Month: February 2021

By Christine Graf
Motorcycle helmet manufacturer Kirsh Helmets launched its first product, the CHM-1 half shell helmet, in December. The company has also expanded its network of independent agents throughout the country.
“Our agents are working to get our helmets into stores—primarily motorcycle dealerships,” said Donald DeVito, president and chief operating officer. “We have 18 agents right now and would like to add a few more.
Manufacturing and assembly is in full swing at the company’s 5,000-square-foot facility in Queensbury. The space is leased from Seeley Machine Work and opened one year ago with support from Warren County Economic Development.
“You launch motorcycle products the same way you do in the automotive industry. You start out of the east coast and west coast and then work your way into the interior. That’s how we are approaching it right now.”
During the winter, Kirsh Helmets is focusing marketing efforts in southern states that have longer riding seasons. The goal is to establish a strong position in retail stores prior to the spring when the riding season resumes in cold weather states.
“I think this year is going to be the same as last year, which was a record year for recreational vehicles including motorcycles,” said DeVito. “It’s a naturally socially distanced lifestyle, so riders rode more.”

Price Chopper/Market 32 has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Tops Markets, a grocery chain based in western New York, that nearly doubles the collective footprints of both in the Northeast, officials said.
Both chains have deep ties to their local communities and shared commitments to service, savings, and convenience, officials said in statement. With increased scale, the merged companies are expected to be better positioned to compete and offer more value and services to their customers.
Scott Grimmett, Price Chopper/Market 32 president and CEO, will be CEO of and serve on the board of directors of the new parent company, which will oversee the operations of nearly 300 Price Chopper, Market 32, Market Bistro and Tops Markets stores and collectively employ more than 30,000 people.
Frank Curci, Tops Markets chairman and CEO, will serve on the board of directors of the new parent company and as a consultant to assist in the transition.
Blaine Bringhurst, Price Chopper/Market 32 executive vice president of merchandising, marketing and store operations, will lead the Price Chopper/Market 32 business. John Persons, Tops Markets president and chief operating officer, will lead the Tops Markets business.
The new parent company will be headquartered in Schenectady. The Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops Markets businesses will retain main offices in Schenectady and Williamsville and will continue to be managed locally by their respective leaders.

A new deferred loan program was established in Glens Falls to help entrepreneurs looking to start or expand businesses in the downtown area.
It is part of the city’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, part of a series of state-funded projects that are coming to fruition.
Entrepreneurs can now apply for a deferred loan through the Glens Falls Business Downtown Revitalization Initiative Venture Enterprise Program, or GF Business DRIVE.
Around $600,000 of the city’s $10 million DRI grant awarded by the state in 2016 to rehab portions of the downtown area near South Street is being used to establish the program, city officials said.
Funding for the program was provided by the state’s Division of Housing and Community Renewal and will be administered by the city and the Greater Glens Falls Local Development Corp.
The city is seeking to promote new and existing business development within the DRI Target Area, including the South and Elm Street area that will be undergoing a significant redevelopment effort also sponsored by the DRI, and other parts of the Downtown Business District targeted for retail and general commercial activities.
Loans will be based on the needs of each awarded business and will be forgiven after five years if the business continues to operate within Downtown Glens Falls and meets all other program terms during that five-year period, officials said.

Story updated 3/10/21

By Susan Elise Campbell
The owner of Boats by George has screapped plans to convert the Lake George Forum ice rink and event center into a 50,000-square-foot showroom.
George Pensel  cited escalating construction costs. Eestimates came in more than double the $800,000 thathe planned to spend to turn the arena into a headquarters and showroom.
Pensel was under contract to buy the forum from 2200 Route 9 LLC and Ralph Macchio Sr., owner of Wild West Ranch and Western Town.
Pensel said at the time he would keep the 8,000-square-foot flagship facility at 18 Route 149 in Lake George.
Pensel has owned the business for nearly four decades and his two sons are active partners in the company. He said he had needed a larger showroom for some time, as new boat sales have increased year to year along with the company’s market share.
“Boating has allowed people to get out in the fresh air, social distance, and enjoy the outdoors,” said Pensel. “Manufacturers have had trouble keeping up with the demand for boats. The marine industry has had a big expansion this year.”

By State Sen. Dan Stec
The governor’s promise almost five years ago of high-speed broadband for all remains unfulfilled.
Having heard frustrated pleas from families, businesses, schools and many others, my colleagues and I proposed legislation last year to drill down into this problem and come up with solutions to end this technological inequality. The governor’s recent veto of our proposal is very disappointing.
In 2015, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the New NYS Broadband Program, a $500 million investment to reach under and unserved regions. His website assured that as of 2018, “99.9 percent of New Yorkers” would have access to high-speed broadband. The state Broadband office last year claimed 98 percent of New York has that access.
However, based on my conversations with town and county supervisors, school superintendents and parents I am sure that is not the case for upstate New York.
During the first phase of the coronavirus pandemic last spring, over 700,000 students and 18,000 teachers statewide lacked broadband access as estimated by Common Sense Media. At a time when in-person learning was impossible, 27 percent of students couldn’t access remote learning.
On top of this, you had hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers working from home and businesses trying to maximize their online presence to offset the loss of in-person service. We saw that our state’s internet infrastructure was incapable of meeting the needs of a substantial portion of our residents.

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
Gallagher, a global insurance and risk management brokerage firm that acquired Cool Insurance in Glens Falls in December, has decided the arena in downtown Glens Falls will remain the Cool Insuring Arena, at least through 2025.
The Gallagher agency specializes in serving construction and healthcare industry clients, as well as governments and municipalities, which together account for more than half of its revenues.
Anthony Mashuta, Ira Neifeld and their associates at Cool Insurance will continue to operate from their current locations under the direction of Patrick Kennedy, head of Gallagher’s Northeast Region retail property/casualty brokerage operations, and Tom Belmont, Jr., head of Gallagher’s Atlantic Region employee benefit consulting and brokerage operations.
“Cool Insuring Agency has operated for more than 160 years and is viewed as the premier independent agency in Upstate New York. Their specialties align closely with our construction, healthcare, senior living and public entity practices,” said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., chairman, president and CEO. “We are delighted to welcome Tony, Ira and their associates to our growing Gallagher team.”
Gallagher has operations in 49 countries and offers client-service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
James Joseph Jr., owner of Sharp Presents in Queensbury, has opened a Reiki massage practice.
Reiki Rising is located at 458 Glen St. in Glens Falls.
Joseph is certified for Level 1 and Level 2 of Reiki, which is a form of energy healing, in which hands are placed just off the body or lightly touching the body. He was in the process of setting up studio space when COVID hit. Plans were put on hold.
Joseph felt drawn to focus to the practice in the summer of 2019.
“In my head, I kept seeing a blueish-green Phoenix, and hearing the phrase, ‘It’s time to Phoenix. It’s time to step into service.’ I felt the connection to starting from nothing and come into full potential. With Reiki energy, it can raise you up and bring you from the ashes. You can be at your worst, and Reiki energy can help bring you back up to your fullest capacity,” said Joseph.
Reiki Rising is named from the fabled Phoenix, which graces Joseph’s business card.
Joseph was certified by June Stoddard-Finemore, Reiki practitioner and masseuse at Renew with June, 458 Glen St. in Glens Falls in the same building where Joseph sees clients.