Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.
People news: Harkaway joins CBD Companies
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — CBD Companies announced that Harry P. Harkaway has joined the firm as director of real-estate services. CBD provides development, construction, leasing, and
MVP Health Care appoints new chief medical officer
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — MVP Health Care has named Dr. Elizabeth Malko as its new chief medical officer. She will succeed Dr. Allen Hinkle on July
Search committee chair, Van Slyke, named Maxwell School dean
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The man who led the search committee to find a new dean of Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs has
Price Rite, Jubilee Homes break ground on upcoming South Avenue store
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Grocery store Price Rite plans to open a store at 611 South Ave. in Syracuse, expanding on a property that Jubilee Homes
Upstate University Hospital to provide Ogdensburg hospital with stroke-treatment services
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Upstate University Hospital has agreed to team up with Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center (CHMC) in Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County for the treatment
Syracuse Auto Dealers Association elects Barbuto as president
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Syracuse Auto Dealers Association recently announced it has elected Gino Barbuto, East Syracuse Chevrolet owner, as its president for the coming
Bousquet Holstein launches drones practice group
SYRACUSE — Bousquet Holstein PLLC attorney Aaron Frishman started learning more about commercial-drone applications during the middle part of 2015. He had heard a presentation from CenterState CEO on its proposal for the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s economic-development contest, and how the proposal partly focused on the testing and development of commercial drones.
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SYRACUSE — Bousquet Holstein PLLC attorney Aaron Frishman started learning more about commercial-drone applications during the middle part of 2015.
He had heard a presentation from CenterState CEO on its proposal for the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s economic-development contest, and how the proposal partly focused on the testing and development of commercial drones.
Drones are more formally referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs.
At first, Frishman was skeptical but started reading more about the topic.
“…learning that … looking at it from a legal perspective that, really, this is a brand new legal field,” he says.
Frishman decided to propose the formation of a UAV/UAS practice group at Bousquet Holstein.
UAS, or unmanned-aircraft systems, another related term, is a common moniker in the industry to describe the “broader interplay” between UAVs and flight-management and safety systems, according to the firm.
Bousquet Holstein conducted market research and couldn’t find any law firms north of New York City that “focused on this area of law.”
“We really felt this would be a good opportunity to be an ancillary service that we could provide both to our current business clients and also for any new businesses that would want to look into this,” Frishman adds.
Syracuse–based Bousquet Holstein on May 11 announced the formation of the practice group, which didn’t involve any new hiring at the firm.
The practice group focuses on the legal issues surrounding the commercial and recreational use of small UAVs.
Besides Frishman, the new practice group includes attorneys Eva Wojtalewski, Philip Bousquet, Natalie Hempson, and Joshua Werbeck.
Both Frishman and Wojtalewski spoke with CNYBJ on June 10.
Over the next several years, the UAV/UAS industry is poised to play a “significant role” in the growth and evolution of commerce not only nationally and globally, but specifically in the Central New York region, the law firm contends.
Bousquet Holstein formed its drones practice group to work alongside clients to help them “successfully navigate the newly developing” legal and regulatory issues while pursuing opportunities for expanded commercial use of drone or UAS technology.
“Clearly, there’s a need, and I think we’ve determined, based on our research, there’s a need for this legal service,” says Wojtalewski.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is treating commercial applications of UAVs in the same way it would any aircraft, she adds.
Bousquet Holstein’s practice group will work with clients that have FAA registrations; section 333 exemptions; FAA regulatory-compliance matters, risk assessment, and other business and contract-related matters associated with the commercial use of UAVs.
Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 “grants the Secretary of Transportation the authority to determine whether an airworthiness certificate is required for a UAS to operate safely in the national airspace system (NAS),” according to the FAA website.
“I think what we can do as a firm … is to help navigate the process with the FAA, which can be quite involved,” says Wojtalewski.
Small drones are remote-controlled aircraft, typically weighing about 55 pounds or less, which a pilot can fly from a ground-control station. Pilots can fly the drones “autonomously,” using pre-programmed flight plans or “more complex, dynamic” automation systems, according to Bousquet Holstein.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
NYSSCPA inducts new leader, okays “certain” non-CPAs as members
The New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) on May 19 inducted Michael Zovistoski as its 97th president. He is a certified public accountant and a partner at UHY LLP in Albany. The group’s members also voted to allow “certain” non-CPAs to become NYSSCPA members. The May 19 ceremony was part of the NYSSCPA’s Foundation
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The New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) on May 19 inducted Michael Zovistoski as its 97th president.
He is a certified public accountant and a partner at UHY LLP in Albany.
The group’s members also voted to allow “certain” non-CPAs to become NYSSCPA members.
The May 19 ceremony was part of the NYSSCPA’s Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) Moynihan Fund Gala held in New York City.
Zovistoski’s one-year term started June 1.
The NYSSCPA describes itself as the nation’s first nonprofit accounting association.
Zovistoski has served on the society’s board of directors each year for the past six years, including two years as the society’s secretary/treasurer, according to an association news release. He’s also served as finance-committee chair and Northeast-chapter president, in addition to service on “multiple” statewide and chapter committees.
Zovistoski has been an NYSSCPA member since 1987.
He assumes the leadership role as the NYSSCPA membership has approved a change to the organization’s bylaws that would allow “certain” non-CPAs to become associate members of the organization.
“The Society has welcomed non-CPAs into the membership for the past few years; however, these associate members had to be working under the supervision of a CPA,” Zovistoski said in the release. “With this latest bylaws amendment, which was to align our membership categories with the types of professionals we see working in CPA firms more and more, that’s no longer a requirement. I would like to offer an invitation to all the bankers, lawyers, educators and alike … to consider joining our family and become an associate member in the NYSSCPA.”
Non-CPA professionals with a bachelor’s degree, who are working full time for the government; nonprofits; or in financial, legal, or banking services, are eligible to join as associate members.
However, the NYSSCPA notes that these new members cannot hold leadership positions or vote in society elections.
Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com
DiNapoli report: IDA-backed job gains increased in 2014 compared to previous year
Projects that New York state’s industrial development agencies (IDAs) supported produced nearly 36,000 additional jobs in 2014, an increase of 18 percent from the prior year, the latest state data shows. That’s according to a report that New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued recently. It is DiNapoli’s 9th annual report examining the performance of
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Projects that New York state’s industrial development agencies (IDAs) supported produced nearly 36,000 additional jobs in 2014, an increase of 18 percent from the prior year, the latest state data shows.
That’s according to a report that New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued recently.
It is DiNapoli’s 9th annual report examining the performance of the state’s IDAs and how these agencies work to attract, retain, and expand businesses in their communities.
Job-gain comparison
IDA projects in 2014 reported a total of 645,010 full-time jobs, which reflects an increase of 235,888 jobs over the life of these projects, at a median cost of $1,882 per job gained.
The 235,888 figure was up 18 percent over the cumulative job gains of 199,943 in 2013, with the median cost per job gained of $2,095.
The state’s 109 active IDAs in 2014 provided $1.1 billion in total tax exemptions, according to DiNapoli’s report.
At the same time, $483 million in payments-in-lieu of taxes partially offset these exemptions, leaving the total net exemptions for the year at $632 million, a decrease of $28.5 million, or 4.3 percent, from 2013.
The five IDAs with the largest job gains in 2014 included New York City with 48,859 jobs; Suffolk County with 13,817; Monroe County with 12,038; Oneida County with 10,476; and the Town of Amherst in Erie County with 10,227.
IDAs are an “important catalyst” for economic development statewide, DiNapoli contended in the release.
“But as the value of tax exemptions to private businesses continues to increase, taxpayers must be reassured that their community is receiving promised benefits.
Thankfully, my legislative proposal to increase transparency and scrutiny of IDAs was signed into law last year and will result in better evaluation of the economic impact they are having in New York,” he added.
DiNapoli in 2015 crafted legislation he said would improve the process by which IDAs approve new projects, the quality of the information they gather about the projects, and policies for recapturing financial assistance if companies don’t meet project goals.
The new law, developed with support from the New York Economic Development Council, became effective on June 15.
Other findings
DiNapoli’s report also found that the 4,581 projects that IDAs supported in 2014 were valued at $83.7 billion, up 9 percent over 2013.
At 27 percent, manufacturing as the “most common purpose” of IDA-sponsored projects in 2014, DiNapoli’s office said.
The report also found Western New York’s 804 IDA-sponsored projects was the highest number of any New York region in 2014.
Regional data shows IDAs in the Mid-Hudson Valley ($136.7 million), Long Island ($131.5 million), the Capital District ($92.3 million), and New York City ($75.7 million) granted the highest amount of tax exemptions.
Total expenses for IDAs in 2014 equaled $102.6 million, an average of $950,000 per agency, the report found.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Smith takes over as director of finance at St. Joseph’s Health
SYRACUSE — St. Joseph’s Health recently appointed Julie Edmunds Smith as its new director of finance. In this role, Smith is responsible for St. Joseph’s Health’s accounting and financial operations, the organization said in a news release. They include general finance and reporting, accounts payable, treasury management, reimbursement, and capital management for the system. “Julie
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SYRACUSE — St. Joseph’s Health recently appointed Julie Edmunds Smith as its new director of finance.
In this role, Smith is responsible for St. Joseph’s Health’s accounting and financial operations, the organization said in a news release.
They include general finance and reporting, accounts payable, treasury management, reimbursement, and capital management for the system.
“Julie has tremendous experience and strong expertise. We are very pleased to be able to add her to the St. Joseph’s leadership team,” Meredith Price, senior VP of fiscal affairs and CFO at St. Joseph’s Health, said in the release.
Smith brings to the position more than 13 years of experience in the health-care and higher-education sectors, St. Joseph’s said.
She most recently served as a senior manager for the Atlanta, Georgia office of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she managed the financial audits and reporting for several large health-care clients, the hospital added.
Smith, a DeWitt native, is a graduate of Le Moyne College and earned her MBA degree from the University of Phoenix.
Smith replaces Tracy Frank as director of finance. Frank left St. Joseph’s Health in December to become director of finance and accounting for the Northeast region at the Dairy Farmers of America, according to her LinkedIn page.
Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com
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