Long Island Business News

Ones to Watch in Education in Long Island: August 7, 2009

Patrice Dobies Director of Special Education and Pupil Personnel Services

Hauppauge Consultant Discusses How Politics, Backstabbing Can Ruin the Office

A veteran devil gives an apprentice in the trade a description of hell on earth, telling him to picture a place "where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance and resentment." The devil, in C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters," is talking about a bureaucratic office, and if any of the above dysfunction describes where you work, take cold comfort, you're not alone.

Bank of Smithtown Grows Despite Crippling Recession

While a national recession hammers almost every business's bottom line, one local bank is making its move. Boosted by a surge in loans and deposits as customers, looking for stability, flock toward community banks, Bank of Smithtown has upped its already aggressive branch expansion plans and will end 2009 twice as big as it was at the beginning of last year.

Cars for Cash Program has Dealers Revved Up

Sales manager Mark Schwartz was looking out the window of the Smithtown Toyota showroom when a 21-year-old Dodge Ramcharger chugged onto the lot. He turned to a salesman and smiled, "Oh, yeah, this guy qualifies." Indeed, the owner of the Ramcharger, Stephen Denehan of Smithtown, qualified for the wildly successful federal "cash for clunkers" program. An hour after hitting the lot two weeks ago, Denehan drove away in a brand new RAV4, paying about $23,000, with a down payment of $4,500 paid f...

Suffolk County Buys Out Developer of Coram Parcel

With housing prices still in decline, and little new home construction on Long Island, many developers have projects on hold. But while they wait for the market to improve, a few developers in Coram have sold out to governments hungry to buy the land for open space.

Medford-Based Hiv Test Maker Chembio Posts First Quarterly Profit

Boosted by strong sales of its HIV test, Medford-based medical test-maker Chembio Diagnostics reported its first quarterly profit Friday since going public in May 2004. Shares rose about six cents or 46 percent from 13 cents to 19 cents in mid-day trading, but still remained well below the 52-week high of 24 cents. Volume spiked to 611,000 shares as of mid- afternoon, well above the three month daily average of 40,295.

$12.5m Buys Plainview Hotel

The 127-room Holiday Inn on Sunnyside Blvd. in Plainview has been sold for about $12.5 million. Visible from the Long Island Expressway, the Holiday Inn sits on about 3.95 acres and includes five meeting rooms, a catering hall, bar/nightclub, restaurant, and an outdoor swimming pool.

Lee Zeldin to Take On New York Sen. Brian Foley in Election

Lee Zeldin, who ran a spirited campaign against Rep. Tim Bishop in 2008, is re-entering the political arena as the Republican challenger to state Sen. Brian Foley next year. Zeldin, 29, said Republican Senate leader Dean Skelos asked him in January to run against Foley, a freshman senator from Blue Point.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney Drops Senate Bid

Rep. Carolyn Maloney will not challenge Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a Democratic primary next year. The Manhattan Democrat said a run for Senate would put politics ahead of policy for the next year and a half.

Hauppauge-Based Ashlind Properties Brokers 536,000 Square Feet in First Half

Hauppauge-based Ashlind Properties reports it sold or leased 536,000 square feet of industrial space in the first half of 2009. The first half included five sales totaling more than 104,000 square feet and six leases with totaling 400,000 square feet, according to Ashlind owner Richard Cohen.

Long Island Power Authority Asks for $119 Million in Stimulus Dollars

The Long Island Power Authority on Friday said it has applied to the U.S. Department of Energy for $119 million in stimulus funds it intends to use to support various smart grid projects. LIPA has said before it wants to increase its smart grid platform, technology that links digital communications infrastructure with power delivery. Smart grids have to ability to do things like monitor energy on a house-by-house basis as well as remotely control output as a way to reduce energy consumption, ...