Crains New York - February 4, 2013 - (Page 3)
IN THE
BOROUGHS
QUEENS
‘Made in USA’ sees an uptick
Big project
is missing
in Flushing
Apparel-making
picks up (slightly) in
NYC as trends favor
city manufacturers
BY ADRIANNE PASQUARELLI
8 years after plans
unveiled, still no sign
of actual progress
LOCAL TIES:
Paulette Garafalo of
Brooks Brothers,
which manufactures
neckwear at a factory
in Long Island City
BY CHRIS BRAGG
buck ennis
See MADE on Page 22
Borough chambers unite
to speak for the little guys
Nonprofit hopes to
be a Partnership for
NYC-type group for
small businesses
BY CHRIS BRAGG
Tired of depending on deeppocketed big-business interests to
fund their legislative fights, New
York City’s small business leaders are
looking to strike out on their own.
The heads of New York City’s
five borough chambers of commerce met on Feb. 1 to plot the formation of a new, issue-based advocacy group that they hope will be the
small business equivalent of the
Partnership for New York City.
“Some people think the Partnership is the voice of business, but
they’re a large Manhattan organiza-
tion,” said Queens Chamber of
Commerce President Jack Friedman. “We want to speak for small
mom-and-pops.”
The nonprofit will be the 501(c)4
arm of the Five Borough Chamber
The agenda is
likely to include
opposition to
paid sick leave
Alliance, which was formed in 2009
to fight against a union-backed push
for mandated paid-sick-leave legislation. Its lobbying may include
everything from running advertisements to holding 2013 mayoral fo-
rums pinning down pledges from
candidates on particular small business issues, Mr. Friedman said.
It will be administered by the
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce,
according to Mr. Friedman, and will
push issues of common interest
among the five borough chambers’
members. The agenda is likely to include opposition to paid sick leave, as
well as regulatory reform and small
businesses’ budget priorities in the
city budget. But the group won’t
touch issues of potential disagreement,such as congestion pricing,and
does not plan to make endorsements.
“Over the past two or three years,
we’ve been getting much more organized, and a 501(c)4 will allow us
to use money to advocate on issues,
and for voter education on businessfriendly issues,” Mr. Friedman said.
It remains uncertain whether local small businesses will have the fi-
For almost a decade, small business
owners and others have been bracing for a huge development project
slated to rise in Queens’busiest business district: downtown Flushing.
Fat chance. To date, no groundbreaking has occurred—or even
been scheduled—for the $825 million Flushing Commons project.
“It’s like this comet that we were
told was coming,” said Ikhwan Rim,
a third-generation jewelry-store
owner in the neighborhood. “It
never came.”
Civic leaders, local lobbyists and
even elected officials all admit they
still have no idea what is going on
with the housing, retail and office
project. Marilyn Bitterman, district
manager for Community Board 7 in
Flushing, said she recently ran into
one of the developers and was told an
announcement on the groundbreaking was coming soon—though she
has been told the same thing before.
In 2005, Flushing-based TDC
Development, backed by the bluechip Rockefeller Group, won the
rights to knock down a five-acre
See BIG on Page 18
STATS AND THE CITY
BLACKBERRY IS BACK, MAYBE? Once-ubiquitous BlackBerry is angling
for a comeback with a revamped smartphone, the BlackBerry10.
4.6% global smartphone 1,601 in
POLE-TOP installations
BLACKBERRY’S
market share, down from 19.9% in
2009. Apple holds about 19%.
$2.35B and its
BOOK VALUE of BlackBerry
info-tech division, as of December
2012, with 77 million subscribers
45.5% share of the
SMARTPHONES’
cellphone market
NYC, which enhance cell
service and generate
$2.2M in annual revenue
for the city
153.7K
NYC SUMMONSES
issued for driving while
using a cellphone in FY
2012, down 19% from
FY 2008
Sources: IDC, Research in Motion Ltd.,
NYC Dept. of Information Technology &
Telecommunications, Mayor’s Office
istockphoto
Manufacturing clothes in the garment center might seem like a step
back in time—but it’s actually forward growth for Ricky Schiffer. In
December, the third-generation
sweater maker, with his business
partner, Leonard Keff, opened a
7,500-square-foot knitting factory
on West 36th Street.
“We are just the first of many to
come,” said Mr. Schiffer, who has
committed $2.6 million to the project. “We’ll keep growing.”
The Made in USA movement is
gaining steam, as retailers from
Brooks Brothers to Walmart push to
manufacture their wares in the
United States to appeal to patriotic
consumers and avoid costly overproduction as overseas labor and
shipping costs rise. Surprisingly, the
trend is playing out on a smaller
scale in the city.
For an area that has seen apparelmaking plummet—last year, on average, there were 14,900 apparel
manufacturing workers in New
York City, and two decades ago,
there were more than 80,000, according to the New York State Department of Labor—new factories
are welcome additions.
Mr. Schiffer’s factory, Keff NYC,
has eight knitting machines (each
costs $100,000), and he has ordered
a dozen more. Though the company is currently making samples, Mr.
ADDICTED TO NUMBERS? GET A DAILY DOSE AT @STATSANDTHECITY
See CHAMBERS on Page 22
February 4, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 3
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - February 4, 2013
THE INSIDER
ALAIR TOWNSEND
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
GREG DAVID
DIGITAL NY
SMALL BUSINESS
REPORT: HEALTH CARE
THE LIST
CLASSIFIEDS
REAL ESTATE DEALS
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS
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