Mayor Touts Entrepreneur Space

Jessica Taft, who operates her nutritional food business at the Entrepreneur Space in Long Island City, explains her operations to Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan and Rep. Carolyn Maloney during the mayor’s visit to the facility last Thursday, Aug. 18. (photo: Nicholas Biondo) Mayor Michael Bloomberg today detailed the wide array of affordable workspaces available to small start-up businesses through New York City’s incubator program while visiting the Entrepreneur Space, a 12,500-sq. ft. city-sponsored food-manufacturing and business incubator in Long Island City.

The incubator program was launched in 2009 to promote entrepreneurship and make it easier to start businesses and create jobs. The city has opened nine incubators in the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens, featuring 125,000 square feet of affordable space, with additional projects in the pipeline.

The nine incubators currently host more than 500 start-up businesses and more than 800 jobs, and many businesses have already graduated from these spaces and expanded into market-rate space. Businesses at the incubators have raised more than $39 million in private funding.

Bloomberg also launched a new dedicated web page on nyc.gov for the businesses of tomorrow to learn about the city-sponsored and privately operated affordable workspaces throughout the five boroughs.

“When we launched the first business incubator in 2009 to make it easier for entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into local businesses and jobs, we pledged to open more if it was successful,” said Bloomberg at the space last Thursday, Aug. 18. “Today, we have nine incubators that have helped create more than 800 jobs, and

-SEE SPACE ON PG. 75- businesses have already graduated out of them and moved into their own space. Now, we’re identifying opportunities to expand the program even further. We want New York City to be the most welcoming city in the country for people who want to start a business.”

The Entrepreneur Space includes four commercial-grade kitchens and is open around-the-clock to meet the demands of tenants. Currently, 120 businesses use the kitchens to produce products ranging fromWhoopie Pies and Indian delicacies, to organic dog biscuits, cakes and cookies, and catering services. In addition, the Entrepreneur Space contains a small business incubator offering affordable workstations, job training programs, and mentoring services.

The Entrepreneur Space is operated by the Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC) and managed by Mi Kitchen es su Kitchen, a consultancy founded by Kathrine Gregory in 1993. Two classrooms are also available for organizations needing to secure space for job training classes or seminars. The Entrepreneur Space provides access to business counseling, technical assistance, and classes through the QEDC. The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) provided a $170,000 grant to support its launch and operations.

“Many of the ‘green shoots’ that will revitalize our economy are being nurtured in the business incubator here in Long Island City,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney. “Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, employing just over half of our country’s private-sector workforce. It requires an enormous amount of courage and determination to take an idea for a business and make it real, so I salute the entrepreneurs in the city’s business incubators— you’re truly what America is all about.”

“This city-sponsored business incubator, operated by the Queens Economic Development Corporation, has become a quick success,” said Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. “It nourishes and nurtures businesses, helping them to grow by providing space, counseling, technical assistance and networking opportunities. This great resource for entrepreneurs is one of nine throughout the city that provides the kind of opportunities and expertise that will yield great dividends and generate the sweet smell of success.”

“The Entrepreneur Space in Long Island City is a wonderful place for businesses to get their start,” added Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan. “As Western Queens continues to develop and grow, this incubator program allows for local businesses to get the support they need to succeed.”

“The creation and development of small businesses in New York is vital to turning our economy around during these difficult economic times,” noted State Sen. Michael Gianaris. “This is exactly the model we need to give burgeoning entrepreneurs the tools necessary to establish themselves. It is fitting that this space is located in Long Island City, which has quickly become the City’s most welcoming hub for new, successful businesses.”

“This invaluable incubator provides an affordable space for entrepreneurs to make their business dreams a reality,” concluded City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. “Many people look to start their own businesses when doors close to other job opportunities. This incubator opens doors and creates jobs. I am proud to support the incubator which provides tools and resources to start small businesses and will continue to work with the city to provide more opportunities for the growing and vibrant small businesses in New York City.”

In January, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, City Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito and NYCEDC President Seth Pinsky opened another kitchen incubator at La Marqueta in East Harlem. In addition to the two kitchen incubators in Queens and Harlem, there are seven additional city-sponsored incubators developed so far; a space for tech start-ups at 160 Varick St. in Downtown Brooklyn operated by NYU-Polytechnic University; a coworking facility for freelancers in Manhattan, the Hive at 55, operated by the Downtown Alliance; the Council of Fashion Designers of America Incubator for designers in Midtown; the ChashamaArts incubator in Brooklyn; General Assembly, a technology and design campus in Flatiron; the Sunshine Bronx Business Incubator in Hunts Point; and the recently-announced technology incubator to open in DUMBO.

The city-sponsored incubator program was developed as part of the City’s effort to support entrepreneurship and encourage diverse start-up companies to locate and grow in New York City, providing entrepreneurs with access to affordable and flexible space, subsidized business assistance services, mentoring, fundraising services, and a vibrant entrepreneurial community resulting from the colocation of many of these emerging businesses, and in some case, through the oversight and resources of a university partner.

Each incubator has a unique make-up and has recognized the need to assist more than just those starting businesses; for example, the General Assembly incubator sees over 3,000 people from the general public attend classes and events each month and has over 50 investors as members of their community.

Incubators are part of a larger series of New York City initiatives to support entrepreneurship and promote business innovation.