JGSC Group News

Iona University helping to community build in New Rochelle

08/22/2022

Each week, Rob Walsh hosts a segment, “The Bottom Line for Small Business” on 1010 WINS radio. This week, Rob discusses the commitment of Iona University to help build the community in downtown New Rochelle. Rob discusses how Iona’s vision and commitment to being a good neighbor has helped to revitalize the North Avenue Corridor by bringing students and a new food market and restaurant to the area.

Rob Walsh is a principal with the JGSC Group. His segment “The Bottom Line for Small Business” can be heard every Monday and Friday at 8:56 am and 5:56 pm on 1010 WINS radio.

Listen to the entire segment:

Joan McDonald receives prestigious community leadership award

08/20/2022

Iona University in New Rochelle was the recent site of the Third Annual Irish Echo Conference that brought together government, business, and community leaders from across the country to share ideas on a wide array of issues.

Rob Walsh was one of the organizers of the event and led a tour along North Avenue adjacent to the Iona campus where the University has made significant investment leading to a revitalization of the commercial corridor. 

A highlight of the conference occurred when Rob had the opportunity to present the Cara Medal to Joan McDonald, his former colleague from the Bloomberg Administration. Over the last four years, Joan has served as the Director of Operations for Westchester and oversees 12 County Departments and 4,500 employees.  

Joan served as Commissioner of the NYS Department of Transportation from 2011-2015.  Under Joan’s leadership, the agency implemented 30 design/build, best value contracts, including the $550 million Kosciuszko Bridge, the Department’s largest contract. 

As Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development from 2007 to 2010 Joan led economic development efforts through the “Great Recession”. Joan chaired Connecticut Innovations, investing funds in various start-up companies in the biotechnical, aviation and IT sectors.  Joan has served in senior management positions for the City of New York, Metro-North Railroad, and the New York State Assembly.

“Joan has made tremendous contributions throughout her public service and involved in many creative game changing initiatives.  It was so great to see Joan recognize and a honor to be on hand” said Walsh.

New Energy in Long Island City

08/19/2022

Congratulations to the Long Island City Partnership on selecting Laura Rothrock as their President. Earlier in her career, Laura was part of a very dynamic team that reenergized the NYC Business Improvement program and led revitalization initiatives in numerous commercial districts. 

Several years ago, at about the same time as the arrival of Jet Blue’s world headquarters to the community, JGSC Group had the pleasure of working with the Long Island City Partnership to create a business recruitment effort. In addition to Jet Blue, Long Island City is home to the world-famous Silvercup Studios, Citibank, LaGuardia College, CUNY School of Law, hotels, and much, much more. 

Laura’s strong planning skills, knowledge of the City, and leadership abilities will be a real asset to the fast growing Long Island City neighborhood. We’re happy to extend our best wishes for great success to Laura. Visit https://licpost.com/long-island-city-partnership-appoints-new-president to learn more. 

It’s Time to Play Small Ball in Staten Island

08/15/2022

There’s a lot to see in Downtown Staten Island. In addition to some of the best views of New York City, there’s the 22 million Staten Island Ferry riders, the Empire Outlets, a major league ballpark, the St. George theater, the shops of Minthorne Street, and Borough Hall sitting in the center of it all. 

Over the years, numerous “home run” projects have been proposed and a few were even built. Each project touted its ability to bring economic vitality to downtown. In more recent years, commercial assessments have been conducted and millions in grants have been awarded –all designed to be a catalyst for economic growth in downtown.

Yet, despite all these grand plans and projects, the streets of downtown Staten Island remain largely empty and, following the pandemic, littered with vacant storefronts. The problem, it appears, is too much focus on big ideas and not enough focus on the basics.

All the ingredients for success are present: consumers, retail destinations, grant funding, and economic demand. What’s needed is a consistent, focused effort that attracts shoppers to multiple destinations along with the proactive recruitment of new stores, restaurants, and office users. 

Kamillah Hanks represents the downtown area on NYC Council. After meeting with her, JGSC is even more bullish on the future of Downtown Staten Island. JGSC has worked with her in the past and she keenly understands how to bring people together and build from the ground up.

Rob Walsh Participates in Third Annual Big Irish Campfire

07/18/2022

Rob Walsh will be one of the featured presenters at the Third Annual Big Irish Campfire on August the 19th.  The event, which is sponsored by America’s oldest Irish American newspaper, The Irish Echo, is being held at Iona College in New Rochelle. 

In Iona College, the Irish Echo team has selected the perfect setting and a place with deep ties to Ireland. Under the strong leadership of President Seamus Carey, Iona College is an inspiring model for transformative and innovative change during the most challenging of times. It is now widely recognized as one of the top colleges for business and entrepreneurship. 

Building upon this success, Iona recently acquired a new 28-acre campus-nearly doubling their footprint with plans to establish a premier School of Health Sciences. This new School will train the next generation of health care professionals, support the communities that Iona serves, and help to meet the nationwide nursing shortage. The expansion also provides new opportunities for their successful athletic teams; a growing performing arts programs and academic enhancements.

The Big Irish Campfire event spotlights Irish American organizations from across the country. The goal of the event is to shape the future of Irish America. It is among the most comprehensive collection of the scale and scope of the Irish American community.

In addition to Rob, this year’s featured participants represent business, labor, theater, arts, politics, literature, sports, media and more. Rob will lead a tour up North Road showcasing how Iona has strengthened the corridor with new development that has brought new small businesses. 

To see the full event agenda or buy tickets to attend, click here: https://www.irishecho.com/events/2022-big-irish-campfire-forum

JGSC Retained To Help Princeton, Devise Economic Development Plan

07/06/2022

Few communities in New Jersey have the distinction and draw in their downtown business district as Princeton. Home to one of the country’s finest universities, steeped in colonial era history, and known for its architectural charm and sophisticated lifestyle, Princeton draws more than 2 million visitors from all over the world each year to Nassau Street. The business district boasts an unusual variety of offerings: Rolex watches, exotic fresh seafood, tea ceremonies, fine Spanish Serrano ham, and unusual boutique toys are among the exceptional finds on offer daily in this district, blended together with art galleries, the offices of major investment funds, and the Gallup Poll. But is it the best it can be? JGSC Group has been retained as a sub-consultant to the planning firm of Clarke Caton Hintz, which has been hired by the municipality to prepare a 10-year update to its Master Plan. JGSC Group is responsible for the economic development element of the plan. We have solicited input from stakeholders, merchants, commercial property owners, and soon will publish an online survey that will seek the opinions of residents, workers, visitors, and University faculty/students in an effort to identify local sentiment on the success and shortcomings of commerce in Princeton. Applying these results in conjunction with the latest syndicated data we will obtain on commerce in town and in its wider trade area, we’ll be able to identify opportunities and trends. We’ll evaluate these against the direction that Princeton commerce hopes to take over the next decade as impacted by housing, job creation, transportation modes/parking, pedestrian access, and the ongoing role of Princeton University. The online survey can be seen at www.PrincetonSurvey.org.