicle listed Austin Peay as one of ten large universities in the country—along with Stanford, Notre Dame, and the University of Michigan—on the “Honor Roll of Great Colleges to Work For.”
Greater Hudson Bank has hired Peter Abt as a commercial loan officer for Westchester County. Most recently serving with Mahopac National Bank as a regional vice president, commercial lender, Abt will focus on growing the bank’s commercial loans and deposits.
NEW BUSINESSES, RELOCATIONS, OPERATIONS
The Royal Regency Hotel will celebrate the ground breaking of its multi-million dollar renovation and rebranding project on January 21st. Located at 165 Tuckahoe Road in Yonkers, The Royal Regency Hotel will undergo a complete transformation to create the area’s first truly boutique hotel, inspired by the building’s past and Yonkers’ future. For the new interiors, Manhattan’s Virserius Studio is creating updated guest rooms, suites, a lobby lounge, and meeting and event spaces with a modern edge.
Xylem has relocated to Rye Brook. Formerly based in White Plains, the water technology company has signed a 10-year lease for 67,000 sq ft at the Reckson Executive Park. Employing about 800 people in Rye Brook, the firm was awarded $1.35 million in Excelsior Jobs Program tax credits and a $1 million capital grant to remain in New York by The Empire State Development agency. The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency also granted Xylem an estimated $562,000 in sales tax breaks on its estimated $11.6 million relocation.
Rye-based law firm Dorf & Nelson hosted a toy drive and luncheon in late December for Andrus President and CEO Mimi Clarke Corcoran and R. Tito Del Pilar, the company’s VP of human resources and knowledge management. For the fourth year in a row, the company procured boxes of holiday gifts for boys and girls ages 5 to 13.
BIZ BUZZ: YONKERS EARNS AN A+
PLUS: As 2014 begins, Astorino is sworn in to second term, New York State enacts the largest increase to state minimum wage in the country and ‘The Donald’ voices concerns over the new Tappan Zee while eyeing a possible bid to run for Governor.
County Executive Robert P. Astorino was sworn in for a second term on New Year’s Day at a ceremony in his office on the 9th floor of the Michaelian Office Building in White Plains. Joined by his family, Astorino hosted a New Year’s Day open house reception for Westchester residents.
Standard & Poor’s has given the city of Yonkers its highest bond rating in more than three decades. The new A+ rating of Yonkers’ general obligation bonds is up three levels from its previous BBB+ rating. Citing the city’s strong financial management, good fiscal policies, and an improving economy in recent years, the ratings services agency said the city has a stable fiscal outlook. According to the city’s outside auditor, Nicholas DeSantis, the city’s A+ bond rating from S&P is the highest since 1981 and could be the best ever for Yonkers.
On January 1st, New York became one of 13 states across the nation to raise its minimum wage. In fact, the Empire State saw the biggest increase, raising its minimum wage 75 cents to $8 an hour, benefiting an estimated 293,000 workers. Washington State will have the highest minimum wage in the country when its 13-cent increase brings it to $9.32, while Oregon’s 5-cent increase brings its hourly minimum wage to $9.10. Senate Democrats have promised to introduce a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 and gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers from $2.13 per hour to 70 percent of the regular minimum wage. In New York, where minimum wage for tipped food-delivery workers is currently $5.65, the new bill stands to increase hourly wages for tipped workers to $7.07.
Fueling speculation of a possible run for governor later this year, Donald Trump continued to criticize the new Tappan Zee bridge construction project. In a recent WGDJ-AM Albany radio interview, Trump said he believes the massive bridge will balloon to $10 billion, a cost he said the state can’t afford. This figure is roughly double the current projected price tag of $4.8 billion, inclusive of construction and financing costs. The state Thruway Authority, which owns the bridge, closed on a $1.6 billion loan from the federal government for the bridge replacement project earlier this month. Trump maintains that repairing the current structure is a better solution.
HOT PROPERTIES – 914INC.’S COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SHOWCASE
Property: 47-49 Beekman Ave, Sleepy Hollow
Brokered by: Mike Rackenberg, Houlihan Lawrence, 914-967-7680 ext. 427
Description: This bank property now offers several additional potential uses and features four spaces ranging from 444 to 4,488 sq ft. Mahopac National Bank occupies the retail portion of 49 Beekman.
Availability: Total Space Available: 7,247 sq ft at a rental rate of $0.50 – $3.81 per sq ft per month.
Selling Points: Property management companies, attorneys, CPAs, financial companies, and start-ups are a perfect fit for this building, which offers great exposure to downtown Sleepy Hollow.
Downside: Parking can be a challenge.
914 DATEBOOK – UPCOMING BUSINESS EVENTS
TUESDAY, 1/14/14
Manhattanville College School of Graduate and Professional Studies Business Info Session
6 pm – 7:30 pm. Reid Castle at Manhattanville College, 2900 Purchase St, Purchase. This session will provide an overview of graduate programs and what to expect when applying and while enrolled. Hear from program directors, current students, and the admissions team about the newly redesigned and expanded master’s degrees and advanced certificates in Business Leadership, Finance, Human Resource Management & Organizational Effectiveness, Marketing Communication Management, International Management and Sport Business Management.. Call (914) 323-5150 for more information.
TUESDAY, 1/21/14
YONY Rivertowns Creative MeetUp with Presenter Seth Godin on The Hard Work of Creating Successful Enterprises
6 pm – 8 pm.Yonkers Public Library, 1 Larkin Center, Yonkers. $10. The second YONY Rivertowns Creative MeetUp will feature Seth Godin, author of 17 best-selling books that have been translated into more than 35 languages. He writes about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, quitting, leadership, and most of all, changing everything. This month’s topic is about hard work. What is hard for your organization? What must go right for you to succeed? What difficult problem are you working to solve in the marketplace? Register and learn more at http://www.meetup.com/YONY-Rivertowns-Creative-Meetup.
THURSDAY, 1/23/14
Adobe Users Group MeetUp
6 pm – 8 pm Watercooler, 21 North Broadway, Tarrytown. (914) 332-1400. Free. At this month’s Adobe User Groups gathering, Adobe Certified Instructor Jeff Witchel will share some of his favorite tips, tricks, and little-known Adobe Illustrator secrets. Get an inside look at this amazing drawing and design application from the author of Layers Magazine’s “Tips of the Day” and countless video tutorials on www.LayersMagazine.com. You can also sample some of Jeff’s tutorials on Adobe TV. Additionally, Lisa Maxwell will do a presentation on Adobe Acrobat and all the must-knows for your workflow. As usual, there will be a raffle with the grand prize of a yearlong subscription to the Creative Cloud. Join the group to attend: http://groups.adobe.com/group/1281.
Upcoming events should be submitted no later than Sunday, January 12th, to be considered for the January 21st edition. Please submit business-related events only; no fundraisers or consumer events.