Course work: As the fall semester approaches, New Jersey business schools adjust their offerings to track industry trends

- PIXABAY

By: David Hutter / dhutter@njbiz.com

Sue Lehrman, dean of the Rohrer College of Business at Rowan University, describes how the university is expanding project-based learning to partner with businesses that are looking for help in many different ways including marketing plans and accounting systems.

“It is a team effort between students and businesses,” Lehrman said. “Students tour the facilities and work on solving a problem. It is not a new class but we are expanding the number of businesses and students who do projects. We want to see real growth in those projects. It is a huge benefit to our students who apply what they are learning in the classroom. Students build their soft skills. We have students who are launching their own businesses.”

Rowan University is also expanding its course offerings in business analytics and data analytics and is hiring faculty in that area, Lehrman said. In addition, Rowan is launching a course in blockchain applications.

“We are looking at how blockchain is increasingly being used in business,” Lehrman said.
Business schools at other New Jersey colleges are also adding courses in response to industry trends.
Oya Tukel, dean of the Martin Tuchman School of Management at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, said she is seeing a transition with businesses focusing on digital marketing.

“Finance is about data manipulation,” Tukel said. “Business school students use data to make decisions. They are focused on that. Business school students are going to be hardcore developers. We put a business context around it. Students need to learn new systems and software. Higher education is moving in that direction. That is where companies are heading.”

The Tuchman School is centered on technology and data, Tukel said.

Schwartz

Stacy Smollin Schwartz, an assistant professor of professional practice in the marketing department at Rutgers University Business School and a program director of the MS program, said the school is creating a Masters of Science in Digital Marketing Program for the fall semester. It is a fully online program because audiences may be seasoned marketers.

“We started realizing from an industry perspective employers want marketing skills,” Schwartz said. “We live in a digital world. We consult our phones. Marketers need to integrate fluidity into their marketing.”

She explained that employers are trying to respond to what customers are already doing. “Because consumers are connected to each other on social media, that is why employers’ demands exist,” she said. “Employers realize their customers are connected to brands and to each other. As a result, they want to hire people who understand how to market in a digital world.”

About half the courses are specific to digital marketing skills, Schwartz said. The other half are fundamental marketing courses that have been updated for the digital world, she said.

“Everyone is using their phones to augment their brains,” Schwartz said. “People can take it as slowly or quickly as they want: from one year to eight years.”

Going global

Montclair State University’s Feliciano School of Business will launch a bachelor’s degree in language, business and culture in fall 2019.

Cant

“The reason is New Jersey is an international trade hub with ports,” Dean Greg Cant said. “International business underpins what happens. We are building in a level of international experience. This is a more comprehensive approach. Some students want to study a language but wonder if they can get a job from it.”

Montclair State is linking an undergraduate and a graduate degree to save students money as they earn both degrees within five years rather than six years, Cant said. Economics, philosophy, religion, general humanities, psychology and history are starting as Four plus One in the fall.

“We think the price is attractive to our students,” Cant said. “We are expanding graduate certificates. We used to have a part-time program and are offering it as a full-time format. We have levels of specializations. We continue to add on digital marketing. There is a sequence of classes in professional sales. You can specialize in an individual area.”

Montclair State is also taking existing programs and offering them online.

“It is essentially about giving high-quality programs when you want and how you want them,” Cant said. “We are the second largest business school in the state so we can deliver it in all sorts of ways.”
Rutgers University-Camden Associate Chancellor Michael Sepanic said via email that his school will introduce certificates in its MBA program that will provide students with tightly focused skill-building opportunities. The graduate certificates are intended for students who do not wish to pursue a full-blown MBA degree but want to augment their knowledge and skills in one of four high-demand areas: business analytics, digital marketing, investments and private wealth management and strategic leadership. As an added benefit, students who complete such a certificate can later pursue an MBA and have the courses count toward the degree, Sepanic said.

He cited a Bureau of Labor Statistics study showing projected growth for top executives/managers in the following fields from 2016 to 2026: business analytics, 8 percent; digital marketing, 23 percent; investments and private wealth management, 19 percent; strategic leadership, 9 percent.

Citing the American Marketing Association, Sepanic said 72 percent of creative and marketing professionals surveyed by The Creative Group reported challenges to finding candidates with up-to-date digital skills. The technical skills most lacking on their teams include data science, data analysis and A/B testing; web and user experience design; content creation, content marketing, search engine optimization, search engine and pay-per-click marketing.

Companies seek professionals with expertise in these areas, as well as experience contributing to an organization’s overall strategy and effectiveness in attracting, converting and retaining customers.

Managing data

Ed Petkus, dean of the Anisfield School of Business at Ramapo College, said via email that starting this fall Ramapo is offering a new minor in business analytics.

“This is indeed in response to the trend that everyone is well aware of: the need for professionals who can manage the enormous amount of data that is generated and use it to make effective and ethical decisions for organizations,” Petkus said. “But regardless of whatever the latest business trend is, and even if we do see increases in automation, business is still conducted by humans. That’s why we continue to emphasize humanistic skills for all of our business students-written and oral communication, critical thinking, interpersonal interaction, and, perhaps most important of all, creativity. Those skills are relevant to any career, and transferable to any professional context in any industry or organization. And our industry partners and alumni consistently confirm this.”

Seton Hall University.

Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business unveiled its entrepreneurship major two years ago, Susan Scherreik, founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, said via email.

“Our entrepreneurship major is fairly unique in that we require that students who major in entrepreneurship do a double major in another business school academic discipline such as management, marketing, finance or economics,” Scherreik said. “Because entrepreneurship courses help students to develop entrepreneurial skills and an entrepreneurial mindset that is then applied in the context of either starting your own business after graduation, or working for a large company or corporation. To succeed, students must also learn the other skills and knowledge needed to run a business, or to work for a large company, such as finance, accounting, marketing skills, and communication skills.”

Students in the courses learn to think innovatively and creatively. “This includes examining and evaluating the world around them for potential business opportunities, how to create prototypes of the proposed services or products that will form the basis for a new business (which might include using a 3-D printer to create a model of a product) test their startup ideas by speaking to potential customers, and then return to the drawing board to make improvements based on this feedback,” Scherreik explained. “Most importantly, they learn to be comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty in a professional setting. That is important for all students, because the jobs they will have in 10 years probably don’t exist today. So it is very important for educators to teach students how to be nimble, flexible and analytical in a fast-changing business environment, so that they can roll with the punches and thrive amid huge technological changes that are today’s reality.”

Seton Hall is enhancing its entrepreneurship education programs by creating a dedicated space on campus so students can learn and apply entrepreneurial skills.

“The new accelerator/maker space/co-working space will allow our students to have a place to work on business startups, attend workshops and most importantly, meet with mentors,” Scherreik said. “This space will be open not just to Stillman students but to all students interested in entrepreneurship on our campus. This will be a non-credit, extracurricular activity to enhance what students learn in the classroom.”

The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies will host a “boot camp” for undergraduate students the week before the fall semester begins to expose them to the accelerator process. “In the space of four days, students will work in teams to brainstorm new business ideas, create business models, build prototypes, speak to potential customers, and receive guidance from alumni mentors who are successful entrepreneurs, attorneys and other professionals who work with entrepreneurs. At the end of the four days, the teams will pitch their ideas to a live audience of fellow entrepreneurial students, faculty, mentors, and judges. The judges are alumni entrepreneurs and professionals involved with entrepreneurs. The winning team will be awarded a preliminary round spot in Seton Hall University’s annual Pirates Pitch startup contest which is held in April and awards $16,000 in prizes to the teams selected to be finalists.”

Modern analytic skills

Jonathan Lincoln, William Paterson University’s associate provost for curriculum, said the school’s Cotsakos College of Business will offer a new course in artificial intelligence this fall for students pursuing a master of science in applied business analytics. In the spring, students in that same program can take advantage of another new course, Cybersecurity and Information Assurance. The Applied Business Analytics courses are also available to qualified MBA students as electives. Both courses were designed in response to industry demand.

- PIXABAY

“The Master of Science degree in Applied Business Analytics, overall, was launched last year in response to the global demand for professionals with advanced analytical skills to manage big data issues,” Lincoln said. “The program takes an interdisciplinary approach to industry preparedness, requiring courses in math, computer science, statistics and business. Electives in the program allow students to focus on industry specializations in operations, marketing, or finance, among others.

Coursework – through a combination of online, in-person, and hybrid classes – requires students to complete industry-relevant projects using real data and industry tools including R, Tableau, Python, Hadoop, and Spark.”

Lincoln said the school pays attention to what business leaders are looking for as the landscape shifts.

“Faculty members and administrators, particularly those on the Curriculum Committee of the Cotsakos College of Business, continuously study requirements of the workforce as well as economic and job market trends to prepare and offer new degree programs, concentrations, and courses,” he said. “We also conduct surveys and talk to industry leaders about the needs of their particular industry.  Additionally, another great source of information in terms of curriculum development is the Advisory and Advancement Board of the Cotsakos College of Business; its members are accomplished professionals who bring us information on the latest developments in the corporate and not-for-profit worlds.”

The College of New Jersey is adding a Master of Business Administration program that contains two tracks: data analytics and strategy innovation and leadership.

“That will enable students to become leaders of change within their organizations,” said Chanelle Lester, the director of the program.

The MBA degree requires 42 academic credits or approximately 14 courses, she said. The curriculum is designed to be completed in two years.

The data analytics specialization will provide contemporary analytic skills for complete business decision-making. Organizations survive and prosper by challenging the status quo and by finding new ways to deliver value, Lester said.

The college will begin a finance specialization in fall 2020 to allow students to build in-depth understanding in financial theory and to acquire various quantitative/analytic tools, she said.

WCRE sells 30,000-square-foot Cherry Hill office building

Cherry Hill Office Center, 950 N. Kings Highway, Cherry Hill. - WCRE

By: Linda Linder / llindner@njbiz.com

Wolfe Commercial Real Estate announced it exclusively represented 950 NKH LLC in the investment sale of an approximately 30,000-square-foot mid-rise office building in Cherry Hill to KSG Cherry Hill 950 LLC.

Located at 950 N. Kings Highway, the multi-tenanted building is situated within the Cherry Hill Office Center, centrally located within the Cherry Hill business district and easily accessible from Routes 70, 73 and 38. The building is also surrounded by an abundance of retail, banks, restaurants and offers numerous amenities within the surrounding business community.

The subject property was 100 percent leased at the time of sale.

John Mozzillo, senior associate and director of investment sales at WCRE, exclusively represented the buyer and seller in this investment transaction.

NJEDA financing supports small business expansion in North Jersey

- PIXABAY

By: NJBIZ Staff / editorial@njbiz.com

The state’s Economic Development Authority says nearly 200 jobs are heading to Paterson and Newark.

On Friday, NJEDA announced small businesses JRL Imports and MTB AMG will expand in North Jersey with the Authority’s financial support.

After closing on a loan in July for $1.4 million from NJEDA Premier Lending Partner ConnectOne Bank – with a $410,000 participation from the Authority – specialized contracting company MTB AMG will relocate its headquarters, and 160 jobs, from Brooklyn, N.Y. to Newark.

“If you run a growing company, moving to New Jersey is the smart move,” MTB AMG owner Arthur Nelson said in a prepared statement. “You get access to the same markets and resources you have in New York, but with lower overhead cost. Add to that the deep talent pool and vibrant community in Newark, and it’s clear Jersey offers the whole package.”

Serving wholesale and retail online industries, fashion accessory company JRL Imports was approved for a $524,000 direct loan from NJEDA in July 2019. Together with a $655,000 loan from Cross River Bank, JRL will acquire a facility in Paterson which will maintain 21 jobs and create seven more following its move.

“As a company that relies on warehousing and solid logistics infrastructure, locating in Paterson was the obvious choice,” Joseph Lefkowitz, owner of JRL, said in a prepared statement. “New Jersey’s unparalleled connectivity to all the major Northeast markets as well as global connections through the airports in the region will allow us to expand our online business, and the state’s diverse, talented workforce will make it easy to grow.”

Through its Premier Lender Program, NJEDA partners with more than two dozen banks throughout the state to guarantee or participate in a portion of commercial loans or lines of credits; financing which can be used for fixed assets or term working capital. The Authority also offers financing via direct loans.

“Building a supportive environment where growing businesses have access to the resources they need is an important component of Gov. Murphy’s plan to build a stronger, fairer economy,” NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan said in a prepared statement. “We are proud see growing businesses choose New Jersey as the site for their expansion and take advantage of NJEDA programs designed to support their immediate financing needs and put them on the road to long-term success in the Garden State.”

In addition to low cost financing, the NJEDA offers resources for growing businesses including the Small Business Lease Assistance Program, bond financing for manufacturers and not-for-profit organizations, technical support, and a number designed for technology and life sciences programs in all growth stages.

AT&T announces drive to support Newark residents with lead service lines

To donate $10, text WATER to 20222. - PIXABAY

By: NJBIZ Staff / editorial@njbiz.com

AT&T is lending its help to families in Newark with lead service lines with a Text-To-Give campaign.

On Friday, AT&T said donations received during the promotion will go toward United Way of Essex and West Hudson’s water fund, which uses 100 percent of proceeds to purchase bottled water for impacted residents of the Brick City.

Donations are one-time gifts and will be added to a customer’s monthly wireless bill, or deducted from a prepaid balance. The event is open to customers, 18 years of age and older, of AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint and US Cellular, the telecom company said.

“AT&T roots are in New Jersey, and we are committed to helping communities in need,” said Charlene Brown, president, AT&T New Jersey. “We also recognize the power of mobile technology and are using that to engage our employees and all New Jerseyans who want to help.”

To donate $10, text WATER to 20222. You can view terms and conditions here.

The art of the deal: How Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert C. Garrett approaches M&A

- DEPOSIT PHOTOS

By: Martin Daks / editorial@njbiz.com

Robert C. Garrett knows how to make a deal. As president and CEO of the Hackensack University Health Network from November 2009 through July 2016, he expanded the network through a series of acquisitions, partnerships and affiliations. Then in July 2016, he engineered a combination with Me-ridian Health to create Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH).

During his tenure, the 17-hospital organization – which bills itself as “the state’s largest network” with some 34,000 employees and 500 patient care locations – is still growing.  In 2018, HMH merged with JFK Health, and at the beginning of this year it merged with Carrier Clinic. In July 2019, HMH acquired three nursing home facilities - Prospect Heights Care Center and Regent Care Center in Hackensack, and West Caldwell Care Center. Currently, Garrett said, “we are in active conversations with seven health care organizations in New Jersey,” which have progressed far enough to justify signed non-disclosure agreements.

Growth with a purpose

But growth is about a lot more than just about bragging rights, Garrett insists. “We are not interested in growing just to get bigger,” he said. “Our growth is always strategic and is pursued with a variety of exceptional partners to accomplish this goal: We want to continue providing outstanding care, the best patient experience possible and the best out-comes, or what we call the ‘Triple Aim.’”

Garrett

It’s on ongoing process, with Garrett and his team “constantly scanning” for new opportunities “to enhance care and the patient experience and to improve outcomes,” he added. “We assess where we are today and where we want to be in a year, next year and beyond.”

Sometimes a transaction makes sense because of the location. The JFK deal, for example, “allowed us to fill in the gaps in our network in Central New Jersey with high quality, convenient care and added services including rehab and advanced neurosciences.”

To assess these and other opportunities, Garrett works closely with James Blazar, HMH’s chief strategy officer, and others. In addition to hard numbers and other issues, they examine soft information like “quality, culture and geography,” he said. “Most important is sharing a common commitment to delivering care that is high quality and provides value. Once plans reach a certain level of detail and engagement, we get the board involved.  What’s important here is that we never take a one-size-fits all approach.”

When the fit’s right, it could lead to a deal. But Garrett and his crew don’t limit their thinking to a single dimension. “We are not always looking for a merger or acquisition,” he said. “We believe in taking a much broader approach in partnerships. They come in many forms: a strategic clinical affiliation, a full acquisition, and many points in between including joint ventures and joint operating companies.”

As an example, he pointed to the December 2016 partnership with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center “to create a uniform standard of care and to expand outpatient options by building a joint venture facility in central New Jersey next year. We also partnered with the New Jersey Institute of Technology [in 2017] to bring forth the next breakthroughs in care delivery.”

Aimed at bringing together experts in science, health care and technology to improve care delivery, the NJIT partnership leverages a $25 million in-vestment fund. It’s already invested in Pillo, a home health robot that automatically dispenses medication, and PurpleSun, which utilizes ultraviolet light technology to reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections, Garrett noted.

Daring to be different

HMH also broke new ground with the Carrier Clinic merger, which was announced in January and billed as “a rare partnership in the U.S. of a be-havioral health provider and a multi-hospital network.”

Carrier Clinic - HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH

The deal “is a classic example of how we assessed our goals and went on a mission to find the best partner possible to achieve them,” Garrett said. “We were eager to transform behavioral health care in New Jersey because a record number of people were dying of opioid overdoses and so many patients with mental illness were receiving episodic care, rather than coordinated, high quality care that is essential to improving outcomes. Our goals were very clear: we wanted to expand access to treatment, better coordinate care and innovate treatment.”

With the Carrier Clinic deal in the rearview mirror, “We are on schedule to open our first urgent care behavioral health center in just a few weeks,” he added, noting that plans to create a “destination, comprehensive addiction treatment center,” to be known as The Retreat at Ramapo Valley, are on track too.

“We expect to open later this year,” Garrett noted. “When we are fully operational in 2020, we will have 85 beds, and extensive outpatient services all located on a healing 40-acre campus in Mahwah.”
Whenever a CEO engages in M&A or other significant activity, he or she is, to some degree, putting their own reputation on the line. If the strate-gies succeed, the board of directors will pat them on the back – if not, they may be out on the street. Some CEOs respond by playing it safe and maintaining the status quo. But not Garrett.

The way he sees it, “[m]y role as a CEO is to make decisions based on the best information I have at the time, guided by exceptional leaders who are committed to our mission. Opportunities are challenging and exhilarating. To succeed, you have to put yourself on the line and know which idea – out of so many competing possibilities – is worth pursuing.”

His own philosophy can be summed up by a quote from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs that’s displayed outside of Garrett’s office: “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the 100 other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”

Saying “no” as well as “yes” helped Jobs to transform an industry and shake up the economy. It seems to be working for Garrett, too.

Prudential US Businesses announces Pelletier's retirement, leadership changes

By: Jessica Perry / jperry@njbiz.com

Stephen Pelletier will retire from Newark-based Prudential Financial after nearly 30 years with the company, during which time he led Group Insurance and Prudential Annuities, and established the company’s international asset management business – now PGIM Global Partners.

Sullivan - PRUDENTIAL

On Thursday afternoon, Prudential announced Andrew Sullivan will succeed Pelletier, effective Dec. 1, as executive vice president and head of U.S. Businesses, reporting to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Charles Lowrey.

Pelletier will stay on in an advisory role until April 1, 2020, Prudential said.

“Our future is now,” Pelletier said in a Q&A posted to Prudential’s newsroom regarding the leadership transition. “We have an enormous opportunity to deliver financial wellness to more people.

“Andy’s focus has always been customer-first,” he added. “He’ll lead a growth-oriented and purpose-driven executive team of proven innovators and market builders. I have the highest confidence that Andy, our team of next-generation leaders and all of Prudential’s employees will deepen our customer relationships and capture the market opportunity before us.”

The company also announced three appointments to the U.S. Business executive team.

Phil Waldeck will take over for Sullivan as the head of the Workplace Solutions Group, he currently serves as president of Prudential Retirement and pioneer of its Pension Risk Transfer business.

Yanela Frias will be promoted to president of Prudential Retirement. She is the current lead of Investment and Pension Solutions, which the company said has exceeded $100 billion in pension and longevity risk transfer sales under Frias’ leadership. Scott Gaul will succeed Frias; he currently serves as senior vice president, Sales and Strategic Relationships for Prudential Retirement.

Dylan Tyson, who serves as CEO of Prudential of Taiwan, will become president of Prudential Annuities. A successor will be named for Tyson’s current position upon receiving regulatory approval, the company said.

Prudential Financial’s five U.S. businesses are aligned under three groups oriented to the needs of specific customers. - BUSINESS WIRE

“Andy and his executive team will continue to bring a broader set of financial wellness solutions to more people in new ways,” Lowrey said in a prepared statement. “Our conviction in this strategy, and the significant opportunity it represents for expanding our market reach, has never been stronger.”
Ken Sluyter, president of Prudential Annuities, will also retire, according to Prudential. He has been with the company for 38 years.

Continuing in their roles amid the change up in leadership are: David Hunt as president and CEO of PGIM; Caroline Feeney as CEO of Individual Solutions Group; Jamie Kalamarides as president, Prudential Group Insurance; Salene Hitchcock-Gear as president, Individual Life Insurance and Prudential Advisors; Naveen Agarwal as senior vice president and chief marketing officer; and Caroline Faulkneras senior vice president, Enabling Solutions.

NFL Alumni, Peirce College team to provide degree opportunities

- PIXABAY

By: NJBIZ Staff / editorial@nbiz.com

Mount Laurel-based NFL Alumni is partnering with Peirce College in Philadelphia to provide career-focused, undergraduate degree completion and graduate programs for retired NFL players, coaches, cheerleaders and their spouses.

Members and employees of NFL Alumni now have expanded access to affordable, flexible degree programs and certificates designed for working adults and personalized degree completion pathways that maximize transfer credits, professional and military training, and other college-level knowledge acquired outside of the classroom.

NFL Alumni members and employees also gain exclusive access to Peirce College’s career advancement training and returning to learning resources to help members grow their careers.

“We are thrilled to partner with Peirce College,” NFL Alumni Chief Executive Officer Beasley Reece said in a statement. “This partnership is a great opportunity for former players to complete or advance their education and improve their career opportunities.”

NFL Alumni is a nonprofit organization founded in 1967 to serve, assist and inform former players and their families. NFL Alumni offers medical, financial and social programs to members, as well as community initiatives under its “Caring for Kids” programs.

Peirce College is Philadelphia’s leading senior private, nonprofit college for adults and a pioneer in online education and leveraging technology in higher education.

NJ Transit releases service schedule for American Dream

By: NJBIZ Staff / editorial@njbiz.com

As part of an initial phase of service to the American Dream mall, New Jersey Transit will operate express bus service from New York City and Secaucus beginning with the mall’s opening Oct. 25 and expanding three local bus routes beginning Aug. 31.

American Dream is scheduled to open after years of delays and some citizens have expressed concerns about traffic congestion.

Two bus routes will operate daily express service to American Dream every 30 minutes: a new route, the No. 355, from the Port Authority Bus Terminal and No. 356 from Secaucus Junction.

To provide transportation options for American Dream employees prior to the opening, three local bus routes – the Route No. 85, which operates from Hoboken/Union City to Secaucus; Route No. 703, which operates from Paterson/Passaic to East Rutherford; and Route No. 772, which operates from Hackensack to the Meadowlands – will expand their operating hours and include stops at American Dream beginning on Aug. 31.

These three bus lines initially will stop at the Racetrack at the Meadowlands until completion of the dedicated hub at American Dream and will continue operations once opened.

Route No. 772 will expand to include Saturday and Sunday service. Transit will implement the augmented weeknight and new weekend service effective Aug. 31.

To utilize Route No. 356 express bus service from Secaucus Junction, customers may travel on any rail line that serves Secaucus Junction or any of the five Transit bus routes that serve Secaucus Junction and transfer to Route No. 356 express bus for direct service to American Dream.

Transit will monitor any possible crowds at both Secaucus and PABT and ensure that demand is properly met with commensurate service.

The Oct. 25 grand opening of American Dream will feature the launch of the property’s indoor, 16-acre Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park and DreamWorks Water Park; North America’s first indoor snow sports center, Big SNOW Ski and Snowboard Park; the Ice Rink – an NHL‐size skating and hockey facility; and Angry Birds 18‐hole Miniature Golf experience, along with many destination retail shops.

NIA National Realty negotiates sale of 2 buildings in Bergen County

By: Linda Lindner / llindner@njbiz.com

NIA National Realty announced it brokered the sale of two building transactions in Bergen County.

In Rochelle Park at 151 Route 17 is a freestanding, two-story flex-building consisting of 5,600 square feet. NIA’s Vice President Gregory Panayoti closed the sale with a European furniture company.

The property boasts highway accessibility and direct frontage on the Route 17 shopping corridor. It is located minutes from the intersection of Route 4 and the Garden State Parkway.

The second property is located at 676 Winters Ave. in Paramus. NIA President Roger Gross and Vice President Gregory Panayoti completed the sale to Valley Health System, a location adjacent to where the hospital will relocate its main campus from their current Ridgewood location in 2023. 

The 8,400-square-foot building features three floors of rentable office space as well as ample parking.

Gateway: Despite little progress, Murphy admin, state Congressional leaders remain optimistic

Rendering for the Portal North Bridge. - GATEWAY DEVELOPMENT CORP.

By Daniel J. Munoz / dmunoz@njbiz.com

The Murphy administration and New Jersey’s Congressional delegation are maintaining confidence that the trans-Hudson River Gateway Tunnel and Portal Bridge will garner federal funding and approval, despite little progress over the past year from the Trump White House, which has held the project up in what some argue is purely a political move.

“New Jersey is ready to get started on America’s next big infrastructure project, but we can’t do that until the Trump administration stops its delays and removes its artificial roadblocks," Murphy said Wednesday morning at a press conference at the New Jersey Transit Secaucus Junction station.

Gov. Phil Murphy speaks at the NJ Transit Secaucus Junction station
on Aug. 28, 2019.

The event largely mirrored a similar press conference from the year before where Gov. Phil Murphy said the Portal Bridge project was “shovel-ready” and simply needed a nod from the federal government and dollars to boot.

The 2018 press conference was held at park overlooking the Portal North Bridge, a swing drawbridge on the Northeast Corridor Line that frequently gets stuck and needs to manually be put back into place. Wednesday's press event was scheduled to be held at the same place, but moved due to inclement weather.

The Trump administration has been opposed to the projects, backtracking on a promise by the Obama administration to fund the plan 50/50 and arguing that whatever applications are submitted lack critical information to make them eligible for consideration.

A shutdown of either the bridge and tunnel - or reduced capacity to address critical repairs - could cripple the line which accommodates 200,000 New Jersey commuters daily, and upward of 800,000 who traverse the line to travel up and down the East Coast.

Proponents of the tunnel argue that progress among New York, New Jersey and Amtrak for the two projects, collectively called Gateway, with a $30 billion price tag has lurched forward.

An application for tunnel funding last week scaled down the price tag by $1.4 billion from $12.7 billion to $11.3 billion - half of which would be jointly funded by New Jersey and New York, which the parties said could likely make the application more attractive.

“We’ve done everything we have to do in terms of the regulatory approval process and providing the funding on the state level,” said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th District.

U.S. Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th District, said Wednesday that he has been involved in promising talks with the head of the Federal Transit Administration. “I spoke to the FTA just last week, and I heard for the very first time, 'no more excuses'. They acknowledged that we have taken every single step to get this thing off the ground,” he said.

Meanwhile, Democrats took control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the past year, which Malinowski said allowed for Congressional approval of money earmarked for the project. But the FTA denied funding for both projects in March, ranking them both as “medium-low” and ineligible for funding, despite the federal dollars from Congress.

U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer, Frank Pallone, 
Tom Malinowski, Albio Sires 
and Mikie Sherrill arrive in Secaucus 
on Aug. 28, 2019 - DANIEL J. MUNOZ

“None of the non-[Capital Investment Grants] funds are committed or budgeted. All of the funds are planned or uncertain,” the FTA wrote in its decision.

“No funding is currently available to cover unexpected CIG capital cost increases or funding shortfalls,” the statement continues. “[NJ Transit] did not demonstrate access to funds via additional debt capacity, cash reserves, or other committed funds to cover annual system wide operating expenses in excess of the current forecast."

Jerry Zaro, who heads the Gateway Development Corp., which would physical accept the state and federal dollars and oversee the project, said that the creation of the GDC is a major step for the project.

“We aren’t standing still,” Zaro added, pointing to, “construction on some of the things you don’t see… 11-12 projects underway, preparatory projects, because of the help from our Congressional delegation we now have the funding to pay for that.”

Long time NJ developer forms new firm to capitalize on Hudson County housing market

Rending for 8701 Churchill Road in North Bergen. - SKYLINE DEVELOPMENT GROUP LLC

By Linda Lindner / llindner@njbiz.com

Louis Mont, a real estate builder and developer on New Jersey’s Hudson River Gold Coast, announced on Tuesday the formation Skyline Development Group LLC.

The new firm will leverage Mont’s four decades of experience in urban construction and operations and special outside relationships with prominent financial institutions, development partners, and municipal and state agencies, to acquire, develop and manage multi-family real estate assets.

The company will focus its efforts on mixed-use and high-rise development opportunities in key New Jersey Gold Coast cities where Mont’s expertise in design and development, marketing, leasing, occupancy and management can be employed.

Mont will lead Skyline Development Group as chief executive officer and has assembled a team of key employees with whom he has worked with on previously successful projects in Hoboken and Jersey City.

Mont

“It’s no secret Hudson County has become a hotbed of residential development and a sought-after location for both New York metro area buyers and renters,” commented Mont.  “I’m thrilled to be able to create a fresh new company that’s uniquely positioned and staffed to tap into this flourishing market.

Skyline Development Group launched with the acquisition of a fully approved 14-story project that will deliver 70 boutique and unique condominiums to 8701 Churchill Road in North Bergen.

Construction is slated to begin in September for the yet-to-be-named development located just off River Road. Skyline secured $55.5 million in financing for the building from Mosaic Real Estate Investors, which maintains offices in Calabasas, Calif. and New York City. Jonathan Aghravi of New York City-based JBA Equities served as broker for the transaction.

In addition to the North Bergen project, Skyline Development Group has secured property rights to develop a 350-unit project in Jersey City’s up-and-coming Bergen Lafayette neighborhood and anticipates additional future projects to follow.

Prior to the creation of Skyline Development Group, Mont was the chief operating officer of a Jersey City-based company which has built over 600 luxury rental units in several Jersey City high-rise buildings in recent years.

Drivers rest assured, NJ's gas tax will not go up this year

New Jersey's gas tax will not increase for the upcoming year. - PIXABAY

By Daniel J. Munoz / dmunoz@njbiz.com

New Jersey's gas tax will stay at 41.4 cents a gallon for the next year, the state treasury announced Wednesday following concerns that a recent decline in sales could lead to an increase to the surcharge.

Meanwhile, the state’s diesel fuel tax will stay at 48.4 cents per gallon, State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said Wednesday morning.

Lawmakers and state officials had speculated that a gas tax increase could be announced in August, due to the heightened popularity of electric hybrid vehicles leading to a continuing decline in sales which would prompt the gas tax to continually increase.

That reasoning has led to some lawmakers, such as Assemblywoman Patricia Egan Jones, D-5th District, to push for a “road user fee” that would be levied against anyone who drives on New Jersey’s roads.

“We’ve heard from a lot of folks with electric vehicles, plus we have the hybrids who are reducing how much gallons people buy. We are definitely going to be addressing how they use the roads. And isn’t a gas tax a user fee?” Egan Jones, who services as vice-chair of the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee, said at a Woodbridge event hosted by the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey in March.

Gas tax money goes into the state’s multi-billion dollar Transportation Trust Fund, which finances roads, railways and other infrastructure projects across the state. Over the TTF’s eight-year lifespan, the state will put $16 billion into the fund, or $2 billion a year.

Under state law, if gasoline revenue goes up, the tax rate decreases; if the gas consumption goes down, the tax must increase. The most recent increase was an addition of 4.3 cents in October.
The biggest increase was in 2016, when it shot up by 23 cents from among the lowest in the country.

Denholtz Properties negotiates lease renewal in renovated Red Bank office building

Exterior rendering for 116 Chestnut St. in Red Bank - DENHOLTZ PROPERTIES

By: Linda Lindner / llindner@njbiz.com

Denholtz Properties announced a lease renewal with DefinedLogic LLC for 12,224 square feet of office space in Red Bank.

116 Chestnut St. is a part of a Denholtz mixed-use project, The Rail @ Red Bank Station, which will bring a 57-unit luxury apartment building with 6,000 square feet of ground level retail to Red Bank in 2020.

Denholtz Properties moved their headquarters to the 30,898-square-foot boutique office building earlier this year.

Red Bank’s location and overall setting have made the borough one of the state’s most attractive places for businesses. With close proximity to a New Jersey Transit train station in the heart of downtown Red Bank, 116 Chestnut St. is a multi-tenanted boutique office building. Renovations to the building’s façade are currently underway and will be completed in the fall of 2019.

DefinedLogic is an award-winning digital agency and consultancy, with an in-house development team that works with companies to identify technology needs, implement web content management systems, manage digital transformation and develop native and web-based applications.

“Having been in Red Bank for almost twenty years, we have seen tremendous change take place across the city,” said Michael Simon, partner at Defined Logic. “We are excited for Denholtz Properties to bring that transformation over to the West Side with their improvement project at 116 Chestnut and the construction of The Rail @ Red Bank Station next door. These projects made renewing our lease an easy decision and we look forward to being an integral part of the ongoing revitalization of this neighborhood.”

State Supreme Court upholds assisted suicide law

- PIXABAY

By: Daniel J. Munoz / dmunoz@njbiz.com 

The state’s highest court on Tuesday upheld New Jersey’s physician-assisted suicide law, allowing the measure to go forward and doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to certain terminally ill patients.

The decision came hours after an appeals court overturned the lower court’s Aug. 14 ruling by Mercer County Judge Paul Innes blocking the law, arguing Innes’ court “abused its discretion” in issuing the freeze.

Attorney E. David Smith
speaks on Aug. 19, 2019. – DANIEL J. MUNOZ

Bergen County-based Dr. Yoseff Glassman, along with attorney E. David Smith of Smith & Associates, filed suit to have the law declared invalidated. 

The “Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act” was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in April and took effect on Aug. 1. It allows terminally ill patients with no more than six months to live to acquire life-ending medication. Patients have to demonstrate that they are mentally sound and are not being coerced into making the decision.

A patient has to wait 15 days between when they request the medication and when a doctor can write a prescription. Innes’ ruling came just at the end of that first two-week waiting period.

A practicing Jew, Glassman argued the law violates his beliefs because even if he did not participate in end-of-life treatments, he would still be forced to take part by handing over medical records to a doctor who would actually issue the prescription.

Pharmacist Manish Pujara, a practicing Hindu, filed onto the suit on Monday, arguing that it also violated his religious beliefs because like Glassman, he would be forced to take part in the assisted-suicide law by turning over medical records to participating doctors and pharmacists.

“We respectfully disagree” with the appellate court’s ruling, Smith & Associates Senior Counsel Richard Grohman told NJBIZ before the Supreme Court decision.

The firm could not be reached for additional comment.

Murphy defends corporate tax break payment slowdowns

The Statehouse in Trenton. PHOTOS: AARON HOUSTON

By: Daniel J. Munoz / dmunoz@njbiz.com

Gov. Phil Murphy defended a recent, controversial practice by the administration of slowing down tax break payments as scrutiny of the incentive program and its participants has been increased.

In a sit-down editorial board meeting with NJBIZ on Tuesday, Murphy worked to quell the idea that lawmakers and business advocates are worried the new approach could sow confusion and anxiety among businesses dependent on annual tax credit payments.

“We are absolutely scrutinizing these payments given what’s unfolded over the past year. Who could blame us?” Murphy told NJBIZ.

Documents obtained by NJBIZ show the Economic Development Authority has yet to pay out tax break payments to 64 companies this year for taxes they paid in 2018.

Tax breaks are paid out to companies over a 10-year period, and annual payments are not made until those companies certify to the EDA that they met agreed-upon economic and job creation goals. The agency said it is taking extra time to comb through documents submitted by the companies to certify that they have met those goals.

Altogether, companies were paid $175.5 million in 2018 for taxes they paid in 2017—$151 million under the Grow New Jersey corporate tax breaks and $24.4 million under the legacy program.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-3rd District, an often-times political foe of Murphy and ardent supporter of Grow NJ, widely condemned the practice as punishing businesses who played by the rules and acted in good faith.

Sen. Bob Smith, D-17th District, who is chair of a Senate tax incentive committee tasked with hashing out New Jersey’s new incentive programs, has also been critical of the practice.

“With all due respect, we’re going to make sure that if you promise to do X for my giving Y, that you actually did X,” the governor countered.

Sullivan gives testimony during a meeting of the 

Senate Select Committee on Economic Growth Strategies. 

EDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan has maintained that the slowdown of payments was in response to the state comptroller’s January audit, which found glaring holes in the EDA’s oversight of the program.

According to the audit, the EDA over-awarded tax breaks, or awarded incentives to companies which never should have received them in the first place. Moreover, the EDA failed to make sure companies were compliant with the tax break agreement.

A task force Murphy convened in January has presented allegations and evidence that businesses with close ties to South Jersey political powerbroker George Norcross presented bogus plans about where out of state they would move if they did not win the tax breaks – despite no such actual plans – with the advice of law firm Parker McCay, where George’s brother Philip is a partner.

EDA staff should have been able to easily root out the questionable information about the alternative locations, and because they did not the state over-awarded millions of dollars of tax breaks to Norcross-tied companies for moving to or staying in Camden, according to the task force.

“There’s an overwhelming desire on behalf of taxpayers all over the state, that they want to say ‘hey wait a minute, I want to make sure that I understand where my money went’,” Murphy added. “And we won’t apologize for helping them figure out the answer to that question.”

Panel examines the state of health care technology in NJ

From left, Dean Paranicas, Van Ly, Carl Scalzo and Emma Yamada participate in the NJBIZ August panel discussion: Health Care Technology in Somerset on Aug. 27. - KEN KICZALES

By: Anthony Vecchione / avecchione@njbiz.com

Privacy, data security, data quality, mobile apps and wearables dominated a Health Care Technology panel discussion presented by NJBIZ on Tuesday at the Doubletree by Hilton Somerset Hotel.

Moderated by Dean Paranicas, president and chief executive officer of HealthCare Institute of New Jersey, a panel of experts discussed broad themes that impact providers, patients and insurance companies. They also addressed some of the challenges that technology poses for the health care industry.

When it comes to creating networks to share electronic medical records Van Ly, senior director of business development and programs technology at New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII), said that his experience working with providers indicates that privacy and security are top priorities when it comes to data sharing across networks.

“When it comes to what the individual practices deal with on a day-to-day basis besides clinical care, there is also the business side. In New Jersey, we represent small businesses in these provider offices and when you look at what the insurance companies are looking for about providing quality of care, they benefit from that,” said Ly.

Ly added that patients are receiving high quality of care and providers are motivated to share information across their practices because the patients themselves go across different practices.

However, at the same time, Ly said that keeping the information secure is essential.

Thank you for sharing?

Carl Scalzo, chief executive officer, Online Computers, said that the industry has moved to an open and transparent environment of sharing everything.

“Everybody wants everything on his or her smart phone. They want to know their blood work, the moment the results are in, they want to know how they upload results and get another opinion. It becomes scary because the information that we are trying so hard to protect, we now have our consumers of the information willing to share it. How do we protect that information and how do we share it with our doctors?”

Scalzo pointed out that there are some people who genuinely do not care if some of their information is out there while there is another demographic of people who do not what anybody to know anything and in some cases, they even want to limit information that their doctor sees.

“They want be in control of the information. These things will play out over the next few years and we do not really know where it will end up.”

Emma Yamada, director of cognitive systems and data science at Holy Name Medical Center, said that it is crucial to learn from the mistakes of other industries.

“If our business is bringing all this data together, housing it as a hospital system, aggregating data beyond our individual health system and our individual providers, it is your responsibility to secure it and to make sure people understand how you are using it. It can be challenging from a health care perspective,” said Yamada.

Yamada added that distinctions should be made as to whether the information that is being collected is tied to an individual, or to general demographics.

“You don’t want anybody who is going to insure you to know your specific sleep patterns. But is their value, and can we create a distinction between collecting data somewhat anonymously – so if I know your age, race, zip code and I know your sleep patterns, is that enough for me to do something with it without compromising privacy.”

In past, Yamada noted, there were not good rules in other industries, so everybody collected everything and used it any way they liked.

“Some of those things are changing; new regulations are coming down the pike across industries. New regulations are going to be put in place. People are going to learn to do more with less and value privacy,” said Yamada.

When it comes to the quality of the data, the panel addressed various tools, screens, devices and protections out there that are used to verify quality.

Yamada said that Holy Name spends a lot of time doing data cleaning. Sorting the data and figuring out what is usable and what is not.

“If something is such an outlier or there was some kind of error, there are whole business lines of artificial intelligence dedicated to just cleaning data,” said Yamada.

“What we hope for is that as electronic medical records evolve, we move away from being billing systems to clinical documentation systems. As those evolutions happen, you hope to see the data quality improve. But you have to acknowledge that even with the best system, you still have a human operating that and there is still a chance that they input the wrong value into the wrong field,” Yamada said.

Information in-hand

From a patient perspective, there is evidence to indicate that technology is increasingly contributing to improving the quality of care.

For Ly, it is about the patient having information in their hands.

“It starts with quality. When you talk about quality, you are talking about specific outcomes results that are driven now since we have data based on social factors. If I’m a diabetic and I’m not eating correctly, or exercising and not getting proper sleep based on my wearables, most likely I’m going to have an event at an earlier age than if I take care of myself,” said Ly who added that when it comes quality and technology it starts with self-awareness.

Ly said that he would like to see more of a community connection regarding technology.

For example with wearables Ly said that it would be beneficial if the technology allowed family members to monitor aging parents or grandparents and have access to their patient portal to see if they are being compliant with their medications for instance.

For Scalzo it is about the balance of the data.

“Sometimes having all the information at your fingertips is a little bit on the dangerous side. It can result in too much information and could it lead to self-diagnosis. Where are we on that road? We are empowering ourselves. That is great when you are buying bed or some commodity item, but where does it fall in with our health? It also can result in unnecessary communication with our doctor because we are second-guessing the expert. It is about finding that balance,” said Scalzo.

The panel concurred that technology’s role in health care is likely to increase.

What would they like to see going forward?

Yamada said that she would like to see universal health care blockchain.

“It would mean that everybody’s health care information is stored in one place and the patient is the ultimately decision maker in terms of who sees what and when. It would be a massive undertaking but would be huge for quality value and technology.”

Scalzo asserted that he would like to see more education.

“People leave a discussion more scared than when they walked in when it comes to health care. Educating more toward the positive. How can we do that? How can we educate toward the greater good.”

NIII’s Ly said that he would like to see an application that promotes education and in particular in young New Jerseyans starting in elementary school.

“I never learned about health technology. There is an opportunity to do that in school.”