Brooklyn's Progress
June/ July 2009

OBT Opens Bushwick Center
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow held a ribbon cutting for their Bushwick Workforce Resource Center on May 7. Executive Director Randy Peers opened the center and introduced the many students it will come to help in the coming weeks. On hand to celebrate the event were OBT Board Chairperson Frank Morizio Jr., as well as Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York City Councilwoman Diana Reyna and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carl Hum.
Visitors to the BWRC will receive assessments by a vocational counselor to determine their need for job training; they will receive customized vocational and educational plans; they will utilize the services of a job developer, who is highly-experienced in securing employment neighborhood residents; and they will be referred to local organizations which offer services that OBT does not provide, including medical services, substance-abuse counseling, housing assistance, and food distribution. Annually, the BWRC anticipates serving a minimum of 1,500 local residents. For more information, go to http://www.obtjobs.org/ or call 718-381-3222

Prestigious Women’s Seminar Held at Brooklyn College
On Friday, April 24, over 70 students, faculty and staff at Brooklyn College attended the Women’s Success Panel in the college’s state of the art Student Center.
The panel presented significant role models to college women preparing for the ever changing and challenging world of work, informed the seminar participants of how success can be achieved through diligence, savvy and intelligence, and discussed strategies and approaches to the labor market in a time of economic recession.
The panel consisted of three prestigious Brooklyn College alumnae: Marge Magner, (’69) Founding member and Managing Partner of Brysam Global Partners, former Chairman and CEO of the Global Consumer Group at Citigroup and currently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn College Foundation; Florence Rosen, (‘59) President of Rosen Associates Management Corp. and also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn College Foundation and Jeanette G. Nigro, (’00) Vice President, Economic Development, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. For more information on the Magner Center for Career Development and Internships and the White House Project contact careernews@brooklyn.cuny.edu.   

SBA Launches 100% Guarantee ARC Loan Program for Struggling Businesses
Small businesses suffering financial hardship as a result of the slow economy may be eligible to receive temporary relief to keep their doors open and get their cash flow back on track through to a new loan program. Beginning June 15, SBA will start guaranteeing America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loans, which are deferred-payment loans of up to $35,000 available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing qualifying debt.  ARC loans are interest-free to the borrower, 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA, and have no SBA fees associated with them. ARC loans will be made by commercial lenders, not SBA directly.  For more information on ARC loans, visit http://www.sba.gov/.

Flushing Financial Corporation Ranked #1 Thrift
Flushing Financial Corporation, the parent holding company for Flushing Savings Bank, announced that they were the top ranked thrift institution based on performance for 2008 in the annual ranking of the 100 largest thrifts compiled by SNL Financial. John R. Buran, Flushing Financial’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are extremely proud of this ranking for Flushing Financial. This represents a true recognition of the profitable growth and tremendous strides that our organization has accomplished in the last year. We have experienced growth in our retail banking and business banking sectors and remain active in the multi-family and commercial lending arena, despite tumultuous financial markets.  We believe that our ongoing commitment and strong relationships with the communities that we serve will sustain our profitable growth for years to come.”

LICH and Water Taxi Make a Deal
New York Water Taxi and Long Island College Hospital of Brooklyn recently entered into a “neighborly” agreement to care for passengers and staff who may require emergency medical care.

“With regularly scheduled stops in Williamsburg, IKEA Red Hook, DUMBO, and the Army Terminal, we’re working in Brooklyn seven days a week,” says Tom Fox President and CEO. “We want to offer the best service to our passengers and staff, even if sometimes that help means calling an ambulance.”

New York Water Taxi identified LICH as their Brooklyn hospital of choice after an employee who was cared for in LICH’s Emergency department reported an extremely positive experience.

Noble Strategy Nominated for Small Business of the Year
Black Enterprise magazine nominated New Jersey-based Noble Strategy, a construction management and consulting firm, for their 2009 Small Business of the Year award. The award was given out at the magazine’s annual expo, held this year in Detroit, MI.

The award is “presented to the small business owner whose efforts and/or entrepreneurial pursuits exemplify the passion and commitment needed to overcome adversity as well as attain success.”

With more than 20 years of construction experience, William S. Parrish Jr. and his company, Noble Strategy, have provided construction management and consulting to municipalities, agencies, institutions, and corporations since 2002. With revenues at more than $2.3 million for 2008, the 28-employee firm projects 2009 revenues to increase about 30% because of several construction projects in the works, including one tied to the Freedom Tower project in New York City at One World Trade Center.