Brooklyn's Progress
April/May 2008

BANKING/FINANCE
Northfield Bank: Joan Dalton has joined Northfield Bank as Vice President and Area Manager for Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and will be located at the Bank’s 3rd Avenue branch.

Prior to joining Northfield, Ms. Dalton was a vice president with Independence Community Bank and Area Manager for the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn. She started her banking career in 1976 with Atlantic Bank of New York serving first in their Trust Department as Trust Administrator and later as Assistant Manager of their Brooklyn branch.

Ms. Dalton is a licensed representative for SBLI Life and Health Insurance and is a New York State Notary Public.
A native New Yorker, she is active in the Bay Ridge community serving as president of the “Colonial Club” networking group, chairperson for the Advisory Board of the Bay Ridge Center for Community Services, treasurer for The Fifth Avenue Board of Trade, and member of the Bay Ridge Real Estate Board.

PUBLIC/NON-PROFIT
New York City Department of Small Business Services: Anne Rascon was appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Financial and Economic Opportunity. Ms. Rascon is charged with leading the city's Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program. The program certifies local businesses which are at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled by women or members of minority groups, and connects them to city contracting opportunities and opportunities to grow.

Ms. Rascon was previously the Director of Planning at the New York City District Council of Carpenters Labor Technical College. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in World Literature and Cultural Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz and is earning a Masters in Public Administration from the City University of New York, Baruch School of Public Affairs.

Mayor's Office of Industrial and Manufacturing Businesses: Leslie Ramos was appointed Executive Director recently. Ms. Ramos will work to retain and expand the city's industrial and manufacturing sector and coordinate across city agencies to provide assistance and incentives to local manufacturers.

Previously, Ms. Ramos served as Assistant Commissioner at the Department of Housing and Preservation, where she provided management and oversight of the agency's operating budget and 10-year capital plan, which includes the construction or preservation of 165,000 units of affordable housing. She holds an M.P.A. from Syracuse University and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Brooklyn Borough President’s Office: Carlo A. Scissura was named Chief of Staff for Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. He was Counsel prior to this appointment.

Mr. Scissura, a lifelong Brooklyn resident, is a graduate of Pace University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts, with honors, in Political Science, as well as a Juris Doctor.

Prior to joining the Borough Hall staff, Mr. Scissura was an attorney in full-time private practice, and worked in both the New York State Assembly and Senate. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Brooklyn Public Library and Brooklyn Information & Culture (BRIC). In addition, Mr. Scissura is the Second Vice President of the Federation of Italian-American Organizations, and is the Master of Ceremonies for the Brooklyn Columbus Day Parade.

In 1999, Mr. Scissura was elected to Community School Board 20, and appointed by Borough President Markowitz to serve on the Community Education Council for District 20, where he served as president and chairman of the Legislative Committee.

REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT
V3 Hotels: Gregory D. Atkins, who served as Chief of Staff to Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz since 2003, joined V3 Hotels as Director of Development. Mr. Atkins, who holds degrees in landscape architecture and regional planning and has more than a decade of public service, will work to expand the nascent firm’s project portfolio in New York’s five boroughs and beyond. V3 Hotels recently broke ground for the 172-room Hotel Indigo in Downtown Brooklyn.

Mr. Atkins moved to New York City in May 1995 and served as the first Director of the Southwest Brooklyn Economic Development Zone (SBEDZ). He also served as Assemblywoman Joan Millman’s Chief of Staff and moved briefly to the private sector, as Assistant Vice President for State and Local Government Affairs for UBS PaineWebber.