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Bronx Fashion Entrepreneur Inspires Disadvantaged Youth
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Flora Montes overcame a broken home to become an entrepreneur and mother.
She found purpose by cooking for corporations in the Bronx after culinary school and developed a network. She later got hooked on fashion after attending Latin Fashion Week in 2012 and launched her own fashion business, Bronx Fashion Week, two years later.
“Fashion should never just be defined to, you know, six foot tall, size two. So that’s the main mission of Bronx Fashion Week,” said Montes on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Bronx Fashion Week has more events each year than New York Fashion Week and attracts more than a thousand attendees. It highlights local designers and models and benefits non-profit organizations with which they partner.
“One thing I’ve learned is that fashion is more than fabric and there’s a story behind every stitch and we’re built on those stories.”
Montes recently expanded to serve schools in the South Bronx, and the response has been overwhelming.
“They actually came to me and told me that they had gone to the principal and told the principal that we had to come back,” she said. “We teach them fashion history, we’re teaching them the runway, we’re teaching them the behind the scenes of how a fashion house runs.”
The fashion CEO believes future leaders are in those classrooms and hopes to inspire kids to pursue their career dreams despite disadvantages they might face in their upbringings.
“For me, the fashion part of it is about the inclusivity and the diversity. And, fashion is in everything, In everything we do. You can wear a pair of pajamas like I tell my students and you’re wearing something that is defining who you are,” said Montes.
See this uplifting and inspiring story on the Small Business Spotlight video above.
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St. John’s Basketball Program Captivates Generations of Fans
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
Queens, NY — Attending a St. John’s basketball game at Carnesecca Arena has been an electrifying experience ever since the legendary coach Lou Carnesecca led the 80s-era Johnnies to two Big East championships.
NY2C’s On The Call talked to fans before a recent St. John’s Red Storm game in Queens.
NY2C’s On The Call is executive produced by Carousso Enterprises.
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Inside MLB Flagship Store in NYC
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
New York, NY — The MLB Flagship Store in Midtown Manhattan is the only one of its kind. For baseball fans, it’s paradise.
Rachel Fisch takes us inside the MLB Flagship Store on NY2C’s On The Call.
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Local Business Leader: NYC Should be the ‘Best Place in America to Work from Home’
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Manhattan’s economy has changed drastically in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic uprooted New York. Still, not much has been done to address the new needs of residents and workers.
Office occupancy remains below 50% and only a small percentage of those who have returned are working in-person five days a week. As a result, businesses that once thrived in office districts are struggling if they even survived the pandemic.
“I think we should make New York the best place in America, if not the world, to work from home,” said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
“That’s gotta be part of the strategy and certainly converting some of those office buildings, the ones that allow it for residential, it should happen. We’ve got to accelerate and expedite it,” he added.
Conversions to residential use have stalled due to government red tape. Bowles believes creating more of a residential borough will create more demand for the kinds of goods and services that small businesses are selling in those districts.
“Manhattan, certainly, is one borough where we’ve really seen the aging of the population, and so that’s led to kind of more doctor’s offices, healthcare offices, other things that I think are catering to an older population and we may see more of that going forward,” the business leader said.
The Center for an Urban Future is also reporting on many opportunities for small businesses to service non-profits who work in disadvantaged communities and launch technology companies in markets that have not been addressed such as “women and family tech” in which women are the main consumers.
“New York has a chance to be a real leader nationally or globally in that sub-sector of technology,” Bowles said. “E-learning is another area where New York has seen a real growth in local startups. There’s just so many different facets of tech that are still strong here and I think that that is going to continue to drive a lot of spending on small businesses and also kind of drive employment growth in the city.”
See ideas for new businesses and new markets on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
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Jets Wrap Up Disappointing Season after Showing Promise Early On
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
New York, NY — Fans are lamenting the “same old Jets.” But mid-season there was excitement among the fan base that’s starving for a championship team.
Justin Joseph took the temperature of Jets fans at Stout NYC for NY2C’s On The Call.
