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Feds Say Connecticut Cities Had Little Economic Growth in 2014

OP-ED

New Haven – On To The Future By Joel Schiavone

Is The State’s Economy Sinking Or Swimming?

By: Aana Radelat

he U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recently issued a report on the 2014 gross domestic product (GDP) of 381 metropolitan areas in the nation. It said, collectively, the real GDP for U. S. metropolitan areas increased 2.3 percent in 2014 after increasing from 1.9 percent in 2013.

All metropolitan areas in Connecticut, however, had much less growth: less than 1 percent. Even the Bridgeport-StamfordNorwalk -- an area that has in recent years had robust growth -- had less than half of the average growth in GDP. New Haven had the most anemic growth with just .3 percent. The poor growth rates seem at odds with a Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA) assessment that Connecticut’s economy is growing stronger. CBIA economist Peter Gioia said the assessment by the BEA of Connecticut’s 2014 GDP is dated and likely to be revised upwards next year when the agency revises its figures. He also said the BEA’s GDP figures for 2015 will show stronger growth. “We have picked up steam in the last six to 12 months,” Gioia said, citing a 23,000 job gain in the state this year.

Is Your Wealth Showing? A recent experiment by Yale researchers found that when the financial rank of individuals is made visible to others, it creates more of an inequality gap between them. The experiment set up 1,462 people in 80 “temporary, smallscale ‘societies’” that involved three differSEPTEMBER 2015

But Fred Carstensen, director of UConn’s Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis, said the BEA is accurate in its assessment of Connecticut’s financial health, an assessment that isn’t likely to change soon. “It’s not a healthy picture,” Carstensen said.

The BEA said Hartford’s GDP last year was .6 percent, or about $85 billion. Most of that GDP -- about $75 billion -- was in private industry. The insurance and financial industries accounted for $42 billion, but that was down from the $47 billion generated by those industries in 2009. Manufacturing in the area has also not returned to a pre-recession peak of $10.7 billion in 2007. It was only $9.3 billion last year, the BEA said. “The bottom line is that it’s a pretty dire report,” Carstensen further said. “We are still way below where were in 2007.” Edited and reprinted with permission from ctmirror.org

ent types of “distinct levels of economic inequality” like ones seen present day. Participants were asked to cooperate in tasks where some received more income than others, and were put into a situation where they had to interact with said incomes, which involved increasing or decreasing that wealth. Researchers found that inequality between

financial stability and wealth is higher than ever in today’s age. The study provided a rare opportunity to experiment in a lab setting, rather than relying on statistical evidence like many would in this case. The researchers said the reason for this visibility wealth issue was because psychological and neurological processes can take place that make it seem that one person is in competition with another.

Some 35 years ago, I wrote a strategic plan for the City of New Haven, stating that the perception of the city was now and forever based on the perception of its downtown. Out of a vibrant downtown would flow a sophisticated neighborhood with ideas and energy benefitting the larger New Haven region. No one remembers my authorship, nor did anyone ever read or follow it. Maybe I just got in front of the train as it was a great idea. So good was this vision, that it was largely embraced by the market, if not by the politicians. The results were obvious in the real estate values, the downtown population and general buzz New Haven currently enjoys. It will still take another 25 years to have the maturity to realize its full benefits, but progress is made yearly. This is not a paean to my foresightedness, but instead an inflexible truth dictating that only a well thought out strategic initiative will have a long-term impact on any city or organization. Individual projects such as a coliseum or community colleges never have any impact and usually only stand as an extensive non-working monument to executive exuberance. Development of any sort should not proceed without a strategic context. Therefore…. It is time for another strategic initiative. What can we do next to encourage another explosion of excitement to keep New Haven at the forefront of successful cities? I have two ideas. The first is to deal with the physical condition of our city, the second, with the emotional artistic future. Both are long-term initiatives that will influence the city forever and will give the current mayor a royal heritage.

The artistic future: New Haven was a major source of talent and facilities throughout the history of the American theatre and with a coordinated effort, can be an even larger factor in the future. The art form is presently under siege as younger generations find comfort in the electronic world as opposed to live theatre. Is there something we can do to counteract this trend and gain New Haven recognition for these efforts?

perception of New Haven as a leader will grow. It will attract attention away from New York as an alternative; a much cheaper place to produce original work; more sophisticated theatre audiences to encourage playwrights and playgoers; it will create a path for new works from beginning at the smallest theatre up through the largest. Inevitably, this will improve neighborhoods, restaurants and the artistic IQ of all our citizens.

Our uniqueness, from which all strategies flow, is based first on the rich theatrical history of New Haven and second on the large number of theatrical organizations presently residing in New Haven like the Yale Drama School, Yale rep, Yale Cabaret, Long wharf stages 1 and 2, the Shubert, the high school of the arts with its several theaters, the Little Theatre, Southern University and its theater program, Quinnipiac, most high schools, Foote School, Hamden Hall, Shakespeare in the parks, emerging Puppet House theatre, Lyric, the Festival of Arts and Ideas to name a few.

The waterfront: The focal point of most cities in the world, completely ignored in New Haven and most Connecticut cities is the water front. As the downtown continues its progress, additional housing and neighborhoods need to be created. The obvious place is on the water, providing access for an increasing number of people to the water until finally the world realizes that New Haven is on the ocean.

How can we capture the magic of this history and the current presence of all these theatres and theatrical organizations to make a major impact on the perception and financial success of the City? New Haven needs to collectively organize a theatrical community that supports each other through some of the following: an all-encompassing advisory board which helps with a coordinated marketing and advertising program; a centralized ticketing outlet; weekly emails; a talent pool of volunteers and artists; a yearly theatrical festival; and a modest fund raising effort to support all this. In addition, what’s needed is the creation of a professional theatre arts school, and a think tank on the future of the American theatre. Theatres all over the US are having trouble surviving. A collective approach is the only answer to future relevance and even survival; generate more money and larger audiences to counteract, and hopefully reverse this trend.

The process is relatively simple. Create a non-political committee to guide this long term effort. This committee, in turn, will coordinate a comprehensive report on the waterfront. New York completed this process 20 years ago and can certainly share their guidelines. Once the waterfront is identified, then a long-term planning and public relations process can be undertaken to gradually increase waterfront development and utilization. The commercial waterfront, excepting oil, is basically nonexistent, and will not revive. Accepting this will free up a large portion of the harbor for residential development. Fair Haven is one of the finest examples of 1800s fishing neighborhoods. It needs to be captured and protected. Old time commercial development on the Mill River is clearly out of place there in a post waterpower era. The West River is hidden amongst every conceivable commercial mess. With these two initiatives, New Haven will no longer be known solely as the home of Yale University.

Over a long period of time, say 10 years, as the theatres continue to succeed, the 5

} EDUCATION

YALE BEATS HARVARD. . .

for domestic stocks, which returned 8.2% annually, and for domestic bonds, which returned 4.4% annually. Relative to the estimated 6.6% average return of college and university endowments, over the past decade Yale’s investment performance added $8.5 billion of value in the form of increased spending and enhanced endowment value. During the 10-year period, the endowment grew from $15.2 billion to $25.6 billion, net of spending.

At Return On Investment

ale’s endowment earned an 11.5% investment return (net of all fees) for the year ending June 30, 2015. The endowment value grew from $23.9 billion on June 30, 2014, to $25.6 billion on June 30, 2015, net of spending that supports faculty salaries, student scholarships, and other expenses. The University benefited from investment gains of approximately $2.6 billion. Harvard remains the largest endowment in the world, at $37.5 billion, although returns on investments were only 5.8% for the year ending June 30. Yale’s endowment ranks second, while Princeton’s endowment ranks third at $18.8 billion and Stanford is fourth at 18.6 billion. Not too shabby for non-profit institutions claiming tax exempt status. Spending from the endowment, which is the largest source of revenue for the University, for Yale’s 2016 fiscal year is projected to be $1.2 billion, representing approximately 34% of the University’s net revenues. Endowment distributions to the operating budget have nearly doubled in the last decade, with an annualized increase in endowment spending of 6.4%. Those distributions support, among other priorities,

Over the past two decades, Yale’s endowment generated returns of 13.7% per annum. Compared to the estimated 8.5% average return of college and university endowments, Yale’s investment performance added $23.4 billion of incremental value. During the 20-year period, the endowment grew from $4.0 billion to $25.6 billion, net of spending.

Pike Internationa Yale’s spending and investment policies provide substantial support to the operating budget for current scholars, while preserving endowment purchasing power for future generations. Approximately a quarter is specified by donors to support professorships and teaching. Nearly a fifth is dedicated to scholarships, fellowships and prizes. A quarter is available for general University purposes. The remaining endowment funds are donor-designated to support specific departments or programs.

salutes Carol H

Yale’s commitment to meeting full financial need of every student enrolled in Yale College. The University’s longer term results remain in the top tier of institutional investors. Yale’s endowment returned 10.0% per annum over the 10 years ending June 30, 2015, surpassing broad market results

for continuing ou

of revitalizing Ne Pike International proudly

one building a

salutes Carol Horsford

for continuing our tradition of revitalizing New Haven one building at a time!

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Job Centers to Remain Open with ‘Reduced Services’ Job Centers Will Survive…But Not Without Losing A Limb Or Two By Keith M. Phaneuf Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration announced on September 28th a revised plan to keep open six Department of Labor job centers – albeit with reduced services and smaller, privatized staffs. Testifying before a legislative panel about the 95 departmental layoffs ordered by the governor this past summer, Labor Commissioner Sharon T. Palmer expressed fears that her reduced departmental staff will struggle to provide services during the peak demand period this winter. But speaking in general about the new plan to scale back departmental services to adjust for the layoffs, Palmer said “I think it will work and work well.” The department currently operates 18 job centers across the state, providing a variety of training, job search and other assistance programs. Twelve of those centers are deemed “full service centers” and are staffed by state employees, while six “affiliate centers” are staffed with privately contracted workers and provide fewer services. The administration announced in July that 95 of the department’s workers would be laid off because of shrinking federal assistance. About 700 of the department’s 800 workers are funded with federal dollars – aid which is reduced as Connecticut’s unemployment rate improves. At the same time, the administration also indicated that five or six full service job centers also would close and one of the department’s two call centers also would be shut down. The announcements prompted objections from state

employee labor unions and from legislators whose districts include the affected centers. At the same time, the administration also indicated that five or six full service job centers also would close, and one of the department’s two call centers also would be shut down. The announcements prompted objections from state employee labor unions and from legislators whose districts include the affected centers. “We needed to take more dramatic actions to address this,” Malloy’s budget chief Benjamin Barnes explained Monday. Since that initial announcement, the administration has found new assignments in other agencies for 60 of the 95 workers who received pink slips. He told the members of the legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee that he hopes to find placements for the rest soon.

until July – one month after the regular 2015 legislative session had ended. Federal funding to cover state labor department jobs came up $14 million short in the fall of 2014, and the administration largely solved the problem using off-budget state funds. Palmer said it really wasn’t clear that layoffs were necessary until late spring, but Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, whose district includes Norwich, said there still was time to inform legislators during the session. “I’m OK with receiving bad news,” she said. “I prefer to see the bad news I’m receiving up front.” Rep. Peter Tercyak, D-New Britain, who co-chairs the committee, said he was

pleased the administration had modified its plans to avoid any full closures. But he also urged Barnes and Palmer to inform legislators immediately of the department struggles to provide any vital services this winter. For example, Tercyak said, an unemployed resident waiting to hear if an application for unemployment benefits is granted already is under great stress without having to face a long wait. “For the unemployed, who were living paycheck-to-paycheck, waiting for the decision is scary,” he said. Edited and reprinted with permission from ctmirror.org

Critics noted that many of the centers targeted for closure were in urban areas, where unemployment was highest. Palmer and Barnes announced Monday that no centers would close. Instead, six facilities –those in Enfield, Meriden, New Britain, Norwich, Torrington and Windham – instead would be restructured from full service to affiliate centers next month. Eastern Connecticut was a particular concern because of the many rural communities and a lack of public transportation. Palmer said there will be full centers in New London and Killingly to complement the affiliate centers in Windham and Norwich. Palmer also conceded she has “significant concerns” about how her department, which already struggles to meet demand during busy times, will fare this winter. The department’s “high season” runs from January through March, she said. That’s when construction, seasonal retail workers and others need other employment. “I can’t tell you that we’ve solved how we’re going to do that with less personnel, but it’s on our radar,” she added. Some legislators criticized the Malloy administration for not announcing the layoffs and planned job center closures

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Vol XXI,I No.1 September 2015

Editor & Publisher Mitchell Young Editorial Assistant Rachel Bergman Design Consultant Terry Wells Graphics Manager Matt Ford Publisher’s Assistant Amy Kulikowski Publisher’s Representative Robin Kroopnick Robin Ungaro Contributors Rachel Bergman Jessica Giannone Amy Kulikowski Emili Lanno Derek Torrellas

Photography Steve Blazo Derek Torrellas Lesley Roy Business New Haven is a publication of Second Wind Media, Ltd., with offices at 458 Grand Avenue, New Haven, CT 06513. Telephone (203) 781-3480. Fax (203) 781-3482. Subscriptions: $32 annually. Send name, address and ZIP code with payment. Second Wind Media, Ltd., d/b/a Business New Haven, shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad or for typographical errors or errors in publication. Order your subscription at:

} REGULATION – JOBS

Employee Compensation Costs In Northeast Rank Nation’s Highest

mployer costs for employee compensation in private industry among the four regions of the country ranged from $28.85 per hour in the South to $38.35 in the Northeast during June 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) measures the average cost to employers for wages and salaries and benefits per employee hour worked. The Northeast region is comprised of both New England States and Mid-Atlantic States covering: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. In the Northeast, hourly total compensation costs were comprised of the following: wages and salaries ($25.55) made

up 66.6 percent, while total benefits ($12.80) accounted for the remaining 33.4 percent. Insurance costs, which include life, health, and

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and personal leave, was $2.82 per hour worked and accounted for 7.4 percent of total compensation costs. Hourly wages and salaNew Haven-based Continuity, a software provider that delivers technology solutions that automate compliance management for financial institutions was elected as the fastest growing Connecticut technology in the Connecticut Technology Council’s Marcum Tech Top 40.

short- and long-term disability, averaged $3.19 per hour worked, or 8.3 percent of all compensation costs. Legally required benefits, which include Social Security and Medicare, workers’ compensation, and unemployment insurance, averaged $2.96 per hour and represented 7.7 percent of total compensation costs. Paid leave benefits, which includes vacation, holiday, sick,

ries averaged $22.51 in the West The Midwest region recorded an hourly wage and salary average of $20.14 In the South, wages and salaries averaged $20.53 per hour The biggest gaps, though, came in the addons with the Northeast having the most expensive benefits offerings, legally required benefits and paid leave costs.

DOJ Increases Efforts to Prosecute Executives

Even If It’s In The Board Room, “Crime Is Crime”

Conntact.com email: news@conntact.com

Leader of the Tech Pack

At a recent presentation at the New York University School of Law, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates announced a new policy on “Individual Liability in Matters of Corporate Wrongdoing.” She emphasized the justice department’s responsibility to pursue crime regardless of whether it occurs on the street corner or in the board room. “In the most basic ways, though, corporate misconduct isn’t all that

Continuity has achieved revenue growth of 1,142 percent since 2011. Founded in 2007 the company is led by Andrew Greenawalt, its CEO and co-founder. This is Greenawalt’s second go-around with a Tech Top 40 company, having been a founder of 2008-2011 finalist Perimeter eSecurity (now SilverSky). Other 2015 category winners are: Revolution Lighting Technologies Inc., Stamford (Advanced Manufacturing) FuelCell Energy, Inc., Danbury (Energy/ Environmental Technologies) Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cheshire (Life Sciences) iSend, LLC, Middlebury (New Media/ Internet/Telecom) Datto, Inc., Norwalk (IT Services) The Marcum Tech Top 40, now in its 8th year, recognizes technology companies with at least $3 million in annual revenue and a four-year record of growth, in six industry sectors. Both privately held and publicly traded companies are eligible.

charges against corporate cases, and in particular: If a company wants credit for cooperation, it must identify all individuals involved in the wrongdoing, regardless of their position, status, or seniority in the company and provide all relevant facts about their misconduct. different from everything else [the Department of Justice] investigates and prosecutes,” Yates said at the presentation. “Crime is crime.” This intent was initially discussed by Attorney General Eric Holder, which Current Attorney General Loretta Lynch has committed to pursuing and has instructed Department of Justice (DOJ) officials to pursue. Yates outlined many actions that will become standard DOJ practice in the face of the difficulty in bringing in

Attorneys are to focus on individuals from the start of an investigation, regardless of civil or criminal origins. The focus of the civil enforcement strategy will broaden and not just focus on potential monetary recovery. Yates said “We look forward to the work that will be required as we seek greater accountability from those who use corporations to lie, cheat and steal. It won’t always be easy, but we’re ready for it. Our nation and its citizens deserve nothing less.” WWW.CONNTACT.COM

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The 2015 Business New Haven Rising Stars are joined this year by The Dreamers and Doers published by our sister publication New Haven magazine. Together the group demonstrates, the energy, vitality and creativity that brings personal and organizational success and is building the economic and social fabric of greater New Haven.

Jeremy Rosner

opening.” It’s different. It’s a good test of managing personalities. You’re trying to make everyone get along so things can move along.

Title: Commercial Realtor and Property Manager

Obstacles Surmounted: Opening and keeping open my own real estate business was a struggle. Rosner Doherty opened in August of ’08 and the market crashed in October of that year. Prices dropped, banks weren’t lending. I survived for a while, but there wasn’t enough to sustain me, my partners left, I was in the office all of the time. I did alright, but closed up shop to stop having to carry the admin and small business burden.

Organization: Levey Miller Maretz Background/Education: born and raised in New Haven, went to Mullenberg College in Allentown, PA. What do you do: I sell and lease property. I’ve leased and sold millions of dollars in real estate in the greater New Haven area. I’m also Involved in a lot of different things, I’m on the Board for Pulse, the young professional group for the Chamber – and I do community service. I’m a member of the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Although I never played, I was always a fan and used to attend the events as a kid. They put on a weekend every year, and I help run the All-American Experience. It’s a public event at the Floyd Little Academic Center at Hillhouse. It’s an autograph session with Walter Camp All-Americans and an interactive event for kids with bouncy houses, and a clinic for about 200 kids run by 10-12 local area high school football coaches. Alumni and All-Americans participate and there are 12 stations where they learn football skills. I started as a volunteer with that event and then was asked to take it over. Tony Dorsett comes back every year. Blair Thomas and Tony Rice come back every year. I also serve on the Woodbridge Economic Development Commission and that’s a new thing for me, my first foray into town government. I’m Learning as I go, but it’s nice to be a part of something that is actually impacting the town I live in. It’s about promoting businesses in town, how to keep businesses and grow businesses. I was approached by a member of town government who was looking for commissioners and thought I would be a good fit. Also, I serve on the Board of the Jewish

Advice for others: Get involved with groups to meet people and network, because everyone is trying to make money. Networking is the best, have breakfast – you never know when someone is going to come back and be an asset. If you’re young, go to all of those happy hours. Also, don’t bring your work home. Be honest and open – communication gets you everywhere, it’s an essential part to growing in any industry. What’s Next: Hopefully I will continue to grow the property management business here. I don’t plan on going anywhere, I’m hoping to grow with this company, and I hope to be a part of its future. Levey Miller Maretz has acquired other companies along the way, acquired Beazley property management about a year and a half ago, and we should continue on that trend.

Federation. I don’t oversee any committees there, but the Jewish Federation raises money to give out to other nonprofits in the area. I have a 17 month old, so the meetings are after he goes to bed.

What would you want people to know about you: I like to cook, I enjoy sports like golf, tennis and skiing. I gardens, have a vegetable garden. We’re expecting another baby (Congrats!). I’m a local guy, love the area, I plan to stay.

What about work: As a property manager, I manage 5 different condo associations – which has been “eye-

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Dormer Stephen (203) 836-2803 Joseph P. Williams (203) 836-2804 HARTFORD SEPTEMBER 2015

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Bruce Seymour

Facebook or your memory card or wherever you store photos and sends them directly to your nearest Walgreen’s to print. The app has processed over 10 million prints, sometimes at a rate of up to 50,000 prints a day. It just launched in Germany.

Title: Managing Director Organization: MEA Mobile, a 15-employee app development firm that does contract work for businesses looking to create an app, but also produces proprietary apps for sale to the public

Professional Inspiration: I am a big fan of 2 very diverse role models. The first is Harvey Mackay, who was the king of envelopes, he was an old school envelope guy who wrote business books in the late 90s. Alan Kay was the other inspiration, he was the genius behind “objectoriented programming” – a method for programming that everybody today uses. They’re both famous and alive. Alan Kay is famous for saying the best way to predict the future is to invent it and that’s something that I try to do.

Background/Education: Born in New Britain and went to CCSU where he earned a degree in Marketing (’98). Currently, he is married to a previous rising star, Mariah Sage of Theater Four and Fairfield University. How Did You Get To This Stage: Out of college, I worked for a tech start-up founded by Gabriel Engle and I did a lot of business development, but I was exposed to the tech side of things. I contributed to the patent portfolio, even, but I had been programming since I was about 12, anyway. I learned from my father, who was a former G.E. programmer who designed circuitbreakers in Plainville. The start-up was called PureDepth, which makes 3D computer screens and is still going. I was the first U.S. employee. The company is in New Zealand. When I left the company, I did a lot of independent film work, joining my brother and some friends in the industry. I did a lot of producing short-term. I went back to the tech industry to work with Gabriel again at McFarland Engle and associates – an innovation management firm doing IP consulting. I did patent analysis and that kind of thing – infringement analysis and patent work. It was heavy technology work. Then the iPhone came out and I saw an opportunity with software development and started MEA Mobile as a project inside McFarland Engle and Associates. MEA

hit a few benchmarks and spun out into an independent business by 2012. A karaoke app was the company’s first project. It did pretty well, but the first big success was iSupr8, which takes beautiful iPhone video footage and makes it look like 8mm 70s film shots. It’s like instagram for video. It was the #1 app in over 80 countries and we ended up doing a partnership with Levi’s to do promotion for the Levi’s film workshop. Then expanded that from the iPhone and made a version for iPad, Android, Windows 8 and even Blackberry. It was our first taste of success. The next big one, which eclipsed Supr8, was Printicular – which takes all of your photos from Dropbox or

What’s Next: MEA Mobile is a very proud member of CTNext, the hub of Connecticut’s innovation ecosystem. We’re doing a project with CTNext Train. They have a product lab in which they are incubating small projects and then we will try to launch them. They have a diverse group of 2 young women, 2 young men all with mixed backgrounds. They are being trained in mobile app development and mobile technologies, and they are working on actual commercial projects that will launch. We’re looking at a lot of media products with photo and video, but the product lab has a pool of projects across the spectrum from utilities to various other interests. It’s very broad, there’s a mix of some of their ideas and some of MEA’s internal ideas. With the right resources, we can take our 15 person company and turn it into 15,000. There’s no limit to the growth potential in the industry and lots of companies have done it over and over again. We hope for the same thing.

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Carol Horsford

Music to everyone’s ears and soon the start of a job and a mentor relationship for Horsford with the leader of New Haven’s largest residential property owner.

Title: Founder and Owner/Broker Organization: Farnham Realty Group

Role Model “When I started with Hecht we had four hundred and ninety units. When I left we had increased to more than twelve hundred.” Starting with apartment renewals Horsford and apparently Hecht saw her as a “natural’, he paid for her to get her real estate license. “After renewals he put me in charge of filling vacancies, then unto the managing the leasing team.” Horsford explains their success, “we were killing it, his rents were under market, I increased his rents a ton. New Haven was strong even in the worst economy.” Five years was the charm and Horsford set out n her own in 2012. Biggest Obstacle: Starting up the new business came as her first marriage had broken up, she says, “I was alone in love and alone in work.” A few property management clients and a small fortuitous commercial lease and her new company was off and running.

Education/Background Born in New Haven, although Hispanic [maiden name Lopez] and surname her second language; French. Horsford graduated from Southern [SCSU], then earned a graduate degree in Art History at the University of Strasbourg in France. “My parents met in New York, my father went to Yale and that’s how they got here. My mother still lives on Prospect Street [New Haven] in the home I grew up in”, adding “she was a music teacher in Hamden.” Why French? “My father was a musician, he also dabbled in [New Haven] real estate. He told his daughter in a nod to a previous tradition “any classy girl speaks French”, She adds, “I do speak ‘real estate’ Spanish, it is so close to French”. Accomplishments: Almost following in her parent’s footsteps, Horsford considered a career in music too, explaining, “I do sing and at one point I wanted to be a folk singer, but realized I didn’t want to live out of my car.” Horsford’s business career started at Cartier in Manhattan as an assistant to a vice president at the Cartier Mansion. “I was there for September 11th, I left right after and went to graduate school, it was too tough to be in the city, I was in France a month later.” Eventually the “dream job” came along – Christies Auction House, she explains, “every girl with a Masters in Art History wants to work for Christies.” An internship at the Yale Art Gallery, managing the “abandoned property” before the big renovation could be done, helped her land it. “There were things that had been loaned to the gallery that were in the archives, they needed permission from the donors to move them.” Resolving six hundred loans put Horsford in a good position to show Christies she could be valuable.

“I had to find these people, if there as a guy who gave a Paul Revere mug, I had to get permission to move it”. Marriage however brought her back to New Haven, her then husband a philosophy major [at Yale], couldn’t parley his education into a career and the family she was seeking, after six years the union ended. When I moved back in 2007 there were no jobs here. A turn of fate, when another “lost” property led her to a career in real estate starting at Pike International. “My mother lived on the same street as Pike’s president Shumlly Hecht his child wandered off and Hecht came barreling down the street asking “has anybody…”, the reply “we have him”.

Now What? The Farnham Realty Group office is plastered with listings boards for sale and rental properties, but behind all the activity a new reality is peeking out says Horsford. “The market has changed, because there is new construction tenant’s can hold out for something nicer, Granite, Stainless, Washer, dryer. I think the people who are going to suffer are the old East Rock landlord that doesn’t update anything but has a good location. A year or two yeas ago they would have no problem renting, but now are vacant.” Horsford however is building a portfolio of commercial buyers for investment properties and private sales that she says “never hit the market, right now I’m on contract in five commercial building that were never listed”.

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SEPTEMBER 2015

Jason V. Watts

Is there crossover between the corporate job your network: The people skills I’ve learned throughout the years at AT&T have helped me with building relationships and a network.

Title: Regional Territory Manager, AT&T; President of Urban Professionals Network

Role in the community: I work with Dream Grlz Inc., based out of New Britain. It’s a nonprofit and I help them with professional development and skills to use in networking. I do training and workshops on things like how to make a professional introduction, and dressing for success. One thing I do take pride in, that I really like, is that I’m the New England Ambassador for AT&T’s Aspire Mentoring program. It’s basically a nonprofit arm of AT&T involved in giving back to kids. The program promotes stem education, technology in schools and exposing underprivileged children to the various careers within telecommunications.

Organization: AT&T Background/Education: New Haven local, went to Southern Connecticut State University and now at Albertus Magnus Professional Accomplishments: I’ve been with AT&T for 13 years, starting in the sales/call center, which is level 1 and worked my way up to Enterprise Sales, which is what I do now. I started when I was 19 and I couldn’t relate to older peers. I started the Urban Professionals Network in 2005, 10 years ago As far as the UPN, when it first started the main goal was to connect with likeminded young urban professionals. We’ve done that, and we’ve now evolved into marketing and events. We do group trips out of state. We do an annual trip to the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans and to sporting events, we do professional development workshops, we host and produce comedy shows every week at Joker’s Wild. We do marketing for regional and national entertainment acts. One of our greatest accomplishments is expansion out of state to Mass. Western Mass, and the Boston metro area joined us. From New Haven, we went statewide and reached New York, so now we are a good part of Mass and the rest of New England. Our motto is keeping you connected in New England. It’s a great state, it’s a great area, but if you’re a transplant to Connecticut or Massachusetts, and you don’t know what’s going on or how to meet people, my organization keeps you connected. You meet great people, you have a good time while doing it, and you have a chance to give back to the community with partner ventures like our holiday toy drive and food drives.

What else can you do: Some of the future plans involve creating a minority business directory, which is currently in the works. That way, a lot of our members can find resources and services through other community contacts within the network. We’re organizing corporate partners to launch a UPN job fair in New Haven in the first quarter of 2016. We’re expecting to become a resource center for local and regional corporations to find a diverse individual group of professionals that are pretty sharp. We do have a pipeline to a lot of local colleges and universities so companies can find up and coming young professionals. Our membership average age is 25-45. The come to UPN because they want to stay connected to a community.

We spend time in the schools and bring kids into the office to show students a day in the life of an AT&T employee. Ages range from 12-16, because right before they graduate, their mind should be focused on excelling in school. we try to help give them a career path. I recruit employees to get involved, like during events with students. I work to grow the participation level, advocating for STEM education and mentorships primarily in underprivileged school systems. In the past 7 years or so, the program has really taken shape. When I was growing up, this was not something I thought I was going to do. In the inner cities, you don’t really see a lot of talk about a telecoms career, but it’s so vast and there are so many different positions that I want to continue to advocate for the industry in the urban community. Have you had any special mentors: Yes, there’ve been a few. Professionally, Harry Green, a former SNET executive and Charles Scott, a mortgage broker out of Bridgeport and my godmother Deborah Gentry-Pullen. They taught me to strive for my dreams, taught me about professionalism, how to be strategic in the corporate world.

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Derek Beere

Biggest Role Model/Inspiration During Career Beere thought that an easy answer would be some guru in the industry that has led him and inspired him for his career today. However, since Beere has never met these people, he draws insight from people whom he sees and is surrounded by everyday.

Title: Director, Brand Engagement Organization: Mason Inc. Background/Education: Central Connecticut State University (2000), Communications major with a concentration in public relations, and marketing minor.

“I think a great listener and mentorship was my current boss, Fran Onofrio,” said Beere. “He has an open door policy, is a great listener, and a great example of a great public relations professional. He has been a role model, teacher, boss, and friend all along the way.”

Accomplishments As a kid, Beere had a goal of becoming a doctor and later on he started as a computer science major, realizing he was bad at math and science. However, this all quickly changed.

Beere also draws inspiration from a professor at CCSU that taught him to never settle for the first profession that jumped at him.

“When I was in college I was throwing my own events, really marketing and promoting my own underground dance music events and someone mentioned the public relations program. It was almost when you have that light bulb go off. I’m good at marketing and promoting and I quickly looked into that.” That was when Beere did a complete shift of courses, changed his major to communications with a concentration in public relations, and started to lay the groundwork for his present career. After graduating college in 2000, Beere went on a summer trip to Italy and returned with the pressure of finding a job. He did a search of public relations agencies and firms in Connecticut. Eventually, he was called in for an interview in 2001 with Mason, but that priority shifted, however, with that timing being around 9/11. It became a holdback for a year. During that year, Beere was DJing and created his own website. It consisted of interviews he conducted with different DJs and reviewing different albums. His reputation grew and he was sent commissions if people bought that album based off his review. As the year went by, finally in 2002, Beere received the call from Mason and he was hired. Beere has now been with Mason for 14 years. In that time, he has been promoted, and is now currently a director of brand engagement.

“He told me when you get out of college, don’t take the first job like so many students do. Wait for the right opportunity. So many people rush off to get jobs that they didn’t even go to school for. I held out and got the job that I wanted.” “My latest title is really due to the addition of social media to marketing landscapes. Social media fits comfortably in the public relations arena. My background with a PR focus is helping brands and companies engage with their audience, whether it’s PR and social media organic or paid social media. A brand and its audience.” Beere considers the variety of challenges each day as the most interesting aspect about his brand engagement process. “The daily challenge is never the same,” said Beere. “It’s field type work where you work with a lot of different clients, but it’s never stagnant. There are the basic housekeeping types of things that need to be done, but the challenge and the work is always different.” Beere greatly enjoys the fast paced environment that surrounds him in his career, noting that it’s “often exciting and moves very quickly.”

Biggest Obstacle Faced In his career, Beere wouldn’t look at things as an obstacle, but more as challenges presented to him. “We have to help the companies solve an issue,” said Beere. “Whether it’s to get more customers, a crisis, or brand awareness. That challenge comes in making an idea a reality. An idea that is strategic, that meets your clients’ goal of creative.” Advice for Other Professionals “Listen,” said Beere. “By listen I don’t mean follow instructions. You can learn a lot from listening. Also have some thick skin. Sometimes while you may think an idea may be a great thing, it could be open to criticism. You should take that into consideration and don’t be offended by it. Follow what your heart really wants to do. If you’re doing that, you’re already on the right track.”

“Social media is always evolving. A lot of new technology and new products. It’s really rooted in good sound strategy and creativity.”

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SEPTEMBER 2015

Julius L. Stone, Jr. Background/Education: Born and raised in New Haven, graduated from S.C.S.U. with a B.A. in Theater and a Master of Science degree in Recreation and Leisure

such a need for a level of culture and adventure and partying for what the city is trying to prepare itself for: a wave of the next new young professionals. Having conversations with economic developers and here on Audubon Street, we want to figure out how we are looking at how we recruit a young parent or a young single or individual fresh out of college. Even if they don’t have a ton of disposable income, how can we get them involved? By creating classes, or pushing classes that are for young pros and young parents, working with folks in the city to do things.

What Are You Up To: In 2010, I founded Stash & Ariston as an events management company. We do marketing, set-up, and party planning for events. Stash & Ariston has done fashion shows around New Haven, the Westville Art Walk, Liberty Community House’s fashion show as their stage manager and I was even hired to be one of the stage managers for Toni Harp’s inauguration. I was a part of a 2013 launch party with bands, and musicians like Nick Fradiani (before he left for American Idol). Recently, I helped a friend with the Grand Prix event and worked with Zinc to do a private party there. Currently, we’re consulting on a writer’s conference event with Yale, as well, helping them put together a closing party. I set up late night invite-only occasions at local restaurants, as well. Populating events is a part of what I do, anyway. I’m on the board of PULSE, the Chamber’s young professionals network, and I work to push happy hours and events, encouraging at least 50100 attendees. I get the word out. I want to help create a community for young professionals in the city, young adults. With the Neighborhood Music School, I produce concerts. With the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, I get young people to volunteer, get involved with the symphony. I was photographed as a part of the Now You See Me: Queer Identities Photography Project in the greater New Haven Community. It hung in City Hall, then be-

Your prescription: Here’s what I think needs to happen, or that I would suggest: creating substantial nightlife for people who are looking to still have fun. Having those conversations with bar owners and non-profits who are dealing with dying board members and patrons is the way. The NHSO director brought me on because I’m young and connected. I get people to volunteer as ushers, and they hear a concert for free. People need to know that opportunities exist, and organizations need to be creating these opportunities to engage young people. And young people should put themselves out there. New Haven is so small, it’s small enough to get to know Alders and the Mayor. There are so many communityspecific groups like the Junior League, Asian Association, NAACP, big city organizations in this very small space. Stop in to Info New Haven and take as many flyers as possible to see what’s there. The Arts Council has tons of stuff going on – if you are going to move to a place like NH, do a little research and ask questions like what’s working, and where to eat. Take the opportunity to explore the city – at a certain time in the season you can feel very frustrated that nothing is happening, like in the winter, but without being connected to groups, it’s harder to see everything going on. However, in June you see Arts & Ideas right there in your backyard and downtown. Also, we have some of the best food in the country.

Title: Community Engagement Liaison at Neighborhood Music School (NMS) and Volunteer Coordinator and Lead House Manager at New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO)

Photo:Jeffrey Kerekes

came a traveling exhibit. I think it’s at the Pride Center now. Hopes for your future in NH: That I can continuously influence and bring culture to New Haven. There is still

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Doug Hausladen

the finish line. I now get to be the person in charge of executing those changes for the city. The Union Street dog park is also one of my babies. It took 3-4 years and lots of community fundraising to make that happen, and it is not park land, but it is city-owned property.

Title: Director of Transportation, Traffic and Parking, also acting Executive Director of New Haven Parking Authority

So What Else Can You Accomplish With The City: We adopted a new ticketing enforcement software so your customer experience in paying a ticket is better, although many people may not notice or care. You can now look up your ticket by license plate. We’re trying to be more efficient. We went with a start up called Passport Parking and took a risk while improving the system, but it made a tremendous difference. It’s now the #1 provider of ticketing solutions. Citizens can now figure out if they are at risk of being towed. We’re working on being more mobile-friendly. We adopted an electronic work order system, which upgraded the department drastically. I want New Haven to be a gold level bicycle friendly community within 3 years; we’re currently at bronze level. In 2014, after some changes, the city went from honorable mention to bronze with the League of American Bicyclists – they have strict standards about what is good about a city’s biking. They provided the city with a scorecard. We’re going to reapply when we can get gold.

Organization: City of New Haven Background/Education From Northern Kentucky, grew up in Cincinnati, and went to Yale as a freshman in 2000. Majored in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He says’s “fell in love with New Haven.” How Did You Go From Molecular Biophysics to Traffic: I credit Yale for my problem solving skills, although I never pursued a science career. I did real estate with Elm Campus Partners, managing lots of property downtown from about 2006-2012. I became very involved with civic life, and while working downtown, it really became apparent that the streets were dangerous for pedestrians. Tenants and property owners engaged me on lots of issues that were “not my job,” like issues of safety and traffic. I linked up with my Community Management Team and Elm City Cycling, got interested, became chairman, and was active in the community policing side of things. It was after the deaths of Mila Rainof and [5th grader] Gabriella Lee that things really took off, gained momentum. Both were killed trying to cross New Haven streets. We gathered over 3,000 signatures in 2008 and worked with the Board of Alders to draft complete streets legislation, which passed in the fall of 2009, and was the second ever ordinance of its kind in the country. I helped with the Street Smarts campaign in 2009-2010, which won awards for public safety relations. We hosted a few well-attended symposiums on violence in the downtown due to spikes of violence, too. Then, I became an Alderman with the City and then, I went to work for the City.

Which Projects Are You Most Proud Of: I did nothing on my own, I always worked with others, but through organizing efforts like New Haven Safe Streets Coalition and Yale Safe Streets, we made long-lasting permanent change for safer streets. We rebalanced priorities in traffic design, which had previously been solely for auto use, but now pedestrians and cyclists are a priority, too. When you start designing for an expanded transportation system beyond cars, you start getting things like the Whitney/Audubon crosswalk, which is my baby. It was my first project request form, which is the way for citizens to request projects from their government. That intersection took years to complete, and one of my first acts in office here at the city was to get that project over

Words of Wisdom To Aspiring Safety Officials: Residents should get engaged, I got engaged at the local level – the community management team meeting is where I started. Advocate for your neighbors and maybe it starts with one hot issue as a flare-up, but then [that issue] might go away or get solved. If you have questions, ask them, if you aren’t getting the right answer, ask again. Be respectful. I highly recommend local community management team meetings. I met a lot of people interested in making New Haven their permanent home.

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New Haven magazine

Dreamers & Doers Jack Tsai A psychiatrist with Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Centers, Tsai spearheads research and psych treatment for homeless vets to promote post-traumatic growth—positive psychology, gratitude and resilience. Tsai’s model of peer support is now being duplicated with vets around New England.

Katie Timlin Part-time yogi and full-time project manager for SeeClickFix, Katie works with 108 Monkeys to provide yoga instruction to grade-schoolers at Fair Haven public schools, and offers popup yoga classes on an ongoing basis—like at

a waterfront Long Wharf location or The Happiness Lab coffee shop during lunch, but she could popup – anywhere. Ohhmmm.

As program manager of young adult services at Continuum of Care for autistic young people transitioning out of foster care, Jessica works with a singular goal in mind: encourage independence, joy of life, promote resilience to move forward, and change the stigma attached to mental illness. Jessica has begun to Ian Applegate incorporate “family time,” art therapy, Founder of nhv.org, a and exciting field hyperlocalized social media aggregator in New trips for her Haven news and events, promoter and curator residents— of the hashtag #NHV, Ian Applegate and even is just all about NHV. From staff—to try severe housing to reduce insecurity only a turnover. year ago, to online content manager for Town Green and celebrated videographer, Ian knows how to make things happen creatively.

biodegradable ‘sproutfetti’ made of paper with wildflower seeds embedded in, which is even of Elephant in the Room Boxing Gym plantable. Huizenga also co-owns a creative workshop series for women called Monarch is a worldclass champion boxer Workshop to foster entrepreneurship, networking, wellness and creativity. who would have loved to Frank Brady, Dream Director with the compete in the Future Project at Wilbur Cross High School, is Beijing Olympics— a spoken-word poet had women been and public speaker allowed. Although she who performs in can recite statistics like only 5% and around New of inner city girls participate in sports—EIR has Haven, as well produced a champion New England Golden as nationwide Gloves boxer every year and this year achieved at events like best novice team. Canady says coaching a girl Fresh Fest and up through the ranks to the Olympics would the Congressional be a dream come true. Black Caucus. As Dream Director, Jessica Brady helped students Huizenga, launch more than 30 projects last year, like a who entertains sneaker exchange, in which students bought, 21,000 Instagram sold and exchanged sneakers, talent shows followers, and charitable fundraisers—peaceful creative created The events between Cross and the community. Confetti Bar, on

Devonne Canady

Jessica Medina

Stacey Kigney, the founder of Air

Temple Arts aerial dance and circus school, used Kickstarter to produce her first show Missed Connections at Lyric Hall. She later opened Air Temple Arts, offering 20-30 classes per week, and subsequently put on more shows, like the recent Special Relativity, a sold out show about time travel and love. She recently newly launched Cirqularity professional production company.

online store of specialty confetti blends—like a SEPTEMBER 2015

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Join With Us: We Putand Your Business First, We Put New Haven First business decision makers the region’s active and involved consumers and citizens. Greater New Haven’s two leading independent publications. Reaching and serving business decision makers and the region’s active and involved and citizens. Greater Newconsumers Haven’s premier lifestyle www.ConnTact.com

MARCH 2015

The source for business news and marketing across greater The source for business New Haven news and marketing for more than across greater twenty years. New Haven for more than twenty years.

u u

Coalition Seeks Paid Family And Medical Leave No Legislators Step Coalition Seeks Up In Support Paid Family And Medical Leave

MARCH 2015

By Christine Stuart

Connecticut was one of the first states to pass a Family and Medical Leave Act in the 1990s, and a coalition is hoping it maintains its edge by passing a bill to ensure that it’s paid leave.

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BENEDICT ARNOLD: THE BURNING OF NEW LONDON

Catherine Bailey, public policy director for the Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund, said even those who have access to unpaid leave are scared they will get fired if they take it or they simply can’t afford to take it. Continued on page 10

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HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL STUDENT WRITERS HAVE THEIR SAY PAGE 27 $3.95 |M A RC H/A PR I L | 2015 www.newhavenmagazine.com

$3.95 |M A RC H/A PR I L | 2015

By Christine Stuart Connecticut was one of the first states to pass a Family and Medical Leave Act in the 1990s, and a coalition is hoping it maintains its edge by passing a bill to ensure that it’s paid leave.

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“ON GIVING UP,” By Dave Thomas, Acrylic on Canvas. Photo by Lesley Roy

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THE FINE ART OF FINGER PAINTING

No Legislators Step Up In Support

a baby, but atBailey, least 40public percent of the workplace is Catherine policy director for the notConnecticut even covered by the federal legislation chamWomen’s Education and Legal Fund, pioned by former Dodd. The bill said even thoseU.S. whoSen. haveChris access to unpaid leave would give employees, including making are scared they will get fired if those they take it or they minimum wage, an option to it. contribute as little as simply can’t afford to take a $1 per week to a trust fund that would provide Continued page them with their full salary for up to 12on weeks of 10 leave.

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Currently, most large employers offer some type of paid leave for employees who need to take care of a sick loved one, are sick themselves, or just had a baby, but at least 40 percent of the workplace is not even covered by the federal legislation championed by former U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd. The bill would give employees, including those making minimum wage, an option to contribute as little as a $1 per week to a trust fund that would provide Currently, most large employers offer some type with for their full salary for need up to to 12take weeks of of them paid leave employees who care of leave. a sick loved one, are sick themselves, or just had

q Better, Crisper, q Smarter, Stronger

publication – Serving readers and the region’s communities for more than eight years. Greater New Haven’s premier lifestyle BENEDICT ARNOLD: HIGH CONFIDENTIAL publication –THEServing readersSTUDENT andWRITERS theSCHOOL region’s BURNING OF NEW LONDON HAVE THEIR SAY communities for more than eight www.newhavenmagazine.com years.

CONNECTICUT FOOTGUARD TAKES THE GREEN CONNECTICUT FOOTGUARD TAKES THE GREEN

“ON GIVING UP,” By Dave Thomas, Acrylic on Canvas. Photo by Lesley Roy

F DOS AN ISE L E NO TH AD B F DOS AN ISE L O E N TH AD B

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New Haven magazine

Dreamers & Doers Craig Ventura The mastermind behind the recent Pub Trivia World Series in New Haven, Ventura of Big Boy Entertainment has been steadily building a cult following of trivia addicts. What started as a second job became a full-time business offering not only trivia nights, but Craig is also a Justice of the Peace.

Margaret Middleton A founding attorney of the Connecticut Veterans Legal Center and Yale Law professor,

Melissa Gonzales

Middleton works closely with the legal community to provide pro bono legal help for homeless/disabled/mentally ill veterans, helping them maintain homes, keep jobs, and achieve financial stability. She’s also a member of the improv start-up Little Dictator!

Neville Wisdom At a time when independent dress boutiques are closing down, Neville Wisdom’s clothing design studio and boutique in the artistic Ninth Square district is thriving and looking to build out and hire employees. Wisdom displays his hand-crafted creations in street fashion shows, community events to benefit local nonprofits, and On9’s

Julius Stone

Event and volunteer The Hamden coordinator at High School Neighborhood art teacher Music is also the School, House maven behind Manager for The Haven. . . both New Haven Collective, a vintage boutique at Symphony and Arts & Ideas, and the Founder of Stash 938 State Street that & Ariston, which has been setting up dance hosts craft DIY events, pop-up vendor space parties around New Haven since 2011, Stone for local artisans and support in a fashion is busy. This summer, look for “Warm Weather emergency. The Haven Collective, opened at Behavior,” a series of outdoor adult gatherings the end of last October came after years of Gonzales operating a traveling vintage shop at not on the beaten path because he believes in every New Haven neighborhood, especially the fairs and festivals. Meeting creative designers ones you don’t normally hang out in. Trust him, and people making handmade products inspired the pop-up vendor space in the store. there were over 100 guests at his recent Briq birthday party.

SEPTEMBER 2015

First Fridays, held the first Friday of each month, showcasing the neighborhood’s restaurants, shops and galleries.

Chris Randall You may have seen Chris on any given day, taking photos around the city for his photo blog ilovenewhaven.org or his photo tours, but chances are you’ve seen his work for the Inside Out project, which installed the six foot high portraits under New Haven’s overpasses.

Ethan Rodriguez-Torrent & Max Sutter Last year, the duo developed a prototype puzzle room at home and invited their friends— who quickly invited their friends and so on until the condo association intervened. By February of this year, Escape New Haven was open for business on 111 Whitney Ave. and has already seen more than 3,000 visitors. The site offers three puzzle rooms to solve with a group—find the codes, figure out where the keys are hiding, unlock the combination, push the correct button, until you’ve solved your way out or time’s up in 60 minutes. New puzzle room unveiled in June! 21

REAL ESTATE People

Milford Marketplace Sale Yields $34 Million Dudley Town Rd, Bloomfield. The new 13,800 SF location is a result of continued expansion for HPE and will be used to service its customers in the greater Hartford market and throughout Connecticut. Cris O’Hara, Senior Vice President of Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT completed the lease. The property is owned and managed by AFS Enterprises, LLC.

were recognized for their exemplary achievements in sales volume. Stephen Briotti, BROKER/ Owner of WEICHERT, REALTORS - Briotti Group, celebrated 20 years in business as a broker. His career started in 1978 as an agent. In September 1995 he opened his own firm with CENTURY 21 in Wolcott.

Krolak to Wareck D’Ostillo

Kathleen Krolak recently joined Wareck D’Ostilio Real Estate Krolak is a graduate of William Paterson University where she received a BS in Management with a concentration in Marketing. Krolak previously worked on a design build project at the Facilities division for Goldman Sachs.

For Lease

Software company Device 42 leased 4,000 square feet at 600 Saw Mill Road in West Haven.

The Gold Building, 234 Church Street, New Haven, is for lease by Press Cuozzo Realtors. A 74,000 gross SF, 15-story, all glass, Class ‘A’ office building. Walking distance to all area amenities including federal and state courthouses, conveniently located within one mile from I-91 and I-95.

at The Geenty Group, was the agent for the Landlord.

Office or data center for lease or sale by Press Cuozzo Realtors at 335 Putnam Ave., Hamden. 46,566 sq. ft. on 3.47 acres.

Leased

Moore joins Weichert.

The Geenty Group, Realtors, reports the lease of a 1,024 SF industrial unit in a multi-tenant facility at 11 Sycamore Way, Branford. The Tenant is Bipin S. Patel and his son, Jetal Patel who own a custom furniture manufacturing business. They also do special furniture orders as well. The Landlord is Gray Eagle Corporation. Kevin Geenty SIOR was the agent for the Tenant, and Bill Clark, also

O,R&L Commercial, LLC has leased 8,000 SF of retail space at 15-65 Frontage Rd. in East Haven to Key to The Past Antique Center. They will join Home Depot, AutoZone, Wendy’s, Bottle Depot, Golden Dragon Buffet, Kempo Karate and Winner’s OTB. Brimberg and Phil Marshall of O,R&L Commercial represented the center’s owners and Key To The Past Antique Center was unrepresented. Device42 Inc. has signed a five-year lease for just over 4,000 square feet of space at 600 Saw Mill Road, West Haven. The business will initially have 16 employees at the site. Steve Miller and Jeremy Rosner, both of Levey Miller Maretz, represented the tenant. Joel Galvin of H. Pearce Realty represented the landlord, Capobianco Realty Associates LLC. Device42 was founded in 2010 and offers

Yolanda Moore has joined Weichert Realtors. She is serving property buyers and sellers in the New Haven area. Moore previously worked for Winkle Bus Company for the city of West Haven. Joe Cafasso, Ross Cotjanle, Regina Sauer, Buddy DeGennaro and Frank D’Ostilio from Real Living Wareck D’Ostilio, received the quarterly Production Achievement Award for the second quarter of 2015 by the New Haven/Middlesex Association of Realtors. They 22

A small furniture manufacturing business has leased space at 11 Sycamore Road in Branford.

clients information technology management software that currently is used by businesses of all sizes in 20 countries, according to the company. Richard Guralnick, from O,R &L Commercial, LLC has completed a lease transaction of 3,300 square feet at 100 South Shore Rd., East Haven. The tenant, Lester Inc., was represented by Richard Guralnick, CCM of O,R &L and the landlord, MGRE, Co., LLC represented themselves in the transaction. A two room office condominium suite at 652 Boston Post Rd., unit #1 has been leased. The tenant, Richard D’Angelo, will be opening new offices for his tax, accounting, and financial planning practice. The landlord is Reserve Property Management, LLC. Barry Stratton of The Geenty Group, Realtors was the sole agent in this transaction. Guilford Surgery Center LLC (GSC) signed a 10 year lease of 13,517 square feet at 246 Goose Lane also known as Innovation Park. GSC is a collaboration between local surgeons and Merritt Healthcare of White Plains NY. The new entity will be constructing an Ambulatory Surgery Center for patients located on the shoreline. O,R&L Commercial, LLC represented the tenant and Dow Realty represented the landlord in this transaction.

Openings Shipman & Goodwin LLP, a 165-lawyer full-service firm based in Connecticut, has opened its newest office in New Haven at One Century Tower. The firm’s presence in New Haven will expand its current involvement in the critical life sciences community as well as other key industry sectors integral to the Greater New Haven region, including real estate, health care and education. The firm also has offices in Hartford, Stamford, Greenwich, Lakeville and Washington, DC. Dr. Robert Henry will relocate from a small rental location on Todd St. near Whitney Avenue to 3594 Whitney Avenue at the corner of Todd Street. The new space will be 8,000 S.F. and will include an expansion of his own medical practice as well as leasing to another medical group. Renovations are expected to take several months and will be completed in the summer of 2016.

SOLD Milford Marketplace is being acquired for $34 million by Inland Real Estate Income Trust, a suburban Chicago real estate investment trust. Inland will be the third owner of the 112,257-square-foot center. The property is currently owned by New York City-based O’Connor Capital Partners. The anchor tenant is Whole Foods grocery store.

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MANUFACTURING Polamer Precision Adding Machines & Jobs

Polamer is planning to add 200 new job opportunities over the course of four years. Fenn LLC Celebrates Over A Century of Business The 115th anniversary of Fenn LLC of East Berlin was celebrated with an open house. The company was acquired by Quality Products in July 2014, and the new president, Paul Uccello, oversaw celebrations. Berlin Mayor Rachel Rochette and Deputy Mayor William Rasmussen, Jr. were on-hand for a ribbon-cutting, followed by machine demonstrations, technical discussions, and tours of the facility.

olamer Precision, an aerospace manufacturing firm in New Britain, has recently added new machinery costing $4 million as part of a planned fiveyear capital expansion that will total $50 million.

Polamer’s business development manager Ryan Gersh said that the company began the installation of its “first true manufacturing cell” in mid-September, a composite piece of equipment consisting of multiple machines serving different functions that will allow multitasking. Previously, multiple manufacturing tasks had to involve moving components at different stations. This new manufacturing cell will also be used to make the components for jet engines for aerospace firm Pratt & Whitney. A long-term agreement was made between the two companies this past May. Polamer is also planning to add 200 new job opportunities in New Britain over the course of four years. The mayor of New Britain, Erin Stewart, says that they will build an additional building on top of the one they just built after moving their headquarters to the city in a 152,000-square-foot space as part of the expansion from Newington. Polamer also earned the “Beautification Award” from the city, according to Stewart who said “what was once an empty parcel of land” will build a worldclass facility that will employ residents and help New Britain “become a beautiful place.”

Connecticut Manufacturer Atlas Holdings Co-Acquires Tecumseh Automotive, building and industrial manufacturer, Atlas Holdings LLC of Greenwich, has teamed with the Memphis-based Mueller Industries in a definitive merger agreement to acquire Tecumseh Products for $123 million, or $5 per share, based on the closing price of Tecumseh’s (NASDAQ: TECU) stock. The merger was successfully completed, as of the expiration date of the tender offer at the end of the day on September 18, 2015. The agreement was net to the seller in cash, without interest and any required withholding taxes. Mueller Industries and Atlas Holdings expect to promptly complete a “short-form” merger of MA Industrial Sub

Inc. with Tecumseh under Section 711 of the Michigan Business Corporation Act. According to a company statement, Tecumseh will keep its headquarters in Michigan, but will become a privately held company. “We look forward to working with Mueller Industries and Atlas Holdings to help us achieve continued growth as we provide our customers with innovative, best-in-class products and outstanding service and support,” president and CEO of Tecumseh, Harold Karp, has said of the merger.

“The town of Berlin is very excited to have firms such as Fenn Manufacturing and others who are creating opportunities for the residents of Central Connecticut,” Economic Development Director Chris Edge said. Fenn is a global supplier of metal forming machinery, custom engineered and precisely manufactured.

Avison Young Opens New Office in Hartford The commercial real estate services firm Avison Young has announced the opening of their new office in Hartford this month. This office will be their second location in Connecticut, with their first location in Norwalk. This expansion is part of the firm’s ongoing strategy of aggressive growth in which they currently have 48 offices in the United States. Overseeing the new Hartford location’s day-to-day operations will be Andrew Filler, the former managing partner and principal at RM Bradley in Hartford. Avison Young’s principal and managing director of the New England region, Michael Smith, will oversee the strategic direction and overall growth strategy. Avison’s chair and CEO, Mark E. Rose, says that the company is “thrilled to enter the robust Hartford marketplace” with the two overseers. He also adds that a Hartford staff will allow them to strengthen their full-service platform and fulfill their mandate of “providing the best possible solu-

tions for clients’ unique business and real estate needs.” Avison Young’s new Hartford office is located at 185 Asylum Street, 15th Floor.

Annual “Manufacturing Month” in Connecticut October is the fourth annual “Connecticut. Dream It. Do It. Manufacturing Month” Governor Dannel P. Malloy has proclaimed the event in order to help recognize the importance of the nearly 5,000 manufacturing companies in the state, and also highlight the industry’s career opportunities. Throughout the month, over 350 middle and high school students are to participate in two programs: the “Manufacturing Mania” and “Making It Real: Girls & Manufacturing Summit.” The “Making It Real: Girls & Manufacturing Summit” will be a joint event with Dream It. Do It. Rhode Island to host 160 middle and high school girls at the Mystic Marriott Hotel & Spa in Groton on October 16th. Throughout, the students will learn about manufacturing through interactive activities, and hear from leading women in the industry. Additionally, an educator workshop by the Connecticut Girls Collaborative on incorporating positive female role models into the classroom will be held. Director of education and workforce development for the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc. (CCAT), Sue Palisano, says that the events have introduced over 1,400 middle school students and teachers to the manufacturing industry over the past four years. Manufacturing Month is both licensed and led by CCAT. It is also part of The Manufacturing Institute’s nationwide campaign to “dispel misconceptions about manufacturing and attract the creative, skilled young people needed to grow the industry.”

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Saint Mary’s Health System to Join Trinity Health Region

the budget changes that would impact the hospitals. The conference was in response to an announcement from the governor that he would pursue an additional $103 million in cuts to address concerns over the state’s budget, including $63 million aimed at the hospitals as reductions in Medicaid payments.

The Saint Mary’s Health System of Waterbury recently signed an agreement to merge with the Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health. President and CEO of Saint Mary’s, Chad W. Wable, will continue his role, saying, “we committed to combining strengths to deliver high-quality, valuebased accountable care. Together we will be able to improve patient safety, patient satisfaction and population health in all of our communities.” This comes on the heels of Trinity Health’s announcement of its merger with the Hartford-based Saint Francis Hospital on September 1st . Saint Francis Care president and CEO, Christopher M. Dadlez says that the addition of Saint Mary’s to the partnership is “an exciting development,” promising to expand the delivery of progressive health care in the New England area. Trinity Health is one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the United States,

currently serving 21 states. Saint Mary’s Health System is anchored by Saint Mary’s Hospital, a non-profit Catholic community teaching hospital which has served Greater Waterbury for over 100 years. Saint Francis Care is a healthcare delivery system established by Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center, with an institutional presence in north central Connecticut since 1897.

Governor Announces $63 Million Budget Cut to Hospital Reimbursements House and Senate Minority leaders held a press conference recently to ask Governor Dannel Malloy to revamp

Mental & Behavioral Health Partnership to Promote “Wellness for Life” Recently, the Connecticut Behavior Health Partnership (CT BHP) hosted its Fifth Annual “Step Into Wellness For Life” Challenge. The competition challenged members of the Department of Mental Health Services’ (DMHAS) social clubs and other funded groups to log in 300,000 steps or more. The walking challenge was designed to support the idea of behavioral health working in conjunction with healthy physical activity. “People with mental illnesses die decades earlier than the general population,” the Beacon Health Options’ Connecticut Associate Medical Director, Eugenia Popescu, MD, has said. She also went on to explain how studies found increased levels of morbidity and mortality from medical conditions caused by “risk factors” such as exercise, obesity, smoking, substance abuse, and inadequate access to medical care. Pedometers and promotional materials for the challenge were provided by CT BHP and the event included a final awards ceremony for each team logging in the most steps. Accommodations were made for participants needing mobility assistance like wheelchairs and canes. CT BHP is composed of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), the

“If we’re gonna continue to do this month-to-month then we should just throw this whole budget process out the door and just let him operate by executive order,” House Republican leader Themis Klarides said at the conference. Politicians were joined by the executives of several Connecticut hospitals about the cuts, along with representatives from the Connecticut Hospital Association. The Association is urging the public to write to the governor or legislators to ask them to reconsider the budget decrease. Western Connecticut Health Network CEO, Dr. John Murphy, said that they are asking for a conversation because he isn’t sure if “these cuts were thought out.” Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano requested that leaders take a broader look at these cuts to make ap-

propriate decisions to address concerns with the budget. Fasano further referenced a special session in December of 2012 in which a new budget was made in less than 3 weeks and that “we can do that again.” However, the speaker of the Democratic House, Brendan Sharkey, said that the governor is “within his statutory authority to make prudent budget reductions” including hospitals, social services, and municipal aid. He further said that “the Republicans can’t decide among themselves whether they support the budget they voted against,” and that “a special session makes no sense and perhaps the Republicans should get themselves in a room to figure out their own position.” An unhappy Fasano said that if the governor doesn’t call for a special session, then the House Majority Leaders have the authority to do so. And if that doesn’t happen, he says that the Republicans will go on to petition to call one themselves.

Department of Social Services (DSS), and the Behavioral Health Partnership Oversight Council with Value Options, a Beacon Health Options company, as its administrative services organization.

$375,000 Awarded to Connecticut Teachers for Mental Health Efforts The Connecticut Congressional delegation has announced a nearly $375,000 grant to teachers their work in elevating the level of awareness and training related to the mental health of students in schools. U.S. Senators, Richard Blumenthal (D) and Chris Murphy (D), along with U.S. Representatives John Larson (D-1), Joe Courtney (D-2), Rosa DeLauro (D-3), Jim Himes (D-4), and Elizabeth Esty (D-5) have announced that the money originated from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) “Now is the Time” Project AWARE-Community grant program. The delegation notes that they are very pleased to see the grant go to “three great Connecticut organizations” that will dedicate the funds to building a more responsive mental health system in the state. They further mentioned how many children with

mental health needs are not given the timely, quality care they deserve, resulting in half dropping out of school. Of the organizations, Wheeler Clinic will be given $125,000 to serve the mental health needs in the Hartford and Middlesex Counties, the Mental Health Association of Connecticut will receive $125,000 to serve the Litchfield County, and Education Connecticut will receive $124,998 to serve in Northwest Connecticut. “This type of training is really important to help people understand mental health problems and develop the skills that they need to respond,” Susan Walkama, president and chief executive of Wheeler Clinic has said about the grant.

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WHO’S WHAT WHERE Paros most recently worked as an aerospace program manager for United Technologies Aerospace Systems (formally Hamilton Sundstrand) in Windsor Locks.

Zucconi

Hayes

Dr. Rebecca Zucconi has been named an assistant professor of medical sciences at the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. Zucconi was part of an obstetrics and gynecology practice in Suffolk County, N.Y., where she specialized in the woman’s reproductive tract, pregnancy and childbirth. Zucconi earned her medical degree from the State University of New York Health Science Center at Syracuse.

gy, engineering and math). Barry cofounded and coordinated the first National Women in Surgery Symposium, which is now in it sixth year. Three years ago, she established the Women in Surgery Interest Group (WISIG) at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, to engage women medical students to consider a surgical career.

Sandip Patel has been promoted to associate vice president for budget and financial planning at Quinnipiac University. Patel will be responsible for the budgeting process and expansion of the university’s business analytics and intelligence. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer science and an MBA from Quinnipiac.

Patel Amy Paros was appointed assistant teaching professor of management at Quinnipiac University. Paros earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Hamilton College, a master’s degree in operations management as well as an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a doctoral degree in business administration from Northcentral University. Before joining Quinnipiac, SEPTEMBER 2015

Paros Dennis Klemenz has been appointed Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Connex Credit Union. Klemenz will be responsible for establishing Connex’s technical vision and leading technological developments. Previously, Klemenz was the manager of big data and analytics in mobile development and business intelligence at Sikorsky Aircraft. Mary Ann D’Entremont has joined Post University as Registrar. D’Entremont most recently was the Registrar of Bay State College in Boston. She received a Bachelor of Science from Suffolk University, and is working on an M.Ed. degree. Ethan Griswold was appointed vice president of business development at AuthAir, an information security startup that provides secure authentication solutions. Griswold will oversee all of AuthAir’s corporate growth programs. He holds a MBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Connecticut. Linda Barry is the recipient of The Connecticut Science Center’s third annual Petit Family Foundation Women in Science Leadership Award. Barry is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. This award recognizes exceptional leadership in promoting women’s participation and interest in STEM (science, technolo-

WHEN BILCO GIVES BACK

WE PARTNER WITH UNITED WAY

Paul Hughes was appointed the new Managing Partner for Wiggin and Dana. Hughes is a corporate attorney based in Wiggin and Dana’s New Haven office. Joseph Martini and Rebecca Matthews have been appointed to the firm’s Executive Committee. Martini is a partner in Wiggin and Dana’s Litigation Department and is chair of the firm’s White Collar Defense, Investigations and Corporate Compliance Practice Group. Eugenia “Jeanne” T. Hayes has been appointed director of development of health affairs at Quinnipiac University. Previously, Hayes was the director of development for the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences at Pace University. She was also the director of alumni relations and reunion programs at Yale University’s School of Management, where she launched the Center for Customer Insights. Hayes earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland. She also has a master’s degree in liberal studies from Wesleyan University.

"Community involvement has been a key value at The Bilco Company throughout our almost 90 years here in the Greater New Haven area. Partnering with United Way has been an effective means for us to put that value into action." Tom Crowley, President The Bilco Company

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TECHNOLOGY

The scan will check with the National Sex Offender database, as well the school’s PowerSchool database either a driver’s license or state ID that the school personnel would scan in a new piece of software.

ConnectQuest Accuses Facebook of Patent Infringement The Simsburybased technology company ConnectQuest filed a federal lawsuit against the massively popular social media corporation, Facebook, on September 17th. ConnectQuest claims that Facebook has infringed upon their patent for a new technology they developed, known as the “close proximity notification system.” On the consumer’s end, this tech involves downloading an app and looking for notifications announcing deals, coupons, and “loyalty bonuses” for products and services. From there, businesses would use a CQ Beacon that would emit a signal through a physical transponder by using Bluetooth. With this, all eligible Smartphones in the area would be able to pick up these notification messages simply by being inside or passing by the businesses. The patent for the CQ Beacon was secured in September 2014. In that time, the technology has been praised by publications like Wired Magazine. In November 2014, ConnectQuest sent several letters to Facebook, notifying them of their patent, 8,831,624. However, ConnectQuest claimed that Facebook released a very similar product, the Facebook Beacon, a few months later in January in an initial trial in six retail stores in New York City. According to the lawsuit, the Facebook Beacons have a use very close make-up to that of the CQ Beacon. For Facebook’s device, a signal within proximity of the Facebook Beacon would display a message on the Facebook mobile app on a user’s mobile device to display messages known as “Place Tips.” In June, Facebook announced that it would offer their beacons to businesses for free across the country. With ConnectQuest’s claim that Facebook’s technology is too similar to theirs, they state in the lawsuit that both Facebook and the stores that will use the Facebook Beacon will be infringing on their patent.

Connecticut Tech Development Agency Invests $20.8 Million in 61 Companies The state-funded, quasi-public technology development agency, Connecticut Innovations (CI), has announced that their agency invested in 61 companies in August. CI has assisted 177 different companies, and has also provided loans to 18 companies and small grants to 114. Because the agency includes the former Connecticut Development Authority, loans are also made to companies who are not a part of the technology business. In total, half of the deals of the investments were based in information technology, 46% in bioscience, and 3% in clean technology, respectively. Of the $11.4 million portion, 70 percent went to manufacturers. 30

Connecticut Technology Council to Partner With Tierion

The Connecticut Technology Council (CTC) has announced their partnership with blockchain startup Tierion for a trial to secure government survey data on the bitcoin blockchain. The blockchain is an extremely secure cloud-based technology that encrypts data stored, containing a certain and verifiable record of every single bitcoin transaction ever made. Once entered, the data cannot be altered. “We like being on the cutting edge of what’s going and we feel like this could be leading to more projects,” CTC president and CEO, Bruce Carlson said to CoinDesk.com. He went on mention how he saw the opportunity in the partnership with Tierion to learn about “unfamiliar emerging innovations” in his organization. “We’re hoping the ability to create data without

needing to rely on a third party will be of interest to them and they’ll start to use our API and bake it into their software,” Tierion CEO Wayne Vaughn said. He further indicated that with their emphasis on its user interface, users can “make a contact form on a website” and be able to use its software.

This new visitor management system is called the “School Gate Guardian,” and will be consistent throughout the 14 public schools in Milford, accounting for all wanted and unwanted visitors. Feser mentions that this technology is currently used in other 1,000 school districts nationwide. In a letter to parents, they were informed that the scan will check with the National Sex Offender database, as well the school’s PowerSchool database, to find any information including court-issued orders that parents/ guardians have provided to the student’s school. According to School Gate Guardian’s website, their goal is to

Carlson

Milford Schools Unveil New Visitor Security Plan

In time for the new school year, the school superintendent of Milford, Elizabeth Feser, has announced a new change in school security procedures at the beginning of September. Primarily, a new rule in which visitors must have

Security Firm To Build Out In Park City BRIDGEPORT: A+ Technology & Security Solutions, Inc., a video security and technology integration company that integrate of physical and IP video security, announced plans for a new “high tech center” in Bridgeport. Parent company, ACG Group, A+ Technology headquartered in Bay Shore Long Island, will renovate a 7,000 sq. ft. commercial building, creating a new state-of-the-art security command center and STEM education technology manufacturing facility.

“help keep schools and students safe from sex offenders and other unwanted visitors through the use of an easy to use, high-tech security and visitor management system.”

The company say’s the opening of this facility signals the “first step in creating a high-tech ecosystem within Bridgeport, by which the very technology manufactured there can serve to educate its young people, provide internship opportunities to its high school and college students, and ultimately provide career opportunities to the community’s technology-savvy graduates.” The company expects to hire twenty employees and interns and will be fully operational in January 2016.

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SEPTEMBER 2015