St. Luke’s campus reuse effort to hold concept plan meeting on Oct. 30

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UTICA, N.Y. — Reimagine St. Luke’s will hold a community workshop to review the concept plan for the reuse of the former St. Luke’s Healthcare

MVHS attains accreditation from American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer

Health Care, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

UTICA — Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) has recently received accreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (ACS CoC) Accreditation Program. The ACS CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for patients with cancer by setting and raising standards. Accreditation is granted to health-care

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Lockheed Martin Salina wins nearly $12M contract modification for Navy equipment

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

SALINA — The Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) plant in suburban Syracuse was recently awarded an almost $11.7 million modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option for U.S. Navy equipment. Work will be performed at Lockheed’s facility in the town of Salina (70 percent), and at its plant Oldsmar, Florida (30 percent).

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Black River Systems wins $16M U.S. Air Force tech contract

Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Technology

ROME — Black River Systems Co. Inc. was recently awarded a $16.3 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract from the U.S. Air Force for future architecture for national

Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital sees big benefit from new $10M Golisano gift

Health Care, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Rochester businessman Thomas Golisano provided the $6 million naming gift for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital before it opened in September 2009. Now, 15 years later, the hospital is again benefiting from his philanthropic activity with the announcement of a $10 million award. “We’re grateful to Tom Golisano and his caring heart and generosity

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SYRACUSE — Rochester businessman Thomas Golisano provided the $6 million naming gift for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital before it opened in September 2009.

Now, 15 years later, the hospital is again benefiting from his philanthropic activity with the announcement of a $10 million award.

“We’re grateful to Tom Golisano and his caring heart and generosity that has helped Upstate improve the lives of many children through our facilities and services that bear his name,” Dr. Mantosh Dewan, president of Upstate Medical University, said in a Sept. 19 statement from Upstate Medical University. “He has helped us transform medical care for children through this region and elsewhere. How fitting that this latest gift from Tom comes as we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the opening of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. On behalf of the children, their parents and our staff, thank you.”

The Syracuse facility is among 82 upstate nonprofit organizations that Golisano named as recipients of a total of
$360 million in funding. Golisano announced the funding awards on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship in Rochester.

Dr. Gregory Conners, executive director of Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, described the $10 million donation as “magical” for what it means for the hospital’s future.

“Tom has been with us every step of the way in our journey to provide the best care for our kids,” Conners, who also serves chair of pediatrics, said in the health system’s statement. “The Golisano name is synonymous with great pediatric care, and I cannot thank him enough for his support.”

Golisano — entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civic leader — is the founder of Paychex, Inc., the nation’s largest human-resource company for small to medium-sized businesses, providing human-capital management services for payroll, benefits, human resources, and insurance services for more than 745,000 clients in the U.S. and Europe.

Eileen Pezzi, VP for development at Upstate, added her appreciation.

“Tom’s beneficence is boundless,” Pezzi said in the Upstate announcement. “His yearslong investment in Upstate and the children of Central New York speaks volumes about his commitment to this region and its people. Tom cannot help but think big, as he wants to help so many. Thank you, Tom, for thinking big.”

Pezzi attended Golisano’s announcement in Rochester Sept. 17 with Upstate Foundation board chair Rita Reicher.

Besides the $10 million for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, the funding awards also included $5 million for the Hillside Family of Agencies; $5 million for Mercy Flight Central; $5 million for Mozaic (Arc of Seneca, Cayuga & Yates Counties); and $5 million for Springbrook of Oneonta, per the Sept. 17 announcement.

In addition, he awarded $52 million to the Golisano Foundation, which serves the Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, New York regions and Southwest Florida

The “unrestricted,” multiyear awards range from $250,000 to $20 million each, paid over four to five years, spanning health care, education, animal welfare, disability services, and other crucial community needs.

Re-Decor and More’s new location gives it room for growth

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Subscriber Only

NEW HARTFORD — Re-Decor and More is settling into a new location that gives the small business more space for both its retail side and its interior-design business. Owner Doreen Castronovo had always envisioned an artistic career growing up but ended up working for many years at the family restaurant — Castronovo’s Original Grimaldi’s Restaurant

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NEW HARTFORD — Re-Decor and More is settling into a new location that gives the small business more space for both its retail side and its interior-design business.

Owner Doreen Castronovo had always envisioned an artistic career growing up but ended up working for many years at the family restaurant — Castronovo’s Original Grimaldi’s Restaurant in Utica. When the eatery closed, she then went to work as a library assistant in the New Hartford Central School District.

Along the way, Castronovo decided to return to school to study interior design, graduating with her degree at age 50. She dabbled in interior design as a side hustle and decided in 2019, right before the pandemic hit, to make it a full-time gig.

Despite the pandemic shutdowns, she forged ahead with her plans, and in late 2020, opened what was supposed to be a holiday pop-up shop. The small shop featured home décor, gift items, and other merchandise — located in just over 600 square feet at 70 Genessee St. in the village of New Hartford. It was such a hit, Castronovo says, that the planned three months turned into years.

“The community loved it, and I loved it, and here I am,” she says. “It was nothing I’d ever dreamed I’d be doing, but I absolutely love it.”

These days, the specialty boutique still stocks décor and gift items, but has expanded into much more including clothing, jewelry, home goods, and even floral arrangements.

Things were getting cramped at the old location, so Castronovo began scouting for new options for Re-Decor and More last winter.

What she found was a former physical-therapy office in a shopping plaza on Kellogg Road in the town of New Hartford — situated less than 2 miles south of the business’s prior location. The plaza is also home to a Hannaford grocery store, Rite Aid drug store, a pizza place, and a liquor store.

“I built it out over the summer,” Castronovo says of the nearly 1,100-square-foot space. She worked with Against the Grain Construction and Mohawk Valley Granite on the project. Both businesses are ones she works with frequently on the interior design side of things.

The new space also gives Castronovo more room for that side of her business, providing both ample space to store sample materials and a welcoming place to meet with clients.

The new location also provides Re-Decor and More added space for more products on the retail side, including more housewares and gift items, she adds.

“There is kind of something for everyone,” she says of the store. “The new store allows me to have much more clothing. I even have homemade crocheted blankets that I make myself.” There is also a kids’ section featuring everything from clothing to toys.

To date, Castronovo runs both the retail and interior design operation on her own, but with business already picking up in the new location that may change soon. She is already seeing the benefit of foot traffic in the busy plaza.

“We’re completely booked until the middle of November,” she says of the interior design side.

Re-Decore and More, located at 54 Kellogg Road, is open Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Other hours are available by appointment, and hours may expand if Castronovo adds to her staff.

CNY regional jobless rates rise in August versus a year ago

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Subscriber Only

Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Utica–Rome, Watertown–Fort Drum, Binghamton, Ithaca, and Elmira areas all rose in August compared to a year ago, pointing to slowing labor markets across the broader 16-county Central New York region. The figures are part of the latest New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) data released on Sept. 24. Regional

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AZA renews Rosamond Gifford Zoo accreditation

Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has again renewed the accreditation for the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse. The zoo has been continuously accredited since 1987, the office of Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in the Sept. 30 announcement. “We are thrilled to once again receive AZA accreditation,” Ted Fox, executive

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SUNY Poly enrolls 150 students in ACE program

Education & Training, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

MARCY — SUNY Polytechnic Institute is one of 25 SUNY campuses statewide that opted into the Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) program that provides wraparound support to ensure academic success, retention, and on-time graduation. As of this fall, the university has enrolled 150 students in the program. The program, which helps Pell-eligible students, expanded to

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Syracuse, Ithaca firms to compete in FuzeHub contest

Small Business, Southern Tier, Subscriber Only, Technology

Commercialization competition set for Oct. 28-29 ALBANY — Twelve finalists, including a Syracuse company and two firms with operations in Ithaca, will compete in the annual FuzeHub commercialization competition near the end of the month in Syracuse. Triton Bio, Inc. of Syracuse, along with Anova Biomedical, Inc. and Parker Isaac

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Commercialization competition set for Oct. 28-29

ALBANY — Twelve finalists, including a Syracuse company and two firms with operations in Ithaca, will compete in the annual FuzeHub commercialization competition near the end of the month in Syracuse.

Triton Bio, Inc. of Syracuse, along with Anova Biomedical, Inc. and Parker Isaac Instruments d/b/a FormaPath, both with operations in Ithaca, are the regional finalists. Additional finalists are located in the New York City, the Capital Region, Long Island, and Mid-Hudson regions.

Albany–based FuzeHub is a nonprofit organization that supports small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York state.

The eighth annual commercialization competition — which is part of the upcoming New York State Innovation Summit — is set for Oct. 28-29 at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter in downtown Syracuse. It happens yearly as part of the Empire State Development (ESD)-supported FuzeHub Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund.

The finalists have the chance to win $50,000 by pitching their business plan before a panel of judges and a live audience. One firm will win the top funding award of $150,000.

“I would like to take a moment to celebrate our twelve outstanding finalists” Patty Rechberger, Innovation Fund manager for the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund at FuzeHub, said in the announcement. “It is a significant accomplishment to reach this stage. These companies have proven that they have what it takes to break through the noise and the tenacity required to turn their innovative ideas into reality. I cannot wait to work with them to get ready for their live pitches at the Summit.”

Regional finalists

The finalists include Triton Bio, Inc., which is working on scalable manufacturing of a “smart” incubator for automating microbial analysis. The firm’s website lists an address of 841 E. Fayette St. in Syracuse, which is Upstate Medical University’s Central New York Biotech Accelerator.

FuzeHub in its announcement said, Triton Bio is “building Mira, an incubator with AI computer vision to automate microbial analysis and supercharge research. Mira automatically captures images of samples (such as Petri dishes) over time. This will automate laborious tasks for microbiologists and give them unprecedented access to biological characteristics and activity. Real-life application examples are the identification of drug resistance characteristics, the study of the effects of preservatives on food shelf-life, and the effects of insecticides in real time.”

The finalists also include Anova Biomedical, Inc. of Ithaca, which says it is working on the first self-transforming, fully biodegradable vascular grafts.

The project description in the FuzeHub announcement says, “As part of their treatment, some dialysis patients must undergo surgery to create ‘vascular access.’ Current vascular access grafts are made of porous Teflon, the same material used in non-stick pan s, and they perform terribly. Anova Biomedical is making a new form of vascular access graft made from a novelty material that slowly degrades over time as the body regenerates. This technology will help prevent excess hospitalizations and premature patient deaths.”

Another finalist, Parker Isaac Instruments d/b/a FormaPath, has a manufacturing facility in Ithaca. It is working on nToto, automated tissue handling and visualization system to gross small biopsies.

Its description in the FuzeHub announcement says, “FormaPath has proven their concept combining robotics and computer vision to automate small biopsy grossing. Labs are under significant pressure to meet turnaround time and limited resources; manual processes are inherently inconsistent. nToto quickly delivers high-confidence reports to guide appropriate treatment for all patients.”

Besides its Ithaca manufacturing location, the firm’s website also lists a location in Brooklyn, as well as one in Hood River, Oregon.

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Commercialization competition set for Oct. 28-29

Regional finalists

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