Just 21 shopping days until Christmas: That makes it Dec. 3 out there, intrepid innovators, and ho ho ho, the weekend is upon us.
First, of course, it’s Friday, and we’ve got one more shot at socioeconomic greatness before we hang the lights and brave the mall and all that good stuff. Let’s put a bow on this busy workweek.
Maker breaker: A big day for crafty do-it-yourselfers.
Made you look: Speaking of shopping and malls – or speaking against them – today is National Make a Gift Day, when we’re encouraged to skip the stores and DIY our presents.
Also much appreciated are National Roof Over Your Head Day and the United Nations’ International Day of Persons With Disabilities, both reminding us how fortunate we are this and every Dec. 3.
Separated at birth: Also catching a lucky break were Elisabet and Catherina Meijerin, newborn girls who became the first successfully separated conjoined twins on this date way back in 1689.
The babies – who were joined at the base of the sternum and also had fused umbilical cords – were separated by Swiss surgeon Johannes Fatio during a two-part surgery; both survived and grew normally.
Grand gesture: Revolution on Aisle 1.
Grand Union: Not the supermarket chain, the flag – the Grand Union Flag, the first official banner flown by American colonists in defiance of the British Empire, which raised for the first time 246 years ago today.
National Union: Boasting the official motto “State Sovereignty, National Union,” Illinois was admitted as the 21st U.S. state on Dec. 3, 1818.
They say the neon lights are bright: They certainly were on this date in 1910, when Georges Claude – the “Edison of France” – introduced the world to neon lights at the Paris Motor Show.
Whodunnit: And it was Dec. 3, 1926, when English crime novelist Agatha Christie – arguably the greatest mystery-maker of all time – mysteriously vanished, setting the stage for a real-life thriller.
After a frantic 11-day manhunt (featuring multiple law-enforcement agencies, the first-ever aerial search and hundreds of volunteer detectives, including Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle), Christie was found alive and well – reportedly, with no memory of what had happened.
…and one FORTRAN all: American computer scientist John Backus (1924-2007) – an IBM mainstay whose contributions to his field only start with the invention and implementation of FORTRAN, the first widely used programming language – would be 97 years old today.
Wicked wizard: Ozzy, the great and terrible.
Also born on Dec. 3 were English mathematician John Wallis (1616-1703), who introduced “∞” as the infinity symbol; Polish-British author Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), a master wordsmith with a true “Heart of Darkness”; easy-listening American crooner Andy Williams (1927-2012), who counted 15 gold and three platinum albums among his impressive discography; hard-rocking English singer, songwriter and TV personality John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne (born 1948), the longtime Black Sabbath front man and eternal Prince of Darkness; and German figure skater Katarina Witt (born 1965), a two-time Olympic champion ranked among the best ever in her sport.
Pregnant pause: And take a bow, Daryl Christine Hannah! The American actress and busy environmental activist – who is currently pregnant (!) with 75-year-old Neil Young’s baby (yes, it’s true) – turns 61 today.
Wish the rare sexagenarian mother-to-be well at editor@innovateli.com, where your news tips and calendar events always make a Splash.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
House money: Three incentives packages approved by the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency will bring a bevy of multifamily housing developments – including several “workforce affordable units” – to Roslyn and Westbury.
The IDA has approved tax breaks triggering more than $85 million in construction work by three different LLCs, which are expected to bring a combined 159 new rental units to Nassau – with 15 percent reserved as “workforce affordable” (loosely defined as affordable to households earning between 60 and 120 percent of the area median income). The incentivized projects, still projected to generate $18.3 million in annual tax revenue, include a 109,000-square-foot, mixed-use commercial/residential development on Warner Avenue and a 60,000-square-foot, four-story residential building on Lumber Road, both in Roslyn; these two projects are expected to add 87 dwellings to regional rolls, including roughly 17 workforce-affordable units.
Also on tap is the demolition of a blighted Westbury warehouse, to be replaced by a 60,548-square-foot, 72-apartment building, with roughly seven new workforce-affordable units. “Investing in housing goes hand-in-hand with investing in job creation and retention,” noted Nassau IDA Chairman Richard Kessel. “Projects such as these go a long way toward ensuring that our residents … have the housing options they need throughout every phase of their life.”
Opening the vault: New Class A offices will rise inside New York Community Bancorp’s former Westbury headquarters.
In the bank: In other IDA news, the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency has announced preliminary approval of an incentives package for an LLC planning to purchase and renovate New York Community Bancorp’s former Westbury headquarters.
The IDA voted Nov. 18 to proceed with a tax-abatement deal for 615 Merrick Owner LLC, an affiliate of Syosset-based Milvado Property Group, which plans to invest $16.7 million in the purchase/renovation project. The five-story, 78,909-square-foot Merrick Avenue building – which comes complete with its own 95,288-square-foot parking garage – was previously occupied by the NYCB corporate staff, which has since relocated to the bank’s Hicksville offices; it will now be upgraded to a Class-A office complex, according to the Hempstead IDA, with space for multiple tenants.
The deal is still subject to a full IDA review, public hearing and final vote, but will ultimately add to Milvado Property Group’s impressive Nassau/Suffolk portfolio of industrial and office spaces, which already eclipses 3.6 million square feet. “Potential IDA assistance to this project can bring new certainty to this building and new jobs to the town,” Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency CEO Fred Parola said in a statement.
TOP OF THE SITE
No ifs, ands or bots: Stony Brook University scientists have helped create a next-level bot detector capable of sniffing out human-mimicking “social spambots.”
Dream on: Farmingdale State College has become the first SUNY institution to accept applications for TheDream.US scholarships, supporting immigrant students.
Guest list: What do LI’s busiest networker, most dynamic clean-energy guru, newest university president and top ghostbuster have in common? They’re all guests on Season 2 of Spark: The Innovate Long Island Podcast, now streaming.
ICYMI
Omicron is here, and Applied DNA detects it; corporate tax hikes are there, and the BCNYS detests them.
BEST OF THE WEST (AND SOMETIMES NORTH/SOUTH)
Innovate LI’s inbox overrunneth with inspirational innovations from all North American corners. This week’s brightest out-of-towners:
From Florida: St. Petersburg-based utility Duke Energy Florida powers up a more resilient, environmentally friendly electricity substation.
From California: Sunnyvale-based textile innovator LifeLabs heats up outwear market with aluminum nano-layer coat, possibly the “world’s warmest jacket.”
From Colorado: Boulder-based renewable packaging pioneer Eco-Products flips its lids with compostable, sugarcane fiber-based takeout-food containers.
ON THE MOVE
Alison Epilone
+ Alison Epilone has joined Quatela Chimeri as a partner practicing matrimony and family law. She also serves as an adjunct professor at Central Islip-based Touro Law Center.
+ Bernard Soto has joined Melville-based Zuma Payroll & Processing as vice president of business development. He was previously senior vice president of business development for Connecticut-based Advantage Payroll Service.
+ Shelley Perino has joined Glen Cove-based SCO Family of Services as senior vice president of nursing services. She was previously director of clinical operations for Visiting Nurse Services of New York.
+ Travis Davey has been appointed assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction in the Babylon Union Free School District. He previously served as principal of the Babylon Elementary School.
+ Family medicine specialist Mark Jagust has joined the Lake Grove office of New York Health. He is an assistant professor at Stony Brook University.
BELOW THE FOLD
Dot’s weird: Yes, they’re robots. Yes, they’re alive. And yes, they do look like Pac Man.
Paging Jeff Goldblum: Living robots made from frog stem cells have baffled scientists by spontaneously reproducing.
Chips and dips: The global microchip drought is short-circuiting Christmas for big-time gaming companies.
Do I know you? Why first-time in-person meetings with online colleagues can be so awkward.
Telling the world: Please continue supporting the amazing agencies that support Innovate Long Island, including Brandtelling, which is ready to share your best story with everyone who needs to hear it. Check them out.
