16 The Queens Courier • FEBRUARY 20, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com NOT SO SWET MADELAINE CHOCOLATE UP FOR SALE BY MAGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com/@magghayes The beloved Madelaine Chocolate factory is up for sale, following a brief comeback after Sandy. The Rockaway Beach sweet spot suffered over $50 million in structural damages and loss of sales after the superstorm and was forced to shut down for about a year. They partially reopened in October 2013, but as of last week, the facility is on the market, said co-owner Jorge Farber. “Considering the extent of the damage, there was only so much we have been able to do,” Farber said. “We are sitting on a 200,000-square-foot facility and only utilizing 50 percent of it.” Madelaine Chocolate officials listed the site with real estate firm CBRE for an undisclosed amount of money. Interested buyers have the option of taking over the unused half or the entire four-building complex. “There are all kinds of options we need to explore,” Farber said. “We’re going to relocate only if we can sell it. It’s a long, long process.” The organization does not yet have a relocation space in mind, but one thing is for sure -- their chocolates are here to stay. “Our customer base has remained intact considering we were out for a year,” Farber said. “I’m just sitting on excess real estate.” After Sandy, Madelaine Chocolate received a $250,000 grant from National Grid and $6.9 million from Empire State Development to retain its 315 employees. The Small Business Association also loaned the company close to $13 million. They were able to rehire 120 people and partially operate on four of the 14 lines. But despite assistance, the complex at the foot of the Cross Bay Bridge is on the market. Before the storm, it was one of the biggest local employers in the region and had 315 full-time employees. “The Madelaine Chocolate Company is not only a community gem, but has been one of the largest employers and supporters of our community for decades,” said Assemblymember Phillip Goldfeder after the reopening. At its peak, the 65-year-old chocolatier group produced 20 million pounds of chocolate annually and garnered $40 million in total sales. Its eight kitchens produced about 100,000 pounds of chocolate a day. CRYSTAL SHUTS DOOR ON RUMORS WINDOW COMPANY NOT MOVING FROM QUEENS BY MELISA CHAN mchan@queenscourier.com @MelissaCourier The head of the city’s largest window manufacturer is refuting claims the Queens plant will hightail it out of the Big Apple. “Crystal Window and Door Systems is not moving,” CEO Steve Chen said. “The company’s headquarters and main production facility in the College Point Corporate Park in Queens will remain where it is for the foreseeable future.” A news report, in a headline Wednesday, said the glass company was “moving due to city’s high costs.” To clarify, Crystal officials said the 31-10 Whitestone Expressway facility would stay the same, but they are considering expanding in Westchester. “We already have other facilities in Chicago, California and even Missouri. We are just expanding,” said Steven Yu, the company’s marketing manager. “We are looking to add another plant.” Chen said the company has explored expansion out of state, in the city and in other parts of Queens, but has not yet secured the right industrial site “at a cost effective price.” “All of these expansion initiatives were intended to increase Crystal’s production capacity and have never been intended to THE COURIER/File photo Crystal Window and Door Systems will stay in College Point, officials said. replace the Queens facility,” the Crystal boss said. The report also tied Chen’s decision not to expand in the city to Mayor Bill de Blasio’s efforts to increase the minimum wage and mandate paid sick-leave benefits. But Yu said the company’s 380 employees all already earn above the proposed new minimum wage. “Somehow the story got twisted,” he said. st of the 2013 THE QUEENS QueensCourier.com Place
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