Hundreds of CEOs, business leaders and elected officials turned out for this year’s Bronx Chamber of Commerce gala on Sept. 18, with the theme of “Illuminating Success: Shining a Light on Bronx Businesses.”
Guests enjoyed drinks, food and fellowship as the sun set over the water at Marina Del Rey in Throggs Neck. Steve Maglio crooned Sinatra tunes, Bronx-born comedian Tara Cannistraci emceed during dinner, and salsa/freestyle music artist Brenda K. Starr performed to close out the evening, where some of the borough’s largest employers mingled with microbusinesses of one.
This year’s award winners, announced in August, were GVC Transportation, which received Business of the Year; Rella Fogliano of MacQuesten Development, named Developer of the Year; and former Deputy Borough President Janet Peguero, named Business Champion in Government. The Joseph P. Kelleher Award of Excellence was awarded posthumously to Ram Gupta of Chatam Management.
Chamber President Lisa Sorin said that while past galas have focused on expanding and rebuilding, this year’s event celebrated the progress of Bronx businesses.
Despite many financial and political challenges today, “Our small businesses are booming,” Sorin told the Bronx Times.
She said the gala was a time to “leave politics aside” while sharing in each other’s success and maybe commiserating about their common struggles.
“There’s so much negativity right now, everything is so politicized,” Sorin said. “You need to be able to shut out the world for a while.”
Joseph Cosentino, who has owned Morris Park Realty Group for 21 years, said times have indeed been tough for his business, which relies on volume that just isn’t there.
Current conditions for home buying are “not as bad as COVID or the [2008] mortgage crisis, but close,” Cosentino said. “The average person just can’t buy a house.”
He said he believes the Bronx needs to attract more jobs and push big companies to pay employees more. But hard times aside, the gala provided a much-needed opportunity to celebrate. “This is great,” Cosentino said.
To ensure a wide range of Bronx businesses were represented, approximately seven gala tables were sponsored by large companies so that microbusiness owners could attend, according to Sorin.
And though the Chamber is “completely apolitical,” she said she was pleased to see many current elected officials in attendance to show support for their local business leaders.
District Attorney Darcel Clark, Council Members Rafael Salamanca Jr., Althea Stevens, Kristy Marmorato, Kevin Riley, and Amanda Farías, Assembly Members Chantel Jackson, Michael Benedetto, Karines Reyes, and Yudelka Tapia, and State Senator Nathalia Fernandez were among the attendees.
Borough President Vanessa Gibson, wearing an emerald green dress with a sparkling V-neck, told the crowd that the Bronx business sector is heading in the right direction. “I’m proud to report our borough is on the rise, and we mean business.”
Gibson said business in the Bronx “isn’t just about numbers, it’s about opportunities, it’s about equity, it’s about fairness, it’s about dignified workplaces that our people deserve.”
The Bronx saw 52 million square feet of new development between 2022 and 2024, and many projects are currently underway that will create jobs and improve life in the borough, she said.
Gibson pointed to the redevelopment of the Kingsbridge Armory, the renovation of the Orchard Beach pavilion, four new Metro-North train stations in the East Bronx with accompanying housing and public space improvements, the Hip-Hop Museum, and the $20 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative Grant for the Morris Park community.
“This evening represents so much for all of us,” said Gibson. “Tonight’s honorees represent the very fabric of who are are as a borough. … Their leadership and innovation are needed now more than ever before.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
