Hauppauge, NY The New York Real Estate Journal (NYREJ) sat down with Devin Kulka, CEO of The Kulka group, for a question and answer session about the launch of Kulka Interactive, a multimedia platform and the impact of COVID-19 on the construction industry.
Cardino, Jeff Bertuccio, Devin Kulka, and Mario
Valente at the grand opening of Amneal
Pharmaceuticals.
NYREJ: What is Kulka Interactive and why did you want to get into being a content publisher?
Kulka: This is a new website brimming with blogs and videos on topics including construction & real estate, business, technology and culture. Our contributors are professionals who are at the top of their game, including industry leaders such as Ray Caliendo, founding principal of Art-of-Form Architects; Dean DeCarlo, president of Mission Disrupt; Rich Humann, president and CEO of H2M Architects & Engineers; Sara Lipsky, executive director of Leukemia & Lymphoma Society; Joshua Rieger, partner of Rieger, LLP; Paul Tonna, executive director of Energia Partnership at Molloy College; and more. Each of them has amazing expertise in their area. We wanted to create a platform to share that expertise with people they might not come in contact with so we can widen the scope of knowledge across the region and beyond.
NYREJ: Why did launching a multimedia website make sense for you?
Kulka: In the “Age of Tech,” we feel leveraging media to connect with our stakeholders and the local community is the name of the game. Social media is noisy, and some people may not see it. Creating a library of content that brings all of our collaborators together in one place allows them to share their knowledge and connect people within our network to each other.
NYREJ: Do you have a vision of success for Kulka Interactive?
Kulka: Sharing knowledge with no expectation of actually doing business together ends up being the ultimate business builder. And the reaction right out of the gate is more than we had hoped for, with lots of people emailing congratulations and posting all the great content we have there.
NYREJ: How was it stepping in front of the camera for your show, “Breaking Ground?”
Kulka: Being a show host was a little nerve wracking at first, but it has become easier the more I have done it. I just focus on having conversations with people I know and respect and it makes the show fly by. It’s become a lot of fun.
Kulka, Frank Bonacci and Tony Leteri at a celebration
for Jack Kulka
NYREJ: How has COVID-19 impacted this launch and The Kulka Group’s construction business?
Kulka: There’s no question COVID-19 has presented a set of unique challenges that we had to overcome. Some of our job sites were forced to shut. Others, like a firehouse in Rocky Point we are building, kept going because it was considered essential. Now we’re back to work on all our jobs, including our signature project on Motor Parkway, a mixed-use building in the Hauppauge Industrial Park. It’s sited right off the Long Island Expressway and will serve as the new entrance to the park once it is completed. In our 46-year history, we’ve built more than 22 million s/f of commercial space and have completed more than 500 ground-up buildings. We provide pre-construction and planning services, procurement and cost management, design and coordination and closeout services. We wrap our arms around every project we touch because each one is a tangible example of who we are and what we do and will be there for decades. We plan to keep on building.
NYREJ: Will COVID-19 have a long-term negative effect on the construction business?
Kulka: COVID-19 was an enormous curveball but we adapted and handled it well. The long-term effects for the next few years are yet to be seen. But behind every downturn lies an opportunity and we believe that the more you give back, the more you get. We delivered food and supplies to our local hospitals throughout the pandemic lockdown because it was the right thing to do. We’ve always run The Kulka Group that way and will continue to do so.
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