4 THE QUEENS COURIER • QUEENS BUSINESS • MARCH 8, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
queens business
Image via Generation NYC website
The landing page for the city’s new Generation NYC site
City launches new
‘Generation NYC’
app for teens
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Queens’ teens and young adults can now access
a breadth of information on the city’s employment
opportunities, free events and more all in
one place.
Generation NYC, launched on Feb. 28, provides
one portal to explore a depth of resources specific
to New York City’s young people aged 13 to 24.
Th e “mobile-fi rst” website is accessible now by
phone, tablet or computer.
Th e site is split into three primary sections:
Topics, Inspirations and Trips. Under the
“Topics” tab, adolescents can learn more about
subjects including high school and college admissions,
fi nancial literacy, housing tips and mental
health.
“Inspirations” off ers a glimpse into the lives
of other young New Yorkers who have achieved
success. One of the stories currently featured on
the site is Momo Ullah’s: a 20-year-old Hunter’s
Point resident who overcame substance abuse
problems and found a supportive community at
the city’s LGBT Community Center.
Th ose interested in learning about the city’s cultural
institutions or free events in their neighborhood
can visit the “Trips” tab.
“Improving the health and well-being of our
communities starts with our young people, and
this groundbreaking, fi rst-of-its-kind application
is just one way New York is putting them fi rst,”
said fi rst lady Chirlane McCray, who also serves as
co-chair of the NYC Children’s Cabinet.
Councilman Peter Koo, who represents
downtown Flushing and serves as chair of the
Committee on Technology, said the platform will
provide youth “a helping hand to prepare them
for the responsibilities of the fast-paced life in
New York City.”
“Th is generation of young people is fearlessly taking
on the challenges of modern life with incredible
courage and poise, so it is incumbent upon their
government to make sure they have access to the
resources they need to succeed,” he said.
Generation NYC is the next phase of the
Growing Up NYC initiative launched by the NYC
Children’s Cabinet: a multi-agency initiative created
by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
View the Generation NYC website at www.
growingupnyc.cityofnewyork.us/generationnyc/.
Estée Lauder to move employees to
Long Island City building at Queens Plaza
Photo via Google Maps
Estée Lauder Companies Inc. will move employees to a Long Island City location.
Proposed ‘MadeInAmerica.gov’ site gets mixed reviews
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@qns.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
A Queens congresswoman wants
to help inform the public about
American-made products — but some
business owners in Ridgewood and
Glendale aren’t sure about her proposed
solution.
Congresswoman Grace Meng introduced
legislation on Feb. 7 titled the
“MadeInAmerica.gov Act,” which
would create the fi rst-ever U.S. government
website for consumers to fi nd
information about products that are
made in America. If passed into law,
the act would require the United States
Department of Commerce to create
and maintain a MadeInAmerica.gov
website within two years of the enactment.
“It is time that the federal government
did more for American businesses
and American workers,” Meng
said. “Consumers who wish to know
which products are made in America
should have a trustworthy, easy-touse
resource, and American businesses
should be provided a space in which
they can easily connect consumers to
products that are made in America.
Th is legislation will promote products
made in the USA, support the labor
behind them, and encourage people to
buy American.”
Although the nationwide number
of manufacturing jobs in America
has increased slightly since 2010, that
number has continued to decline in
New York City. While there were
more than 265,000 manufacturing jobs
in the city in 1990, there are fewer than
75,000 today, according to the New
York State Department of Labor. One
local manufacturer, who runs the business
his father started in 1943, said
that number was higher than 800,000
during the 1960s.
Vernon McDermott is the owner
of McDermott Light & Signal in
Ridgewood, a marine navigation light
manufacturer that was founded by his
father, Julian A. McDermott.
When asked what he thought about
an online database to keep track of
American-made products, McDermott
said that “manufacturing is history
now for this city.”
Th e main challenge for McDermott,
whose primary competitors are from
diff erent states, is the rapid increase in
minimum wage, he said.
“Raising minimum wage is a fi ne
idea if the business is done in the
city,” McDermott said. “But my biggest
competitor is in Florida, and they
pay $8 an hour.”
McDermott’s budget is much tighter
as a small manufacturer who has
to pay his employees more every year.
He was frank in saying that he didn’t
think creating a website would help
turn the tide, adding, “If they’ll spend
any amount of money on it, I’d say no.”
Another local manufacturer also
pointed to employee wages when
asked about Meng’s legislation, but
on a much larger scale. Richie Huber,
an engineer for Superior Interlock in
Glendale, said that in a global market
it’s nearly impossible for New York
companies paying $15 per hour to
compete with companies across the
world that pay less than $1 per hour.
Superior Interlock was founded in
1946 and creates specialized key-interlocking
mechanisms for industrial
equipment. Since their product is
so specialized, Huber said, they oft en
compete with international companies.
On the Superior Interlock Website,
there is a logo with an American fl ag
that says “Proudly Made in the U.S.A.”
“I do, at times, have diffi culty trying
to fi nd a source of origin of a product,”
Huber said about Meng’s legislation. “I
try to support domestically made products
and source as much of our components
domestically as we can.”
According to a U.S. Census Bureau
survey, the total number of manufacturing
jobs in Queens in 2016 was
45,796. When it comes to having a
real impact on American-made goods,
however, Community Board 5 district
manager Gary Giordano expressed
how diffi cult it would be to change
consumer habits.
“Too many people are looking for
the cheapest product they can get,”
Giordano said. “We would need an
unwritten agreement that if we want to
make more here in America we’ll have
to pay more and buy less, but it will be
better quality.”
Meng’s bill has been referred to
the House Energy and Commerce
Committee where it is awaiting further
action.
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @angelamatua
Employees from Estée Lauder
Companies Inc.’s Long Island offi ce
will move to a building in Long Island
City.
Information technology employees
based at the company’s Melville offi ce
will move to a space at 27-01 Queens
Plaza North, according to Newsday.
Less than 10 percent of employees in
Long Island will be asked to move, a
spokesperson told the paper.
“Long Island City is a growing hub
for startups, tech and digital companies,
and our team will greatly benefi t from
being at the center of this fast-paced
and vibrant environment,” Michael
Smith, chief information offi cer, wrote
in a memo obtained by Newsday.
Th e company owns multiple buildings
in Melville, which are used for
research and development, manufacturing,
fi nance and a factory for fragrance
and skin care product production.
Th e Long Island City location is
home to JetBlue and MetLife.
Th e neighborhood has managed to
attract a number of large companies
including Bloomingdale’s, Ralph Lauren
and WeWork, a co-working space.
LIC Partnership was recently
awarded a state grant to study how
Long Island City could accommodate
new companies in the life sciences
and biotech industries. Mayor
Bill de Blasio announced in 2016 that
he would look to bring a life sciences
campus to either Long Island City or
Manhattan.
Estée Lauder Companies Inc. did
not respond to requests for comment
as of press time.