Brooklyn's Progress
October/November 2006

BY KHADIJA BATUTA

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce bid farewell to Mack Tham, Director of Real Estate and Development and Bomi Kim, Director of Brooklyn Connects at a recent luncheon that also celebrated departing Vice President of Membership Darryl Hollon.  Mack and Bomi both provided vital services that complemented the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center, a mayoral initiative that brings the services of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) to Brooklyn’s small businesses.

The “Mack Attack”
Mack Tham joined the Chamber in Sept. 2003 to manage its Real Estate and Development program that provides real estate match-up and complementary business services to Brooklyn businesses, including assistance with incentive programs and financing.  Through effective outreach, Mack grew the Chamber’s Real Estate Space Bank helping the Chamber’s property owners and business owners make connections.  Mack also managed the Chamber’s Real Estate and Development (“RED”) Committee, co-chaired by Hank Auffarth, Citibank and Chris Havens, Two Trees Management, through which he developed a full schedule of “RED Nite” networking events, seminars, workshops and tours each year that kept Brooklyn’s real estate community engaged and informed, which is a good thing considering Mack more than doubled the roster of real estate Chamber Members during his tenure.

The RED Committee’s signature fundraising event, Building Brooklyn Awards, grew significantly under Mack’s leadership in every way, year after year – honorees and winning project categories, ticket sales, sponsorships, journal advertising and more.  Mack officially left the Chamber after this year’s Building Brooklyn Awards on July 18.

“Mack has done an absolutely extraordinary job at creating and building the Chamber’s RED program and making the Brooklyn Chamber the go-to organization for real estate businesses and professionals in Brooklyn,” said Brooklyn Chamber President Kenneth Adams.  “While creating hugely popular networking events, unique and informative seminars with high-level experts and guest speakers, and new and compelling proprietary research on real estate and development in the borough, Mack has single-handedly brought in a staggering number of new Chamber Members.  With his energy, enthusiasm and, of course, his passion for real estate, Mack has been an outstanding member of our Chamber team.”

Mack took the summer off for travels in Asia with his wife and will be returning in the fall when he will join the team at Massey Knakal Realty Services.

Connecting Brooklyn’s Businesses
Bomi Kim joined the Chamber in Feb. 2005 to launch its new initiative Brooklyn Connects that provides comprehensive procurement and business-to-business assistance to Brooklyn companies, especially minority and woman-owned small businesses.  Bomi worked with Brooklyn’s small businesses to provide technical assistance with bidding opportunities for government contracting and purchasing at the federal, state and local levels, as well as the private sector.  Bomi’s good work resulted in successes such as Chamber Member Sony Titus of EpiServe landing a $400,000 contract with the Long Island Rail Road, as was reported in the April/May issue of Brooklyn’s Progress.

“As Director of Brooklyn Connects, Bomi firmly established the program as a vital, new Brooklyn Chamber service and developed relationships with partners that will serve us well into the future.  Additionally, Bomi's work as staff liaison to the Chamber's Minority and Women Business Owners Committee led to great seminars and advocacy work for the borough,” said Rick Russo, the Chamber’s Vice President of Business Services.  “Although Bomi will be greatly missed, the good news is that her new position will afford the Chamber opportunities to work together with her in new, collaborative ways.”

Bomi left the Chamber on June 30 to take a position with the NYC Economic Development Corporation as its Director of the Minority/Women Business Enterprise Program where she will continue to impact Brooklyn’s businesses as well as businesses throughout the city.

For questions about the Chamber’s Real Estate and Development program or its Brooklyn Connects program, contact Rick Russo at 718-875-1000 ext. 108, or at rrusso@brooklynchamber.com.

Other Staff News
The Brooklyn Chamber is pleased to announce the recent promotions of the following staff members:  Khadija Batuta was promoted to Director of Online Resources (ext. 123), Tara Levin was promoted to Director of Membership (ext. 111), Jeanette Nigro was promoted to Vice President of Workforce & Training (718-246-5219 ext. 2025), and Steve Kaplansky was named Director of Brooklyn Goes Global (ext. 104).