Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

Five woman-owned businesses in Oneida, Herkimer counties each win $5K in grant funding
ROME, N.Y. — Five woman-owned businesses in Herkimer and Oneida Counties were each awarded $5,000 to support the growth and development of their businesses. The

Ithaca startup REEgen wins $150K in FuzeHub competition
ITHACA, N.Y. — REEgen, a biomining startup based in Ithaca, has won the grand prize of $150,000 in FuzeHub’s 2025 commercialization competition. The contest was held as part of the New York State Innovation Summit in Rochester in late October. FuzeHub is an Albany–based nonprofit that is focused on empowering small and medium-sized manufacturing and

Gains in new orders, shipments propel N.Y. manufacturing index to highest mark in a year
Respondents to the monthly Empire State Manufacturing Survey indicated gains in both new orders and shipments, and the survey’s general-business conditions index rose 8 points to 18.7 in November. The reading represented its highest since November 2024, and the fourth positive index number in the past five months. The index had climbed 19 points to

New Drakos Urgent Care in Camillus starts seeing patients
CAMILLUS, N.Y. — The latest Drakos Urgent Care location in Camillus, which has been open for less than a month, is now seeing patients. It’s the company’s third area location providing urgent-care services. Drakos Urgent Care & Health Services in Camillus opened on Oct. 29, the company tells CNYBJ. It’s located at 5301 W Genesee

Seen Nutrition of Ithaca awarded $500,000 in Grow-NY competition
CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — Seen Nutrition of Ithaca won $500,000 in the seventh annual Grow-NY agribusiness competition held Nov. 12-13 in Canandaigua. Seen Nutrition is a food-tech startup in the menopause market, initially focused on bone health, with a patented dietary calcium chew made with dairy produced in Central New York, as described in the Nov.

Solvay Bank names branch manager for upcoming East Syracuse–area branch
DeWITT, N.Y. — Briana Fox will serve as AVP, branch manager for Solvay Bank’s upcoming East Syracuse–area location at the Wegmans plaza on James Street in the town of DeWitt. It will be the 10th branch for Solvay Bank, the oldest community bank established in Onondaga County, per the Nov. 6 announcement. Fox joined Solvay
Oneida County hotel business benchmarks improve in October
UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County hotels posted an increase in a trio of key indicators of business performance in October. The hotel-occupancy rate (rooms sold
Onondaga County hotels see nearly 5 percent increase in occupancy
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County hotels hosted more guests in October, as two other key indicators of business performance also rose during the month. The

Community Financial System appoints Vaccaro as new independent director
DeWITT, N.Y. — Community Financial System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) announced it has appointed John A. Vaccaro to its board of directors as a new independent director, effective Oct. 1. Vaccaro is chairman emeritus of MML Investors Services, LLC, a national broker-dealer and registered investment advisor with more than $285 billion in assets under management, and

UTICA, N.Y. — The City of Utica is seeking state funding for downtown-improvement projects from two New York programs focusing on such projects. The city
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.