Fwd: OCT 5th SBAC: PLEASE RSVP BY 9/27/10

If you are an employer who wants to retain valued employees…

If you are an employment services provider or advocate who strives to promote successful employment experiences for job seekers and newly-employed individuals…

If you are looking for strategies that will support your efforts to be successful at work…

Please join us on Tuesday, October 5^th, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at our Statewide Business Advisory Council meeting. 

TOPIC:  Self-Disclosure and Reasonable Accommodations: 

POTENTIAL IMPACT ON AN EMPLOYEE'S ON-THE-JOB SUCCESS

Meeting will be held at Seton Health/St. Mary's Hospital, Conference Room A & B, 1300 Massachusetts Avenue in Troy.

Lunch will be served.

PLEASE RSVP BY SEPT. 27^th 

 For program details, see attached notice.

 

Marsha

 

Marsha Lazarus, MBA

Director of Consumer and Business Outreach

Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc.

194 Washington Ave

Albany, N.Y.  12210

(518) 434-0439 ext 224

www.MHANYS.org

 

Register online at www. MHANYS.org to attend MHANYS' 2010 Awards Dinner and Conference on Wednesday, October 20 & Thursday, October 21st...Theme is HEALTH CARE REFORM;  HEALTH/MENTAL HEALTH INTEGRATION

 

Mental Health Matters in all facets of our life, including the Workplace!

 

Event at Grappa '72

More Live Music Friday Night @ Grappa '72 Ristorante

This Friday September 10th from 5:30pm-8:30pm we will have
"Sonny and Perley" playing live outside on our patio.

-----The Chronogram Magazine says they are "Harbingers of aesthetic jazz...and romanticism"

Visit sonnyandperley.com for more information about their duo.

$3 Beer/ $5 Wine/ $5 Well Drinks/ Great appetizer specials!!!

Click the Grappa logo to make reservations online or call (518) 482-72

Family Fun: Greco Bros. amuses for 50 years

Poker tables. Pool tables. Darts. Foosball tables. If you're looking for fun, look no further than Greco Brothers. The family-owned business has been selling games for 50 years--and for the past 10 years, they've been doing it from their Central Avenue store.

Thomas Greco and his brother inherited the business from their parents. Initially, they sold the arcade equipment business to business, operating the business from a large warehouse, says Debbie Greco. But 10 years ago, they decided to purchase a showroom on Central, opening the business to families and individuals. Today the business specializes in family room equipment, and the store is packed with items--everything from pool cues to bar stools. A full-size pool table takes center stage, and one whole wall is covered with dart boards. The store even sells neon signs for man caves; of course, over the last year, people haven't been building man caves, or equipping family rooms.

"Business has been very bad the last year," says Greco. "People are not spending money on the extras." Greco says the recession has hit the amusement industry hard, and that the already-difficult task of running a business has been made that much more difficult. One of the big challenges has been finding and keeping help. Small businesses can only afford to pay employees so much, Greco says, and after a while, employees get frustrated. After losing a number of employees, the Grecos resorted to manning the front counter themselves, locking the front door so they can work in both the front and back of the store. "We can't afford to have someone just sit out and do nothing," Greco says.

Of course, summer is also a slow season. "You don't think about putting stuff inside your house in the winter," Greco says. The Grecos are looking forward to colder weather, and hope that the new year improves the economic outlook.

Truly Assie: a dream come true

Assie Bishop and Vivian Kornegay had been talking about opening a business for 11 years, but it wasn't until Kornegay was laid off last summer that she really considered it seriously. She decided to follow her heart, and the result, Truly Assie is a testament to the two women's friendship and of course, fashion. "We did it all on our own, just the two of us," Vivian says. "We just did what was in our heart."

By combining their resources and energy, the two friends were able to open a small shop on Everett Road in November. Truly Assie specializes in one-of-a-kind jewelry, handbags, sunglasses and clothing, and the store did so well, that they opened a new larger location on Washington Avenue in July. "We had a good time and it grew," Kornegay says.

The new location has more visibility and gets more street traffic--"people actually get off the bus and come in," she says. Today, Kornegay and Bishop couldn't be happier with their store.

Kornegay says the business has been a labor of love, and a pleasure from the start. "Our friendship--she's my mentor and my big sister so she's more than just my friend--and working together has been, it's just been great. And I don't believe that you could do this type of business without having a special type of friendship," Kornegay says.

The store has a gallery-like feel, and the pieces--bold necklaces and striking handbags--feel almost like works of art in the space. In a way, they are. The women select the pieces themselves, and buy in very small quantities, so the pieces you buy there are unique to the Capital Region. "We look for quality. We don't buy a lot of the same thing."

"Women want to be unique. We don't want to be stamped," Kornegay says. "We don't want to go into a play and see six women there with the same necklace we have, so we try not to make that happen."

Kornegay says the store has been a dream come true for the duo. She spends her days in the store, and can't get over how enjoyable it is. "I told her if this is retail, I'll do retail forever," she says with a laugh.

Truly Assie is located at 266 Washington Avenue in Albany. For more information, call 482-4905.

New kabab restaurant joins district

His name is Shamma Tabraiz, but you can call him Mr. Tikka Kabab. Those are, after all his specialties, the dishes that top the menu at his new restaurant, named—what else—Mr. Tikka Kabab.

Opened in June, the restaurant specializes in Indian and Pakistani food, cooked in a traditional tandoori oven on premises.

Tabraiz says this is his first restaurant venture. He says he opened the take-out and delivery eatery because he wanted to offer good food to the local community. He is particularly proud of the fact that all the food is halal, which means that it is prepared in a way that meets Muslim strictures.

The menu is straightforward and fits easily on a business card, which is, in fact, what he’s done. He hands me one of the card-size menus he had printed up. The list consists mostly of tried-and-true dishes—tikka, kababs, wraps, bread, and samosas and pakoras. It’s a strategy he hopes will help draw in business lunch traffic. The meals are highly affordable, ranging from $3.99 for the wraps to $1.50 for the chicken seekh kabab, which comes in lemon, hara spicy, or fried. All tikka and kabab specials are served with chatni and salad. You can finish your meal off with a $1.99 halwa or mango lasi.

For more information, call Mr. Tikka Kabab at 472-8080 or visit the restaurant at 117 Lexington Avenue, between Central and Washington.

Grappa '72 carries on tradition

When Carmine's Restaurant closed last summer, longtime maitre'd Armand Ymeraj was understandably disappointed. After all, he was out of a job. But Armand wasn't just upset because he lost his job after eight years. He was saddened by the loss of such a landmark establishment in this area.

Today, Armand is carrying on that tradition--right in the same spot. He opened Grappa '72 in the former Carmine's, making this restaurant a destination for fine dining. Grappa '72 features a menu that is "pure Italian," he says, and a list that's straight from the old country. In fact, Ymeraj boasts that his new restaurant has the largest Italian wine selection in upstate New York.

Opened three months ago, Grappa '72 is already successful, and that's because many of the customers are former Carmine's customers. Ymeraj says much of the clientele has been coming to the restaurant for years, and in the Italian tradition of hospitality, he welcomes them back with open arms. But the customers aren't the only familiar faces; many of the new restaurant's employees also worked at Carmine's and stayed on to work under Ymeraj's capable hands.

Ymeraj has been managing restaurants his whole life, first in Canada and then in New York. While Ymeraj has plenty of management experience, this is the first restaurant he's opened on his own. He's enjoying his new enterprise, although he does acknowledge that it's not withoutits drawbacks. "When you work for yourself, things get more complicated," he says with a laugh.

Walking into Grappa, it seems like old times. Even though it's been refurbished top to bottom, the restaurant has maintained a sense of warm elegance. Families enjoy their dinner in the dining room, while business execs take a drink at the bar. Ymeraj knows how to treat his customers, and the bar patrons enjoy some appetizers on the house while they watch the baseball game on T.V.

At the very back of the restaurant, in a quaint room with floor-to-ceiling wine racks, more patrons enjoy their dinners around a long family-style table.

Garden Grows in Beverwyck: Community Gardens opens new site on Bradford

Want to grow your own vegetables? All you need is a little plot of land, and Capital District Community Gardens can help with that. The local non-profit organization provides area residents with parcels of land to grow their own food and they have just opened a brand-new garden in Beverwyck.

Community gardens are large plots of land, divided into smaller parcels and assigned to people so they can plant gardens. Often, the gardens are given to people who live in apartments and may not have a space of their own to garden with. The community gardens are often located in vacant lots, and help to transform blighted areas into urban oasises.

Capital District Community Gardens (CDCG) has a grant to open nine more sites in the next five years, and based on the success of this latest spot in Beverwyck, they may decide to put several more in the area, says Sharon DiLorenzo, Program Manager for Capital District Community Gardens.

In fact, the spots in the new garden at 462 Bradford Street filled up so fast that the organization is actively looking for new property in the immediate vicinity, DiLorenzo says. "We could use more land in any of the Albany neighborhoods," she says. The organization currently has 47 gardens scattered across the capital district, and provides gardening space to hundreds of families and individuals.

The Beverwyck site was donated by a couple whose house burnt down. "They took what was a tragedy and turned it into such a good thing," DiLorenzo says. The site measures approximately 3,800 square feet, and will provide between 9 and 10 new plots.

CDCG began work on site improvement earlier this year. After a soil test came back negative, the organization excavated the entire area, removing 1-2 feet of soil and all the hard surfaces, including the old driveway and sidewalks. Then they brought in new soil, layering the entire area with sandy loam and organic matter.

DiLorenzo says the importance of good soil can't be understated. "It's all about the soil," she says. Especially when gardeners are growing produce organically, she says.

The organization will complete the garden by adding a toolshed, fence, and water spigot and should be finished with the new garden by mid-May--just in time for gardeners to get to work planting, she says. While this particular garden is nearly filled, sign-ups are still going on, and DiLorenzo encourages anyone who may be interested in having a plot in the new community garden to contact the organization. Even if they are not able to assign the person a plot, it will help them get an accurate measurement of the number of plots they will need, which will help with future site planning, she says.

To find out more about getting a garden plot, contact the Capital District Community Gardens at 274-8685 or email them at info@cdcg.org

To your health: Kitsu restaurant opens

Kitsu is hard to ignore. It's the new restaurant on Central Avenue with the giant setting sun in the style of the Japanese flag painted on the front.

"You definitely won't miss it," says owner James Chen with a laugh. Kitsu's door is the center of the flaming sun, and when you enter, more murals greet you. Birds and Japanese symbols decorate the walls alongside large abstract canvases. The paintings are the work of Tommy Watkins, a local artist. Kitsu owner James Chen collaborated with him on the restaurant remodel. It is the fourth restaurant the two have worked on; Chen also owns Mr. Wasabi, Shogun, and Edo.

Kitsu, which means "health," opened last month. Kitsu is the third Asian restaurant to open on this strip this year, but insted of being intimidated, Chen believes the competition will help. The area has become a destination for people looking for good international cuisine, he says. Central is a high traffic area, another advantage for this new business, he says.

Kitsu offers a full Japanese menu, but specializes in sushi with a number of custom-made rolls. The restaurant also serves a number of Hibachi entrees, including salmon, filet mignon and lobster tail. "A lot of people, they don't just want to stick with a plain California roll or tuna roll," Chen says. He maintains a white board of lunch and dinner specials at the newly remodeled sushi counter.

Located at the site of the former Saso's Noodle House, the restaurant has undergone an extensive update, including the addition of sleek modern tables and chairs and new countertops. The upscale restaurant is also in the process of obtaining their liquor license, and expects to be able to serve alcohol by the end of this month, says Chen.

A veteran restauranteur, Chen says the secret of running a successful restaurant is good food, good service and quality atmosphere. With that in mind, it looks like Kitsu is off to a healthy start.

CDTA unveils new high-tech website

CDTA has launched a new website that brings their riders up to the minute service information.

The new website combines Twitter and RSS feeds, and a new iPhone application and text messaging that promises to deliver route and schedule information directly to riders cell phones and PDA’s.

“Communicating effectively with our customers, stakeholders and potential riders is critical to providing efficient service in the way they want it and a top priority for CDTA,” said CDTA Chairman Dave Stackrow. “Integrating the latest technology tools into our new website helps us to provide the most current information on service changes and improvement plans and also encourages our customers to become engaged in transit planning decisions.”

The new website www.cdta.org, went live January 27. The website receives nearly 1.2 million hits annually.

New store offers on bargain prices on designer fashion

Clothes Mentor, a nationwide chain of resale stores, has opened a franchise in Albany, offering designer labels to locals at a fraction of what you'd pay at retail stores. The store opened February 27, and owner Kellie Robertson says it's been full of customers ever since.

"People are very excited that we're here, both to buy and to sell," Robertson says.

Robertson and her husband Neil Robertson opened the resale store after the success of their sister store, Plato's Closet, which is just next door. Plato's Closet, also a resale store, focuses on teen clothing, while Clothes Mentor focuses on clothing for adults, including 0-plus size 24, maternity wear, and accessories, she says.

The store offers cash on the spot for recent fashions in good condition, and buys all seasons--and customers reap the benefits, getting pieces for 80% less than they would spend at the mall, says Robertson. "In this economy, it's the best thing around," she says.

The store also has a wide selection of accessories, including designer purses from Coach and Dooney & Bourke. Robertson invites customers to come in and check out their selection. The clothes are organized by size and item, and displayed neatly on racks, so that you can find exactly what you're looking for, she says.

Clothes Mentor is located at 818 Central Avenue. The store hours are 10am-8pm. For more information, call the store at 689-1019.