LGS launches ROI of Civic Engagement training program

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DeWITT — Leadership Greater Syracuse (LGS), a nonprofit that offers a yearlong civic-leadership training program, recently announced it has added a new, customized consulting session for business-leadership teams. The new program, called ROI of Civic Engagement, is a three-hour session for area business leaders to help them navigate and prioritize their community involvement. LGS says […]

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Casino magnate with Utica roots donates $50M to the MVHS downtown hospital

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Regional News, Subscriber Only

UTICA, N.Y. — The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) will use a $50 million donation from the family foundation of casino magnate Steve Wynn for services at the upcoming downtown hospital in Utica. It represents the largest donation in the history of MVHS, per its March 4 announcement. In recognition of the Wynn family’s contribution,

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UTICA, N.Y. — The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) will use a $50 million donation from the family foundation of casino magnate Steve Wynn for services at the upcoming downtown hospital in Utica.

It represents the largest donation in the history of MVHS, per its March 4 announcement.

In recognition of the Wynn family’s contribution, the regional medical center will be named the Wynn Hospital of the Mohawk Valley Health System.

The donation will directly support services for the new regional medical center in downtown Utica and allow MVHS to invest in “innovation, technology and services beyond what was originally possible.”

“This is an incredibly generous gift — one that will make an impact on thousands upon thousands of Mohawk Valley residents each year,” Darlene Stromstad, president and CEO of MVHS, said in a release. “The funds will elevate the Wynn Hospital to greater heights and result in important service enhancements and lifesaving outcomes. I can’t thank the Wynn family enough for making this level of investment in the region, its people, its local families and its crucially important healthcare. This gift will have a lasting legacy on the Mohawk Valley.”

It was the intention of the Wynn family to leave a “lasting legacy of state-of-the-art health care” on the community where it all started for Steve Wynn, MVHS said.

MVHS and the Wynn Family Foundation plan to unveil branding for the new Wynn Hospital “in early-to-mid 2021.” MVHS expects the hospital to open in 2023.

“Our family has deep roots in Utica,” Steve Wynn said in the release. “I have everlasting and fond memories of my childhood in the community, which provided a strong foundation for the rest of my life. This is my way of thanking the community and recognizing my parents.”

The Wynns are frequent visitors to the Mohawk Valley of New York.

Wynn added that “MVHS has a bold plan for the Wynn Hospital — a plan that we believe in. We are proud to make this gift to advance the project even further and help ensure better health outcomes and an enhanced quality of life for the community.”

New York manufacturing index rises in March to highest level since last summer

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The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index climbed 5.3 points in March to 17.4, “its highest level since July of last year.” It’s the second straight strong month for the index, a monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector, which rose 9 points in February to 12.1. The March reading — based on firms responding

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The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index climbed 5.3 points in March to 17.4, “its highest level since July of last year.”

It’s the second straight strong month for the index, a monthly gauge of New York’s manufacturing sector, which rose 9 points in February to 12.1.

The March reading — based on firms responding to the survey — indicates business activity “grew at a solid clip” in New York, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its March 15 report.

A positive number indicates expansion or growth in manufacturing activity, while a negative index reading points to a decline in the sector.

The latest survey found 34 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 17 percent said that conditions had worsened, the New York Fed said.

Survey details

The new-orders index was little changed at 9.1, indicating that orders increased, and the shipments index “shot up” 17 points to 21.1, its highest level since before the pandemic, the New York Fed said.

Delivery times again rose at the “fastest pace in a year,” and inventories edged higher.

The index for number of employees was little changed at 9.4, indicating “ongoing modest” gains in employment, and the average-workweek index inched up to 10.9, “signaling an increase in hours worked.”

The prices-paid index rose 7 points to 64.4, again reaching its highest level in a decade, pointing to “sharp” input-price increases. The prices-received index was little changed from the prior month’s two-year high, pointing to ongoing selling price increases.

The index for future business conditions was fairly flat at 36.4, but still suggested that firms “remained optimistic” about future conditions.

The index for future shipments bounced up to 46.5. The index for future inventories rose to a multi-year high, and both the future prices-paid and prices-received indexes continued to “march upward,” the New York Fed said.

The index for future employment rose to its highest level in over 10 years, suggesting that manufacturers “widely expect” to increase employment in the months ahead. The capital-expenditures index came in at 26.8, and the technology-spending index was 20.1.

The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.

Nascentia Health plans to convert Beeches property in Rome to senior housing

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Regional News, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

ROME — With its acquisition of the Beeches property in Rome, Syracuse–based Nascentia Health has plans for a mixed-use development that will include independent and supportive-housing options for seniors. Nascentia expects to close on its purchase of the more than 50-acre property in mid-April, per a March 9 news release. The organization did not release

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Nascentia expects to close on its purchase of the more than 50-acre property in mid-April, per a March 9 news release. The organization did not release the price or any financial terms of its purchase agreement.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Nascentia Health to adapt this beautiful and historic estate for the future in a meaningful way that exemplifies the importance of the Beeches and the Destito family to the Rome community,” Kate Rolf, CEO of Nascentia Health, said. “Our renovation plans will bring needed jobs and resources to the area. We’re looking forward to partnering with our Rome neighbors to plan and deliver a new community resource.”

Nascentia Health is a home and community-based health-care system with operations in 48 upstate New York counties.

The Destito family owned and operated the Beeches since 1949. The family wanted to ensure that the parcels would not be broken up or used in a way that would not benefit the community, so Nascentia Health’s plan to create a “community-focused,” mixed-use development was a “perfect fit for the vision” that the family had for the site.

The Destito family — Frank, Dominick, and Orrie — who were 3rd generation owners of the property, noted that “we explored [many] options and proposals for the reuse of this iconic property, hoping to find one that would have the resources and vision to keep it in its entirety, develop something that would benefit the community, and keep its history and beauty intact. It was with Nascentia we found this great combination.”

The Beeches Restaurant and Conference Center and the Inn at The Beeches — which closed at the end of 2018 — had a “long history in the Rome community as a premier venue for conferences and events,” Nascentia said.

Existing business tenants will be unaffected by the sale and will continue to maintain their leases.

The property conversion will focus on re-purposing the existing inn building as well as other parts of the campus, to a “true community” for seniors to “age in place,” allowing them to continue to live independently with support from a range of health-care professionals.

The conference center will be updated as communal space and will once again be available for holding private meetings and venues, Nascentia Health said. The organization expects the project to bring “valuable” health-care jobs to the area, including positions for nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and home-health aides.

“We applaud Nascentia Health for their forward-thinking investment to both preserve and enhance a community asset with their purchase of the Beeches complex,” Steven DiMeo, president of Mohawk Valley EDGE, said in the release. “This mixed-use senior-housing project will bring a much-needed new housing product to the marketplace to serve a population that is desperately in need of more options. The economic impact of this investment will be seen both by the adaptive reuse of a historic community property as well as new jobs. We look forward to seeing this project take shape and welcome Nascentia Health to the community.”

Lobby of Syracuse Fire Department Employees FCU reopens after renovation

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — The lobby of the Syracuse Fire Department Employees Federal Credit Union has reopened following renovation work that started in June 2020. The lobby reopened March 8. It had been closed since March 2020 “due to COVID-19,” the credit union said in a March 4 news release. The Syracuse Fire Credit Union is located

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Part-time TSA jobs available at Syracuse airport

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SYRACUSE — The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it has about 25 positions available between Syracuse Hancock International Airport and the airports that service Buffalo and Albany. The agency hopes to fill the jobs “within the next few months,” and most of the openings are for part-time employees, the TSA said in a March 12

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Most CNY jobless rates still higher in January than a year prior

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Even as the jobs picture has improved since the worst of the pandemic’s financial effects, unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira regions remained higher in January compared to January 2020, one of the final two months before the public-health crisis exploded. Bucking the trend was the Watertown–Fort Drum area, which posted a lower

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Bucking the trend was the Watertown–Fort Drum area, which posted a lower jobless rate in January than in the same month in 2020.

The figures were part of the New York State Department of Labor data for January that was released on March 16. The department was set to issue the February jobless figures on March 30.

Regional unemployment rates

The unemployment rate in the Syracuse metro area stood at 7.2 percent this January, up from 4.8 percent in January 2020.

The Utica–Rome region’s January rate hit 7.6 percent, up from 5 percent a year ago; the Binghamton metro area’s number was 7.3 percent, up from 5.5 percent; the Ithaca region’s rate rose to 5.3 percent from 3.7 percent; and the Elmira area posted 7.3 percent in January, up from 4.7 percent in the same month a year ago. In contrast, the Watertown–Fort Drum region’s jobless rate dipped to 7.1 percent in January from 7.3 percent in the year-prior month.

The local-unemployment data isn’t seasonally adjusted, meaning the figures don’t reflect seasonal influences such as holiday hires. The unemployment rates are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the state Labor Department said.

State unemployment rate

New York’s statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.8 percent in January, up from 8.7 percent in December and much higher than the 3.8 percent figure the state posted in January 2020, before the pandemic hit.

The 8.8 percent unemployment rate was also significantly higher than the U.S. jobless rate of 6.3 percent this January.

The federal government calculates New York’s unemployment rate partly based upon the results of a monthly telephone survey of 3,100 state households that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics conducts.

NYS awards $31.5 million for farmland-protection projects

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ALBANY — New York State recently announced more than $31.5 million in grants awarded to the state’s agricultural industry through the Farmland Protection Implementation Grants (FPIG) program. The money will go to projects to protect a total of 15,600 acres on 22 New York dairy farms and eight non-dairy farms, “helping to keep valuable farmland

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ALBANY — New York State recently announced more than $31.5 million in grants awarded to the state’s agricultural industry through the Farmland Protection Implementation Grants (FPIG) program.

The money will go to projects to protect a total of 15,600 acres on 22 New York dairy farms and eight non-dairy farms, “helping to keep valuable farmland in production, encourage diversification, and ensure the long-term viability of New York’s farming operations,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said in a March 5 news release.

Since 2018, New York State has made available more than $117 million in funding for farmland protection statewide.

More than $20.9 million will support conservation-easement projects on 22 New York dairy farms through the FPIG Dairy Transitions Farmland Protection Initiative. The state says this funding is necessary because “dairy farmers continue to face challenges from prolonged low milk prices, increasing the threat that viable agricultural land may be converted to non-farm development.”

Proceeds from the purchase of development rights on agricultural land will allow farmers an opportunity to diversify their operations or to transition their farms to the next generation at more affordable costs.

Projects in Central New York receiving funding include the following:

• The Southern Madison Heritage Trust — more than $825,000 to protect Rocky Top Acres, located in the town of Brookfield in Madison County

• The Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust — over $622,000 to protect North Gage and Red Line Farms, situated in the town of Deerfield in Oneida County

• The Tug Hill Tomorrow Land Trust — more than $1.63 million to protect Flat Rock Farms, located in the town of Denmark in Lewis County; and Jasdale Farm, which is in the town of Turin in Lewis County

About $5 million in funding for the Dairy Transitions Farmland Protection Initiative is still available. Awards will be made on a rolling basis until those funds are committed, the state says.

This is the second round of the program. More than $30.7 million was awarded in 2019 to 32 dairy farms, protecting 15,102 acres of farmland in round one.

More than $10.8 million in grants were made to support conservation-easement projects on eight New York farms outside of the dairy sector through the FPIG Farm Operations in Transition Farmland Protection Initiative. As with dairy farms, these agriculture operations are “vulnerable to many challenges facing the agricultural industry today, including trade disputes, changing consumer preferences, and climate change, increasing the threat that valuable agricultural land may be converted to non-farm development,” the state said.

The Central New York projects receiving money through this program include the following:

• Ghe New York Agricultural Land Trust — nearly $1.43 million to protect Kyle Farms, located in the town of Ira in Cayuga County

• The Finger Lakes Land Trust — almost $1.85 million to protect Jackson and Burns Farms, located in the town of Spafford in Onondaga County

Nearly $3 million in funding for the Farm Operations in Transition Farmland Protection Initiative is still available. Awards will be made on a rolling basis until those funds are committed, per the state.

Paragon Supply’s next generation takes the mantle of leadership

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Small Business, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Paragon Supply, Inc. — a local distributor of masonry, hardscape, and tile supplies for the commercial and residential markets — announced it has named Bill Kellish, president, and appointed his brother, Tim Kellish, as VP. Bill Kellish, who has served as Paragon’s general manager/VP since 2007 and worked at the company since graduating

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New state law allows employees time off for COVID-19 vaccinations

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Health Care, Subscriber Only

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on March 12 signed legislation granting public and private employees time off to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. “Our essential employees have been on the front lines of this pandemic since day one, and as we begin to work toward a new normal in a post-pandemic world, it is critical that

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