li’s deep clean

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LI AVIATION ICON BILL MCSHANEDEAD AT 61 ›› 11

LI FIRMS PIVOTWITH TECHNOLOGY TO SCAN BODY TEMPS ›› 10

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URGENT CARE BACKEDBY EQUITY FIRMSEEKS RENT RELIEF ›› 7

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LI’S DEEP CLEANIn this pandemic, demand for commercial cleaning services is booming

›› PAGE 4

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Cover Story4 LI’S DEEP CLEAN

In this pandemic, demand for commercial cleaning services is booming

Real Estate7 URGENT CARE BACKED BY $100B EQUITY FIRM SEEKS RENT RELIEF

Atlanta-based Access Clinical Partners, which does business here as Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care, asked for a three-month deferral of its rents

8 PRICIEST HOME SALES: APRIL 2020

Tech10 LI FIRMS PIVOT WITH TECHNOLOGY TO SCAN BODY TEMPERATURES

New devices would help firms identify anyone with a fever as companies scramble to protect against COVID-19

Do you think Long Island is ready for businesses to re-open?

• No, it would cause a second wave of cases 50%

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16 CUBICLE COMEBACK?

Pandemic will reshape office life for good

11 LONG ISLAND AVIATION ICON BILL MCSHANE DIES AT 61McShane, who was instrumental in bringing the Bethpage Air Show to Jones Beach, was vice president of business development and special projects for Sheltair Aviation

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COVERSTORY

By ADINA GENN

F ollowing news out of Wuhan, China, in the early days of coronavirus, Eric Bliss thought: I need a lot more equipment.

Bliss, with his wife Kate, runs Aque-ous Solutions out of John F. Kennedy International Airport and a location in Amityville. The company got its start more than 10 years ago, cleaning and disinfecting at the airport and other loca-tions, incorporating biosafety guidelines, following USDA protocols, Bliss said.

“I said this is coming, and it’s not going to be good,” Bliss said of COVID-19. “I doubled all our orders on chemicals and electrostatic spraying equipment – it was a lot of money for this equipment. I took a gamble.”

Around this time, a paint-store cus-tomer said someone wanted to order 10,000 Tyvek suits - a signal that Bliss wasn’t alone in his projections that the pandemic was making its way here.

“I called to get more equipment – it was gone,” he said. He added, “I wish I had more on the bet.”

In this pandemic, the demand for commercial cleaning services is booming.

The office-supplies category have seen “double-digit dollar gains” in the sales of janitorial supplies, including disinfectant wipes and cleaners, according to NPD Group, a market research firm headquar-tered in Port Washington.

As Tim Mulrooney, a commercial ser-vices equities analyst for William Blair, told Fortune, “Everyone from govern-ments to corporates to individuals [has] a heightened focus on hygiene.”

Damon Gersh said business “mush-roomed” on March 2, when the first New Rochelle resident tested positive, spark-ing the rapid spread of the virus. Gersh has 30 years of disaster recovery expertise and is the president and CEO of Maxons Restoration, a New York-based firm with a location in Syosset. Jeffry Gross, the company’s chief operating officer, had

begun to stock up on masks and other personal protective equipment.

“We’ve got reinforcements,” Gersh said,Since the outbreak, the firm has “prob-

ably done 500 [coronavirus treatments for clients] from March to today,” he said, adding that he contracted additional labor to meet spikes in demand.

And now, as Long Island slowly begins to reopen its economy, “non-essential” employers are ramping up protocols to follow New York State Department of Health guidelines to clean and disinfect the workplace to protect employees and customers, and help prevent spread of the virus.

Those guidelines include routine cleaning and disinfecting of frequently touched surfaces that can contribute to indirect transmission. This includes shared equipment, telephones, elec-tronics, keyboards and mice. There are handrails, light switches, door knobs, cart handles, point of sale devices, floors and walls. And there are trash containers and surfaces. Heat and air-conditioner vents all need attention, as do uniforms, protective equipment and linens.

And then there are the high risk spots: health offices and first-aid stations as well as restrooms, dining areas, break rooms and locker rooms.

But experts point out that deep clean-ing should follow federal and state guide-lines to clean and disinfect in instances when there is a suspected or confirmed case, and for regular maintenance. Cer-tain training is required regarding proper donning and doffing PPE, and using cleaning chemicals in accordance with the Occupational Safety and Health Ad-ministration. And any company retained should have proper insurance coverage, experts said.

Much of Long Island’s office space has sat dormant for two months. And the vi-rus is no longer viable in places that have been empty for that length of time, so in these instances there’s no need for deep disinfecting, experts said. Still, employers want to ease the transition for employees

returning to the workplace, communi-cating to all stakeholders that their space is following protocols set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And that means adhering to cleaning practices that are sustainable.

It’s a message every organization wants to send.

Northwell Health, for example, wants the public to know that it is cleaning its facilities to care for non-coronavirus patients. It is deploying proven sanitizing methods – including Virex, bleach and UV technology - to kill any remnants of COVID-19.

The healthcare system is “doing multi-ple cleanings on these rooms, including a hydrogen peroxide fog, to ensure people can feel safe in our care,” said Don-ald Ophals, assistant vice president of ancillary services at Northwell. “We are cleaning these rooms as if our loved ones will be occupying them.”

And Long Island MacArthur Airport announced it is deploying the Contiguous

Air and Surface Pathogen Reduction, or CASPR, system to continuously sanitize air and surfaces in the airport’s facilities.

Meanwhile, the region has coped with a scarcity of equipment. Nationwide, investigators have uncovered an array of counterfeit or adulterated products, including cleaning products and personal protection equipment, the Associated Press reports.

Gersh said he continues to carefully procure resources, including N95 masks, and donates PPE - masks, nitrile gloves, shoe covers, Tyvek suits and goggles - to local hospitals.

And Bliss said that if an airline won’t allow his crew members to carry on equipment so they can keep a close eye on the needed resources, “I book another flight.” He said that since the outbreak, he’s hired a coach bus so his team could travel to a client in Kentucky, and then swing by another in Washington, DC, on the way back. He’s also hired a jet to get to clients, who, since the pandemic, now

LI’S DEEP CLEANIn this pandemic, demand for commercial cleaning services is booming

Eric Bliss, shown here, tracked the virus from its early days and doubled on orders on chemicals and electrostatic spraying equipment.


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span across the country, including one with 75 locations.

Next shoe to dropAs Long Island reopens, employers

must determine a maintenance program, experts say.

For many employers, it can be “pro-hibitively expensive” to regularly retain a commercial firm that specializes in deep cleaning and disinfecting, Gersh said. So he’s providing guidelines so that organi-

zations’ internal maintenance crews can take the right “preventative measures.”

Online, the CDC’s “Cleaning and Dis-infection for Community Facilities” of-fers employers comprehensive guidance, including how to identify new potential cases. Those guidelines include how to properly use disinfecting products ap-proved by the Environmental Protection Agency, and call for following manufac-turers’ instructions.

Bliss, meanwhile, is working on a training and certification program for

organizations that would have to agree to “spot checks” to ensure they are following proper disinfectant protocols.

Meanwhile, employers will have to think about deploying staggered work shifts, stocking hand sanitizer and proper PPE for employees, and putting up visual cues so that everyone is mindful of effec-tive hygienic practices, Bliss said.

“The days of donuts on the table are over,” he said.

Now, Gersh said he’s gearing up for a new wave of demand as companies

reopen, and the potential for “the second shoe to drop” if the virus resurges. And as a member of an affiliate group, he’s providing referrals to trusted markets across the country as the virus spreads to other states.

Every crisis, Gersh said, offers a learn-ing curve. With Sandy, it was navigating around the local gasoline shortage. With COVID-19, it’s the PPE shortage.

“Each disaster is a little bit different,” Gersh said. “This is a good opportunity to update or create your disaster plan.”

Jeffrey Gross, Howard White and Damon Gersh of Maxons Restorations, which handled more than 500 coronavirus treatments for client buildings since the outbreak of the virus.

‘NON-ESSENTIAL EMPLOYERS ARE RAMPING UP PROTOCOLS TO FOLLOW NEW YORK STATE

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH GUIDE-LINES TO CLEAN AND DISINFECT

THE WORKPLACE.’


[email protected] 631.913.4247 @DAVIDWINZELBERG

REALESTATE

By DAVID WINZELBERG

The company that co-owns and op-erates GoHealth Urgent Care centers, backed by a $100 billion equity firm, asked its landlords for rent relief due to severe financial strain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Atlanta-based Access Clinical Partners, which does business here as Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care, currently has 30 locations in Nassau and Suffolk counties. A company attorney wrote a letter to its landlords in March asking for a three-month deferral of its rents, which it proposed to pay back in 12 monthly installments in 2021.

In the letter, Elizabeth Corey, associate general counsel for real estate for Access Clinical Partners, wrote that the pan-demic and necessary actions taken by the government have affected companies all over the world.

“We are a retailer in the healthcare space but not a hospital,” Corey wrote. “Like every other retailer we have been crushed by this unforeseen and unfore-seeable event. We’ve lost patients and our most valuable resource, much of our staff.”

Northwell Health, which owns 50 per-cent of the Northwell Health GoHealth Urgent Care chain, reported 2019 rev-enue of $12.4 billion, but the pandemic has triggered monthly losses of between $350 million and $400 million for the entire Northwell Health system, accord-ing to a Northwell Health spokesman. Though Northwell recently received $995 million in federal aid, the health system maintains it still faces a total loss of be-tween $400 million and $600 million.

Corey, who did not respond to a re-quest for comment on this story, wrote that the virus is “a true force majeure event,” and that “conditions in many instances have made it impossible” to utilize GoHealth premises for its in-tended purpose. A force majeure clause in contracts excuses the obligations of one or both parties when extraordinary events or circumstances arise, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, war, labor strikes, epidemics and more.

Though many of the commercial prop-erty owners who lease space to GoHealth Urgent Care on Long Island have reluc-tantly agreed to the three-month rent deferral, at least one has not.

Jim Ross, a principal of Massapequa Plaza Associates, leases a 2,428-square-foot end cap space to GoHealth at 5165 Merrick Road in Massapequa, the urgent

care chain’s first Long Island location, which opened in Nov. 2014.

While he received the request to defer GoHealth’s rent, he denied the defer-ral, since the clinic has been open and operating throughout the coronavirus lockdown.

Ross points out that the local GoHealth chain is owned jointly by Northwell Health and TPG Partners, a private equi-ty conglomerate that has more than $119

billion under management, according to its website.

“I don’t believe it’s my responsibility to lend money, interest free or at all, to a company owned by TPG Partners, a multi-billion dollar private equity firm and Northwell Health, particularly when they’re still open for business,” Ross told LIBN.

Besides the 48,000-square-foot retail center in Massapequa, Ross also owns a 25,400-square-foot shopping center on Route 25A in Northport. There are retail tenants at both properties whose small businesses have been closed for the last two months, and they haven’t paid rent during that time either.

“We have made accommodations to local businesses which are not open for business and suffering the economic con-sequences of this pandemic,” he said.

Ross says GoHealth has “unprecedent-ed chutzpah” for its deferral request and for initially skipping May’s rent, which he did not authorize. However, after Ross sent the company a default notice for

nonpayment of its May rent, GoHealth sent him this month’s rent payment.

GoHealth’s Massapequa rent was not disclosed, but industry sources say it’s likely between $40 and $50 a square foot, which means it is somewhere around $9,100 a month.

As LIBN reported last month, more than half the tenants at many Long Island retail properties failed to pay their April rent, according to a survey of area land-lords. The survey of property owners, who collectively control more than 61.3 million square feet of commercial space here, was conducted by the Association for a Better Long Island and Long Island Builders Institute and found some retail landlords reported nonpayment rates as high as 85 percent last month.

Nareit, a trade organization for real estate investment trusts, just released a survey that found shopping center REITs nationally reported they collected 48 per-cent of May rents, a 2 percent improve-ment from April’s collections.

■ [email protected]

Urgent care backed by $100B equity firm seeks rent relief

‘LIKE EVERY OTHER RETAILER WE HAVE BEEN

CRUSHED BY THIS UNFORESEEN AND

UNFORESEEABLE EVENT.’

The landlord of this Northwell Health GoHealth Urgent Care clinic in Massapequa refused the company’s request for a three-month rent deferral.


Priciest home sales: April 2020

Priciest home sales in Glen Cove (11542)

The three highest-priced home sales in Glen Cove last month ranged from $575,000 to $600,000.

The priciest Glen Cove home sold in April was a 3-bedroom, 1.5-bath split-level on .23 acres at 14 Dan-iel Drive (pictured) that sold for $600,000. It was listed by Marianna Villella of Douglas Elliman Real Estate and sold by Douglas Elliman’s Wasiq Rehmat.

A 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath colonial on .15 acres at 19 Tulane Road fetched $587,500 in cash. It was listed and sold by Damian Ross of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

At 1 Pine Low, a 5-bedroom, 3.5-bath farm ranch on .44 acres went for $575,000. It was listed by Daria Hoffman and Stephanie Lorber of Voro and sold by Krystiana Gembressi.

Priciest home sales in Sea Cliff (11579)

The three highest-priced home sales in Sea Cliff last month ranged from $975,000 to $1.35 million.

The priciest Sea Cliff home sold in April was a 5-bed-room, 3.5-bath colonial on .43 acres at 51 Carpenter Ave. (pictured) that sold for $1.35 million. It was listed by Shei-la Wenger and Vivian Parisi of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty and sold by Barbara Sinenberg of Sherlock Homes Realty.

A 4-bedroom, 3-bath ranch on .52 acres at 135 Glen-lawn Ave. fetched $1.042 million in cash. It was listed by John Russo and Thomas Kaufman of Richard B. Arnold and sold by Kimberly Bancroft and Kim Reardon of Dan-iel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

At 388 Carpenter Ave., a 4-bedroom, 4-bath colonial on .19 acres went for $975,000. It was listed by Dawn Wands of Douglas Elliman Real Estate and sold by Kathy Wallach of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

Priciest home sales in Huntington (11743)

The three highest-priced home sales in Huntington last month ranged from $740,000 to $1.645 million.

The priciest Huntington home sold in April was a 5-bedroom, 4.5-bath newly built farmhouse on 1.13 acres at 6 Swan Court (pictured) that sold for $1.645 million. It was listed by Valerie Rosenblatt of Coldwell Banker Residential and sold by John Martin of Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

A 5-bedroom, 3-bath farm ranch on 1 acre at 172 Flower Hill Road fetched $765,000. It was listed by Paul Licari, Ronald Lanzillotta and Michael Pesce of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Laffey International Realty and sold by Licari and Lanzillotta.

At 40 Hillside Ave., a 6-bedroom, 2.55-bath two-family home on .42 acres went for $740,000 in cash. It was listed by Susan Kogon of Distinctive Properties and sold by Kristine Chiusano of Coldwell Banker Residential.

Priciest home sales in East Rockaway (11518)

The three highest-priced home sales in East Rock-away last month ranged from $462,000 to $542,000.

The priciest East Rockaway home sold in April was a 3-bedroom, 2-bath expanded ranch on .17 acres at 14 Thompson Drive (pictured) that sold for $542,000. It was listed by Barbara Gandolfo and John Gandolfo of Century 21 American Homes and sold by Michael Scibelli of Petrey West Realty.

A 3-bedroom, 1.5-bath colonial on .09 acres at 106 Rhame Ave. fetched $465,000. It was listed and sold by Charles Vito of Ed McNulty Realty.

At 50 Third Ave., a 3-bedroom, 2-bath cape on .11 acres went for $462,000. It was listed by Perry Pappas of Century 21 American Homes and sold by Karen Ele-fante of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

Source: MLSLI.com

Priciest home sales in Wyandanch (11798)

The three highest-priced home sales in Wyan-danch last month ranged from $305,000 to $439,000.

The priciest Wyandanch home sold in April was a 6-bedroom, 2-bath hi-ranch on .23 acres at 15 S. 31st St. (pictured) that sold for $439,000. It was listed by Eva Benitez of Realty Connect USA and sold by Jean-ny Saver of Michael J. Watts & Associates.

A 5-bedroom, 2-bath cape on .11 acres at 61 Brook-lyn Ave. fetched $344,900. It was listed by Walter Wil-liams of House Hunt NY and sold by Derek Palaguachi of Premium Group Realty.

At 322 State Ave., a 3-bedroom, 1-bath home on .17 acres went for $305,000. It was listed by Jay Weinraub of Realty Connect USA and sold by Jerome Jones of Fave Realty.

Priciest home sales in Northport (11768)

The three highest-priced home sales in Northport last month ranged from $740,000 to $3.1 million.

The priciest Northport home sold in April was a 8-bedroom, 5-bath estate on 27.6 acres at 99 Sunken Meadow Road (pictured) that sold for $3.1 million. It was listed by Kelley Taylor of Douglas Elliman Real Estate and sold by a non-member of the Long Island Board of Realtors.

A 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath ranch on 1.08 acres at 1 Con-cord Drive South fetched $750,000. It was listed by Pa-tricia Kennedy and Raquel Fernandez of Icon Proper-ties and sold by James DePierro of Exit Realty Premier.

At 5 Ridge Road, a 4-bedroom, 2.5-bath home on .63 acres went for $740,000. It was listed by Ginger Freck of Douglas Elliman Real Estate and sold by Richard Krug and Taleen Krug of Century 21 American Homes.

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TECH

New devices would help firms identify anyone with a fever as companies scram-ble to protect against COVID-19

By ADINA GENN

As Long Island’s economy moves toward reopening, businesses are seeking ways to protect the health of its customers and employees amid the COVID-19 pandem-ic.

And companies are pivoting to devise new technology that can help organi-zations to meet that demand, which includes the ability to take temperatures, and ensure anyone entering a facility is wearing a mask and using hand sanitizer.

Michael Orza, the CEO of Garden City-based Webair, has invested in the COVID-19 Fever Sensing Kiosk, the latest technology from New York-based Popshap. The device is aimed at identi-fying whether people have a fever to help prevent the spread of the virus.

The kiosk “is designed to scan a person’s body temperature quickly and efficiently, utilizing hands-free thermal temperature readers and will dispense hand sanitizer upon entry,” Orza told Long Island Business News.

According to New York Gov. Andrew

Cuomo, businesses must “do their part” to ensure the safety of the workplace. That includes health screenings for indi-viduals upon entering a place of work.

And that’s presented an opportunity for some technology companies.

“Due to the growing need for digi-tal touch and hands-free solutions, the demand for self-service kiosks is growing,” Orza said. “We are leveraging our custom solutions in ways we had never imagined to assist in the fight against this pandemic and beyond.”

Already, the company has received orders from American Airlines, the Federal Reserve and Capital One, according to a company spokeswoman.

Another company, Ronkonkoma-based Soter Technologies is offering Symptom-Sense Medical Evaluation Gateway. This walk-through scanner’s technology detects a person’s temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate and blood oxygen level, helping to identify anyone who is ill.

“We are entering a completely new world in terms of going back to work, visiting entertainment venues and profession-al sporting events. Health screening for symptoms of potential illness will not be an option,” Derek Peterson, the CEO of Soter, told LIBN.

Still, as Peterson pointed out, “this has to be done rapidly and must provide the best snapshot possible to determine if an individual is ill.”

Peterson said that Soter Technologies developed SymptomSense to help address the new reality amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“These vitals are combined to create an effective indication of a person is well and should be permitted to enter a workplace, restaurant, hospital, nursing home, military base, airport or mall,” he said.

Already, clients include the NBA, NFL and MLB, according to a company spokesperson.

While these devices may mini-mize the spread of the virus, they would not be effective in iden-tifying those with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic, med-ical experts said, according to published reports.

■ [email protected]

LI firms pivot with technology to scan body temperatures

“DUE TO THE GROWING NEED FOR DIGITAL TOUCH AND

HANDS-FREE SOLUTIONS, THE DEMAND FOR SELF-SERVICE

KIOSKS IS GROWING,”

This device from Popshap is aimed at identifying whether people have a fever to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Empire State Development awarded funds to two Suffolk County firms for producing supplies to fight COVID-19.

In total, ESD awarded more than $4 million to eight New York firms.

Hauppauge-based Chembio Diagnos-tic Systems was awarded $1 million to support efforts to produce COVID-19 tests. The company already produced tests for Zika, Ebola and HIV. In March it announced its DPP COVID-19 System, a rapid test to detect antibodies through a finger stick, pro-viding results in 15 minutes. Funding would support hiring and training employees,

purchasing and expanding injection molding tooling capacity. Chembio aims to invest “sig-nificant”capital to produce COVID-19 tests.

And $80,000 was awarded to Clear-Vu Medical in Central Islip. The company

ordinarily produces plastic components and LED fixtures for transit and healthcare. Since the pandemic, the company designed and is building a cleanroom space to begin manu-facturing face shields at scale. The company is procuring and setting up automation, glue lines and conveyor assembly systems. Clear-Vu will invest more than $200,000 for production and is already in contract to produce 6 million face shields per year with capacity to more than double that. This new business line will create 28 new jobs at full capacity. The company’s face shields have already been provided to more than a dozen

healthcare organizations, first responders and medical distributors.

“Many of the world’s premier and most innovative companies are in New York State,” Eric Gertler, ESD’s acting commissioner said.

“ESD’s support for these businesses not only answers Gov. Cuomo’s call for homegrown industries to assist with the state’s efforts to combat the coronavirus but reflects the investment is being made to ensure that the state continues its record of smart growth as we recover and grow statewide,” he added.

— ADINA GENN

ESD funds go to Suffolk firms for producing supplies to fight COVID-19

This walk-through scanner’s technology from Soter Technologies detects a person’s temperature, respiratory rate, heart rate and blood oxygen level, helping to identify anyone who is ill.

‘ESD AWARDED MORE THAN $4 MILLION TO EIGHT NEW YORK

FIRMS.’


FROMLIBN.COM

By DAVID WINZELBERG

Aviation industry leader William McShane, who helped bring the Bethpage Air Show to Jones Beach 15 years ago, has died at age 61 after a long illness.

McShane was vice president of business development and special projects for Sheltair Aviation, where he positioned the company as one of the leading fixed base operators in the New York metro area and oversaw the approval and construction of Sheltair’s new $55 million hangar complex at Republic Airport.

McShane, a resident of Babylon, was a past president of the New York Aviation Manage-ment Association and one of the founding members and past president of the Long Is-land Business Aviation Association. He also founded and was president of the Aerospace Education Corporation, a nonprofit created to promote aviation education.

“We are greatly saddened by the passing of a good friend, Bill McShane,” said John Lisi on behalf of the Republic Airport Civic Coa-lition. “Bill was the consummate gentleman, a true professional who represented Sheltair Aviation well and maintained a very open relationship with the community members, always. His smile was infectious and his willingness to help in any way he could, will always be remembered. May he rest in peace.”

George Gorman, Long Island direc-tor of the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said McShane was among the pioneers who ensured that the Bethpage Air Shows would not only come to Long Island but would become a sustaining tradition.

“His enormous dedication and collegial teamwork ensured its success,” Gorman said. “Never taking credit, always there behind the scenes to work out last minute issues, Bill was an example of professionalism while

being a mentor for countless people.”McShane leaves behind his wife of 33

years, MaryEllen, children, Katharine McShane (Jesse Heasly), Megan McShane and William Thomas McShane. He is survived by his father William A. McShane and siblings Michael McShane, Rosemary McShane, and Elizabeth Fonseca.

Burial arrangements were being arranged with the Claude R. Boyd–Spencer Funeral Home. Due to the pandemic there was only to be a private viewing for immediate family with a private burial Wednesday, May 20 at St. Charles Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, me-morial contributions may be made to the Bill McShane Memorial Aviation Scholarship payable to “NYAMA” and sent to: 230 Wash-ington Avenue Extension Suite 101 Albany, NY 12203.

Carl Oliveri, CPA, CCIFP, CFE, MBAPartner, Construction Practice Leader212.223.2047 | [email protected]

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Long Island aviation icon Bill McShane dies at 61

Pier 1 plans to closePier 1, the Texas-based home-furnish-

ing shop with four remaining Long Island locations, is planning to close its stores.

This week the company announced that it had filed a motion for court ap-proval to ‘begin an orderly wind-down of the company’s retail operations as soon as reasonably possible after store locations are able to reopen following mandated closures during the COVID-19 pandem-ic.”

The company, which had declared bankruptcy in February, had been seek-ing a buyer prior to the outbreak.

“Unfortunately, the challenging retail environment has been significantly compounded by the profound impact of COVID-19, hindering our ability to secure such a buyer and requiring us to wind down,” Robert Riesbeck, Pier 1’s chief executive officer and chief financial officer, said in a statement.

Pier 1 expects to continue serving customers in its stores through early fall 2020. Store closing dates will vary by location.

— ADINA GENN


L I B N . C O M

OPINIONEDITOR’S NOTE

Watered-down Belmont Stakes is opportunity for NYRA

I suppose horseracing fans should be happyThere will be a Belmont Stakes on Long Is-

land this year, although no fans will be allowed to attend, and the race itself will be the opening leg of the Triple Crown series for the first time in its history.

I suppose we should be happy as we begin the arduous path of bringing big spectator sports back to New York.

The horses competing this year will not have endured the grueling trial that usually begins at the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May and then, just two weeks later, at Baltimore’s Pimlico Racecourse. Both of those classic races have been moved to the fall by their respective racing associations.

In a normal racing year, meaning all the years since the early 1930s, the best of that bunch of 3-year-old thoroughbreds are supposed to come to Belmont Park in early June. There, they are supposed to compete at a mile-and-a-half – an unforgiving distance – in what they call the “Test of the Champion.” It serves to settle scores, at least in the collective mind of the public.

There should be a giant crowd in Elmont to witness it all, to drink in the atmosphere, to

wear funny hats and spend gobs of money at lo-cal shops and restaurants. Not this spring.

Three generations of my family have joined me at this race, this Long Island spectacle, dat-ing back some 45 years. Not this year.

All of that has fallen victim to the corona-virus. Given our other losses from this deadly pandemic, a compromised horse race is a trifle. Still, it is telling.

The 152nd Belmont Stakes will be run Sat-urday, June 20, and contested at nine-furlongs – 1 1/8-miles – three furlongs short of the tra-ditional distance. Young horses cannot be asked to go 1 1/2-miles with limited experience. They

cannot be tasked to go around two of Belmont’s sweeping turns so early in their careers.

This premier “Grade 1” race will be worth $1 million, spread out to its top finishers. That’s down from last year’s race, which was worth three times that. Online betting will be available across the nation and through NYRA’s betting app. With casinos and other betting venues closed across the country, the total handle, or amount bet from all sources, is expected to be considerably reduced from previous years. That means NYRA’s cut is significant, but certainly less than in the past.

In that way, it will be like the rest of us on

Long Island; our take is down.Still, the Belmont poses an opportunity for

NYRA to reach a greatly expanded television audience. The big race will be the only game in town. This year, it won’t have to compete with the NBA finals or our Major League baseball teams. A handful of televised sporting events recently find themselves reaping giant ratings.

It’s also another argument for a national rac-ing organization. An umbrella group is desper-ately needed to regulate the controversial sport. Such a body could have found a way to make the entire Triple Crown series run in its usual or-der in the fall, perhaps with fans in attendance. The parochial interests of the independent race-tracks, in this case, precluded that from happen-ing.

We should be content, I suppose, that some form of normalcy will return in June in the form of a ghost race, run in silent shadows at cavern-ous Belmont Park.

We should take solace in this watered-down incarnation. So why am I not happy?

I wonder if the NYRA will consider opening those big parking lots around the track so peo-ple could just be there, just to stream it live from their tailgate party, to peak through the back-stretch fence for a glimpse of their favorites, and to let their rowdy cheers thunder across the infield.

Is that asking too much?

Joe Dowd is Editor & Associate Publisher of LIBN; his opinion column runs here regularly.

Long Island can’t wait: time to open up the economy

It’s time to open up the Long Island econo-my. The pandemic has caused Nassau and Suf-folk County governments to be on the brink of bankruptcy. New York State April revenues have fallen to 32 percent of last years’ April revenues. And more than 1.7 million New Yorkers have claimed more than $7.4 billion in unemployment insurance, greater than three times the $2.1 billion unemployment benefits paid in 2019.

Included among the unemployed are 287,000 Long Islanders, one in five of the re-gional work force with more to come due to the continuing backlog of unprocessed un-employment claims. Add the 330,000 New York gig and self-employed workers collect-

ing Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and the total of New Yorkers collecting un-employment insurance comes to two million. For the economy to survive, this can’t contin-ue.

Add to the troubling economic mix are the Long Islanders who are in the underground economy and are unable to file for unemploy-ment insurance and the Federal government that can’t continue to print the kind of mon-ey that it has, including the latest version of the congressional bailout that includes $500 billion for state governments and billions more for local governments. These numbers become so big that only opening up the econ-omy can generate what is needed. The fact is we are not a take-out or pick-up at curbside economy. To think this will bring back the Long Island economy is unrealistic.

The warm weather is here and with-it Long Islanders, who for the most part have been co-operating with the stay at home rules, but are flocking outdoors to beaches and parks. And

just as we have achieved flattening the curve and reducing hospitalizations, cases, and death rates, and increasing testing to where we have more tests than people wanting to take them, we have to bring about opening up the economy a bit sooner than planned.

The unemployed need to work to pay for rents, mortgages and the looming local prop-erty taxes due within the next four weeks. These financial commitments are too large to be covered by time- limited federal and state unemployment insurance. Only an expand-ing economy can provide those dollars and we need to begin opening the economy with downtowns and mom and pop stores.

It makes little sense when supermarkets and big retailers such as Walmart, Home De-pot and Target open up using safe distancing, cleaning, mask and glove wearing shoppers when the same can be done to accommodate small businesses, local bodegas and groceries. We have to make that happen. If not, more small businesses will follow others and will

not reopen. Restaurants have to be allowed to use out-

door spaces for dining even if table wait ser-vice is not allowed. For example, Snappers Inn in Oakdale wants to use the expansive lawn outside the restaurant for tables and chairs for people who take-out to sit and en-joy the Connetquot River scenes. Same for beachside restaurants. Restaurants just can’t survive with 25 to 50 percent occupancy and need to be allowed other options to serve din-ers and remain in business.

We have to manage how Long Island’s 93,000 small businesses can open. Long Is-land’s economy can’t wait another month to open. It will take Long Islanders adhering to social distancing and hand washing to turn the economy around and make life normal again. Whatever normal turns out to be.

Martin Cantor is director of the Long Island Center for Socio-Economic Policy and a former Suffolk County economic development commissioner. He can be reached at [email protected].

Martin R CANTOR

(AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)

In this June 9, 2018 photo, horses break from the starting gate at the beginning of the 150th running of the Belmont Stakes horse race at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Joe DOWD


COMMENTARY

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Long Island Business News (ISSN 08944806), (USPS No. 318-380) is published weekly by Long Island Business News Inc., 2150 Smithtown Ave., Suite 7, Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 11779-7348. Periodicals, 52 issues in 2020 plus 4 additional issues in the months of March, October, November and December mailed separately and periodicals postage paid at Ronkonkoma, N.Y. 11779 at additional entries. Phone: 631-737-1700, Fax: 631-737-1890.

These are unprecedented times. As we all work to find ways to adapt to a new reality, in both home and work life, we at Canon wish you and your families well. This is a challenging moment for everyone and every business, and our collec-tive concerns far outweigh the release of new im-aging equipment, but at Canon we can’t help but notice the evolution that is happening within the business landscape right before our eyes.

One area of business that has been greatly af-fected are trade shows, which for many decades companies of all sizes have relied on to network, introduce new products and analyze trends. As many of these events have been canceled or post-poned amid the current pandemic, it is safe to say that these mainstays will not offer the same op-portunities for quite some time because it’s likely going to take a while for people to feel comfortable congregating en masse at trade shows and exposi-tions. A socially distant society is a sobering re-minder that time-tested business practices must rapidly adapt.

Canon is no different. For months, we had been planning to make a series of product announce-ments at one of the professional imaging-tech-nology industry’s largest trade shows—The 2020

NAB Show. However, the show—like other indus-try events at this time—was canceled to minimize the spread of coronavirus and facilitate social dis-tancing. Rather than allowing this shift to impact our ability to communicate with the industry, we went back to the drawing board to find new ways to meet the needs of existing and potential cus-tomers—resiliency is essential during unpredict-able times.

The result was our first-ever Canon Virtual Press Conference, a 57-minute video stream high-lighting our new professional product and tech-nology announcements for the spring of 2020. Us-ing detailed, high-definition images, informative graphics and charts, and our charismatic Canon spokespeople as presenters, the 2020 Canon Vir-tual Press Conference successfully replicated the experience of a traditional expo as best it could, and it helped advance our business for the fiscal year, all while keeping participants as safe as pos-sible. It also gave an opportunity to build a more personalized connection between our staff and our industry, providing viewers a sneak peek at their homes—and kitchens.

Of course, there will never be a substitute for the in-person experience. A connection is formed between consumer and product when a customer has an opportunity to experience firsthand how a product operates and feels in their hands. How-ever, what we found from producing our Virtual Press Conference was that using video allowed for a more focused message. One of the challenges of meetings at trade shows is that they are often im-promptu, and while our staff is well-versed in the

features and benefits of our products, each conver-sation is going to be different. On the other hand, a pre-recorded video enabled us to fine-tune the messaging to succinctly encapsulate the compet-itive advantages of our products, with video and pictorial evidence to support our stance. Remark-ably, this massive undertaking was planned, pro-duced and completed all in a very short time pe-riod of just five weeks. For this, we have received rave reviews from our customers and the industry as a whole, and moving forward it will be a new tool in our marketing and communication strat-egies.

At Canon, our cornerstone philosophy is Kyo-sei—all people, regardless of race, religion, or culture, harmoniously living and working togeth-er into the future. That philosophy is the driving force in everything we do, from environmental protection to product development. During this time of crisis, this tenet is more crucial than ever. The consequences of the coronavirus pandem-ic and subsequent lockdown have spread far and wide, and they will continue to be felt long after our community has reopened. However, limita-tions and challenges have fostered innovation for as long as business has existed. We all enjoy the traditional trade show, and we look forward to the day we can gather together again and bond over the products and entertainments we love. Until that time, it’s up to business leaders, influencers, and innovators to bridge the gap.

Scott Antaya is Vice President & GM of the Imaging Solu-tion Group at Canon U.S.A.

With trade shows on hold, it’s time to adapt

Is your office ready to get back to business?By THOMAS KING AND PAUL LAGERAAEN

We are getting closer to receiving a back to work order from Federal or State governments. We expect that within the next few weeks, businesses will be telling employees it is time to leave home and return to work. This is likely to happen before COVID-19 has been fully eradicated or a vaccination is made available. Schools, hotels, restaurants, airlines, manufacturing, archi-tecture and engineering firms, and commercial real estate are all facing un-precedented challenges and asking the same question: How will we go from quarantine to some semblance of normality?

Returning to work will most certainly occur in waves, with an initial call from the state releasing mandatory lockdown for a partial controlled reen-trance. Currently, it’s not clear what regulatory directives may be mandated. What we do know, is that preparedness is key. Are you prepared for a 50% employee density level? Do you have proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and supplies to protect your employees? Plans will need to be put in place to return to work to safely. Employers will need to consider what proto-cols must be implemented to make this happen.

Differing workplaces face distinct challenges. Regardless, considerations for all business types can be divided into three key focus areas: Preparedness, Exposure Control, and Response.

Preparedness refers to actions, planning, and equipment implemented to ensure that your facility has the ability to take corrective actions during an incident response. Examples include having a sufficient supply of first aid supplies, wipes, disinfecting materials or PPE on hand. It is recommended for companies to implement policies for routine environmental cleaning and disinfection. Additionally, consider whether your operation has the ability to maintain business continuity when employees are forced to work remotely.

A second focus area is Exposure Control. In relation to COVID-19, this can be formalized in a task, site, or facility specific written plan that addresses procedures to mitigate potential exposure to this or any other communicable

disease.The third focus area to consider is Response Planning. These are the ac-

tivities to consider when an emergency situation arises, such as having an employee who has returned to work but becomes infected with Coronavirus and has possibly infected your staff. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an opportunity to evaluate how such an emergency affects your business op-erations and performance objectives.

For the foreseeable future, all workplaces will have to consider ways to allow social distancing to continue. Do you have a plan to maintain social distancing? Do you need to install structural alternatives to implement a pro-tection plan? Employers will have to become even more understanding of the needs of their employees and the effect that the pandemic has had.

Effective training of all staff will be an essential tool to tackle the COVID-19 threat going forward. All staff must be informed to follow the prescribed procedures for dealing with this pandemic including how to recognize the symptoms and what to do if you or a coworker feels ill or suspects others to be affected.

There are bound to be more technical questions that will take time to an-swer such as how HVAC systems can be designed to reduce potential trans-mission of COVID-19 or whether buildings should now be equipped with more automation to reduce the need to touch doorknobs, elevator buttons, and faucet handles.

It will take a unified effort to address the aftereffects of COVID-19. We all must realize that we will be operating under a new normal. Education and proactive preparedness are essential to coming out of this pandemic as a stronger business community.

Thomas King, CIH is a Project Engineer and Corporate Health and Safety Manager fand Paul Lageraaen, P.E., P.G. is Vice President and Director of the Environmental Department for H2M architects + engineers.

EDITOR & ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Joe Dowd

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MOVERS&SHAKERSu SPOTLIGHT

u EDUCATION

Dr. Christopher MaloneDr. Malone serves as the Founding Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Malloy College and has been tapped to serve on the Voter Assis-tance Advisory Committee of the New York City Campaign Finance Board. He will serve a five-year term.

A partner in the litigation practice group at Certilman Balin has been elected as a director of the Suffolk County Bar Association for a three-year term ending 2023. His litigation expe-rience ranges in different matters for

both federal and state courts. Behar serves as the vice president

of the Commack Union Free School District Board of Education, is the asso-ciate dean and an officer at the Suffolk Academy of Law and co-chairs the Suf-folk County Bar Association Transaction and Corporation Law Committee.

He is admitted to practice in New York and the U.S. District Court, South-ern and Eastern Districts of New York and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and has authored articles in a myriad of publica-tions including New York Law Journal Magazine and Suffolk Lawyer.

JARRETT M. BEHAR

Alan J. SchwartzPrincipal and managing attor-ney of the Law Offices of Alan J. Schwartz, he has been elect-ed as a board member of Long Island Community Chest.

Ray SikorskiThe owner of RTS Print Ser-vices in Westbury has been elected to the RotaCare NY Board of Directors. A resident of New Hyde Park, Rikorski’s role on the board will help facilitate free health care for the relief of pain and suffering to those who most need it.

Jonathan CastroJonathan Castro, of Nescon-set, and Rajah Ferrell, of Bay Shore, were recently hired to join the team at D&B Engi-neers and Architects. Castro, of Nesconset ,was brought on as an electrical engineer.

Rajah FerrellFerrell of Bay Shore recently earned his Associate of Oc-cupation Studies in Comput-er-Aided Drafting and Design from Island Drafting and Techni-cal Institute in Amityville.

u SMALL BUSINESS u SUBMISSIONS

We welcome announce-ments for businesspeople who work in Nassau or Suf-folk. Please include your title and the name and town of your company. Also, include the title, company name and town for your most recent position. Submit your Movers & Shakers releases to [email protected] or online at www.libn.com. You must send a photo to be consid-ered for publication. The photos must be high-resolu-tion, color JPEGs of at least 200 dpi in size.

No fee to attend!

Register online at limba.net/join-us

Hosted by Ernie Fazio, Bill Miller, Ken Nevor and Marguerite Moore

Friday, June 5, 2020 NEW TIME: 9:00 am - 10:30 am Phillip Eng

President, MTA Long Island Rail Road

Since 1968, LIMBA has been Long Island’s catalyst for

economic investment and improvement, sponsoring lively

breakfast forums featuring Long Island business activists

and government officials.

For more information please contact [email protected] or (631) 757-1698

Under Eng’s leadership, the LIRR has implemented the Forward program – a set of strategic initiatives aimed at improving reliability and enhance customer experience. It is also delivering an historic $6B capital program to modernize and expand its infrastructure, including Double Track, Main Line Expansion, East Side Access, Jamaica Capacity Improvements, new M9 fleet, and Centralized Train Control.

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Option 1: Buy an ad of any size in Long Island Business News, and provide the nonprofit or charity of your choice an ad of the same size for free.

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LIFOCUS REAL ESTATE/ARCHITECTURE/

ENGINEERING/CONSTRUCTION

The ASSOCIATED PRESS

Office jobs are never going to be the same.

When workers around the world eventually return to

their desks, they’ll find many changes due to the pandemic. For a start, fewer people will go back to their offices as the coronavirus crisis makes working from home more accepted, health concerns lin-ger and companies weigh up rent savings and productivity benefits.

For the rest, changes will begin with the commute as workers arrive in stag-gered shifts to avoid rush hour crowds. Staff might take turns working alternate days in the office to reduce crowding. Floor markings or digital sensors could remind people to stand apart and cubi-cles might even make a comeback.

“This is going to be a catalyst for things that people were too scared to

do before,” said John Furneaux, CEO of Hive, a New York City-based workplace software startup. The pandemic “gives added impetus to allow us and others to make changes to century-old working practices.”

Hive plans to help employees avoid packed rush hour subway commutes by starting at different hours, said Fur-neaux, who tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. In Britain, the government is considering asking employers to do the same.

At bigger companies, senior executives are rethinking cramming downtown office towers with workers. British bank Barclays is making a “long-term adjust-ment in how we think about our location strategy,” CEO Jes Staley said. “The no-tion of putting 7,000 people in a building may be a thing of the past.”

That is already happening in Chi-

na, where lockdowns started easing in March. Beijing municipal authorities limited the number of people in each of-fice to no more than 50 percent of usual staffing levels, required office workers to wear face masks and sit at least 1 meter (3.3 feet) apart.

At a minimum, the COVID-19 cri-sis could be the death knell for some recent polarizing office trends, such as the shared workspaces used by many tech startups to create a more casual and creative environment. Cubicles and par-titions are making a return as the virus speeds the move away from open plan office spaces, architects say.

Design firm Bergmeyer is reinstalling dividers on 85 desks at its Boston office that had been removed over the years. That “will return a greater degree of pri-vacy to the individual desks, in addition to the physical barrier which this health

crisis now warrants,” said Vice President Rachel Zsembery.

There’s no rush to return. At Google and Facebook, employees will be able to work remotely until the end of the year. Other firms have realized they don’t even need an office.

Executives at San Francisco teamwork startup Range had given notice on their office because they wanted someplace bigger. But when California’s shelter in place order was issued, they instead scrapped their search and decided to go all remote indefinitely, a move that would save six figures on rent.

“We were looking at the writing on the wall,” said co-founder Jennifer Dennard.

One upside of having an all-remote workforce is that the company can hire from a broader pool of candidates beyond San Francisco, where astronom-ical housing costs have priced out many.

CUBICLE COMEBACK? Pandemic will reshape office life for good

Credit: AP photo

The office may never be the same when people ultimately return after the Coronavirus.


LIFOCUSBut Dennard said the downside is that it eliminates the “chaotic interruptions” - the chance encounters between staff members that can spark creativity, so the company is planning more online collaboration.

Good Brothers Digital, a public rela-tions firm in Wales, also ditched its office space in downtown Cardiff. Director Martyn John said productivity is just as high as it was before the pandemic forced them to work from home, so he decided to give up the company’s office space to save on rent, one of his biggest expenses.

Why drag employees into the office if they’re happier working from home, he reasons.

“People are just going to expect it now.”Many changes are expected to remain

in place even after the COVID-19 threat ends, as companies prepare for new dis-ease outbreaks or other emergencies.

The work from home trend will only continue to accelerate, according to con-

sultancy Gartner. After the pandemic, 41 percent of em-

ployees expect to work remotely at least some of the time, up from 30 percent before the outbreak, according to 220 human resources executives it surveyed. Workers who do return will likely wel-come wearing office attire once again as a signal things are going back to normal, Gartner said.

Not all companies can go fully remote, especially big corporations with thou-sands of staff. Even so, they’re thinking carefully about who should return to the office and who can and should continue

to work from home.At Dell, more people are going to

work from home but “we’re still going to need offices,” because some jobs are best done there, said Chief Digital Officer Jen Felch. She cited customer support staff, who can access more resources at the office to diagnose equipment problems.

More than 90 percent of Dell’s 165,000 full-time global staff are working remote-ly during the pandemic, compared with 30 percent before it started. Once lock-down sends, she estimates that number will be above 50 percent.

The outbreak is also going to force companies to take hygiene much more seriously.

“The amount of people cleaning and sanitizing an office is going to shoot through the roof,” said Brian Kropp, Gartner’s chief of human resources research.

Extra attention will go to places like conference rooms, which will have to be

cleaned between uses, bringing added disruption, he said.

Or companies could do away with in-person meetings altogether.

“What’s the point of sanitizing every-body’s desk if you’re getting them all in the same room,” said Hive’s Furneaux, who said he’s thinking carefully about how to hold events such as “all-hands meetings” for his 70 staff. “We might get the weird scenario of in-office conference calls.”

High tech solutions will play a role, such as sensors to remind people to maintain social distancing, said Joanna Daly, vice president for corporate health and safety at IBM.

Existing industrial sensor technology could easily be adapted to offices, said Daly.

One possible example: “We’d want our phones to buzz if we got closer than 2 meters while we were having a conversa-tion,” she said.

John Stuart Mill

He who only knows his own side of the case knows little of that.

certilmanbalin.com

‘THE WORK FROM HOME TREND WILL ONLY CONTINUE TO ACCEL-ERATE, ACCORDING TO CONSUL-

TANCY GARTNER.’


T H E L I S T

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANTSRANKED BY NUMBER OF LI EMPLOYEES

Company Address

Contact(s), Phone & Fax Web Address & E-mail

No.of LI Employees

No. Env. Consultants Specialty Areas

1. The LiRo Group 3 Aerial Way Syosset, NY 11791

(516) 938-5476; Fax (516) 937-5421 www.liro.com [email protected]

775 109 Phase I and II site assessment, underground storage tank remediation, asbestos abatement design and inspection.

2. H2M architects + engineers 538 Broadhollow Road Melville, NY 11747

Joseph M. Mottola, Executive VP/COO (631) 756-8000 www.h2m.com [email protected]

351 60 A multi-disciplined professional consulting and design firm, proud of our long history of client service and our consistent ability to meet tough architectural, engineering, and environmental challenges head-on. Since 1933, H2M has helped design and build many of our com-munities: from treatment facilities to firehouses, from land surveying to road reconstruction, from site assessment to remediation. Since our early roots, our focus has remained steadfast: to provide quality service with sound judgment and to serve as an honest professional resource to our clients.

3. GPI-Greenman Pedersen Inc. 325 West Main St. Babylon, NY 11702

Denise Carter, Executive VP/Branch Manager (631) 587-5060; Fax (631) 661-5784 www.gpinet.com [email protected]

256 26 Permitting, wetland projects, environmental impact investigations, erosion studies, and sea level rise/coastal and marine services.

4. D&B Engineers and Architects 330 Crossways Park Drive Woodbury, NY 11797

Steven A. Fangmann, President/CEO (516) 364-9890; Fax (516) 364-3448 www.db-eng.com [email protected]

220 200 Providing sustainable and cost-effective environmental solutions for public and private clients since 1965, D&B offers expertise in wastewa-ter management; water treatment and distribution; environmental in-vestigation and remediation; solid and hazardous waste management; environmental compliance; environmental review and permitting; Phase I and Phase II site assessments; and brownfield redevelopment.

5. EnviroTrac Ltd. 5 Old Dock Road Yaphank, NY 11980

Joseph P. Byrnes, President/CEO (631) 924-3001; Fax (631) 924-5001 www.envirotrac.com [email protected]

150 140 Full-service environmental consulting and contracting firm experi-enced in a wide range of site assessments, subsurface investigations, soil and ground-water remediation projects, compliance audits/inspections, construction, O&M, and waste and data management services throughout the east coast.

Impact Environmental 170 Keyland Court Bohemia, NY 11716

Kevin Kleaka, EVP (631) 269-8800; Fax (631) 269-1599 www.impactenvironmental.com [email protected]

150 10 Waste management, remediation, assessments, environmental investi-gations, consulting, dewatering, vapor barrier materials, groundwater treatment services.

7. Island Pump & Tank Corp. 40 Doyle Court East Northport, NY 11731

Brian Fenley, Business Development (631) 462-2226; Fax (631) 462-6434 www.islandpumpandtank.com [email protected]

140 10 A full service environmental company providing environmental monitoring, investigation, and planning services, conduct soil and groundwater remediation, spill closure services; 24-hour emergency spill response.

8. ATC Group Services 999 South Oyster Bay Road Bethpage, NY 11714

Kevin Hamilton, CEO (516) 861-5022 www.atcassociates.com [email protected]

137 1,900 Phase I site assessments, Phase II site investigations, remedial action planning and design, soil and groundwater remediation, UST remov-als and remedial contracting, brownfield redevelopment, property condition assessments, asbestos and lead paint inspection, monitoring and remedial design, mold/water intrusion consulting and indoor air quality management services.

9. Lockwood, Kessler & Bartlett Inc. 1 Aerial Way Syosset, NY 11791

Andre Haddad, President/CEO (516) 938-0600; Fax (516) 931-6344 www.lkbinc.com [email protected]

130 7 Civil/transportation engineering, structural engineering/bridge design, construction management/administration and inspection, electrical and mechanical engineering, environmental engineering, site development/landscape architecture.

10. Cameron Engineering & Associates 177 Crossways Park Drive Woodbury, NY 11797

John D. Cameron Jr., Managing Partner; Joseph R. Amato, Senior Partner (516) 827-4900; Fax (516) 827-4920 www.cameronengineering.com [email protected]

115 15 Environmental engineering, planning, zoning, EIS, transportation, air quality, wetlands, restoration, waterfront revitalization, non-point source pollution abatement, water and wastewater conveyance and treatment, solid waste, permitting, monitoring and reporting.

11. Nelson & Pope 572 Walt Whitman Road Melville, NY 11747

Eric J. McFerran, Partner (631) 427-5665; Fax (631) 427-5620 www.nelsonpope.com [email protected]

100 12 Environmental impact analysis, stormwater management plans, Phase I & II site audits, fiscal & economic studies, traffic impact studies.

12. LK McLean Associates Engineers & Surveyors 437 South Country Road Brookhaven, NY 11719

Raymond DiBiase, President/CEO; Elizabeth Richardson, Marketing Coordinator (631) 286-8668; Fax (631) 286-6314 www.lkma.com [email protected]

90 3 Solid waste, landfill design and cap closure design, landfill construc-tion monitoring, asbestos inspections, Phase I and II hazardous waste, air quality studies, storm water control design, fuel tank remedia-tion, site vegetation inventories, landscape architecture, topographic surveys.

13. FPM Group Ltd. 640 Johnson Ave., Suite 101 Bohemia, NY 11716

Stephanie O. Davis, Corporate VP; Kevin F. Loyst, Corporate VP, Manager-Environmental Engineering Dept.; Christopher M. Schwarz, Vice President/Senior Engineer; Ben T. Cancemi, Manager - Hydrogeology Department (631) 737-6200; Fax (631) 737-2410 www.fpm-group.com [email protected]

75 50 SBA-certified Small Business, Alaska Native Corporation (ANC), Professional engineers. Environmental consulting services, risk as-sessments for hazardous, toxic and radioactive wastes, designs for soil, air and water pollution abatement, Phase I, II, and III, hydrogeologic investigations, stormwater pollution prevention plans, SPCC plans.

14. PW Grosser Consulting Inc. 630 Johnson Ave., Suite 7 Bohemia, NY 11716

Nick Anastasi, Marketing Director (631) 589-6353; Fax (631) 589-8705 www.pwgrosser.com [email protected]

70 32 Sustainable services: geothermal system development, alternative fuels facility design, carbon footprint analysis, LEED/sustainability consult-ing, brownfield revitalization and redevelopment; natural resource; investigations/conservation and compliance management; resiliency.

15. BELFOR Property Restoration 60 Raynor Ave. Ronkonkoma, NY 11779

Jeremy Longo, General Manager (866) 964-1050; Fax (631) 964-8901 www.belfor.com

63 19 Property damage and disaster restoration services, fire, smoke, flood and storm damage, disaster clean up, oil spill cleanups, mold remedia-tion, lead and asbestos abatement. New York State certified provider of educational programs.

The information in this list was provided by survey respondents through questionnaires and the most current references available. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of this information but it could not be inde-pendently verified by Long Island Business News. If you wish to be considered for a list please visit http://libn.com/lists4/?djoPage=adddata to complete a nomination form for your company. Compiled by [email protected]


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Judge tosses lawsuit against Belmont Park project

A State Supreme Court judge has tossed a lawsuit that sought to stop construction on the $1.3 billion Belmont Park arena project, ruling against the claims of the Village of Flo-ral Park and local civic groups that contested the state’s process in approving the develop-ment.

The plaintiffs had argued that Empire State Development had not thoroughly thought through the negative impacts of the project that plans to bring a 19,000-seat arena, a hotel and 350,000-square-foot retail complex to about 43 acres of the state-owned horse racing venue.

However, Judge Roy Mahon ruled last week that Empire State Development had taken the requisite “hard look” at the potential traffic impacts of the project and that ESD “was not required to consider every conceivable environmental impact, mitigating measure or alternative, and it was not required to reach any particular result or conclusion.”

In his ruling, Mahon did acknowledge that the “the approval of the project goes against the village’s legitimate concerns with respect to the scope of the project and the impact on its residents,” but added that the court’s review was “limited to the evaluation of whether the determination was made in violation of lawful procedure, was affected by an error of law, or was arbitrary and capricious or an abuse of discretion.”

In Nov. 2019, Judge Mahon had denied the plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order to stop a portion of the work on the project. Construction at Belmont Park did

stop in March, not because of any legal action, but rather because of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order that halted all non-essen-tial work to limit the spread of COVID-19. Developers began work on the arena project in September with the expectation that the arena, in which the New York Islanders would play its home games, would be ready in time for the start of the 2021-2022 National Hock-ey League season.

The original Article 78 lawsuit, filed last September, claimed that ESD failed to address the concerns of Floral Park residents and failed to mitigate the “very real negative consequences” to the village resulting from the “massive size and scope” of the project, according to a statement from Floral Park Mayor Dominick Longobardi. The court ac-tion sought new environmental impact studies on the redevelopment.

“Both lawsuits against the Belmont Park Redevelopment Project were wholly dis-missed, representing a decisive victory for smart economic development and validating ESD’s vigorous environmental review and ro-bust public engagement process,” Acting ESD Commissioner Eric Gertler said in an emailed statement. “We look forward to continuing this project, which will deliver thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity to the downstate region — which are needed now more than ever.”

Longobardi said the village was keeping its options open on pursuing an appeal.

“Of course, we are disappointed with the judge’s conclusion and believe ESD’s failure to require meaningful mitigation of the very obvious and significant negative impacts that

the Belmont Project poses to the surround-ing communities warrants that this project needs to be re-evaluated and scaled back,” Mayor Longobardi said via a statement on the village’s website. “While we still believe that the development of a shopping mall at this time is ill conceived, we will continue to monitor the development of the project as it moves forward and work tirelessly to ensure any effects on our quality of life are minimized to the greatest extent possible.”

— DAVID WINZELBERG

Compass adds three Long Island offices

Compass, a national real estate brokerage firm, recently opened three offices on Long Island.

The company, which already has six offices on the East End, now has locations in Manhasset, Roslyn and Huntington.

The Manhasset office is at 1695 Northern Blvd. and the Huntington office is at 16A Wall St. Compass acquired Scout Residential, a one-office boutique brokerage at 69 Roslyn Road in Roslyn, which is being rebranded under the Compass umbrella.

The company’s Manhasset office has about 25 agents, including Angela Dooley, Nick Colom-bos, Michael Stanco and Michael Misti formerly with Douglas Elliman. The Compass Hunting-ton office has about a dozen agents, including Maria Lanzisero and Donna Spinoso-Gelb formerly with Signature Premier Properties and Margaret Trautmann, formerly of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

Liza Bendett, the former owner/broker of

Scout in Roslyn, brought her 13 agents over to Compass.

Rory Golod, president of Compass New York region, said the company is well-suited to doing business virtually because of its advances in technology. He said the Compass staff includes more than 500 software engineers that came from companies like Google, Facebook and Am-azon. Golod, who grew up in Lloyd Harbor, said the brokerage chain’s chief technology officer was formerly CTO of AI at Microsoft.

“We’re fortunate to have had the technology infrastructure in place before the COVID-19 crisis hit, which allows our agents to fully run their businesses virtually from the safety of their homes,” Golod said.

Compass currently has more than 17,000 real estate agents across 130 U.S. markets, who were responsible for over $91 billion in real estate transactions in 2019, according to the company.

In March, Compass laid off about 15 percent of its workforce nationally, as the firm antici-pated a decline in business from the pandemic. Its CEO Robert Reffkin, said at the time that the company is projecting a 6-month decline in revenue of 50 percent.

And while the real estate industry here has also slowed because of the pandemic, Golod is undeterred, maintaining that “great compa-nies, like great agents, gain market share in a downturn.”

Though the new Compass offices remain closed, the company is already eyeing further expansion.

“We are going to be looking to open a few additional offices on the North Shore of Nassau County within the next year or so,” he said.

— DAVID WINZELBERG

FROMLIBN.COM


2

www.CPBJ.com

• Central Penn Business Journal

• 717-236-4300

JUNE 14, 2019

FOOD BUSINESS

Craft-beer boom spurs local hops farmers

By Jason Scott

[email protected]

Pennsylvania leads the nation in craft-

beer production.

But while more beer is being brewed in

places like Carlisle, Harrisburg and York,

brewers here must rely on some key in-

gredients that often travel long distances.

One is hops, which are not widely

grown in Pennsylvania, or on the East

Coast in general.

In fact, most hops come from Washing-

ton, Oregon and Idaho, which account for

the majority of the country’s hop produc-

tion. Washington alone has about 40,000

acres of hops.

Two Cumberland County hop farmers

are hoping to claim a piece of that market

and inspire other Pennsylvania farmers to

consider cultivating the crop for breweries

in Pennsylvania.

“It’s a niche thing. Not too many peo-

ple do it,” said Michael Reifsnyder, who

planted 3,400 hop plants on his 15-acre

West Pennsboro Township property in

2017.

A big reason for the lack of new hop farm-

ers is difficulty in getting started and com-

peting with larger established operations.

“These local houses are up against com-

panies that can reach a better economy

of scale, plus have quality control proce-

dures and logistics plans that have been

in place for decades,” said Brandalynn

Armstrong, co-owner of Zeroday Brewing

in Harrisburg. “It makes it harder for the

small producer to compete.”

Hop growing requires a large trellis for

the twining vines and an irrigation system.

Farmers also need special equipment to

harvest, process and package the hops.

Hops, which take three years to reach

full harvest, also are prone to pests and

diseases and can be difficult to grow in

certain soil types and climates.

But Reifsnyder, who retired in 2011

from the U.S. Navy after 22 years of service,

took a chance on hops after experiment-

ing with grapes and asparagus on his

Carlisle-area farm, dubbed GEMS Farm.

He also saw success at nearby hop yard

Sunny Brae Farms and thought his farm

could provide complementary varieties of

fresh local hops to small breweries.

He and his wife, Sharon, along with

their two teenage daughters, maintain

the hop yard, which is entering its second

year of harvest. GEMS currently grows five

varieties of hops on 3.25 acres, but the plan

is to eventually grow to seven acres, plant

a wider variety of hops and reach more

breweries.

“Expansion is on our radar,” he said.

Local thirst

In preparation for hop harvest later

this summer and early fall, the Reifsny-

ders recently purchased equipment that

will allow them to pelletize dried hops

— meaning to grind them into powder

and press them into small pellets. Pellet-

ized hops have a longer shelf life and are

what many brewers rely on throughout

the year.

The farm’s hop yard could yield about

5,000 or 6,000 pounds of hops this year.

GEMS expects to pelletize the majority

of its hops this year after selling almost

all of its harvest last fall to local breweries

making wet-hopped beers — also known

as fresh-hop beers that use hops fresh off

the vine.

Wet-hop batches of beer can use five

to 10 times as many hops as pelletized

batches.

Local brewers say they are eager to buy

more local ingredients, including hops,

but purchasing decisions come down to

quality, price and availability.

Jeff Musselman, head brewer at the

Millworks in Harrisburg, said the local

market has struggled to check all three

buckets. Most local hop farms are growing

on one or two acres and not pelletizing.

“The vast majority of local hops are

brewed in late summer or early fall for

wet-hop beers,” he said. “That has been

the big limitation.”

The Millworks and other breweries said

they would like to buy more local hops

year round, especially pelletized hops, to

support farmers.

“I think brewers absolutely want to use

it,” Musselman said, noting the differences

in smell and taste between East and West

Coast hops.

But Musselman said he expects local

hops would cost more than those from

larger West Coast suppliers, given the

lower hop volumes at local farms. Nev-

ertheless, he said he would still buy local

hops for special PA Preferred brews, i.e.,

beers made with Pennsylvania-produced

agricultural commodities, like hops or

grain.

Victor Shaffer and Andrew Lyons start-

ed growing an acre of hops outside of

Mechanicsburg last year. Their company,

called Lion Bines Hop Farm, is expected to

produce a partial harvest of hops this year

and a full harvest next year.

But the partners are investing now in

processing equipment to pelletize their

hops, with an eye on making extra money

by pelletizing hops for other farmers.

“In the future, we would love to process

for other farms so there is less of a cost

barrier,” Shaffer said.

Both Cumberland County hop farms

acknowledged the hops business in Penn-

sylvania is not much more than a seedling.

But through trial and error, they are opti-

mistic hop farms will begin to sprout.

“I hope we see more hop growers,” Rei-

fsnyder said. <

Lancaster County is continuing to draw

more people, with 2018 as the ninth consec-

utive year that the county saw increases in

visitors, visitor spending and tourism jobs.

The nine-year uptick is the result of a

diverse group of businesses and continued

changes in the perception of the county,

the county’s tourist information center, Dis-

cover Lancaster, wrote in a recent report.

Visitors to the county spent $2.24 billion in

2018, up 4.6 percent from $2.14 billion in 2017.

Of that total, $482 million of went to wages and

salaries for the 16,968 people working in the

Lancaster County tourism industry, accord-

ing to the report by Discover Lancaster, which

is based in East Lampeter Township.

The number of visitors to the county also

increased, rising from 8.64 million in 2017

to 8.85 million people in 2018, an increase

of 2.5 percent.

The report’s data was provided by Oxford,

England-based Tourism Economics and

based on hotel-tax collections reported by

the county, average hotel-room rates and

trends in visitor spending.

Lancaster County has had a long tradi-

tion of enticing tourists to its Pennsylvania

Dutch dining, outlet shopping and family

attractions like the Strasburg Railroad in

Strasburg Township and Dutch Wonder-

land in East Lampeter Township.

Those attractions have continued to pull

in tourists from across the globe but now

share the market with new businesses and

destinations.

They include popular restaurants and

bars, revitalized downtowns in places like

Lititz and Columbia, and outdoor activities

like Refreshing Mountain Retreat in Clay

Township, according to Joel Cliff, director

of communications for Discover Lancaster.

“We have worked on broadening our

brand for the last five or six years to expand

people’s expectations of what Lancaster is

all about,” Cliff said. “There are eight or 12

reasons to come to Lancaster not just the

three you already knew.”

The tourism increases also mirror the

economic growth in the U.S. as a whole, ac-

cording to Cliff.

“Clearly the economy has continued to

build itself back after the Great Recession,”

Cliff said. “It was building steam in 2017 and

certainly last year.” <

— Ioannis PashakisLancaster County tourism sees gain in visitors

Mike and Sharon Reifsnyder stand in the hop yard of their West Pennsboro Township

farm. They began growing the crop in 2017 in a bid to make locally grown hops more

available. PHOTO/MARKELL DELOATCH

6

www.CPBJ.com

Central Penn Business Journal

JUNE 21, 2019

OPINION

GUEST VIEWAt risk: A win for health care over big tobacco

A lot has changed since 1998, the year

that Pennsylvania and 45 states stood up

to big tobacco and helped create the To-

bacco Settlement Fund, or TSF. We may

have moved on from CD-

ROMs, dial-up internet

and the Y2K-bug frenzy.

But a few things have

stood the test of time:

Pokémon, “Toy Story”

and Pennsylvania’s com-

mitment to keeping the

core mission of the TSF

dedicated to health care.

It took the 46-state co-

alition years of fighting with major tobacco

companies in order to come to the 1998

Master Settlement Agreement; the funds

weren’t distributed in Pennsylvania until

the Tobacco Settlement Act of 2001.

Throughout that process, The Hospital

and Healthsystem Association of Pennsyl-

vania and the commonwealth’s hospitals

played a big role in ensuring that money

was preserved for health care — not to fill

one-time budget holes or fund other proj-

ects. We worked with health educators, re-

searchers and provider groups to find the

right balance for everyone.

Since Pennsylvania hospitals first began

receiving this money, it has been used to:

• Help people quit using tobacco prod-

ucts• Provide access to health care for ev-

eryone, regardless of their insurance or

health status• Fund research to cure diseases like

cancer, and improve the health of all

Pennsylvanians• Support financially fragile rural hos-

pitals, which serve large proportions of

vulnerable patients

• More recently, help hospitals address

the opioid crisisSpecifically, during fiscal year 2017–

2018, Pennsylvania’s hospitals received

$28.5 million through the TSF at the state

level, which is then matched by the federal

government to total approximately $60

million. This money goes to cover the cost

of caring for the uninsured and underin-

sured.Pennsylvania also received more than

$44 million for CURE grants during the

fiscal year 2014–2015. The grants help

universities, hospitals and research orga-

nizations partner to unlock solutions for

cancer, ways to improve the quality and

outcomes of health care, and how to ad-

dress community health issues.

This year, these hospital dollars and re-

search funds could be at risk.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget plan kept the

TSF whole, but we are concerned that this

year some lawmakers want to use tobacco

dollars to pay state debt. You see, during

the 2017–2018 state budget process, the

General Assembly authorized borrowing

against $1.5 billion in future TSF payments

to balance the state’s budget. The bond

payments now are due, to the tune of $115

million during this budget.

Some of the reasons that TSF money

went directly to hospitals to fund uncom-

pensated care is because they are under-

paid by the safety-net payer, Medicaid,

which a recent analysis indicates reim-

burses at 81 cents on the dollar.

There are no hospitals or hospital staff

that treat only the uninsured or patients

insured by Medicaid, and Pennsylvania

doesn’t have a public hospital system. As

a result, the hospital community treats all

patients, regardless of the type of insur-

ance they have — and serves as the safety

net for the underinsured and uninsured.

Even with the improvement in the insured

rate through the Affordable Care Act and

Medicaid expansion, we still have people

who are uninsured and need help.

Our hospitals rely on these funds to

make sure they can stay open and contin-

ue to treat everyone. The state has options

to balance its budget — options that don’t

jeopardize the already stressed financial

situations of many of Pennsylvania’s hos-

pitals.More than a third of Pennsylvania’s

hospitals operated in the red last fiscal

year. Among that group, more than three-

quarters have been operating in the red

for the last three fiscal years. Now, more

than ever, these hospitals are relying on

the enduring promise that the TSF will be

there to help them continue to stay open,

remain financially stable and treat every

patient who walks through their doors.

Trends may come and go, but the Penn-

sylvania hospital community’s mission

remains focused on health care. We call on

the legislature to make sure it remains the

mission of the TSF, too. Don’t rob patient

care to fill budget gaps.•

Andy Carter is president and CEO of The

Hospital and Healthsystem Association of

Pennsylvania in Harrisburg.

AndyCarter

A strong wellness program can be a

differentiator for recruitment, reduce the

cost of health care benefits and help build

a team atmosphere based around healthy

choices. However, communicating the

benefits and program elements of a well-

ness initiative can be hard to navigate. Hu-

man resources and cor-

porate leadership need to

walk a fine line – avoiding

sounding paternal, mor-

alistic or even too per-

sonal while empowering

employees and spurring

participation.How a company com-

municates can make a big

difference. It can boost

enrollment in the wellness strategy and

create more engagement among employ-

ees. Those who are engaged at work will go

the extra mile and demonstrate increased

productivity, which shows up in a compa-

ny’s profitability, turnover numbers, safety

incidents and quality.

Communication is key for an employee

health and wellness program and for a

business overall. Looking to a professional

communicator for ideas and best practices

will help streamline communications sur-

rounding such a program and lead to more

engaged, healthier employees.

What can you do?

• See things from the employees’ per-

spective. How will the wellness program

components benefit them? Why should

they care? Does it affect their work life or

home life? Zero in on key factors affecting

employees and highlight the benefits of

healthy choices.

• Avoid communicating to staff as if

they are marketing targets. Trust them

and communicate with them as if they

are “one of us,” instead of “one of them.”

Use “we” and communicate from a team

perspective, rather than a top-down

standpoint. • Talk about the rewards – not only for

their personal lives, but rewards of the

program. What’s in it for them can be a

powerful motivator to expand participa-

tion. That participation, in turn, can build

a team atmosphere and lead to higher

engagement. • Consider health and wellness ambas-

sadors. Peer-to-peer communication is

powerful and partnering with passionate

team members to communicate can re-

move the paternalistic factor.

• Connect the dots for employees to the

bigger corporate picture. Participation in

wellness programs has the potential to de-

crease company health benefit costs over-

all, which in turn could make a difference

in employees’ premium or out-of-pocket

health care costs.

• Remove jargon, whether health care

or HR wording that might not be easily un-

derstood. Remember, when jargon is used,

it may mean the employees are unlikely to

understand the message.

• Avoid populating emails or messages

with large amounts of information. People

digest details in small chunks, so consider

an ongoing campaign to share bits and

pieces of information, or a web page to

view the full information when employees

are interested and have time.

• Have a sense of humor when commu-

nicating. Loosening up a formal approach

can go a long way to creating engagement

with the communication and getting on

board with the program.

• Make it a two-way conversation. Ask

employees what program components

they’d like to see. Find out what might mo-

tivate them to participate. Ask for ideas on

communicating the details to staff.

• Use social channels to help spread

the word. Whether its an internal social

tool such as Slack or Yammer or a closed

group on Facebook or LinkedIn, encour-

age employees to share pictures of their

healthy choices and/or program partici-

pation. Build a little competition between

company segments and offer content

meant to engage the group – ask ques-

tions, post a quiz or host a ‘meet this goal’

challenge.

• Bring creative ideas to the effort.

Consider interesting program elements to

up the ante of interest and participation.

Think about bringing in a local chef to of-

fer a cooking class, having a local farm

stand bring in their fresh produce regu-

larly or bring in a gardening expert to offer

a hands-on workshop for growing veg-

etables or herbs. At GRIT, team members

in the wellness program are walking miles

(via a step tracker) to earn a free airplane

ticket to anywhere in the world. The more

creative and out-of-the-box the program,

when paired with easy ways to participate,

the more people will want to take part.

• Stay diverse with your communica-

tions focus. If there is a large subset of

staff who bike to work, that’s great, but if

that’s all communications are about, the

company risks losing support from other

parts of the employee base. The same goes

for any topic: if it’s strictly about one thing,

the business might lose the interest of its

whole audience.

Internal communications centered around

health and wellness can make or break pro-

gram participation. Get together with HR,

leadership and a few employees to brain-

storm the best ways to get the message out.

•

Julie Lando is the owner and president of GRIT

Marketing Group, a marketing and communica-

tions firm with offices in York and Lancaster.

GUEST VIEWHealth and wellness communications can be engaging

JulieLando

6 www.CPBJ.com • Central Penn Business Journal • 717-236-4300 JUNE 14, 2019

By Stacy WescoeBridgeTower Media

Stefanie Angstadt started making cheese as a hobby soon after graduating from col-lege in 2008.

After a few years she knew it was some-thing she wanted to do full time.

She opened Valley Milkhouse in a former dairy farm in Oley in 2014 and began to manufacture and sell her cheeses profes-sionally.

Not a dairy farmer, herself, she partnered with other small Berks County dairies to buy fresh warm milk “straight from the udder.”

Her cheeses — mostly a mix of softer and aged styles — were a hit.

“We make everything by hand. It’s very good cheese so there is a demand,” Angstadt said.

In fact, demand often outpaced her sup-ply. Nonetheless, she struggled with the lo-gistics of getting the cheese she was making to the people who wanted it.

While around 80 percent of the cheese she makes is sold wholesale to markets and restaurants, profits were much higher on the 20 percent of the product she was selling at her farm stand and the two farmers markets she attends, the Easton Farmers Market in downtown Easton and one in Philadelphia.

“The question was, how do we reach these people who want to buy our cheese without standing there at a farmers market all day — sometimes in the rain — hoping the right people will come buy it?” she said.

Organizing principalIn 2016, as fate would have it, an old

friend of Angstadt’s, Alex Jones, a prominent organizer of commu-nity-supported agri-culture programs in the Greater Philadel-phia area, had just left a job with a CSA.

In a typical CSA, a group of farmers connect with a group of consumers who want to buy fresh, local produce. They sell shares of their fu-ture crop to the con-sumers, who then pick up weekly or monthly boxes of the farmers’ latest crops, sharing both the risk and the rewards of the farmers’ season and giving those farmers a more reliable source of income.

“My job was to buy products from dozens of local farmers,” Jones said.

She was looking to take her CSA skills and use them in a new way. She thought of Angstadt and another cheesemaker she had met in her old job: Sue Miller of Birchrun

Hills Farm in Chester County.Jones pitched the idea of using the CSA

format to develop a new way of selling craft cheese to cheese fans. That led Jones, Ang-stadt and Miller in 2016 to create the Collec-tive Creamery CSA, based out of Angstadt’s Oley creamery, with Jones as the operations manager and Angstadt and Miller as the two primary cheese makers.

“We thought between the three of us, we could pool our resources and move beyond farmers markets,” Angstadt said.

According to Jones, the trio didn’t invent the idea of a cheese-based CSA. But, she said, “A cheese CSA is still pretty unique.”

Jones said it also makes sense.“You can get subscriptions for anything

today — dog products, beauty products —why not cheese?” she said.

A profitable boostThe Collective Creamery is now heading

into its third year. And while it is still just a small part of each of the cheesemakers’ business, it is an important one.

By eliminating the middleman, the chee-semakers get more of the profit.

Angstadt said her profit margin is gener-ally about 15 percent to 20 percent on the roughly $150,000 in gross sales she has in a year. That makes it a challenge to maintain a capital-intensive operation. Anywhere she can improve the profit margin is a boost.

Profits on the CSA vary from month to month, but she said they tend to average at the higher end of her overall profits.

The current CSA package from the Col-lective Creamery ranges from $180 for a once-a-month pickup of two pounds and four varieties of cheese for four months

to $280 for a twice-monthly pickup of one-and-a-half pounds and three varieties of cheese for four months. CSA packages gen-erally run from five to six months. The current package is shortened since the current CSA season has already begun.

Customers pick up their orders at participating loca-tions. Most are busi-nesses that focus on

local craft foods and products like farm stands or craft brewers, which support “buy local” efforts.

Having a variety of pickup locations in the region helps the Collective’s members spread their cheese sales farther than they could on their own.

Subscriptions can be picked up in two Berks County locations — Hidden River

Brewing Co. in Douglasville and Covered Bridge Farmstand in Oley — and at one location in the Lehigh Valley — Bonn Place Brewing Co. in Bethlehem. Other pickup locations are in the Chester County and Philadelphia areas.

By having a wider client base, the chee-semakers also are able to offer more variety. Angstadt and Miller rotate between six varieties of cheese, including Angstadt’s Witchgrass, her version of a French Valen-cay cheese, and Miller’s Clipper, an aged raw-milk cheese. They also reach out to other cheesemakers in other regions, hop-ing to include their specialty craft cheeses in the CSA to give customers more options.

For example, Miller is currently work-ing with a sheep farmer to blend sheep and cow milk together to make a creamy Camembert-style cheese.

Ultimately, their goal is to turn cheese lovers into die-hard cheese fans.

“We want to cultivate the cheese culture in this area like it is in Europe. We don’t want people to see cheese as a guilty pleasure, but as a food you eat every day,” Angstadt said. “This is a way to grow the cheese community.

“People don’t see fine cheese as a neces-sity,” added Jones. “When they go to the gro-cery store they feel they have to get produce and bread … we want them to think of fine cheese like that, not as a luxury.”

Miller sees the craft cheese industry growing in much the same way the craft beer industry has developed and grown, with those in the industry working cooperatively instead of competitively to boost the entire industry by sharing tips and efforts.

“It’s the whole ‘a rising tide raises all ships’ kind of thing,” she said. “We all benefit from a stronger cheese industry.”

Jones said the trio is focused on being a regional leader in the craft cheese industry. They aren’t planning any major expansion.

But they are on the lookout for more pickup locations along their current route and for pockets of cheese lovers who may want to get in on their offerings.

“We have to be lean and use the resources we have,” Jones said.

One secondary benefit to the women’s local craft cheese making is the small boost it gives to the region’s dairy farmers, which Angstadt said are struggling with low prices on the commodities market.

She said there is a dairy crisis across the nation.

According to the National Family Farm Foundation, America has lost over half its dairy farmers in just the last 16 years, as wholesale dairy prices have dropped below 1970 prices.

“Because of the quality I demand, I pay a premium for the milk,” she said.

Her sources include Spring Creek Farm in Wernersville, an organic dairy farm.

Greg Stricker, a partner in Spring Creek, said he pays special attention to the milk he produces for Angstadt.

“I always try to make the highest-quality milk, but we try to concentrate on making a milk that is higher in protein and butter fat to make her cheeses,” Stricker said.

Stricker said the extra money a cheese-maker like Angstadt is willing to pay repre-sents a needed boost for small farms like his.

“It’s a huge benefit to us when a local business like that uses our product,” he said. “It’s essential to find someone making a higher-end product to compete.” <

DAIRY GODMOTHERS

Specialty cheese biz taps into local dairies

From left, Sue Miller, Stefanie Angstadt and Alex Jones brought together their collective talents to form the Collective Creamery CSA in 2016. PHOTO/SUBMITTED

Honey-Bell is a brie-style cheese made by Stefanie Angstadt in her Oley creamery. PHOTO/SUBMITTED

“You can get subscriptions for anything today — dog

products, beauty products — why not cheese?”

— Alex Jones, Collective Creamery CSA

JUNE 21

, 2019

717-23

6-430

0

•

Cent

ral Pen

n Bus

iness

Journ

al

•

www.CPBJ.c

om

7

Accord

ing

to th

e as

soci

atio

n, dro

nes

will

offer

$82

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illio

n in ec

onomic

ben

efits

and c

reat

e 10

0,00

0 new

jobs

in th

e U

nited

Stat

es a

lone

by 202

5. Th

e as

soci

atio

n’s go

al

is to

enco

urage

sta

te l

eader

s to

support

the

devel

opmen

t of a

dro

ne in

dustry

– o

r

unman

ned a

ircra

ft sy

stem

s, as

they

are

more

form

ally

know

n – bec

ause

other

stat

es

alre

ady a

re d

oing

so.

For exa

mple

, New

York

is p

utting

up $30

mill

ion to

pay

for a

50-

mile

unm

anned

air

corr

idor b

etw

een S

yrac

use a

nd Rom

e, th

e

asso

ciat

ion sa

id. O

ther

stat

es h

ave

becom

e

feder

al t

est

sites

for

the

drone

indust

ry,

while

oth

ers

have

been j

oinin

g re

gional

partn

ersh

ips t

o dev

elop in

itiat

ives

. As e

ach

day p

asse

s, Pen

nsylv

ania

seem

s to be f

allin

g

furth

er b

ehin

d in d

evel

oping

a dom

estic

drone

indust

ry, o

bserv

ers s

aid.

For now

, th

e as

soci

atio

n isn

’t as

king

Pennsy

lvan

ia’s

lead

ers

for

much

– e

xcep

t

to b

e aw

are

of what

is g

oing

on and to

offer

support

as i

deas

devel

op, se

vera

l peo

ple

said

. One

goal

is to

cre

ate

a w

orkin

g gr

oup

with

in th

e st

ate

avia

tion c

aucu

s –

a le

gis-

lativ

e gr

oup – to

dev

elop a

road

map

that

would

“id

entif

y fu

nding

opportuniti

es t

o

support

criti

cal d

rone

infra

stru

cture

,” th

e

asso

ciat

ion sa

id in

a fa

ct sh

eet.

The a

ssoci

atio

n isn’t

aski

ng for n

ew re

gu-

latio

ns, poin

ting o

ut that

dro

nes ar

e reg

ulat-

ed b

y th

e Fed

eral

Avi

atio

n Adm

inist

ratio

n,

or FAA, w

hich c

ontrols

U.S. a

irspac

es a

nd

alre

ady

require

s co

mm

erci

al d

rone

opera-

tors

to g

et a

lice

nse.

But that

does

n’t m

ean th

ere

is no ro

om

for

actio

n on t

he st

ate

leve

l. In

Oct

ober

2018

, Pen

nsylv

ania

law

mak

ers

passe

d Act

78, w

hich li

mits

the

abili

ty o

f munic

ipal

i-

ties

to r

egula

te u

nman

ned a

ircra

ft unle

ss

auth

orized

by t

he st

atute

.

Local

juris

dictio

ns ofte

n move

to p

ass

ordin

ance

s that

can in

terfe

re w

ith co

mm

er-

cial

oper

ators

, sai

d Dav

id D

ay, e

xecu

tive

vice

pre

siden

t at

Key

stone

Aeria

l Surv

eys

based

in P

hiladel

phia. Th

at m

akes

educa

-

tion cr

itica

l, he

added

.

Keyst

one does

work

nat

ionw

ide

and h

as

found th

at so

me

offici

als i

n stat

es –

such

as

New

York

and N

ew Je

rsey

– ar

e m

ore aw

are

of iss

ues f

acin

g th

e dro

ne in

dustry

than

those

in P

ennsy

lvan

ia. Th

e ad

voca

cy d

ay

was

an e

ffort to

chan

ge th

at, t

oo, h

e sa

id. I

t

also

is h

oped th

at P

ennsy

lvan

ia’s

gove

rn-

men

t age

ncies

will

incr

easin

gly

adopt t

he

tech

nologi

es,

as a

genci

es i

n oth

er s

tate

s

have,

Day

added

.

The

asso

ciat

ion m

ainta

ins t

hat 3

6 out o

f

the

50 s

tate

s hav

e tra

nsporta

tion d

epar

t-

men

ts t

hat f

und cen

ters

or

progr

ams

for

drone

operat

ions.

PennD

OT,

it s

aid, i

s not

among

those

that

hav

e in

itiat

ed o

utsid

e

progr

ams.

Alexi

s Cam

pbell,

PennD

OT p

ress

secr

e-

tary

, sai

d Pen

nDO

T has

an a

ctiv

e in

tern

al

drone

progr

am a

nd has

bee

n flyi

ng dro

nes

for s

ever

al ye

ars.

“We’

ve r

ecen

tly a

dvance

d our

operat

or

train

ing

and c

ertifi

catio

n pro

gram

and a

re

curr

ently

enga

ged w

ith a

pilo

t pro

gram

as-

sess

ing e

ffici

enci

es fo

r the u

se o

f dro

nes fo

r

3D m

odelin

g of s

tock

piles,

exca

vatio

ns and

road

way

slid

e ar

eas,”

she

said

in a

writ

ten

resp

onse to

ques

tions.

Flyin

g into

new ro

les

Seve

ral a

ttendee

s at

the

June

11 e

vent

said

they

thin

k st

ate

lead

ers

will

be

sup-

portive

of i

deas t

o exp

and d

rone

progr

ams

both w

ithin

sta

te a

genci

es a

nd with

com

-

mer

cial

applic

atio

ns once

they

under

stan

d

the

potentia

l.

Task

s such

as b

ridge

insp

ectio

ns or a

eria

l

surv

eys

that

once

took

wee

ks t

o conduct

can n

ow b

e done

in a

day

or s

o, D

ay s

aid.

Farm

ers,

utiliti

es an

d oth

ers h

ave s

een h

ow

drones

can re

duce th

e cost

s of p

roje

cts a

nd

insp

ectio

ns. Th

ey a

lso h

ave

wei

ghed

the

li-

abili

ty ri

sks a

nd real

ized

they

are

bet

ter o

ff

using

drones

.

Gove

rnm

ents

, how

ever

, see

m to

hav

e a

higher

hurd

le t

o ove

rcom

e w

hen li

abili

ty

conce

rns a

re ra

ised

, Day

said

.

Seve

ral e

xper

ts n

oted th

e co

ncern

s ca

n

be ea

sed o

nce t

he optio

ns ar

e ca

refu

lly

wei

ghed

. For e

xam

ple, t

he ris

ks to

surv

ey a

utility

line t

raditi

onally

would

invo

lve w

ork-

ers

using

ladder

tru

cks

to e

xam

ine

high-

volta

ge w

ires,

whic

h is d

ange

rous w

ork th

at

could

take

wee

ks. N

ow, d

rones

with

cam

-

eras

can

insp

ect t

he sa

me

line

in a

frac

tion

of the

time

– an

d with

out putti

ng peo

ple in

harm

’s w

ay.

As peo

ple b

ecom

e m

ore a

war

e of h

ow

drones

can b

e use

d, the

indust

ry h

as ta

ken

off, Day

and o

ther

s sai

d.

Keega

n Flahiv

e is a

rem

ote p

ilot f

or Arg

os

Unm

anned

Aer

ial S

olutio

ns bas

ed in

Liti

tz.

When

the

com

pany

was

founded

in 2

015,

it did

a lo

t of w

ork w

ith re

al e

stat

e co

mpa-

nies t

hat w

ante

d aer

ial v

iew

s of p

roper

ties,

Flahiv

e sa

id. Th

e co

mpan

y now

does

work

for a

num

ber o

f diff

eren

t clie

nts, i

ncludin

g

const

ruct

ion c

ompan

ies,

utiliti

es a

nd gov-

ernm

ent a

genci

es.

The

opportuniti

es fo

r cre

atin

g new

jobs

and busi

nesse

s ar

e va

st,

said

Alber

t R.

Sarv

is, a

n ass

istan

t pro

fess

or of g

eosp

atia

l

tech

nology

at H

arris

burg U

niver

sity

of Sci

-

ence

and T

echnolo

gy. H

U h

as a

dapte

d its

geosp

atia

l pro

gram

s to

incl

ude th

e use

of

drones

and h

as sp

onsore

d sum

mer

cam

ps

for

studen

ts i

n hig

h sch

ool an

d mid

dle

school t

o enco

urage

inte

rest

in th

e tec

hnol-

ogy, S

arvi

s sai

d.

Oth

ers p

ointe

d out that

drones

have b

een

used in

the fi

lm an

d tele

visio

n indust

ries,

as

wel

l as i

n surv

eyin

g ra

il lin

es a

nd in p

olice

and e

mer

gency

applic

atio

ns, su

ch a

s riv

er

resc

ues. O

ne st

ory to

ld d

uring

the

June

11

even

t was

how

cattl

e had

ruin

ed a

portion of

a fa

rmer

’s cr

ops. A d

rone w

as ab

le to

ass

ess

the

tota

l dam

age,

whic

h hel

ped ju

stify

the

insu

rance

clai

m.

Then

ther

e ar

e th

e sp

in-o

ff busin

esse

s.

Ryan B

oswel

l is

the

Philadel

phia-b

ased

sale

s m

anag

er fo

r Phas

eOne

Indust

rial,

a ca

mer

a co

mpan

y bas

ed in

Colora

do.

PhaseO

ne ca

mer

as ca

n be outfi

tted on

vario

us dro

nes to

do a

var

iety

of w

ork fo

r

gove

rnm

ents

, quar

ry o

perat

ors a

nd util

ity

com

panie

s, am

ong oth

ers,

Boswel

l sai

d.

Day

sai

d the

drone

indust

ry i

s co

m-

petiti

ve in

that

anyo

ne ca

n buy

a dro

ne fo

r

around $

500

and s

et u

p shop.

How

ever

,

com

mer

cial

oper

ators

are

require

d to ta

ke

FAA tr

ainin

g to

bec

ome

a lic

ense

d rem

ote

pilot,

he an

d oth

ers s

aid.

At Key

stone,

Day

sai

d, pric

es c

an ra

nge

depen

ding

on the

job a

nd the

loca

tion. A

day of a

eria

l cam

era w

ork w

ith a

licen

sed re

-

mote

pilo

t mig

ht cost

about $

2,00

0 in

som

e

high-d

ensit

y ar

eas i

n New

York

or N

ew Je

r-

sey a

nd per

haps a

bout $1,

000 e

lsew

here.

<

DRONEco

ntinu

ed fr

om pa

ge 1

David H

eath, d

irect

or of t

he PA D

rone A

ssocia

tion, p

repare

s to m

ake rem

arks a

t Dro

ne Advoca

cy D

ay June 11

in H

arrisb

urg. H

eath and o

ther

supporte

rs hope to

encoura

ge state

leaders

to su

pport th

e growin

g drone in

dustry

. P

HOTO/T

HOMAS A

. BARST

OW

“We’v

e rec

ently

advan

ced

our oper

ator t

rain

ing an

d

certi

ficatio

n progra

m an

d

are c

urrently

engag

ed w

ith

a pilo

t pro

gram

asse

ssin

g

efficie

ncies f

or the u

se of

drones

for 3

D modeli

ng of

stock

piles,

exca

vatio

ns and

road

way sl

ide a

reas

.”

Alexis

Cam

pbell

, Pen

nDOT p

ress

se

creta

ry

JUNE 14, 2019

www.CPBJ.com


13

NEWSMAKERSPromotions, appointments, hires

ACCOUNTINGChambersburg-based Rotz and

Stonesifer named Dennis Shindle

senior manager. He provides tax,

consulting and financial state-

ment services to closely held

companies. He is a CPA and a graduate of Shippens-

burg University. ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING

Lancaster-based RGS Associ-

ates named Jake Krieger proj-

ect landscape architect. He has

a bachelor’s degree from Temple

University. Matthew Fauth was

named a computer aided drafting

and design designer. He also is a

sergeant in the National Guard. He

has an associate degree from York

Technical Institute. Upper Dublin Township, Mont-

gomery County-based McMahon

Associates Inc. named Christo-

pher K. Bauer an associate. He is

general manager of the Camp Hill

office. He has more than 20 years

of project management and trans-

portation engineering experience

and has helped municipalities

through their responsibilities as

local project sponsors on state

and federally funded projects. He

also serves municipalities’ day-

to-day traffic consulting needs.

He is a professional engineer and

professional traffic operations

engineer. Swatara Township-based Skelly

and Loy named LeShelle Smith

marketing spe-cialist. She will be

responsible for graphics coordi-

nation, including preparation of

brochures, charts and exhibit ma-

terials. She will assist with the development of

special marketing and public rela-

tions programs, communications

and media plans and ensuring

that the website is current and

consistent. She has a degree from

Elizabethtown College.

BANKING/FINANCE

Lower Paxton Township-based

Centric Bank named Patricia A.

Kuhn assistant manager of the

Silver Spring

Township Finan-cial Center. She

will cultivate new

customer rela-tionships, man-

age the internal

sales process,

maintain the

branch’s operational proficiency

and mentor her financial center

team. Most recently, she was a cor-

porate social responsibility super-

visor and head teller II with First

National Bank. She has a bach-

elor’s degree from York College.

Lower Allen Township-based

Members 1st Federal Credit

Union named

Alma Jimenez

branch manager

of the location

inside the Gi-ant Foods store

on East Market

Street, York. She

was a branch

manager for PNC Bank. Manheim Township-based

Ambassador Advisors LLC named

Christopher R. Coolidge chief

investment of-ficer. He leads

the wealth man-agement depart-

ment and works

with various oth-er departments.

He is a chartered financial analyst

charterholder. Manheim Township-based

RKL Wealth Management LLC

named William M. Onorato a

senior wealth

strategist. He will

advise high-net-worth families

on multigenera-tional planning,

legacy planning,

business succes-sion and estate

planning. He has 25 years of es-

tate planning and wealth strategy

experience. He has a bachelor’s

degree and an MBA from Loyola

College and a law degree from the

University of Baltimore. Millersburg-based Mid Penn

Bank named Julie A. Bramlitt

financial adviser for Mid Penn

Financial Services. She will help

clients prioritize, organize and

simplify their financial matters

with customized financial solu-

tions. She has 25 years of banking

and financial services experience

and was a financial adviser with

Smoker Wealth Management.

She has bachelor’s and master’s

degrees from Ashford University.

Laura J. Melfi was named senior

vice president and cash manage-

ment officer with Mid Penn’s First

Priority Bank division. She will be

based in Chester County and con-

tribute to deposit growth through

business development activities.

She will also generate fee income

through cash management prod-

ucts and services, and expand and

retain customer relationships. She

has 43 years of financial services

experience. CONSTRUCTIONLancaster-based

Wohlsen

Construction Co. named Manuel

Maza project

manager and es-timator. He was

project engineer.

He has a bache-lor’s degree from

Millersville Uni-versity.

York-based Wagman Construc-

tion Inc. named Joe Corson direc-

tor of business development for

Maryland. He will

expand the firm’s

participation in

o p p o r t u n i t i e s

and enhance

client relation-ships throughout

Maryland. He has

30 years of con-struction industry experience. He

has a bachelor’s degree from the

University of Baltimore. EDUCATIONMillersville University named

John Cheek director of web and

creative services. He will over-

see the creative

production op-eration and serve

the university’s

marketing needs,

focusing on un-dergraduate and

graduate admis-sions, advance-

ment and the president’s office.

He will also oversee design aspects

of the school’s website. He was

creative director of Schiffer Pub-

lishing. He has a bachelor’s degree

from Millersville. GOVERNMENT Harrisburg-based Pennsyl-

vania Public Utility Commis-

sion named Amy S. Goldman

of Philadelphia and Matthew

Hrivnak of Cumberland County

members of the Pennsylvania

Telecommunications Relay Ser-

vice Advisory Board. Goldman

has been a public member of the

board. She is a speech-language

pathologist, has conducted

trainings on the importance of

telecommunications for those

with disabilities and has been

involved with the administra-

tion of Pennsylvania’s telecom-

munications device distribution

program. Hrivnak will represent

the PUC’s Bureau of Consum-

er Services on the board. He

is manager of compliance and

competition in the bureau’s pol-

icy division. Harrisburg-based State Civil

Service Commission named Te-

resa Osborne of Lackawanna

County a commissioner. She was

secretary of the Pennsylvania De-

partment of Aging. HEALTH CARE East Pennsboro Township-

based Geisinger Holy Spirit

named Dr. Ming Jang a member

of Geisinger Ho-ly Spirit Primary

Care. He will see adult patients

and specialize in geriatric care.

He was a clinical assistant profes-

sor of medicine in the division of geriatric medi-

cine at the University of Pennsyl-

vania’s Perelman School of Medi-

cine. He has a medical degree

from Drexel University College

of Medicine. HOSPITALITYAbbottstown, Adams County-

based Hanover Country Club

named John Danehy manager.

LAW East Hempfield Township-

based Russell, Krafft & Gruber

LLP named Ju-lia G. Vanasse a

member of the family law prac-

tice group. For nearly 20 years,

she was a Lan-caster County

divorce master, and she has 30 years of combined

family law experience. She has a

bachelor’s degree from the Col-

lege of William and Mary and a

law degree from Dickinson School

of Law.

Susquehanna Township-based

Mette Evans & Woodside named

Matthew D. Co-ble a sharehold-

er. He represents

insurance com-panies, fraternal

benefit societies,

insurance pro-ducers and third-

party administra-tors in insurance regulatory, trans-

actional and litigation matters.

MARKETINGLancaster-based Godfrey

named Luke Weidner an asso-

ciate creative director. He will

oversee message unification and

brand consisten-cy and align cre-

ative resources with project and

account needs to ensure efficien-

cy. Most recent-ly, he was the

design manager for Artisanal Brewing Ventures.

Weidner has a bachelor’s degree

from Penn State. NONPROFITSPhiladelphia-based Pennsyl-

vanians for Modern Courts named

retired Judge Lawrence

F. Stengel a board

member. He is a shareholder

with Manheim Township-based

Saxton & Stump and former chief

judge for the Eastern District of

Pennsylvania. PUBLIC AFFAIRSHarrisburg-based Triad Strate-

gies LLC named Rob Ghormoz

a senior associate in the govern-

ment affairs practice. He was a

senior adviser to Gov. Tom Wolf’s

re-election campaign and led his

2019 inauguration. He has a bach-

elor’s degree from Penn State.

SENDING NEWSMAKERS

Send announcements concerning

promotions and newly hired

personnel to [email protected].

Save photos at 300 dpi as TIFF

or JPG files. Please do not embed

photos in word documents. Photos

sent through the mail will not be

returned. Releases should include

the municipality in which the

company is located.

Shindle

Krieger

Fauth

Smith

Kuhn

Jimenez

Coolidge

Onorato

Bramlitt

Melfi

Maza

Corson

Cheek

Jang

Vanasse

Coble

Weidner

Stengel

8

www.CPBJ.com


JUNE 7, 2019

OPINION

If yours is like many of the

small businesses I’ve studied, the

price you quote

for your prod-

ucts or services

is determined

by a simple for-

mula, based on

your estimated

costs. Feed in

your costs and

your desired

gross margin

and presto, out comes the price.

There’s just one problem

: price

has nothing to do with cost.

When I tell m

y clients their

prices should have nothing to do

with their costs, they usually look

at me as if I have suddenly sprout-

ed a third eye in my forehead. Af-

ter all, they’ve been doing that for

(fill in the blank) years and it has

worked, for the most part.

That m

ay be true, but in do-

ing so they are probably missing

opportunities to increase profits

on some products or services, or

to gain market share with others.

Those two things are what pricing

strategy is about.

When a business creates a

budget, it estimates sales rev-

enue, costs, and a desired gross

margin that will cover overhead

and produce a budgeted profit.

Looking at the budgeted profit

and loss statement, it is easy to

fall into a trap of thinking, “If we

can just get every sale for the es-

timated cost plus gross m

argin,

we’ll be right on target.” It sounds

simple and scientific, doesn’t it?

The problem

is that what buy-

ers are willing to pay has nothing

to do with the sellers’ costs. You

don’t believe that? I’ll give you

two scenarios.

I wear a Timex Ironm

an

watch that I can buy for about

$35 from a num

ber of retailers.

It is a very accurate watch with a

quartz movem

ent and some very

nice features. “Casual” quartz

watches from Gucci m

ade with

similar m

aterials sell for $275 to

$350. Trust me – I know m

anufac-

turing – there is no possible way

to explain that price differential

based on manufacturing costs.

That’s why you can buy fake

Gucci watches for less than my

Timex on the street. Th

e differ-

ential is totally due to the cachet

of the Gucci brand. The price

is what the market will bear,

the value the buyer puts on the

product. Suppose you have two identi-

cal machines, except one is paid

for and you took out a big loan

for the second one. The per-

son who runs it is a long-time

employee, who m

akes a higher

wage than the guy running the

paid-off machine. Th

e cost of the

second machine is higher than

the cost of the first. Do you be-

lieve you can get a different price

for a product based on which

machine you decide to use? Of

course you can’t.

Pricing is both strategic and

tactical. Working with com

pa-

nies to improve profitability, we

have adopted a strategy of slowly

raising prices above what we

get with the magic form

ula until

customers push back. W

e often

end with prices at a higher, more

profitable level for many, but not

all customers. It’s the custom

er,

not the formula that determ

ines

the best price.

We have experim

ented tactically

with what the market will bear for

change notices, usually much high-

er margins than for the original

orders. In that case the customer is

a captive audience. But sometim

es

we ease up on the change adjust-

ment, and let the custom

er know it

to build good will.

We have som

etimes reduced

prices below the magic form

ula

to build market share or capture

a new account. If the new busi-

ness is incremental, it is all good

on the bottom line.

The m

agic formula gives you

a nice target, but don’t fall into

the trap of thinking that is your

best price.

•

Richard Randall is founder and

president of management-con-

sulting firm New Level Advisors

in Springettsbury Township, York

County. Email him at info@newleve-

ladvisors.com.

In his budget address, Gov. Tom W

olf

stated to applause, “This proposal asks for no

new taxes. Not one dime. Not one penny.”

Yet, as the General Assembly com

bs through

the governor’s proposal, we find that there

are, in fact, tax increases.

One specific tax being proposed by the ad-

ministration is a “double tax” on am

bulatory

surgical centers (ASCs) like

the ones in my district.

ASCs are convenient

health care facilities run

by physicians that provide

same-day surgical and di-

agnostic care for focused

care needs, such as eye

surgeries, colonoscopies,

spine and joint procedures,

and more. Th

ere are 234

Medicare-certified ASCs in Pennsylvania.

The governor expects to take $12.5 m

illion

from these innovative surgical centers, which

is income they would otherwise put toward the

incredible services they provide at lower costs

to patients. ASCs already pay income, sales

and property taxes, as opposed to general hos-

pitals, which do not pay these same taxes.

The governor is correct when he says there

are no “new” taxes in his proposal, as he tried

and was unsuccessful in getting this ASC tax

passed through the General Assembly last

year. It is my hope that the House Republican

Caucus, along with the Pennsylvania Medical

Society and other medical-service advocates,

will prove once more that this tax would be

detrimental to Pennsylvania surgery patients.

First, this tax would cause ASCs to be un-

able to afford state-of-the-art equipment.

Such equipment allows them

to have higher

productivity and healthier patients, but under

this tax plan, this customer care m

ight no lon-

ger be possible.

Another advantage of surgical centers is

that their nurse-to-patient ratios are generally

lower than at general hospitals. These nurses

are trained in one or a few specialized surgical

procedures. This system

ensures that patients

receive the best care possible with the same

nurses caring for them throughout their treat-

ment.Smaller facilities also help surgical hospi-

tals protect patients from spreading infections

among each other. Th

is large reduction in

nosocomial infections is critical in a surgical

environment.

Not only are patients better cared for at

ASCs, but they face lower costs at these cen-

ters than they do at general hospitals. Medic-

aid patients face 50 percent lower costs and

patients with comm

ercial insurance plans

pay as low as 25 percent the costs of a hospi-

tal-based visit.

In addition to saving patients money, these

practitioners also save Medicare $2.3 billion

a year on just the 120 most-com

mon proce-

dures that Medicare patients receive, accord-

ing to UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley noted in a recent study that

in 2015, Pennsylvania ASCs saved Medicare

$32.6 million on cataract procedures, $1.3

million on upper GI procedures and $6.9 m

il-

lion on cystoscopy procedures.

If the Wolf adm

inistration’s tax proposal

were to be enacted, the Pennsylvania Am-

bulatory Surgery Association, along with a

coalition of state medical societies, warn that

up to 25 percent of these centers may need

to close – pushing thousands of patients into

costly general hospitals and forcing centers to

withdraw from M

edicaid.

This is the very problem

that ASCs were at-

tempting to solve.

This ASC tax would be a blow to com

peti-

tion and innovation in health care. By tying

the invisible hand of the free market in health

care with burdensome taxes, we get less

health and less care.

Another tax on these ASCs would not only

cost the state Medicaid system

, it may even

cost lives.I urge m

y colleagues in the Pennsylvania

House and Senate to vote against this proposal

and I urge Gov. Wolf to visit an ASC like W

est

Shore Endoscopy in Cumberland County to

learn about the progress that is being made by

these entrepreneurial physicians and nurses.

As I meet with physicians and patients in

my district, such as those at W

est Shore En-

doscopy, I have been amazed at the benefits

of their innovative approach.

We all can relate to the phrase, “Surgery is

only minor if it happens to som

eone else.”

Nobody wants to be told they need surgery

and they especially do not want an unpleas-

ant surgery experience.

Thanks to ASCs, thousands of Pennsyl-

vanians have been given a convenient and

quality outpatient experience with positive

outcomes and speedy recovery in the com

fort

of their own homes. A double tax on these

centers would not only be devastating to the

many hardworking physicians in our com

-

monwealth but their patients as well.

For the sake of the health and wellness of

our comm

onwealth, I hope my colleagues in

Harrisburg listen to our physicians and their

patients and reject this tax. •

State Rep. Greg Rothman (R) represents the 87th

House District, which is in Cumberland County.

Proposed tax could harm specialty surgical centers

A formula for profit – or for missing out?

GUEST VIEW

THE WHITEBOARD

Richard

Randall

State Rep.

Greg Rothman

If there’s one constant in health

care, it’s change. UPMC’s invest-

ment in southcentral Pennsylvania

has brought positive change to

our region, including new, highly

specialized services, thousands of

new providers and leading-edge

technology to treat the most

advanced diseases. However, even

positive change can cause confu-

sion. I’d like to take a moment to

clarify a question involving health

insurance plans accepted at UPMC

Pinnacle. UPMC Pinnacle hospitals and

outpatient clinics continue to

accept most major insurance

plans, including Aetna, Capital Blue

Cross, Highmark and UPMC Health

Plan for all services. Changes in the

relationship between Highmark

and UPMC in the greater

Pittsburgh and Erie areas will not

affect the relationship between

UPMC Pinnacle and Highmark.

We look forward to continuing

to care for all of our patients in

2019 and beyond. To learn more

about full, in-network access to

UPMC doctors and hospitals, call

our toll-free help line at 1-833-

879-5013 or visit UPMC.com/

Choice2019. Philip W. Guarneschelli,

President and CEO

UPMC Pinnacle

TO THE EDITOR

8 www.CPBJ.com Central Penn Business Journal MAY 31, 2019OPINIONGUEST VIEW

Latest census data reveals trends to watchThe U.S. Census Bureau recently re-

leased new population estimates that account for and compare the resident population for counties between April 1, 2010 and July 1, 2018. The outcome? There are shifts in population taking place across the nation that may differ from what you might assume. Here are the highlights at a national and local level.

What’s happening locally?Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and

York experience consis-tent growth. The most notable trend between 2010 and 2018 in Central Pennsylvania is that these counties all experienced consistent growth year-over-year. Moreover the growth was fairly even over the last eight years.

Another trend worth noting is that the counties have main-tained the same order of ranking based upon population for eight-plus years. For example, in 2010 the counties in order of smallest population to largest were Cum-berland, Dauphin, York and Lancaster. This is the same ranking we see in 2018,

and every year in between.Lancaster remains the largest and fast-

est-growing county. At 984 square miles, it also is the largest of the four counties. Between 2010 and 2018 it experienced the largest numeric growth at 24,112 people. No. 2 in numeric growth was actually the smallest of the four counties, Cumberland County, which grew by 16,017 people. York County grew by 13,301 people and Dauphin County grew by 8,997 people.

What’s happening nationally?The census data confirmed that coun-

ties with the largest numeric growth are located in the south and the west. In fact, Texas claimed four out of the top 10 spots. Looking at population growth by metropolitan area, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas had the largest numeric growth, with a gain of 131,767 people, or 1.8 percent in 2018. Second was Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona, which had an increase of 96,268 people, or 2.0 percent. The cause of growth in these areas is migration, both domestic and international, as well as natural increase. In Dallas, it was natural in-crease that served as the largest source of population growth. For Phoenix it was

migration.The fastest growth occurred outside

of metropolitan areas. Surprisingly, no new metro areas moved into the top 10 largest areas. Of the 390 metro areas in the U.S., (including the District of Co-lumbia and Puerto Rico), 102, or 26.2 percent experienced population decline in 2018. The five fastest-shrinking metro areas (excluding Puerto Rico) were Charleston, West Virginia (-1.6 percent); Pine Bluff, Arkansas. (-1.5 percent); Farmington, New Mexico (-1.5 percent); Danville, Illinois (-1.2 percent); and Watertown-Fort Drum, New York (-1.2 percent). The population decreases were primarily due to negative net domestic migration.

North Dakota was home to the fastest-growing county. Among counties with a population of 20,000 or more, Williams County, North Dakota, claimed the top spot as the fastest-growing by percent-age. This county’s population rose by 5.9 percent between 2017 and 2018 (from 33,395 to 35,350 people). The rapid growth Williams County experienced was due mainly to net domestic migration of 1,471 people in 2018. The county also ex-perienced growth between 2017 and 2018

by natural increase of 427 people and in-

ternational migration of 52 people.

There is more growth than decline. Out

of 3,142 counties, 1,739 (or 55.3 percent)

gained population between 2017 and 2018.

Twelve counties (0.4 percent) experienced

no change in population, and the remain-

ing 1,391 (or 44.3 percent) lost people.

Between 2010 and 2018, a total of 1,481 (or

47.1 percent) counties gained population

and 1,661 (or 52.9 percent) lost popula-

tion. Though there has been more growth

than decline overall, the numbers indicate

that this can easily shift year over year.

A deeper dive into the census data

reveals several demographic changes

impacting commercial real estate develop-

ment: household formations, aging baby

boomers, growing millennials, women

in the workforce and migration toward

the South. Today’s demographic changes

present challenges for commercial real

estate developers, but they also offer lu-

crative opportunities to firms creatively

adapting to new demands.•

Mike Kushner is the owner of Omni Realty Group, a real estate firm in Harrisburg. He can be reached through www.omnirealtygroup.com�

Mike Kushner

2018 was a banner year for mergers and acquisitions. Global M&A activity was the second highest on record, with deals totaling $2.72 trillion. Looking ahead, 76 percent of top executives at U.S. compa-nies expect to close more deals this year than last, and a majority predict these deals will be larger, according to a report from Axios. These compa-nies, and others around the globe, turn to M&A deals to increase market share and improve their business models.

Throughout the M&A process, executives are hyper-focused on company synergies and big-picture goals. As a result, one very important fac-tor often goes overlooked – the employer’s retirement plans. There are many details to consider when acquiring a company. Understanding the seller’s retirement plan and how it will fit within the current ben-efit structure is vital to success.

If retirement plans are not considered upfront, executives may learn that the ac-quired company has an underfunded pen-sion plan – which can be a deal breaker – or that the seller’s 401(k) plan does not meet compliance standards.

So, if you’re planning a merger or acqui-sition, consider the retirement plans now to avoid a headache later on.

If the transaction is a stock acquisi-tion – where the buyer takes full owner-ship of the selling company – the buyer then assumes all of the seller’s liabilities, including its retirement plan. The buyer has three options for how to handle the acquired company’s retirement plan. It can either maintain its own plan and the seller’s plan separately, terminate the seller’s plan, or merge the seller’s plan into its own plan.

If the buyer decides to maintain both plans, the newly acquired employees can either be offered the same benefits they had previously, or a new formula for their employer benefits. Maintaining both plans can provide employees continuity of ben-efits with no impact to the buyer’s retire-ment plan. However, operating multiple plans can be burdensome and expensive, and nondiscrimination testing is needed if employees are receiving different benefit packages.

If the buyer is going to terminate the seller’s plan, this decision should be made and the process initiated before the com-panies merge. If the acquired company’s 401(k) is terminated after the transaction, the seller’s employees will face a one-year

restriction before being able to join the buyer’s 401(k) plan, losing out on a full year of tax-efficient savings and employer contributions.

The main advantages of termination are that employees can be integrated into the buyer’s plan with one benefit structure for all; there is only one plan to maintain; and the risk of any liability transfer into the buyer’s existing plan is avoided. The downside is that the employee accounts become immediately accessible. So, if not rolled over into an IRA or other retirement plan, employees could squander retire-ment assets and face penalty taxes for early distribution.

The final option – merging the seller’s and buyer’s plans – requires that both plans be the same type and have a similar plan design. This option can be efficient and cost-effective – one benefit structure, one plan to operate – and it also avoids the negatives of plan termination.

The risk associated with merging are the unknown factors of the seller’s plan. Has it always operated in compliance with all the complex rules associated with retirement plans? If not, the buyer’s plan would be at risk.

Before deciding how to handle the sell-er’s retirement plan, the buyer will need to perform exhaustive due diligence. This

includes confirming past operational and procedural compliance, making sure all plan documents are up-to-date, and con-firming general compatibility between the plans. Examples include reviewing non-discrimination testing results from recent years, the seller’s fiduciary oversight prac-tices, administrative operations such as distributions, payroll and loan processes, and fulfillment of government reporting requirements.

Many companies partner with an out-side consultant to conduct a thorough benefit plan review and help determine the best option. When experts are engaged from the start, they can help ensure the transition is smooth and employees have a clear understanding of the benefits with their new employer.

An organization’s retirement plan should be a consideration from the early stages of an M&A. Though the evaluation process can be lengthy, it’s better to an-ticipate issues that could arise, instead of realizing them in the midst of the merger when it might be too late.

•John Jeffrey is a consulting actuary, specializing in retirement plan consulting and post-employ-ment health care benefits, for Conrad Siegel, which is based in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County.

GUEST VIEW

Retirement plans should be piece of M&A puzzle

JohnJeffrey

JUNE 7, 2019

717-236-4300 •

Central Penn Business Journal •

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By Jason Scott

[email protected]

Expecting a record year for lending and

more growth, the Lancaster-based Commu-

nity First Fund has been adding staff and

restructuring its executive team.

The nonprofit economic development or-

ganization recently hired Michael Carper, the

former CEO of the Housing Development

Corp. MidAtlantic, to be its chief credit officer.

Community First Fund also contracted with

a finance expert from Chicago to serve as CFO

until it hires someone to the post full-time.

“We’re adding and growing dramatically,”

said Dan Betancourt, the organization’s presi-

dent and CEO.

Community First Fund provides financ-

ing for small businesses, affordable housing

projects and nonprofit organizations located

in low-income communities and serving dis-

advantaged groups, including Latino and Af-

rican-American entrepreneurs. And the need

for services is rising.

The organization, which started out serving

Lancaster, now covers 15 counties in Central

Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley and suburban

Philadelphia. Its staff has grown from 20 to 40

over the past five years and it is making more

direct loans to businesses, with volume rising

from about $10 million to $30 million in the

past three years.

The nonprofit also has opened new loan offic-

es in Allentown and Philadelphia where it would

like to add more people to expand lending.

“We expect to go deeper into markets we are

in,” Betancourt said.

But depth, he said, requires a bigger team.

That starts at the executive level.

In addition to adding new execs, the non-

profit has made some internal promotions.

COO Joan Brodhead was recently named se-

nior executive vice president and chief strategic

initiatives officer, while senior vice president of

lending James Buerger was elevated to execu-

tive vice president and chief lending officer.

Community First also has hired staff to work

under each of the C-suite executives.

The growth comes at a time when Commu-

nity First has been positioning itself as a go-to

resource for investors and developers inter-

ested in the federal opportunity zone program,

in which investors can get a tax break on capi-

tal gains by investing in projects in qualified

distressed areas, dubbed opportunity zones.

The investments typically will flow through

what are known as qualified opportunity funds.

Community First has been working to develop

such funds, which could work in combination

with other state and federal incentives.

Among the most notable of those is the

New Markets Tax Credit program, a federal tax

credit program operated by the U.S. Treasury

Department that helps support large urban

redevelopment projects.

Community First is one of two local orga-

nizations that can apply for those federal tax

credits.

The other — Harrisburg-based Common-

wealth Cornerstone Group, a subsidiary of

the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency

(PHFA) — recently was awarded $55 million

in the latest round of funding.

Community First was shut out but hopes

its clients still can take advantage of the in-

centives.

“We plan to work with clients and try to

help them find an allocation through another

organization,” Betancourt said.

Community First and Commonwealth Cor-

Pictured, clockwise from bottom left, is Community First Fund’s executive team: Dan

Betancourt, president and CEO; Mike Carper, chief credit officer; James Buerger, executive

vice president and chief lending officer; and Joan Brodhead, senior executive vice president

and chief strategic initiatives officer. PHOTO/SUBMITTED

Tax credit plan

After being shut out in the last fund-

ing round in 2017, Central Pennsylvania will

receive a share of 2018 tax credits under a

new round of funding from a federal program

designed to support large urban redevelop-

ment projects: the New Markets Tax Credit.

The U.S. Treasury Department last month

awarded $55 million in tax credits to the

Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s

Commonwealth Cornerstone Group, based in

Harrisburg.

Commonwealth Cornerstone’s executive

director Charlotte Folmer said the funding

will help the nonprofit tackle a hefty pipeline

of projects seeking funding.

“We have over 40 projects requesting

over $700 million,” she said, noting that the

requests come from across the common-

wealth.

Folmer said she hopes the tax credits will

be able to support about seven projects this

year — likely mixed-use, commercial and

community service projects — with a focus on

those that exceed $5 million.

Developers often have to spend more

money to buy and fix up vacant and blighted

properties than they can expect to get back

in rental rates once construction is complet-

ed. The New Markets program takes private

equity from investors, usually banks, and

turns that money into gap financing to help

developers offset some of the construction

costs and keep rents in line with what a local

real estate market can support.

The investors receive tax credits in return,

which count against their federal income

taxes.Investors can receive credits totaling 39

percent of their investment. They can use the

credits over seven years as such: 5 percent

per year for the first three years and 6 per-

cent for the next four years.

Folmer said it will be several weeks until

Commonwealth Cornerstone receives its

federal allocation, the organization’s eighth.

The previous seven allocations have helped

fund 38 developments in the state, including

the Hamilton Health Center in Harrisburg,

Lancaster’s Keppel Building and the renova-

tion of Gettysburg’s Schmucker Hall.

In the meantime, officials are narrowing

down mixed-use and commercial projects

across the state that could receive the tax

credits. Part of that selection process could

include working with Lancaster-based

Community First Fund, which did not receive

tax credits this year but has its own backlog

of projects.

The two midstate nonprofits have part-

nered on tax-credit projects in the past,

including the redevelopment of the former

Bulova building in Lancaster. Commonwealth

Cornerstone poured $10 million in tax cred-

its into the project, while Community First

added another $8 million.

Folmer said project announcements could

come this fall.

Community First Fund

expanding executive team

please see EXPANDING page 7

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Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, sales tax revenue in Nassau County could drop 12 percent to 28 percent, officials said Monday.

That’s according to Jack Schnirman, the county’s comptroller, who released an anal-ysis on the virus’ potential financial impact.

Looking at current plans for phased reopening, the sales tax revenue shortfall could range from $156 million to $360 million, according to the analysis.

And should there be a second-wave of the virus that triggers another lockdown, the county could see a $665 million to $1 billion loss in sales tax revenue over the two-year period from 2020 to 2021, accord-ing to officials.

“These most up-to-date numbers present us a truly troubling set of projections,” Schnirman said in a statement. “COVID-19 has dealt the county economy an unprece-dented gut punch and these numbers show the potential effect on county government.

“Based upon our available data, our new sophisticated modeling tool currently proj-ects worse consequences than previously anticipated,” he added.

Schnirman said the potential impact analysis was derived through a sales-tax modeling tool.

“This analysis and this tool will be critical both during this crisis and going forward beyond it and further highlights the coun-

ty’s critical need for revenue relief from the federal government,” he said.

The analysis took into account the county’s initial 2020 sales tax growth and considered some of the benchmarks pro-vided by other organizations, including the New York State Association of Counties. That organization reported in early May that Nassau would potentially lose between 9.2 percent and 22.4 percent in sales tax revenue.

The modeling tool breaks down in real time the facets of sales tax using the North American Industry Classification System, officials said. It allows for assumptions to be set on the expected level of business activity

of a phased reopening model, and can be deployed to analyze sales tax revenues going forward, after the crisis has subsided.

Schnirman said that the “projections show potential low and high impact ranges based on a variety of factors that we will continue to monitor and reflect the best information we have at this time.”

And, “as new data and information are updated, the comptroller’s office will use this tool and other techniques to update these projections so that our county execu-tive and legislature are armed with the data they need to make choices for residents,” he added.

— ADINA GENN

FROMLIBN.COM

Nassau: Sales tax revenue could drop 12-28% amid pandemic

A new charitable initiative aims to help restaurants in Farmingdale jumpstart their businesses, which are struggling amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Split the Bill” was created by the Sidgmore Family Foundation. Through this campaign, locals who order takeout or drive-through from participating eat-eries listed on splitthebillny.com will be reimbursed 50 percent of the bill, for up

to $50. To get that money back, custom-ers must first fill out a reimbursement form that is designed to confirm the meal purchase. That process is expected to take between three and seven days.

“Local restaurants are struggling,” Randi Sidgmore, founder and director of Sidgmore Family Foundation, said in a written statement. “Split The Bill NY is a way for locals to support these restau-

rants and their community, in a mutually beneficial way.”

The program looks to help resuscitate Farmingdale’s Main Street, and might expand to other downtowns in the region, if there are available funds.

“Before Covid-19, we were experienc-ing a renaissance here in the Village of Farmingdale,” Farmingdale Village Mayor Ralph Ekstrand said in a statement.

“While this revitalization seems to be on hold for the foreseeable future, there are still ways we can come together to support our local restaurants,” he added. “These establishments and their hard-working employees are the heart and soul of our town. We need to do whatever we can to support them, and Split The Bill NY is helping to make that possible.”

— ADINA GENN

In Farmingdale, ‘Split the Bill’ aims to help local restaurants


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Long Island Business News is working tirelessly to keep our communities informed as the effects of COVID-19 continue

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Nassau Industrial

Location: 241 Mill St, LawrenceAvail Sq. Ft.: 7,800 Sq. Ft.Property Type: IndustrialAgent: James ParnesBrokerage: Schacker Real Estate Corp.Phone: 631-293-3700, x45Asking Price For Sale: $2,489,000Additional: Great location for storage or light manufacturing. Convenient location near Nassau Expressway. Walking distance to LIRR. Private off-street parking lot


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Sharing our appreciation

Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. © 2020 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

Leslie R., Bank of America Consumer Bank Team

Bob IsaksenLong Island Market President

My teammates and I in Long Island are deeply grateful to those working on the front lines to fight a global health crisis — the health care providers, first responders and essential service workers. This includes many across Bank of America who are working around the clock in financial and service centers to provide guidance and support to our clients.

We’re committed to our teammates’ safety and well-being, providing new and enhanced benefits, including free access to virtual health care and emotional wellness programs, support for child and adult care, and meals for those in the office. Our extensive workplace health and safety measures adhere to the latest CDC guidelines. Eligible teammates are paid based on their regular schedules, even if hours are reduced. We also increased our minimum hourly wage to $20, one year ahead of schedule, and have committed to no layoffs in 2020.

We are here to help. Please stay safe and well.

For more information, please visit bankofamerica.com/helpfulresources.

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