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Best Road Trips from NYC
Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC and NY2C Corp.
NEW YORK, NY — Road trips are a classic American experience. Here are some ideas for getaways from New York City.
Whether you’re into history, sports or nature, James Dukas and Ben Manlapaz have you covered with some of the best road trip destinations on this episode of NY2C’s What’s Up New York.
NY2C’s flagship digital series “What’s Up New York” is produced and written by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
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‘Live, Work, Play’: Why Businesses are Choosing Brooklyn over Manhattan in Pandemic Recovery
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Brooklyn has become the fastest growing borough in New York City’s pandemic recovery.
“People just love the live, work and play vibe that we’ve got going here,” said Randy Peers, the president and chief executive officer of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Peers noted that in order to understand the COVID-19 recovery, one would have to look at what he calls the “rebranding” of Brooklyn that began in the 1970s when crime gave the borough a dark reputation.
“We were the fourth largest manufacturing center in the country after World War II,” he said. “Then, like most industrial cities, we went in decline. Heavy manufacturing left, people left, they left to the suburbs.”
Photo credit Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce The key to Brooklyn’s transformation into a creative hub, Peers told WCBS 880, was the conversion of old industrial space into residential buildings.
“I like to say this a lot, but mixed-use matters and it gives that sense of a true sort of holistic community. And I think that’s part of the rebranding story.”
A recent Partnership for New York City survey found only 8% of office workers have returned full-time. Remote and hybrid work have accelerated business growth in Brooklyn.
“I mean, if you’re working from home, you’re more likely to shop locally,” said Peers.
Photo credit Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce said technology is the borough’s fastest growing industry with the highest paying jobs.
“People don’t realize this, but we rival San Francisco in terms of new tech startups. But it’s what I call little tech. It’s not big tech.”
“We’ve got Newlab out at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, we’ve got NYU Tandon Future Labs. We’ve actually tried to cultivate tech through these wonderful incubators,” said the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce leader.
Another incubator that has helped launch numerous startups during the pandemic is the Brooklyn Public Library in Prospect Park. Their business experts guided Brooklyn Tea, new environmentally conscious companies, e-commerce brands and more with skills and managerial training. Its PowerUP! program awarded a total of $41,000 in seed capital to eight finalists last year.
While business is booming in Brooklyn, Peers emphasized on the Small Business Spotlight that the outer boroughs need Manhattan to thrive because it’s the city’s economic engine.
“I will say we need Manhattan to bounce back. We need office workers to come back if we’re going to have a full recovery for New York City as a whole.”
Peers said there are three factors still holding back the city’s recovery: back rents from the COVID-19 shutdown need to be resolved; labor shortages in key sectors such as childcare are keeping some people out of the workforce; and people are cutting back on their spending due to high inflation.
See more on New York City’s recovery, the post-pandemic economy taking shape, and the neighborhoods in Brooklyn where businesses are booming on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
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A Local’s Guide to NYC
Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC and NY2C Corp.
NEW YORK, NY — Here are some of the places you must go when visiting New York City that aren’t the typical tourist spots.
James Dukas and Ben Manlapaz check out some local hangouts and activities on NY2C’s What’s Up New York.
NY2C’s flagship digital series “What’s Up New York” is produced and written by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
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Schmear Gold! CT’s Popupbagels Makes Waves in NYC
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — As the saying goes, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” But, whoever heard of a bagel company from Connecticut making it in New York City?
Introducing: Popupbagels.
“People started asking like, ‘Hey, I’m going back to New York. Can I grab an extra dozen so I can bring it to my family?’ And I would say, ‘Well, wait a second, like you live in New York, there’s bagels there.’ And they were like, ‘No, but yours are better. You need to come to New York,'” recalled founder Adam Goldberg on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Goldberg started the business in December 2020 in his Westport home. Within several months, he sold tens of thousands of dollars worth of bagels and moved into a commercial kitchen in Connecticut and partnered with New York restaurants, including Danny Meyer’s Daily Provisions, where he makes bagels by order for pickup only.
“We borrowed some kitchens in New York and started cooking there. And, you know, it kind of took off,” he said.
Popupbagels does not have a storefront, but they have pickup locations in Westport, Redding, Greenwich, Manhattan and the Hamptons.
“It’s like a bagel shop that’s so exclusive, you can’t get into it,” Goldberg said.
Popupbagels does not have a storefront, but they have pickup locations across the New York City area. Photo credit Popupbagels He told WCBS 880 that its rapid growth has solely been a result of organic marketing.
“Our whole marketing budget is spent on Instagram, which is amazing, because it’s essentially free. And then it’s really just word-of-mouth.”
Goldberg said he surveyed his customers to find out why they believed Popupbagels stood above its competition and discovered it is because his bagels are more like traditional New York bagels from the 1980s than what you will find in a Manhattan deli today.
“The average bagel in New York right now is over 150 grams where our bagels (are) about 105 to 110 grams. So, you don’t eat it and then feel like you need to take a nap; you kind of eat it, and you basically feel like you want a second one,” he said.
Popupbagels serves different flavor cream cheeses from local restaurants and runs various promotions to bring in more customers. It also has a subscription service.
“I grew up in Livingston, New Jersey, and we always, every weekend, went to Livingston Bagel (and) bought a dozen bagels,” said Goldberg “(We) would come home, throw them on the middle of the table, and as a family, we would eat bagels.”
That family tradition inspired his subscription model, where for $38, you can get a dozen bagels every week. Popupbagels now has 450 subscribers across Connecticut.
See how Popupbagels has grown from Goldberg’s home kitchen in Fairfield County to New York City on the WCBS Small Business Spotlight video above.
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Behind the Mic: Mets P.A. Announcer Colin Cosell Shares View from Citi Field Booth
Executive Produced by Carousso Enterprises, LLC.
Flushing, NY — Colin Cosell’s voice can be heard bellowing through Citi Field when the New York Mets play home games. He’s part of the team’s game day operations, providing a boost to the fan experience and entertaining those who come out to watch baseball.
Cosell, who grew up watching his grandfather Howard Cosell eloquently provide the word pictures to some of the greatest sporting events in history, is living out his dream as the Mets public address announcer. He gave NY2C’s On The Call a behind-the-scenes look at his job from the control room at Citi Field.
Carousso Enterprises executive produces NY2C’s On The Call.
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