DeWITT, N.Y. — The federal government has decided not to withhold $250,000 in Medicare reimbursements from DeWitt–based Hematology-Oncology Associates ofCentral New York (HOACNY) after initially
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SYRACUSE — Go Green Supply CNY, a distributor of LED (light-emitting diode) lighting products, has started operations at 1433 Erie Boulevard East in Syracuse. Rochester–based Go Green LED International announced the launch of Go Green Supply CNY in a news release in early April. The Syracuse location is a “separate entity” from the Rochester company,
SYRACUSE — Go Green Supply CNY, a distributor of LED (light-emitting diode) lighting products, has started operations at 1433 Erie Boulevard East in Syracuse.
Rochester–based Go Green LED International announced the launch of Go Green Supply CNY in a news release in early April.
The Syracuse location is a “separate entity” from the Rochester company, says Rolando (R.J.) Cruz, Jr., president and co-owner of Go Green Supply CNY.
“So basically, we are a distributor of [the] products that they sell … We’re just a separate company,” he adds. He spoke with CNYBJ on May 25.
Cruz is one of four company owners and the majority shareholder, he says. Cruz declined to name his three business partners, but did indicate that they work for Henderson-Johnson Co., Inc. of Syracuse.
Go Green Supply CNY launched on Aug. 8, 2016, and is now operating in a 1,500-square-foot space that it opened May 1.
The company leases the space from the Henderson-Johnson firm.
Cruz is currently the company’s lone employee, but he hopes to add one or two additional employees in the next six to 12 months.
Go Green Supply CNY has applied for certification as a minority and women-owned business enterprise in New York to “give us some access to and availability to provide a product and service to state contracts to other state facilities,” says Cruz.
The company is selling LED lighting products, lamps, and retrofit fixtures, he says.
He declined to name specific clients but said he sells to “a couple health-care clients,” along with electricians, automotive stores, and building owners.
The building owners he sells to have bought their structures in recent years and are renovating them, “so they’re looking to upgrade and go green and save money on their utility bills,” says Cruz.
Go Green Supply CNY is servicing clients in the Syracuse market and areas to the north, east, and south, while Go Green LED International pursues clients in the Rochester region and areas to the west, according to Cruz.
He contends clients could “decrease their lighting costs by minimally 25 to 50 percent.”
“We’re trying to make a brighter day … for our clients,” Cruz quipped.
“The new location is expected to provide clean-energy solutions that results in 50 percent to 100 percent energy savings to our customer base. At the same time we reduce the carbon footprint of our clients and help them meet environmental goals,” Michael Viggiani, president of Go Green LED International, said in the news release. “The opening of a Syracuse branch will improve our reach and service capabilities to central New York customers.”
Pursuing the business Cruz and his business partners “a couple years ago” decided to pursue a business in the LED lighting market, one that Cruz considers “very promising.”
They developed the business plan, and launched the firm in 2016.
Cruz in late 2014 left his position as controller at Auburn Community Hospital, seeing it as “an opportunity to create” his own business.
One of his business partners was familiar with Go Green LED International and the LED lighting market, and the partners saw the product as a “very good opportunity” to attract commercial customers.
“Now, you’re looking at an accountant in the lighting industry who can count the lightbulbs as well as screw them in,” Cruz said with a laugh.
His partners have been involved with Henderson-Johnson for more than 25 years each, he noted.
Cruz, an Auburn native, is a 1991 graduate of Le Moyne College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting. He also earned an associate degree in business administration from Cayuga Community College in 1989, he says.
BINGHAMTON — Through 2011, New York state residents and companies installed solar systems that generated 83 megawatts of solar power. By the end of 2016, that number had jumped to about 744 megawatts, an increase of just under 800 percent. The growth of solar installations is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision
BINGHAMTON — Through 2011, New York state residents and companies installed solar systems that generated 83 megawatts of solar power. By the end of 2016, that number had jumped to about 744 megawatts, an increase of just under 800 percent. The growth of solar installations is part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) plan to generate 50 percent of the state’s energy consumption from renewable resources by 2030.
CPACE A key element of the governor’s plan is Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE). In November of last year, the state legislature created Commercial PACE (CPACE), designed to help commercial properties make energy-efficiency and renewable-energy upgrades to buildings. CPACE, which is formally known as Energize NY Commercial Financing, helps property owners find incentive programs; identify reliable and certified contractors and engineering firms; access low-cost, long-term financing; and create a post-upgrade plan to verify and measure the energy savings. The end result is that building owners enjoy an increase to the property’s value, all while generating positive cash flow from reduced energy costs.
Enter Southern Tier Solar Works (STSW). “We’re the clean-energy, outreach-and-marketing program of the Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition,” says Michael Treiman, STSW solutions manager.
The coalition was formed in 2008 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation to improve the quality of life in the Binghamton region, which includes shifting to more sustainable energy sources. “STSW focuses on developing the solar industry in our region through education and outreach. While our primary regional focus is on five counties — Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, and Tioga — we respond to inquiries from across the Southern Tier. Most of our efforts have been directed to the residential sector educating homeowners to the benefits of clean energy, vetting local solar installers, providing free assessments, and helping with applications. With the passage last year of Energize NY Commercial (CPACE) financing, however, we have expanded our efforts to the commercial sector. Research shows that the Southern Tier has a tremendous potential estimated at 100,000 square-kilometers of solar space on rooftops and ground level. To date, Broome is one of only 13 municipalities to adopt the local law required to enable CPACE financing, which makes solar and other clean-energy measures more affordable to business and nonprofit building owners.”
Municipal projects STSW has not limited itself to just residential and commercial solar projects. “On May 6, we launched a solar-art workshop at the University Downtown Center as part of our ‘solarize’ campaign. We want to develop public green spaces that integrate solar power with sculpture and design. The workshop is a technical and artistic collaboration that brings community members, artists, engineers, and architects together. We invited the Land Art Generator Initiative (LAGI) from Pittsburgh to help us with the launch to generate ideas for sustainable-energy infrastructures that enhance our cities by providing works of art that also furnish clean power to area residences. LAGI has generated projects all over the world by providing design competitions, commissions and RFPs, and facilitating the process through construction and operations … Just imagine a power plant as public art.”
STSW has selected four installer partners for the 2017 program. Halco, headquartered in Phelps with offices in Ithaca and Liverpool, has provided residential-energy upgrades throughout Central New York and the Southern Tier since 1984. In addition to its “net zero” energy-efficiency and HVAC services, the company has installed more than 3.0 megawatts of solar power since 2015. Taitem Engineering, founded in 1989 and located in Ithaca, has installed hundreds of solar-electric systems across the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier. The firm provides a wide range of commercial-engineering services in the clean-energy space. ETM Solar is headquartered in Endicott, and has worked in the solar field since 1993. ETM is currently building a shared-solar project for customers who don’t have favorable conditions to site a system on their property. While the preceding three companies specialize in residential installations, CIR Electrical Construction Corp. focuses on commercial installations. Located in Tonawanda, the company is capable of completing a wide range of commercial and industrial projects.
CPACE eligibility The CPACE program does not deal with traditional loans that are attached to a corporate entity and tied to its credit.
“First, the project must generate positive cash flow from day one,” Treiman notes, in explaining eligibility for the program. “In other words, the estimated annual energy savings from improvements must be less than the remaining energy costs plus the finance payments. Second, the building must be owned by a commercial business or nonprofit corporation: It’s the ownership, not the type of building, that matters. Third, the building-owner’s loan is repaid through an annual charge on the property-tax bill. Nonprofits can request a county-tax bill which would be limited to the annual payments on the [energy] load.
Additionally, a New York Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) certified contractor has to verify that the project is cash positive. The property’s existing loan-to-value can’t be greater than 80 percent. Financing is capped at 10 percent of the property’s appraised value, and the property has to be the majority beneficiary of the on-site, solar power produced. The owner must be free of any bankruptcies within the preceding seven years, have a three-year history of timely property-tax payments, and have secured the consent of a lender … One huge benefit is that the financing automatically transfers to a new owner if the property is sold during the term of the loan, because the CPACE assessment is a debt of property, meaning the debt is tied to the property as opposed to the property owner.”
Financing and incentives In New York, owners of commercial properties can take advantage of the NY Sun Incentive program, and businesses can also benefit from a 30 percent federal-tax credit plus any depreciation. In addition, NYSERDA partners with lenders to help small businesses and not-for-profit organizations access “small-commercial-participation loans” up to $100,000 at below-market rates. NYSERDA offers 50 percent of the project cost, up to $50,000 at 2 percent interest, with the participating lender providing the remainder of the loan at market rates. CPACE provides building owners and not-for-profits with affordable financing up to 100 percent of the project cost based on the eligibility restrictions listed above. Financing is available with customizable loan terms up to 20 years. New York also allows community-shared solar (CSS), a solution for all customers that lack the ability to site solar on their properties.
Additionally, many businesses and nonprofits do not own their buildings, a major barrier to solar adoption. “We know that most properties in our region are not conducive to a solar installation due, in large part, to impediments such as shading, the wrong geographical exposure, and property slope exceeding 15 degrees,” continues Treiman. “In July 2015, the New York State Public Service Commission implemented regs to get the benefits of solar by encouraging remote net metering through association with a solar farm in the local load zone. In effect, it’s community-shared solar (CSS), and the members receive credits on their electric bills. In the owner model, the member buys into the system up front and uses the taxes and NYSERDA incentive. One example is the Renovus Solar project, which completed a ground-mounted, photovoltaic array near Trumansburg in 2016. Initially, 36 families bought into the project utilizing the 30 percent federal-tax credit. The company is adding 50 homes in the second phase and developing similar projects in the region.
“The subscriber model of CSS, otherwise known as pay-as-you-go, allows customers to purchase solar credit from an offsite array with commitments as short as one year,” notes Treiman.
Solar spotlight According to a report released by the Solar Energy Industries Association dated March 28, 2017, the Empire State has installed 926.7 megawatts of solar with more than 30 percent of the total installed just last year. Solar energy now powers 152,000 New York homes and the industry supports 8,135 jobs throughout the state. (A U.S. Department of Energy Report stated that in 2016, solar full- and part-time jobs nationwide totaled 373,807. Note: the coal industry employed 160,119 nationwide.)
The state is home to 632 solar companies: 88 manufacturers, 201 installer/developers, and 343 others. Total private solar investment in the state now tops $3 billion, of which $768 million was invested in 2016.
The state’s Public Service Commission, in support of Gov. Cuomo’s solar commitment, recently announced a 10-year, $1 billion pledge to develop a self-sustaining, solar market which is projected to reach 3,000 megawatts of photovoltaic installations by 2022. New York is ranked among the top-10 solar markets in the U.S. While solar-installation projections over the next five years are equally split between residential and commercial, most of the increased energy produced will come from the commercial side. Considering that only 0.79 percent of the state’s electricity is currently derived from solar, the governor’s goal to generate 50 percent of the state’s energy consumption from renewable resources is ambitious, even with the inclusion of bio-energy, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal.
Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) “New York is reinventing how we produce, deliver, and consume energy,” says Treiman. “Our current system isn’t much different than the one Thomas Edison installed in Manhattan [in 1882]. We generate energy from a centralized location and then distribute it to users. The system is designed to flow in one direction: from power plant to consumer. It’s also grossly inefficient, since power-generating facilities are built to meet ‘peak demand,’ meaning the system is idle half the time. As our power system ages, maintenance costs are rising rapidly. There are also environmental costs as we pump more carbon into the atmosphere.”
Beginning in 2014, Gov. Cuomo initiated REV, a policy designed to address issues of affordability, reliability, and resilience through renewables and efficiency. The program provided incentives to utilities and consumers to use less energy, rely on sources closer to home, and opt for renewable sources.
“It’s easy to make a case for reinventing our power system by encouraging regulatory reform, lowering the upfront cost of renewable energy, opening access to financing, easing permitting and the local-approval process, and promoting consumer education,” intones Treiman. “Since buildings consume roughly 60 percent of all energy used in the state, the CPACE program gives us another arrow in our quiver to promote solar energy. Solar Works is actively reaching out to commercial enterprises to leverage the concept.
For example, we are talking to two local retirement facilities to join together in a shared-generation project, which would save both facilities money and reduce overall consumption through energy efficiencies. Our efforts are being somewhat limited by the eligibility requirements of CPACE and by current confusion over the transition from net metering to value-distributed energy resources, but STSW is very active meeting with decision-makers to advance the program. Our goal is to make solar a hot topic.
Treiman is one of four full-time staff members at STSW, located in downtown Binghamton. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Binghamton University with a major in human development. Treiman also earned his master’s degree in public administration at Binghamton University. He joined STSW in October 2016.
BINGHAMTON — The man who has served as UHS’s executive VP and COO since 2013 is now the president and CEO of UHS Hospitals. The board of directors of UHS appointed John Carrigg to the role, effective June 1. Carrigg will also become president and CEO of the full UHS System on Jan.1, 2018, UHS
BINGHAMTON — The man who has served as UHS’s executive VP and COO since 2013 is now the president and CEO of UHS Hospitals.
The board of directors of UHS appointed John Carrigg to the role, effective June 1.
Carrigg will also become president and CEO of the full UHS System on Jan.1, 2018, UHS said in a news release issued May 25.
Matthew (Matt) Salanger was set to leave his role as the current president and CEO of UHS Hospitals on June 1 and as president and CEO of the entire UHS System next Jan. 1.
Salanger is now serving as a part-time, senior strategic adviser to the organization, UHS said. He will also remain on the board and its executive committee.
The UHS board of directors approved the change during its annual meeting held May 24.
“These changes are part of a senior-leadership succession plan that has been two years in the making,” Jerome Canny, chairman of the UHS board, said in the release.
“We will be promoting from within someone who is uniquely qualified to be the new CEO, and will continue to benefit from our current president’s insights and counsel. That will ensure the long-term stability, strength and continuity of UHS as we continue to serve the healthcare needs of the Southern Tier.”
About Carrigg Carrigg has served as VP for operations and director of UHS Binghamton General Hospital, senior VP and COO of UHS Hospitals, and executive VP and COO of the UHS System.
“Mr. Salanger and I have worked closely together and share the same vision for the future direction of our organization,” Carrigg said in the release. “I look forward to the new challenges and opportunities that UHS will encounter in this decade and beyond, and am grateful to Matt for staying on in a strategy role from which the entire system will benefit.”
Carrigg, a Binghamton–area native, graduated from St. Andrew’s College in North Carolina and earned an MBA degree from SUNY Binghamton, UHS said.
About Salanger Salanger, a Syracuse native, is the organization’s longest-serving CEO since three community hospitals consolidated to form UHS in 1981.
Salanger joined UHS in 1985, serving in a number of managerial roles, including assistant VP, associate VP, the VP for operations and director of UHS Binghamton General Hospital, and executive VP and chief operating officer of UHS Hospitals.
He became president and CEO of UHS Hospitals in 1994. Salanger later became president and CEO of the UHS System in 2007.
Salanger said he believes “the time is right” for the leadership change.
“I have long been convinced that it’s important for succession at the top to happen in an orderly fashion, after careful planning and sound consideration, with the long-term stewardship of the organization being the first priority. On a personal note, I look forward to having more time for family, travel and volunteering, while still maintaining a stakeholder interest in the continued success of UHS,” said Salanger.
About UHS The UHS System is composed of UHS Hospitals (UHS Wilson Medical Center and UHS Binghamton General Hospital), UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, UHS Delaware Valley Hospital, UHS Senior Living at Ideal, UHS Home Care, the UHS Medical Group, and the UHS Foundation.
Serving a seven-county region, UHS describes itself as “one of the largest and most comprehensive systems in upstate New York with a total community impact exceeding $1 billion a year.
An 896-bed organization, UHS provides a range of medical, surgical, rehabilitative, and long-term care services from 60 locations.
With a workforce of more than 6,000, it is the “largest employer in New York’s Southern Tier” and the workplace of a 392-provider, multi-specialty medical group and a 550-member medical staff, per the release.
SALINA — The 20,830-square-foot office building at 235 Greenfield Parkway in Salina was recently bought by Edgewater Management Company for $1.205 million. Peter Finn, EVP of CBRE/Syracuse, and Mark Rupprecht, senior broker, represented Edgewater Management in the purchase, per a news release from the real-estate firm. The seller was the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The building,
SALINA — The 20,830-square-foot office building at 235 Greenfield Parkway in Salina was recently bought by Edgewater Management Company for $1.205 million.
Peter Finn, EVP of CBRE/Syracuse, and Mark Rupprecht, senior broker, represented Edgewater Management in the purchase, per a news release from the real-estate firm.
The seller was the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The building, which sits on nearly 4.5 acres of land, was formerly occupied by ITT Technical Institute. ITT Tech, a national for-profit school, abruptly shut down all its campuses last September after the U.S. Department of Education blocked all federal student-loan funding for the school.
The sale to Edgewater closed on March 8, according to Onondaga County’s online property records. ITT had purchased the property back in 2002 for nearly $2.8 million. The property is assessed at $1.27 million for 2017.
UTICA — Fifteen local organizations will receive Community Impact Grants for community projects to improve the health of the Greater Utica area from the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA), the organization recently announced. The grants were awarded to the following organizations: Pathfinder Village, Bassett Healthcare Network, Research Institute, Johnson Park Center, Cornell
UTICA — Fifteen local organizations will receive Community Impact Grants for community projects to improve the health of the Greater Utica area from the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association (AHA/ASA), the organization recently announced.
The grants were awarded to the following organizations: Pathfinder Village, Bassett Healthcare Network, Research Institute, Johnson Park Center, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County, Masonic Care Community, Center for Family Life and Recovery, Mount Markham Central School District, The Arc Oneida-Lewis Chapter of NYSARC, The Boilermaker Road Race, Insight house CDS, Inc., Hart’s Hill Elementary School, Mohawk Valley Institute for Learning in Retirement, Elderlife, Inc., Notre Dame Elementary School, and the Midtown Utica Community Center.
This year’s recipients received between $1,500 and $5,000, for a total community investment of $58,000, according to a news release issued by the AHA/ASA.
Local organizations started applying for grants last December. Project proposals needed to focus on reducing cardiovascular disease and its risk factors by specifically targeting issues like childhood obesity or family health, the release noted. The AHA/ASA said it gave “special consideration” to projects aimed at improving access to healthy foods and increasing CPR/AED training and implementation in the community. A committee of local community volunteers reviewed and ranked the grant applications by the projects’ alignment with the mission of the AHA/ASA.
The funded projects, include Pathfinder Village creating the Pathfinder Produce Market, including purchasing additional growing supplies and equipment to help adults and students learn about healthy gardening. Another project has Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oneida County using funds toward youth-outreach programs to empower teens to grow, process, distribute, and cook with fresh fruits and vegetables grown at the Boilermaker Urban Garden.
“We were so happy to see the level of creative projects being developed to support the fight against heart disease and stroke,” Marolyn Wilson, chairwoman of the AHA/ASA Greater Utica Area advisory board. “There were many merit-worthy projects that would result in improvements in the cardiovascular health of our community. The decisions were not easy.”
Hotels in Broome County were less full in April compared to a year ago, according to a recent report. The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county declined 5.3 percent to 55.3 percent in April from 58.4 percent in the year-ago month, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel
Hotels in Broome County were less full in April compared to a year ago, according to a recent report.
The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county declined 5.3 percent to 55.3 percent in April from 58.4 percent in the year-ago month, according to STR, a Tennessee–based hotel market data and analytics company. It was the third straight month the occupancy rate fell.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR), a key industry gauge that measures how much money hotels are bringing in per available room, fell 9.5 percent to $46.75 this April from $51.66 in April 2016.
Average daily rate (or ADR), which represents the average rental rate for a sold room, dipped by 4.4 percent to $84.55 from $88.44 a year earlier, per STR.
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