STANDING Brooklyn’s Biggest Booster
C’ Heights student crowned champ
CROWN HEIGHTS
A Crown Heights student nabbed
first place in a national essay
competition last month, writing
a veritable how-to on saving the
planet — and turning a profit,
according to one contest honcho.
“By making economics fun,
interesting and relevant… we can give
students of all backgrounds a better
understanding of their personal
financial lives, our economy, and the
opportunities inherent in the global
capital markets,” said Melanie
Mortimer, president of the SIFMA
Foundation.
Parkside Preparatory student
Ariel Granger chose to write about
an issue she was passionate about,
the ozone layer, claiming its the only
thing standing between humanity
and the sun’s deadly radiation.
“The environment is very important
for human existence. Earth is our
home, so we must protect it and the
component s
that help
protect us,”
Granger wrote
in her winning
essay.
Granger’s
essay didn’t
just focus
on the
impor tance
of protecting
the ozone
layer.
She also
focused on
how people
can put
their money where their mouth is
by investing in environmentally
friendly companies.
One business that Granger
highlighted is NextEra, a company
which produces clean energy by
building windmills and thereby
eliminating the need for more
noxious sources of power.
But Granger’s essay isn’t
interested solely in companies
doing good by mother earth — they
need to make a profit, too — and the
youngster suggests that NextEra’s
stocks are currently undervalued,
and could prove lucrative as a longterm
investment.
For her stellar essay, Granger
nabbed a trophy, a pizza party, and
an all expenses paid trip to where
else but New York City, meaning
the SIFMA Foundation can avoid
the pricey investment in an airline
ticket for the Crown Heights genius.
Standing O takes its hat off to
this Crown Heights brainiac!
— Elizabeth Winn
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT
Three cheers for the Brooklyn
Cannabiz Collective, which
hosted the inaugural Trailblazers
Awards on June 27 to honor people
of color who are pioneering the
cannabis industry.
Formed by Bedford-
Stuyvesant native Al Florant
in 2018, the Collective provides
assistance to people of color
looking to make it big in the
marijuana business.
“I saw major investment
opportunities in real estate
and tech pass by many from my
community, and I didn’t want to
sit by and watch the same happen
with the cannabis boom we’re
seeing today,” said Florant.
The Collective held its
inaugural award ceremony at
Bedford Manor — located at 1177
Bedford Ave. between Putnam and
Jefferson avenues — where more
than 100 community members,
cannabis-entrepreneurs, and
elected leaders gathered to
promote equality in the marijuana
industry.
The award ceremony’s prize for
education went to Brooklyn native
Gia Morón, who serves as CEO
of Women Grow — a for-profi t
entity that serves as “a catalyst for
women to infl uence and succeed in
the cannabis industry.”
Reverend Anthony Trufant
COURIER L 36 IFE, JULY 12–18, 2019 M BR B G
of the historic Emmanuel Baptist
Church in Clinton Hill received
the courage award in recognition
of his staunch advocacy for social
justice in relation to drug laws and
the marijuana business.
The night’s honor for
outstanding advocacy was
bestowed to Sirita Wright, who
co-founded Estrohaze — an
organization that promotes the
advancement of the cannabis
industry.
During the event,
Assemblywoman Tremaine
Wright (D–Bedford-Stuyvesant)
gave the gathered audience an
update on the ongoing debate
surrounding marijuana legislation
up in Albany.
Advocates were optimistic that
state legislators would make New
York the 12th state to legalize
recreational use of marijuana
this year, but their ambitious plan
fell through before the legislative
session ended in June.
The Cannabiz Collective hopes
to use its organizational resources
to ensure that pioneers of color can
capitalize on the potential fi nancial
windfall from the medical — and
possibly recreational — marijuana
industry.
Standing O salutes the
Brooklyn Cannabiz Collective,
and the night’s big winners, on the
successful ceremony!
— Aidan Graham
DOWNTOWN
CPEX Real Estate, a commercial
brokerage fi rm based in
Downtown Brooklyn, will join
together with an international
fi rm called SVN, which acquired
50 percent of the Brooklyn
company in June.
The partnership will allow
the small brokerage to grow
exponentially and better serve
Brooklynites, according to the its
executive.
“For our clients, it’s a chance
to cast a wider net — to offer
their properties to a larger pool of
customers,” said Timothy King,
who has run CPEX since 2008. King
added that SVN’s 200 offi ces across
the country will allow the boutique
fi rm to access more resources and
a larger client base.
King, who was born and raised
in Canarsie, has worked in real
estate brokerage for 40 years. In
2008, he co-founded CPEX, which
aimed to redefi ne commercial
brokerage by “applying the
investment banking operating
platform to the commercial real
estate middle market,” according
to the fi rm’s website.
The brokerage company sells
large commercial properties —
like Liberty Plaza in Sunset
Park — as well as mom ’n’ pop
stores, and it quickly gained
a foothold in the industry: In
2015, Forum Magazine named
CPEX one of the fastest growing
companies in the country.
Some of the fi rm’s most recent
projects include brokering a
$280 million ground lease of an
industrial site in Red Hook,
and a $19.8 million purchase of
two lots in Greenwood Heights,
Commercial Observer reported.
For King, the partnership
with SVN marks an important
step for the company.
“It’s an exciting time,” he said.
Although the merger will change
aspects of his brokerage fi rm,
which will become a franchisee
of SVN and will be renamed
“SVN | CPEX,” King plans to
preserve his company’s intimate
connection to the borough.
“We can now offer all the
options of a large agency while
working at a local level,” King
said.
— Rose Adams
SMILES: Leadership of the Brooklyn Cannabiz Collective poses with the night’s
awardees at the fi rst Trailblazers Awards ceremony on June 27. Linda Lou
Cannabiz Collective honors
people of color in the industry