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Bohemia, NY P.W. Grosser Consulting, Inc. (PWGC) has hired William Henfling, as a staff engineer. He will assist PWGC’s engineering division. He will be based at PWGC’s newly expanded Bohemia base of operations where he will enhance the development of PWGC’s engineering efforts related to civil/site and water resources. “I am extremely excited to join PWGC,” said Henfling. “I look forward to making a positive contribution to the team and learning from the experienced staff. I am prepared to face the new challenges that come with the variety of environmental services PWGC provides.”  

Garden City, NY Janover LLC has promoted two senior managers, Mary Beth Vetter, CPA and Tammy Daitch, CPA to principals, effective January 1st. Vette began her career at KPMG in the audit practice. She then joined Schoenfeld, Mendelsohn, Goldfarb (SMG) in Woodbury, where she worked for 20 years. In 2013, she joined Janover when SMG merged with Janover. She received her BS in Accounting from St. John’s University. She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the New York State Society of CPAs.

Melville, NY Bullard Law Group (BLG) has welcomed Jeanine Segall as the firm’s marketing and operations director and Matthew Baldassano as an associate attorney.  Prior to BLG, Segall was the COO of Perception Media Group, an integrated marketing company that offered cross-media marketing. She is a veteran of both the legal and marketing profession. As marketing and operations director, she will be serving as the brand visionary and assuming the responsibility of their growth strategy. 

Mineola, NY If you think a regional bank can’t attract millennials and other tech-savvy people to its workforce, think again. Hanover Community Bank’s workforce has grown by 75% percent in the year since it reinvented its headquarters with a new workplace concept. The bank’s headquarters design embodies president and CEO Michael Puorro’s vision of the company as “a different kind of bank.” That difference is obvious in JRS Architect, P.C.’s top-to-bottom design. It integrates technology throughout the workspace to promote collaboration both within and beyond the building’s walls. The re-do includes amenities – such as a fitness center, multiple common areas, and multi-purpose video equipment throughout the workplace – typical of a forward-thinking corporate headquarters. The open-plan design and inviting, airy feel represent a cultural shift in an industry known for its traditional, somber workspaces.

In this quarterly series, we examine Long Island towns exploring facts and demographics, real estate happenings, and recent or new changes. Located in the town of Babylon, Babylon Village in Suffolk County, New York is a 2.8 square mile area, which is home to over 12,500 people and 4,700 households, as of the 2010 census. While the median age is 43, the village’s population is spread out with 5.3% under the age of five, 22.5% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 20-24, 25.7% from 25-44, 31.6% from 45-64, and 12.1% who were 65 years or older. The median family income in Babylon Village is $127,407 with a median property value of $440,400.  The home-ownership rate was 78.2% and 15.3% of housing units were in multi-unit structures. 

Batavia, NY Lori Tirado, managing director of Largo Hospitality Finance Group, secured $17.4 million in hotel financing for six hotels in four states. 

Rochester, NY According to SWBR, architects Michael Brown, AIA, and David Phelps, AIA, are now certified code enforcement officers. 

I am writing this as we prepare for the Board of Governors meeting on February 13th, 2019 at the Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Albany. This meeting is scheduled in conjunction with…

Talk of Opportunity Zones (OZs) is omnipresent throughout the commercial real estate community, especially in Upstate New York. The federal program, which was officially launched in 2017, encourages economic development in…

Rochester, NY The Upstate New York Chapter of the Appraisal Institute will have an active education calendar for real estate appraisers again in 2019 for continuing education(CE) with seven seminars.

Perinton, NY Empire Commercial Construction, a retail-specific division of regional general contractor Taylor-The Builders, recently completed construction of Pediatric Urgent Care of Rochester.

Cazenovia, NY According to Cushman & Wakefield | Pyramid Brokerage Co., (C&W|Pyramid) the firm has completed the following transactions, including the $1.65 million sale of 222 Teall Ave.

Syracuse, NY According to Michael Finn, managing partner of CBRE|Syracuse, the firm has completed the following transactions:

Manhattan, NY Meridian Investment Sales, the commercial property sales division of Meridian Capital Group, sold a retail condominium in the Lower East Side for $6.5 million. Senior executive managing director, David Schechtman, and managing directors, Abie Kassin and Lipa Lieberman, represented the seller and procured the buyer.

In preparing this article, I reference two previous New York Real Estate Journal articles dating back to December 2010 and March 2012, which in certain instances reflect where market conditions are heading in 2019. Question, “is the glass half empty or half full?” The start of 2019 and end of 2018 highlighted volatility in the socio-political arena, economic, financial and equity markets, trade war deficits, fluctuating oil prices, Fed rate hikes, Sovereign stability “deal or no deal” – EUC and Brexit, along with an aging population all point to lower forecasts in most sectors for 2019.

Real estate investors and developers have been flocking to opportunity zone funds to take advantage of the best kept secret within the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: the Investing in Opportunity Act. By re-investing capital gains into a certified “Opportunity Zone,” to revitalize distressed communities and create jobs, investors have the ability to defer tax, or exclude part or all of the tax on the capital gain invested, as well as the gain earned on their investment. The investment can be passive or active. 

As you close the books on 2018, consider what an interesting year it has been. Our President never ceased to amaze us. There were ongoing confrontations with both houses of Congress. Further, the raising of tariffs placed companies, which depend on importing goods from China, in extremely challenging positions on their heels while they tried to determine their next move. Mr. Trump’s persistent negotiating skills, however, do seem to be working and I believe these tariffs will become a thing of the past. 

It is extremely important for an owner to incorporate specific termination provisions in order to protect it from non-performing or under-performing contractors. Without these provisions, an owner may find itself on the defensive and at greater risk when the contractor claims that the termination was wrongful. And, if the owner cannot prove that the termination was proper, it may find itself having to pay the contractor lost profits in addition to sums claimed to be owed for work performed.

Great Neck, NY With 500 locations throughout France, Marie Blachère, a French bakery, is making its way to the U.S. with its first location at 550 Middle Neck Rd.  The two-floor bakery is 6,000 s/f and will accommodate 40 seats on the first level. The location will also feature rooftop dining beginning next spring that will offer an additional 40 seats.