Category Archives: Business News

New York’s State parks, historic sites, campgrounds, and trails welcomed a record-setting 78.4 million visits in 2021, continuing the robust level of visitation seen since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“From Niagara Falls to Montauk Point, our State Parks and Historic Sites are a treasure that every New Yorker should be able to enjoy,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “During the pandemic, parks and public spaces have become more important than ever, providing New Yorkers with safe and enjoyable outdoor spaces for gatherings and recreation. New York was proud to welcome a record-setting number of visitors to our State Parks last year, and we look forward to modernizing our parks system as we approach its historic 100th anniversary in 2024.”

Total visits statewide increased in 2021 by more than 427,000, driven by a dramatic rebound of more than three million visitors at Niagara Falls State Park compared to 2020, when international border tourism was curtailed due to COVID-19 protocols. More than nine million visitors went to Niagara Falls State Park last year.

The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (LARAC) announced that Phil Casabona will take over as executive director with the departure of Candice Frye.

Casabona was LARAC’s gallery curator and festival coordinator and has worked at the organization since July of 2014.

At LARAC, Casabona has been in charge of both the annual June Arts Festival and the annual Fall Arts Festival, as well as LARAC’s year-long gift shop and annual Holiday Shop. For the past four years he has also been LARAC’s gallery curator, bringing seven different gallery exhibitions to LARAC’s Lapham Gallery each year. 

“Phil has been an integral piece of LARAC for years, and brings essential skills and intense passion to continue the work of LARAC. We are lucky to have Phil to work with as LARAC heads into the future,” said Will Sawma, LARAC board chair and head of the search committee. 

Casabona, an artist himself, with a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree, is active in the arts with his own home studio as well as representing the arts and his community through LARAC in his professional life. Phil is also an active member of North Country Arts in Glens Falls, where he has served since 2018 and is the organization’s vice president. 

By Paul Post

An entrepreneurial couple has turned a widespread labor shortage to its advantage by adopting state-of-the-art technology to open a new can and bottle redemption center.

The business, called Rocket Recycling, welcomed its first customers on March 11. It is located at a former Stewart’s Shop building at 255 Ridge St. in Glens Falls.

“It’s all about speed, getting people in and out quickly and being super efficient,” said Tyler Russell of Saratoga Springs. “Our tagline is the ‘Fastest Redemption Center in the Galaxy’.”

He owns the firm with his wife, Julia.

“We just saw an opportunity to do something a little different, using equipment to differentiate ourselves from other places like this,” Russell said. “We’ve been kicking this idea around for several years. The biggest problem today is labor, the same as any industry.”

By surfing the internet, the Russells found an Elmira-based firm, JK Peris, Inc., which specializes in recycling equipment. Such technology eliminates long lines and reduces the need for hiring employees.

Kim A. Cook, who with the support of the board of directors, staff, volunteers and contributors led the effort to expand the Open Door Mission’s work to serve the homeless and hungry at its at 226 Warren St. community center in Glens Falls, is stepping down.

Cook has served as president and chief executive officer of the organization for the past nine years and previously had served as chair of its board of directors.

Dean C. Brown, chief integration officer of the Open Door, will take over the position.

The Open Door Mission serves people at their point of need while encouraging personal growth and community sustainability. It operates an emergency Code Blue Shelter, a food pantry, a clothing closet, providing people in need with connections to community resources, counseling, case management, and training in budgeting, life skills and substance abuse recovery.

Its emergency food pantry serves more than 25,000 meals annually. In just the first weeks of 2022, the Open Door provided 1,289 bed nights. Its Code Blue shelter has been open 89 days this winter season, officials said

“Open Door has been my life for so many years. It has been an exhilarating challenge and success beyond what anyone could have imagined. It has been humbling to see God’s love and provision for the most vulnerable in our community,” said Cook. “I am so grateful to have been on this journey with such an extraordinary team of professionals and volunteers and so supportive a community. Together, we have been blessed by the opportunity to save lives, serve and comfort people in need, and to see real-life transformation, truly a reward beyond measure. I am looking forward to taking some time to rest, spend time with my family and decide what our next adventure might be.”

By Christine Graf

Attorney Steve Perkins, who worked for five years at he worked for McPhillips, Fitzgerald & Cullum in Glens Falls,  has started his own firm, Perkins Law PLLC in Saratoga Springs. 

He started in the real estate department before moving into trusts and estates. 

The Siena College and Albany Law School graduate handles cases in Saratoga, Albany, Warren, and Washington counties. 

Perkins, a native of Saratoga Springs, works from home in order to keep overhead costs low. He meets with clients at 524 Maple Ave., Suite 2, a space he leases from attorney Rita Young.

During law school, Perkins interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, litigation firm Wilson Elser, and Ayco, a Goldman Sachs Company. After graduating in 2016, he worked for McPhillips, Fitzgerald & Cullum in Glens Falls. He started in the real estate department before moving into trusts and estates. 

Five years later, in the fall of 2021, Perkins made the decision to open his own firm. 

SUNY Empire State College’s School of Business has been approved by the State Education Department to offer a new Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree.

The program will launch in the fall term, with the option for students to be enrolled fully online.

 Officials said the BBA is a comprehensive business degree designed to serve adult learners working in business-related fields who want to advance their career by pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business or prepare for a MBA.  

The BBA program will require fewer liberal arts credits, making the new degree program an attractive option for students who want a strong knowledge base in all facets of business and community college graduates with an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree, officials said.

 SUNY Empire State College Officer-in-Charge Nathan Gonyea, Ph.D., said the launch of the new BBA degree program “reflects SUNY Empire’s ongoing commitment to helping students fulfill their academic dreams and professional ambitions, while also addressing the employment needs of the economy. The BBA will fit around the busy lives of adult learners and enable them to shift their careers in exciting new directions.”

The Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce announced its 2022 Four-Seasons Travel Guide is available, celebrating the organization’s 70th anniversary and introducing a special logo for the year to commemorate the milestone.

The Chamber produces the Travel Guide in house and prints 70,000 copies annually. They are strategically distributed around the state, at AAA offices, and across the U.S. and Canada through direct mail by request.

“With new data from where our visitors were coming from, we were able to readjust our distribution plan in 2021 to place the guides where they’d be most likely to be picked up. In 2022, we made similar changes to our distribution plan to match current intel,” said Executive Director Gina Mintzer, CMP, MHA.

This year’s cover features a photo of Paradise Bay by F. Cavone Productions as well as a photo strip showcasing different seasons and activities. The cover design was chosen with the help of the Chamber’s social media audience, who voted on two different designs.

Northern Insuring Agency Inc. recently expanded their Glens Falls office, moving from 136 Glen St. to 21 Bay St.

The 1,200-square-foot office was previously occupied by Equitas Realty.

 The insurance agency had been located in Whitehall since the 1970s, but moved into Glens Falls in January 2019. 

Northern Insuring has been in business since 1930 and has two other offices in Plattsburgh and Potsdam.