UTICA, N.Y. — Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) has added a new degree program focused on small unmanned-aerial systems (sUAS), or drones. The school is
SCRIBA, N.Y. — New York officials are investigating the shutdown and subsequent oil leak into Lake Ontario at the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state’s maple-syrup production increased by almost 18 percent this year to 707,000 gallons, breaking last year’s 70-year production record of
SYRACUSE — About two-thirds of current Price Rite grocery-store locations operate in buildings that had previously operated as supermarkets. “This was a supermarket, too,” says Neil Duffy, president of Price Rite, referencing the building at 611 South Ave. in Syracuse where Commercial & Residential Painting, Inc. currently operates. The building was once home to a
SYRACUSE — About two-thirds of current Price Rite grocery-store locations operate in buildings that had previously operated as supermarkets.
“This was a supermarket, too,” says Neil Duffy, president of Price Rite, referencing the building at 611 South Ave. in Syracuse where Commercial & Residential Painting, Inc. currently operates.
The building was once home to a Loblaws location that closed in 1970, according to Duffy.
Walter Dixie, executive director of Jubilee Homes of Syracuse, Inc., has long pushed for a supermarket on Syracuse’s South Side and first contacted Price Rite in the early part of the decade.
“We’ve been working on this project ever since,” says Duffy.
He spoke to CNYBJ before Price Rite, Jubilee Homes of Syracuse, Inc., state, county, and city officials broke ground on the site during a ceremony June 17.
Price Rite has plans to open a store at 611 South Ave. in Syracuse, expanding on a property that Jubilee Homes of Syracuse, Inc. has owned since 2009.
The new store will be known as Price Rite of Southwest Syracuse, according to a news release issued at the event.
Price Rite already operates a Syracuse location at 1625 Erie Boulevard East.
The grocery store has been working with the nonprofit Jubilee Homes to bring a store to an area that’s designated as a “food desert.”
Food deserts are areas that “lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk, and other foods that make up a full and healthy diet,” according to the definition listed at the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Price Rite plans to add to the existing 18,000-square-foot structure on the property, and nearly double the space to 35,000 square feet, according to Duffy.
Commercial & Residential Painting plans to vacate the structure and move to the Charette Brothers building at 1426 Valley Drive in July, Melissa Coyne, company manager, said in an email response to a CNYBJ inquiry.
VIP Structures will handle the construction and design work on the $5.5 million project, says Duffy.
“This is probably the single most important project that we’ve ever done … not because of size … but for what it does … we are so thankful to be included in this,” Dave Nutting, chairman & CEO, VIP Structures, said in his remarks during the groundbreaking.
The project cost includes a $1.4 million grant through the Central New York regional economic-development council, Richard Tobe, New York’s director of upstate development, said in his remarks at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Price Rite expects the store will employ between 100 and 125 full and part-time workers once it opens in November, says Duffy. That’s part of the company’s fiscal first quarter.
The store will feature “some of the industry’s leading ‘green technologies,’ including glass doors on dairy cases and energy-efficient lighting and refrigeration, according to the release.
Price Rite says it has “different approaches to help keep costs down and pass along those savings to customers.” They include less spending on advertising and store décor than “conventional” stores and encouraging customers to bring their own bags or buy a reusable bag for 10 cents.
Price Rite operates 62 stores in a footprint that includes New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, and Virginia.
The company currently operates 12 stores in New York, says Duffy.
The store says it offers customers an expanded produce department and food products “at savings up to 50 percent less than traditional supermarkets.”
Keasbey, New Jersey–based Wakefern Food Corp. is the parent company of Price Rite.
PRRC, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Keasbey, New Jersey–based Wakefern Food Corp., opened the first Price Rite store in West Springfield, Massachusetts in 1995, according to the Wakefern website.
LYSANDER — G&L Davis Meat Co., parent company of Gianelli Sausage, recently bought the 43,420-square-foot manufacturing facility at 8242 Loop Road in the town of Lysander from NY Building LLC for $1,325,000. William Evertz of Cushman Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage Company represented the seller, and Cory LaDuke of Cushman Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage represented the buyer in this transaction,
LYSANDER — G&L Davis Meat Co., parent company of Gianelli Sausage, recently bought the 43,420-square-foot manufacturing facility at 8242 Loop Road in the town of Lysander from NY Building LLC for $1,325,000.
William Evertz of Cushman Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage Company represented the seller, and Cory LaDuke of Cushman Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage represented the buyer in this transaction, according to a news release from the real-estate firm.
The transaction closed on May 5, according to Onondaga County online property records. The property’s total assessment and full market value is listed at $1,875,000.
G & L Davis Meat Co. is a family-owned and operated meat-processing company started in 1946. The Gianelli product line includes hot and sweet Italian pork sausage links and patties. The firm also produces hot and mild Italian turkey sausage links.
Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com
VAN BUREN — G&C Food Distributors, a re-distributor of frozen and refrigerated food products, recently purchased its 275,000-square-foot manufacturing/distribution facility on 51 acres at 3407 Walters Road in the town of Van Buren for about $10 million. The firm had been leasing the facility, which serves as its company headquarters. Peter Finn and Mark Rupprecht
VAN BUREN — G&C Food Distributors, a re-distributor of frozen and refrigerated food products, recently purchased its 275,000-square-foot manufacturing/distribution facility on 51 acres at 3407 Walters Road in the town of Van Buren for about $10 million.
The firm had been leasing the facility, which serves as its company headquarters.
Peter Finn and Mark Rupprecht of CBRE/Syracuse exclusively brokered the sale, according to a news release from the real-estate firm. No price was disclosed in the release.
A separate CBRE/Syracuse Spring 2016 “Marketview” email release said the sale price was $10.5 million. But Onondaga County online property records say the property was sold for $9.75 million on Feb. 25. The new owner is listed as 3407 Walters Rd LLC and the prior owner was NIP Owner I LLC.
G&C Food Distributors is renovating a portion of its facility to accommodate a new vegetable manufacturing line that is expected to be finished in late August of this year, according to the firm’s Facebook page.
The company, which employs nearly 300 people and is expanding its staff, stores and delivers more than 4,000 food items to customers from Maine to Florida. Rich Chapman is company president.
Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com
SYRACUSE — Crews are finishing work on Catering at the Zoo, the banquet facility at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnett Park. The $300,000 project included construction of a new, 2,400-square-foot outdoor patio and interior improvements on the 3,000-square-foot banquet room, says Janet Agostini, president and CEO of Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. Friends
SYRACUSE — Crews are finishing work on Catering at the Zoo, the banquet facility at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnett Park.
The $300,000 project included construction of a new, 2,400-square-foot outdoor patio and interior improvements on the 3,000-square-foot banquet room, says Janet Agostini, president and CEO of Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo.
Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo is the organization responsible for business operations, education programs, and fundraising on behalf of the zoo, according to its website.
Agostini spoke with CNYBJ on June 16.
The Zoo built the structure in the 1990s, and the organization felt it needed some renovation work, says Agostini.
She referred to the facility as “kind of worn and dated looking.”
“We have clients with differing needs and so we wanted to make sure that we could meet their goals,” she added.
When the Zoo hosts an event, Agostini says it reinvests any profits back into the Zoo, noting the organization refers to it as “catering with a cause.”
Appel Osborne Landscape Architecture of Syracuse handled the design work for the patio space. It also used a series of subcontractors for the construction work.
Various other contractors handled the interior renovation work, including The Effect Group of Syracuse, which installed new carpeting. The improvements also included new chairs, new paint, and work on the interior pillars.
“The interior renovation wasn’t as extensive as the outside construction,” Agostini notes.
The interior renovation started in November and continued through the winter months. Crews started the patio construction in November but stopped during the winter snowfalls before resuming work in March.
“We’re expecting to have it completed by the end of [June],” she says.
The concluding work includes final planting and additional lighting.
Catering at the Zoo continued operations and hosted events, even as the renovation work continued, she says.
“For example, when we did the carpeting, we needed to have a week or 10 days where we didn’t have any events scheduled, so we planned for that,” she says.
A year-round facility, Catering at the Zoo is scheduled to host as many as 27 weddings in 2016, in addition to community events that the venue hosts.
Catering at the Zoo hosted 13 weddings and 171 catered events in 2015, the Zoo said in a June 2 email to CNYBJ.
The facility plans to host about 115 events from mid-June through the end of the calendar year. Altogether, Catering at the Zoo will have hosted at least 191 for the entire year.
Some of its corporate clients will host workshops or brainstorming sessions “because they just find the atmosphere so creative,” says Agostini.
OGDENSBURG — Upstate University Hospital is using telemedicine to assist Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center (CHMC) in Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County in the treatment of stroke symptoms. CHMC’s emergency department will use a telemedicine program to connect its physicians with neurologists at Upstate’s “comprehensive stroke center,” Upstate said in a news release issued June 16. Upstate
OGDENSBURG — Upstate University Hospital is using telemedicine to assist Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center (CHMC) in Ogdensburg in St. Lawrence County in the treatment of stroke symptoms.
CHMC’s emergency department will use a telemedicine program to connect its physicians with neurologists at Upstate’s “comprehensive stroke center,” Upstate said in a news release issued June 16.
Upstate University Hospital in early 2015 earned certification as a “comprehensive stroke center” from Milford, Ohio–based DNV GL Healthcare Inc., a hospital-accreditation organization. The hospital is also recognized as a primary stroke center as designated by the New York State Department of Health.
“Our telemedicine network allows the North Country access to expert stroke care regardless of geography,” Jennifer Schleier, RN and program manager of Upstate’s Stroke Center, said. “We have come to think of this program as stroke care without borders. It is our mission to close the gap between expert medical care and location of the patient, increase access to stroke treatments in rural communities, and to provide educational opportunities to any of our referring hospitals regarding stroke care.”
When a patient arrives at CHMC’s emergency department with what the health-care team has determined are symptoms consistent with stroke, Claxton-Hepburn can consult with an Upstate neurologist.
“Distance should never be a barrier to getting the best stroke care for patients,” Dr. Gene Latorre, Upstate neurologist, said in the Upstate news release. “Claxton-Hepburn’s emergency department providers will be encouraged and supported to keep uncomplicated patients in Ogdensburg. Should a patient need to be transported, consultation with the Upstate comprehensive stroke center specialist will be provided.”
Within minutes, the neurologist will be able to view the X-ray computed tomography (CT) scan, examine the patient, and talk with the patient, his or her family, and physician about possible treatment.
“We are excited to begin this partnership with Upstate to provide more advanced stroke care in our emergency department to our patients,” Nate Howell, CEO of Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center, said in the Upstate release. “Now we are able to provide a quicker diagnosis, which decreases a potential delay in treatment. Thanks to this technology in the treatment of stroke patients, our rural location is less of a barrier to care.”
North Country hospitals The addition of Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center brings to three the number of area hospitals that are partnering with Upstate University Hospital on stroke care.
“Through the use of telemedicine, our collaboration on stroke care with Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center in Ogdensburg, River Hospital in Alexandria Bay and Carthage Area Hospital in Carthage broadens the reach of our formally designated comprehensive stroke center and enables us to partner with physicians across the state to enhance medical care for patients many miles from Upstate,” Dr. John McCabe, CEO of Upstate University Hospital, said. “We are grateful for these partnerships and for the work of the Fort Drum Regional Health Planning Organization [FDRHPO] in helping to deploy the equipment necessary to make these connections possible.”
Upstate has teamed up with FDRHPO, which deployed the telemedicine equipment to several North Country hospitals in an effort to expand the telemedicine network.
“Our telemedicine network allows the North Country access to expert stroke care regardless of geography,” said Schleier.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in early June announced the New Farmers Grant Fund will provide more than $743,000 in grants to support 25 early-stage agricultural businesses across New York state. The recipients include several farms in Northern New York. The purpose of the fund, now in its second round, is to help early-stage farmers in
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in early June announced the New Farmers Grant Fund will provide more than $743,000 in grants to support 25 early-stage agricultural businesses across New York state. The recipients include several farms in Northern New York.
The purpose of the fund, now in its second round, is to help early-stage farmers in improving their farm’s profitability. The goal is that it will help grow and diversify New York’s agricultural sector, the state says.
“This funding will support new and emerging agribusinesses as they expand their operations, develop and market high quality products and generate new growth in their communities,” Cuomo said in a news release.
Empire State Development, in consultation with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, administers the fund. More than 55 applications were submitted for program funding in this round. Projects were scored competitively based on specific criteria, including demonstration of project readiness. Grant funds will be used for project costs associated with the expansion of production, construction of farm buildings, purchase of equipment and seed, or upgrades to increase efficiency and boost production, according to the release.
The New Farmers Grant Fund award recipients include the following farms:
Ingersoll Farms – Oswego County: $49,051
Michael & Carrie Higby – Lewis County: $18,000
North Branch Farms – Jefferson County: $45,000
Echo Farm – Essex County: $26,599
Full and By Farm, LLC – Essex County: $16,000
Juniper Hill Farm – Essex County: $49,783
Mace Chasm Farm, LLC – Essex County: $50,000
The announced funding brings the total amount provided to new farmers to nearly $1.4 million. Last year, 19 early-stage farmers received a portion of more than $610,000 to support the use of innovative agricultural techniques on commercial-farm operations statewide, the release stated.
“The future of New York agriculture depends on encouraging people to follow in the footsteps of our hardworking farmers and take on the challenge of growing and producing the fresh, healthy foods that feed our state — and our world. Already, this program has helped new farmers across the state build solid foundations that are helping their agribusinesses to succeed,” New York Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Senator Patty Ritchie said in the release. Ritchie, a Republican, represents the 48th district in the State Senate. The district includes all of Oswego and Jefferson counties and part of St. Lawrence County.
Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com
The Strand Theater opened to the silent-movie-going public in Syracuse at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17, 1915. Construction had begun the previous August, and the Syracuse Herald touted the project’s use of “local capital, local labor, and local brains.” Entertainment offered at this theater was different from the live stage shows that attracted residents less than
The Strand Theater opened to the silent-movie-going public in Syracuse at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17, 1915.
Construction had begun the previous August, and the Syracuse Herald touted the project’s use of “local capital, local labor, and local brains.” Entertainment offered at this theater was different from the live stage shows that attracted residents less than a generation before. Motion pictures were still relatively new to Onondaga County. The Strand wasn’t the first motion-picture theater; that honor most likely belongs to the Crescent Theatre, which opened in 1909 on S. Salina Street. The Strand followed the Crescent and Novelty (both 1909), the Empire (1911), the Eckel (1913), the Temple (1914), as well as other smaller theaters. By the time the Strand opened in 1915, more than 50 theaters had been built or converted in Syracuse to show “the once despised” movies. Stigmatized by a reputation of being sleazy peep-show dives, early movie-house owners began to promote their theaters as wholesome visual-entertainment venues. “Devoted exclusively to [showing] the highest class [of] motion pictures,” the Strand was the latest grand movie theater to open in Syracuse to show motion pictures.
The Strand Theater, located at 501 S. Salina St. in Syracuse, was designed by Thomas W. Lamb at a cost of $200,000 (valued at $4.7 million in 2016 dollars). Lamb was the same architect who designed the Strand Theater in New York City. He also designed the Temple, RKO Keith, and the Loew’s State (now the Landmark) theaters in Syracuse. The Mitchell Mark Company of Buffalo built the Strand from Lamb’s design; it was its 13th movie theater. In promoting the physical attributes of the Strand, Mitchell Mark said, “There are so many new ideas in it; it’s so complete, so metropolitan. It cannot fail to take the city by storm, Syracuse is certainly awake to the drawing power of the motion pictures, as the Twentieth century form of amusement, and the deluxe pictures that will be presented here will bring the public in droves.”
Several local businessmen invested in the Strand, including Isaac Rosenbloom, co-owner of the Rosenbloom & Son department store, George Tickner, VP of Syracuse Trust Company, and William E. Kane, an inventor, industrialist, & amateur archaeologist who developed a hoist bridge for the Erie Canal in Syracuse and was present at the discovery of the tomb of the famed Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun (King Tut). The Syracuse Herald praised these local businessmen (known as the Syracuse Strand Theater Company) for putting forth their best efforts and instilling civic pride in Syracuse by constructing an upscale, aesthetic entertainment site, whose very presence in the community fostered civic pride for a new Syracuse.
The theater’s interior was designed in the French Renaissance motif, decorated in ivory and gold colors, with rose-colored curtains. It featured mezzanine and balcony levels, boasted the latest in amenities and comfort, and accommodated nearly 1,700 patrons. A full orchestra placed on the theater’s stage provided the musical accompaniment for the silent films, supported by a $15,000 pipe organ.
On opening night, a large crowd filled its seats, even as over 1,000 disappointed patrons were turned away. As the curtain rose, revealing the orchestra and organ, the crowd enthusiastically applauded, and then rose to their feet as the national anthem commenced. The first movie shown at the Strand that night was a dramatic love story entitled, “The Warrens of Virginia,” produced and directed by Cecile B. DeMille, and starring Blanche Sweet as Agatha Warren. Within the backdrop of the American Civil War, the plot featured Ned Burton, a Union soldier in love with Agatha, who leaves her to fight the war. During the film, Agatha protects Ned and saves him from certain death, while she remains torn between her love for the soldier and her loyalty to the Southern cause.
During its opening days, the Syracuse Strand Theater received first-run movies directly from the New York City Strand Theater, and showed them before other Syracuse movie theaters received them. The films featured popular silent-movie stars such as Elsie Janis, Gaby Deslys, and William H. Crane. Crane, a notable comic actor, starred in “David Harum,” a silent film made in 1915 that was based on the 1898 novel of the same name, written by Edward Noyes Westcott of Syracuse. The Strand showed the movie on March 21, four days after the theater opened. The film titles changed frequently, almost daily. Theater owners wanted the public to return regularly, making profits to pay their investors, and cultivating customer loyalty, as well as an atmosphere that transported viewers to other lands, times, and circumstances. With World War I raging throughout Europe and the Middle East, violence, natural and man-made disasters, and political agitation in the United States, movie goers often escaped into make-believe, where the virtues of truth and justice prevailed.
The Strand Theater was successful during the Roaring ‘20s. In 1925, the theater hosted an impressive children’s Christmas party. More than 1,500 children attended the party inside the theater, while hundreds were turned away. The theater continued to show the newest motion pictures and it smoothly transitioned from silent films to talkies late in the decade. In October 1928, advertisements for the Strand promoted the theater as “The Home of Talkies.” At this time, the theater also became more cavalier with its reputation for showing respectable films. Advertising a film titled, “Show Girl,” the theater portrayed the lead actress, Alice White as the new, vivacious movie favorite and “Hotsy Totsy.” Also listed were the Strand Debutantes, an all-girl band. The ad also exploited the status of Franklin Chase, a well-respected newspaperman & editor of the Syracuse Journal, local historian, and civic leader. Chase was quoted as saying, “See it and become merrymakers. Don’t miss this picture.” The Strand wasn’t alone in its attempt to capitalize on society’s vacillating mores at the end of the 1920s; other Syracuse movie theaters followed suit with more adult-oriented plots, seemingly colliding head-on with earlier attempts at disassociating themselves with less-dignified movie story lines.
In August 1929, the Syracuse Strand Theater Company leased the theater to Warner Bros. Studios for 10 years, having rejected an earlier purchase offer of $400,000 by Paramount Pictures. Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corp. also had considered buying the Strand but reconsidered its purchase offer. The days of independently owned movie theaters were being challenged as these theaters were becoming absorbed by producer-distributor-operator corporations. By 1933, RKO operated the Strand on behalf of Warner Bros. In Syracuse, RKO also owned the Keith’s and the Paramount theaters.
In 1935, the Strand became part of a movie-theater management pool controlled by RKO and Schine Enterprises. J. Meyer Schine started Schine Enterprises in Syracuse in 1915. Subsequently moving to Gloversville, N.Y. by the time of the operations agreement, Schine Enterprises owned more than 75 movie theaters in New York state. The agreement between RKO and Schine divided control of the Syracuse movie theaters between the two management companies, and they dictated which theaters would show first and second-run movies. The Strand then became known as the RKO Schine Strand.
By 1940, the Strand was offering live entertainment along with its movie presentations. In between showing the most recent films of the day, audiences could also go to the Strand to watch variety-show revues, Blackstone the magician, or drummer Gene Krupa and his swing band.
In April 1943, the RKO Schine Strand joined the Loew’s State theater chain and became known as the Loew’s Strand Theater. This new association with Loew’s, which occurred during the height of World War II, was marked by a campaign to sell $328,000 in war bonds. The Back Your Buddy with a Bond campaign culminated on April 28 with a parade through downtown Syracuse that ended at the Strand. Inside, patriotic exercises were conducted on the Strand’s stage. A capacity crowd joined in the festivities, free of charge, with Loew’s staff giving each patron who purchased a war bond a souvenir admission card. Theater management announced that the new Loew’s Strand would show only first run movies in its newly decorated theater.
Throughout most of the 1950s, the Loew’s Strand Theater continued to offer a wide variety of movies. During the early to mid-1950s, westerns were a popular genre, along with other hits featuring Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Burt Lancaster. However, the 1950s also saw the end of the Strand Theater’s existence.
On Aug. 16, 1959, the Strand showed its last movies. The lineup included a Tom & Jerry cartoon, Loew’s News of the Day, and the feature film: “A Hole in the Head,” starring Frank Sinatra & Edward G. Robinson. The advertisement in the Syracuse newspapers simply stated, “Last Day.” After 45 years, the Strand Theater closed its doors to its loyal movie-going patrons that Sunday night.
The closing was precipitated by the City of Syracuse offering to buy the Strand Theater from Loew’s for $225,000 and build a parking garage on the site, providing the court approved the sale. After some wrangling with one city councilman, the city won court approval, passed local legislation to sell $1 million in bonds to build the garage, and proceeded to demolish the opulent theater. When it opened on Monday, May 1, 1961, the Strand Garage was the first mechanical parking garage in Syracuse, featuring staff-operated elevators that raised or lowered vehicles throughout the multi-level structure. Unfortunately, the new garage opened to a lackluster response by downtown drivers; only 100 garage patrons parked in the available 360 sites while other parking garages filled to capacity. Almost from its opening, the Strand Garage was plagued by losing money. During its first month, the $1 million garage had only made $1,965, falling drastically behind the anticipated revenue. By 1962, collecting fees from too few parkers, paying staff salary, and facing constant repairs to the elevators and other equipment, the garage was losing $10,000 a month. By 1966, Lee Alexander, Democratic candidate for councilor-at-large, suggested that the city sell the garage, citing lost revenue and the construction of the MONY Center garage as a major competitor. As the 1960s came to a close, the Strand Garage was still losing more than $10,000 per month. By 1975, after 15 years of losing income on the “white elephant” garage, the now Mayor Alexander decided to close the Strand garage. Four years later, the closed parking garage was demolished, and in June 1980, Alexander opened another city-owned garage, built on the site of the old Strand Garage at a cost of $3.5 million and accommodating 570 vehicles. The new garage was connected to the Hotel Syracuse by a skyway bridge and was called the Hotel Syracuse Parking Garage. Because of Hotel Syracuse’s financial troubles in the 1990s and early 2000s, the garage had deteriorated and the city closed it in 2002. However, the city reopened the garage in 2007 and it remains open today. It will now serve a revitalized hotel and downtown Syracuse.
Thomas Hunter is the curator of museum collections at the Onondaga Historical Association (OHA) (www.cnyhistory.org), located at 321 Montgomery St. in Syracuse.
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