Brooklyn's Progress
June/July 2006

Staff at the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce always say their Members are the best, and this year, the New York District office of the U.S. Small Business Administration felt the same. Five active Brooklyn Chamber Members were honored for their work by the federal government.

Small Business Person of The Year
Greg O’Connell, Owner, O’C Construction Company is often credited with single-handedly turning south Brooklyn’s Red Hook into what is one of the hottest new neighborhoods in the borough. Mr. O’Connell made high-risk investments by purchasing vacant warehouses in the once crime-ridden, rundown community and turning them into viable commercial, manufacturing and residential buildings. His He employs his own construction and maintenance crews, and from development to leasing and retains control of his projects to ensure they meet his vision for a larger social and economic revitalization of the neighborhood. This one-time New York City police officer was instrumental in bringing the much-anticipated Ikea Store to the area and the just-opened gourmet supermarket Fairway.

Minority Small Business Champion of The Year
Amaziah “Bill” Howell, Owner, Howell Industries, Inc. has been as known as a tireless advocate for the advancement of minority business owners for more than 30 years. His individual efforts on behalf of that community have helped shape New York City’s policy to increase minority and woman business owner participation in city contracting. Due to his work and reputation as a civic leader, he was appointed, in 2004, to Mayor Bloomberg’s Advisory Board for Minority and Woman-Owned Enterprises. He also played a major role in the enactment of New York State’s Article 15(A), on minority- and woman-owned enterprises.  He is the President and CEO of Howell Industries, which he founded in 1985 with his late wife, Jessica. 

Home-Based Business of The Year
Joan Bartolomeo, President, Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation joined the non-profit Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation in 1984 as an assistant manager in its business services division.  She rose through the ranks to become the BEDC’s President in 1989. In addition to directing the BEDCs programs including micro-lending, commercial and retail development, job creation and commercial revitalization, she’s taken the time to institute the organization’s mission to provide assistance to individuals with disabilities by assisting them with home-based businesses. Through her work she has helped individuals on the way to starting businesses in music production, gardening supplies, handcrafted dolls and writing implements.

Financial Services Champion Of The Year
Hank Auffarth, Senior Vice-President, Citibank has been in the business of small business lending for 36 years now. He got his position at Citibank in 2001 and concentrated his efforts on small businesses. He has provided one-to-one counseling to hundreds of area companies and has conducted dozens of training seminars involving thousands of attendees including economic development officials, real estate brokers, lawyers and accountants in neighborhoods throughout the metropolitan area so that they can all work together. He took it upon himself to write a book entitled, “Citibank Connects,” which he uses to educate loan officers about SBA lending within and throughout his own bank. He Chairs the Brooklyn Chamber’s Retention and Relocation Committee and is fondly known throughout the small business community as “Hank from the Bank.”  

Small Business Journalist of the Year
Robert Levin, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, New York Enterprise Report began his magazine as an online publication in 2003, featuring articles written by experts specifically for small businesses to increase revenue, reduce costs and build value.  He summoned up the courage to launch a print edition the following year, and circulation was up over 50 percent last year.  The Report’s content is designed to help small business owners fill the gaps that larger companies fill, by simply hiring employees.  Those include areas like human resources concerns, in-house legal counsel and the duties performed by a Chief Financial Officer.  He also ensures individual small businesses gain exposure by featuring small business profiles in each issue.  Since the beginning of his professional career as an accountant with Arthur Anderson he has had a real passion for helping small businesses grow and prosper. 

BIOS COURTESY JOHN MILLER (SBA)