28 The Queens Courier • FEBRUARY 27, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com TD Bank takes ‘pulse’ of boro biz BY LIAM LA GUERRE Care Act. [email protected]/ @liamlaguerre Nearly half of all businesses in Queens, 44 percent, expect revenue growth this year. However, 61 percent A recently released survey from TD Bank suggested of owners said they will maintain current staffing levels. small businesses in Queens are optimistic about 2014, “What this indicates is that they are not expecting but job growth will be stagnant. contraction,” said Peter Meyer, New York City market The poll, TD’s inaugural Small Business Pulse Check, president for TD Bank. “They’re looking to be more surveyed 100 businesses — each making less than $5 efficient. I think that reflects an overall cautious view.” million a year in revenue — in each borough between In Queens, only 8 percent of businesses have applied November and December of 2013. It highlighted the for a loan or a line of credit, and only 6 percent say that businesses’ outlook for the year, the impact of the they are planning to within the next 12 months. sluggish U.S. economy and opinions on the Affordable Meyer said this shows businesses are comfortable, but are not willing to take on debt in order to finance further growth. Most businesses believed the country’s economy contributed to a decrease in consumer spending. On the question of the Affordable Care Act, 52 percent of businesses in the borough said health care reform will have no impact on their businesses. “Maybe they’re not actually focused on it,” Meyer said. “Obviously they are concerned about the rising cost of it. But I’m kind of surprised that a majority don’t see it having a negative impact on their business.” Funding in question for Industrial Business Zones BY LIAM LA GUERRE [email protected] @liamlaguerre Ted Renz is hoping what he fought so hard for won’t soon end. Just last November, Renz, director of the Ridgewood Local Development Corporation, was at the forefront of the fight to get the neighborhood included in the Industrial Business Zone (IBZ) program. But now, only three months later, the IBZ may be in jeopardy, as Mayor Bill de Blasio didn’t include $1.1 million in funding in his preliminary budget for the program, an initiative left over from the previous administration to save manufacturing jobs. “We are disappointed that it wasn’t in the mayor’s budget,” Renz said. “We thought that he was a big supporter of manufacturing jobs. We hope that it will be reinstated (in his final budget).” IBZs were created to stabilize industrial areas and spur growth in the manufacturing sector by offering tax credits of up to $1,000 per employee for businesses that relocated to them, and additional services to help companies grow. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg allocated nearly $4 million to 16 IBZs in 2006. However, since its inception, funding decreased to about $1.1 million in 2013. Bloomberg himself hasn’t allocated money to the initiative since 2010, but the city council has restored it every year, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The move could mean de Blasio, who supported manufacturing jobs during his campaign, will engage a different strategy to assist the sector, although his administration has not come up with any specifics. “The de Blasio administration is committed to making smart, impactful investments that will help industrial business thrive in New York City, and is working with our agency partners to take a fresh look at the suite of programs that support this critical part of the city economy,” a spokesperson for the mayor said. “Spending differences in one program do not speak to the overall commitment to industrial firms and their jobs.” Despite the decline in funding over the years, the program has grown to 21 IBZs, including Ridgewood and Woodside last year. Community Board (CB) 5 especially pushed for the Ridgewood IBZ against opponents, which are owners who wanted to use their properties for residential use instead of industrial. “It enables us to promote businesses more in that area and advocate for businesses, and provide programs for manufacturing,” said Renz, who is a member of CB 5. And it just might. In March, the city council will review the preliminary budget, and some are touting the IBZ’s signficance. “I am committed to restore it,” Councilmember Elizabeth Crowley said. “I know it is important not just to Maspeth and Ridgewood, but the rest of the city. It is something that the council treasures.” Industrial Business Zones, such as this region in Maspeth, may not receive funding from the city unless the city council restores it. THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre THE COURIER/Photo by Angy Altamirano A $5,000 check from CenterLight Health System was presented to the Queens Jewish Community Council for their Meals on Wheels program called “Project Chaim.” Donation will help keep seniors nourished BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 Kosher Meals on Wheels will keep on rolling for a group of elderly men and women across the borough thanks to a generous donation. The Queens Jewish Community Council (QJCC) accepted a $5,000 check from CenterLight Health System for their Meals on Wheels program called “Project Chaim.” Michael Fassler, president and CEO of CenterLight Health System, presented the donation on Friday, February 21, at the Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, located at 164- 11 Chapin Parkway in Jamaica Hills. “This is a necessary thing because these people in the community need the services and there’s no one else to take care of them, so we jumped in,” Fassler said. The donation will allow QJCC to continue offering four kosher frozen meals per week to a group of 140 homebound senior citizens, with an average age of 91, all through the borough of Queens. “This will keep our meals until Passover and I hope others will step up to the plate and realize the importance of what this is,” said Cynthia Zalisky, executive director of QJCC. “These people depend on the meals to sustain them; they’re living on fixed income. If we don’t provide these meals there is definitely a threat for them to be hungry and definitely have malnutrition.” “Project Chaim” began in 2011 and was originally funded by benefactors and philanthropists, but with the economic downfall it began to lose funds. Although the program faced termination, Zalisky said they decided morally to continue pushing forward. “Every month is a struggle and every month is an issue but we will continue as long as we are physically, fiscally able to be able to do it. We won’t let these people down,” Zalisky said. Donations to “Project Chaim” can be made online at www.qjcc.org/support or at 119-45 Union Turnpike in Forest Hills.
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