Strictly Business

Sarah Cohen, PT, DPT, and Program Director of the Center for Parkinson’s Disease at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, was named winner of the 2019 Degenerative Diseases Special Interest Group Service Award in recognition of her “tireless pursuit of improving the lives of individuals with Parkinson’s Disease who live on the East End of Long Island.”

Cohen launched the Hospital’s Center for Parkinson’s Disease in 2017. This community-based wellness program offers cultural and fitness programming, as well as education and support, to people living with Parkinson’s Disease on the East End. There are approximately seven programs provided in six communities on the East End, including boxing, dance, tai chi, yoga, an arts program at the Parrish Art Museum, therapeutic singing chorus, and Explore SOFO at the South Fork Natural History Museum.

Prior to founding the center, Cohen was a physical therapist at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, a position she held for more than 10 years. She also served as an adjunct instructor at Stony Brook University, and is co-founder of The Shed, a women-only workspace in Sag Harbor.

OLA In East Hampton

The Organización Latino-Americana has opened an advocacy office in the heart of East Hampton Village.

Previously, Minerva Perez, OLA’s executive director said she “chose to work from home and to enjoy collaborations with the many partners we have across the East End. I always managed to find a place to meet and to work.” But now that OLA has a dedicated human rights attorney in Andrew Strong, she said, “it is time to have an appropriate space for an advocacy office.”

The office will be a place to hold conferences with lawyers, train volunteers, meet with community members to determine proper referrals, and in rare cases directly represent clients as needed for such complaints as wage theft and other prevalent exploitations. Strong will predominantly work from this space along with an administrative assistant.

The funding for this office comes from individual donations as well as those from private foundations. This is not a walk-in office. All consultations will happen by appointment only. For more information, visit www.olaofeasternlongisland.org.

The Spur Expands Its Board

Barbara Roberts has joined The Spur in Southampton as a founding member and a member of its board of senior advisors. The Spur is the East End’s first members-only coworking space and innovation lab.

Roberts is Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Business School and Hofstra University, the former New York chair of TIGER 21, and former member of the Suffolk County Planning Commission. She is recognized as an expert in all stages of entrepreneurship and family businesses and the creation of entrepreneur networking groups, educational programs, and membership organizations.

“Barbara has been both a successful entrepreneur and mentor at the highest level of businesses,” said Spur founder and CEO Ashley John Heather. “We could not be more honored to have her join our team and help us grow The Spur’s platform across the East End and beyond.”

“It is a joy to be joining The Spur, Ashley, and its founding team,” Roberts said. “As a long-time advocate for entrepreneurs and small business owners, I welcome the opportunity through The Spur to create a community and programs on the East End to connect very successful entrepreneurs with each other and people of all ages and backgrounds who wish to start or grow a business.”

Nassau-Suffolk Unemployment Down

The New York State Department of Labor released preliminary local area unemployment rates for December 2018. All metro areas experienced a reduction in the unemployment rate from the same month in 2017. Rates are calculated using methods prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

From December 2017 to December 2018, the state’s private sector employment increased by 120,600. In December 2018, the number of private sector jobs in the State was 8.2 million, which is a new all-time high. In addition, the State’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.9 percent in December 2018.

In the Nassau-Suffolk area unemployment fell from its December 2017 number of 4.2 percent to 3.1 percent a year later.

Vickers New Chamber President

Glenn Vickers, Executive Director of the YMCA RECenter, is the new president of the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce, succeeding Steve Haweeli of Wordhampton.

“Glenn is great, very enthusiastic,” Haweeli said. “We’re really looking forward to his vision for the Chamber.” To find out more about the Chamber and its upcoming events and mixers, visit the website at www.easthamptonchamber.com.

bridget@indyeastend.com