Neil A. Carousso produces and co-hosts WCBS Newsradio 880’s Small Business Spotlight series with Joe Connolly. Click here to watch the weekly video segments featuring advice for business owners on survival, recovery and growth opportunities.

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  • Top Business Leader Calls New York’s Post-Pandemic Economy an ‘Industrial Revolution’

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    By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso

    NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York City office occupancy recently surpassed 50 percent for the first time since COVID-19 hit in 2020. That’s positive news for corporate executives, but it does not tell the full story of what’s happening in the city’s economy.

    Kathryn Wylde leads the influential Partnership for New York City business group that represents corporations, including Goldman Sachs, Amazon and JP Morgan Chase & Co., and conducted that office survey. She told the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, that 82 percent of office workers are now enjoying a hybrid schedule.

    “Prior to the pandemic, we’re talking about maybe 6 percent of the employers allowing people to work remotely,” said Wylde.

    That’s the new normal or what the Partnership for New York City president and CEO labels a new “industrial revolution.”

    “In the 70s, we had a dramatic experience of going from the old industrial economy to the service economy. Well, this is from the service economy to the digital economy. And instead of happening gradually over one or two decades, it happened instantaneously.”

    Wylde noted entire industries have changed to be centered around technology.

    “We have remote education, telemedicine, remote health, we’ve got remote work, remote entertainment, remote cultural experiences,” she said. “All of that has changed and I don’t think we know the implications yet.”

    Wylde, like many traditional business leaders, believes strongly in in-person work, but she acknowledges Zoom has its place.

    “We can fit more into our day when we can do Zoom instead of running to Midtown,” she said. “We just have to learn how to use that tool in a way that doesn’t interfere with building relationships and with the kind of mentoring and support and development that particularly young people need in their careers.”

    Remote work has held back Manhattan’s recovery. The Partnership for New York City sees small and mid-size businesses in the outer boroughs and the suburbs growing at a record clip, but shrinking in Manhattan as rents remain near record highs.

    “We have 32,000 new businesses formed in New York City in the last year. Manhattan’s the only one that didn’t have net growth in new businesses. Most of them are in Queens. Brooklyn is the number one. So, we’re seeing the city as a whole – its neighborhoods, its local business districts across the five boroughs and our surrounding suburbs – the economy’s pretty good,” said Wylde.

    The main reason business groups see growth in the outer boroughs and the suburbs is that remote work has enabled people to shop in their communities during the week. Wylde said she is confident in Manhattan’s resurgence but it may take some time.

    “The value of Midtown properties is going to spring back and it’s not going to be exactly the same as it was pre-pandemic. We’re going to see more residential, I think we know that, and that’s a good thing. It’ll make the streets safer on a 24/7 basis. It’ll bring back customers to local business.”

    Watch the full conversation with Kathryn Wylde on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.

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  • Checking Out the Most Realistic Wax Figures at Madame Tussauds

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    Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.

    New York, NY — Tourist destination Madame Tussauds features wax figures like Serena Williams, Eli Manning, Kendall Jenner and Bruno Mars.

    Rachel Fisch takes you inside the The World’s Greatest Wax Museum on NY2C’s On The Call.

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  • Pro Dancer Launches ‘Unconventional’ Dance Studio for Underserved New Yorkers

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    By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso

    NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A new type of dance studio is coming to New York City.

    Busola George is an accomplished dancer who started SoL-I Movement Center to improve access to dance rehearsal spaces in Manhattan that are more affordable. Rehearsal spaces in the borough, she says, can cost dancers upwards of $40 an hour, which can add up quickly given the time needed to perfect the craft.

    “The need I saw was at the foundation, the access to affordable rehearsal space, as well as the need for a community,” said George on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.

    “SoL-I Movement Center is a studio that uses an unconventional shared space model to offer affordable rehearsal space to aspiring professional dance and theater performers as well as offer career advancing services, wellness classes, and professional training.”

    Career guidance, mentorship and networking is what separates the center from other dance studios. George’s classes also add socialization and wellness techniques, including meditation.

    “I’ve pivoted in the sense of adding kind of more services, more nuanced services, and also really zoning in on who my target market is,” she said. “I was able to realize how much community is needed for dancers and how they don’t really have that. That’s why some of the services that we have are going to induce a collaborative environment for dancers.”

    George recently won the grand prize of $20,000 at the Brooklyn Public Library’s PowerUP! business plan competition.

    Watch the Small Business Spotlight video above.

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  • Islanders Greats Defeat Former Rangers Rivals in Alumni Classic

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    Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.

    East Meadow, NY — Old rivals laced their skates once again in the 2023 Alumni Classic at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.

    Islanders legends defeated their former Rangers counterparts 11-9 in a charity game to raise money for Northwell Health Foundation.

    Justin Joseph reports for NY2C’s On The Call.

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  • Islanders Legends Celebrate Team’s 50th Anniversary at Brooklyn Dinner

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    Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.

    Brooklyn, NY — Islanders greats from the past 50 years gathered at The River Café to reminisce.

    Michelle Rabinovich caught up with Isles alumni at the dinner and reports for NY2C’s On The Call.

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