Business

Deli Owner Who Survived Yemen Recalls “Night of Violence” on East Kingsbridge Road

By David Greene
By eyewitness accounts, the bright sun would rise over many of the looters who went on an unexpected, overnight shopping spree on East Fordham Road on Monday, Jun. 1, 2020. As dawn set in, the now-infamous creatures of a night of madness seemed to scurry home like rats running from a kitchen light.   In the early hours of Jun. 2, there were repeated sightings of mostly, young men, many carrying what looked like brand new, full backpacks, quickly walking in one direction or another as police vehicles continued to speed back and fourth across East Fordham Road still responding


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Op-Ed, Financial Focus: Coronavirus has bankrupted some of our 20th Century Brands!

By PROFESSOR ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA
Well, pretty soon, I’ll be making a choice on Social Security. Yes, I’m getting “old”. I will be 60 soon. I’m ok with it. I have an adopted sibling that calls me “Uncle Tony”. Sometimes, I walk around elementary school, since I’m also a teacher, and I’ll hear whisperings of “Grandpa”.   Yes, I have many good memories – the things, the people my age group can remember. Our fondest memories, I am sure, are the 80s and 90s, the latter parts of the 20th century.   Hertz, you might remember, like brands such as Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly, was


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Commissioner Jonnel Doris Talks Small Businesses as Phase I of Reopening Beckons

By Síle Moloney
On May 19, as reported by Norwood News, The Center for an Urban Future published a study that showed that Norwood was one of the City’s worst-hit areas economically by the pandemic and related shutdown.   About a week earlier, on May 11, Jonnel Doris was appointed as the Commissioner for the City’s Small Business Services (SBS) department. Previously, he served as the City’s first Senior Advisor and Director of the Mayor’s Office for Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE).   The commissioner gave an interview to Norwood News in which he discussed his agency’s plan to get small businesses


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Eleven Bronx Elected Officials Call to Halt Plans for New Mott Haven Prison

Eleven Bronx elected officials have urged Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Corey Johnson to halt plans to construct a new prison facility in the South Bronx amid a budget crunch caused by the coronavirus, and to reallocate the funds instead to critical programs for vulnerable populations.   Congressman José E. Serrano, who is due to retire later this year, Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and nine other Bronx based state senators and assembly members, wrote to de Blasio and Johnson asking them to reconsider construction plans for a new jail facility in the Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood,


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New Permanent Eviction Protection For Tenants Impacted By COVID-19

Tenants who have been financially impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis may soon no longer have to worry about losing their homes. State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz passed legislation on May 27, 2020 codifying the statewide eviction moratorium and extending it until the end of the COVID-19 emergency for anyone who has experienced financial hardship during this period.   The state legislation represents a compromise between the Assembly and State Senate with the ultimate goal of creating a bill that would be signed into law by the Governor. It is viewed as an essential


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Preliminary Report Shows Bronx Had Highest City Unemployment Rate in April 2020

By Síle Moloney
The New York State Department of Labor released preliminary local area unemployment rates for April 2020 on May 27. The unemployment rate in the Bronx was the highest of all City boroughs at 16.5% in April. This compares with a rate of 10.9% in Manhattan, 14.6% in Brooklyn, 16.4% in Queens, and 14.0% in Staten Island.   The current unemployment rates for all 62 counties in New York State can be found by clicking on the following link: County Unemployment Rates.   The rates are not yet seasonally adjusted, meaning they do not reflect seasonal influences e.g. holiday and summer


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New Law Provides Relief for Tenants, Businesses, and Restaurants During COVID-19 Pandemic

By Síle Moloney
  Mayor Bill de Blasio signed seven pieces of legislation into law on May 27 providing relief for tenants, commercial establishments, and restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic.   The new laws support struggling small businesses by imposing limits on third-party food delivery services, extending the suspension of sidewalk cafe fee collection, and protecting commercial tenants from harassment and personal liability. Together, the bills offer sweeping protections for New Yorkers in a time of unprecedented financial insecurity.   “New Yorkers have been fighting every day to flatten the curve and get through this pandemic together. Now, it’s time for us to


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Op-Ed, Financial Focus: China, Hong Kong, Coronavirus or Presidential Ineptness – Which Will Kill Us First?

By PROFESSOR ANTHONY RIVIECCIO, MBA PFA
As a money manager since 1992, I can tell you personally that one of the things managers do, way before the U.S. markets open each day at 9:30 a.m, is to first look at the world financial markets. One of the first to be examined is the “Asian” markets and most specifically, Hong Kong, which opens 12 hours prior to the U.S. markets.   Hong Kong’s “capitalist” system, which has been going strong for over two decades now, has led many a U.S. market to boom. Although, of course, U.S. news affects U.S. financial markets, many money managers will also


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