As New Jersey’s economy continues to roar back from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, about 150 business leaders joined local, state and federal legislators as the New Jersey Jewish Business Alliance (NJJBA) celebrated those whose guidance helped put the state back on the road to recovery.
NJJBA Executive Director David Rosenberg, in addressing the crowd gathered at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark on August 16 for its annual business and legislative luncheon, said he was “thrilled to do in-person events to build relationships and trust as we head further into unchartered economic territory.”
Honored with NJJBA’s Excellence in Leadership Award was Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D-Dist.16), the Corporate Excellence Award went to the Kushner Real Estate Group (KRE), and the Outstanding Achievement Award went to Ted Zangari of the law firm of Sills Cummins & Gross and executive committee and board member of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce.
Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Dist. 9) told the gathering that recovering from the pandemic has been tough, and the full consequences may not be seen for some years as the business and healthcare communities and other sectors recover, but one thing was evident: “We were not prepared.”
“The healthcare system needs a lot of repair,” said Pascrell, adding: “We will never get economic equity until we get over the pandemic.”
One of the problems that became evident was the supply-side issues with docks backed up and the inability to get necessities to businesses and the population. “The technology exists,” said Pascrell, “but we don’t take advantage of it.” He touted such initiatives as the Inflation Reduction Act that was being signed by President Joe Biden as the congressman was speaking, which he said would help reduce drug costs among other things, and the CHIPS and Science Act to bolster supply chain and manufacturing issues while reducing reliance on China for computer chips, technology and other supplies.
Pascrell, first elected in 1996 and chair of the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, said the investment in infrastructure, climate and job training is expected to correct some of the failures the pandemic exposed while reinvigorating manufacturing and continuing to lower unemployment, already at a record low with the economy creating 580,000 new jobs a month.
“We found we didn’t get it right,” he said. “We have to be competitive in everything.”
Pascrell cited the necessity of the $2 trillion federal recovery initiatives, observing, “When people are hungry you don’t say ‘Not today. We care about you but not today.’” However, the congressman also said that although the new federal legislation is a positive step in the right direction, “no one party has all the answers.”
In her keynote speech, Marlene Cintron, the regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration, noted that small businesses make up the majority of business and new job creation in New Jersey, a microcosm of the nation, and many of those businesses have fewer than 500 employees. Those businesses, including more than 3,400 religious organizations in New Jersey, were backed by billions in loans and the Paycheck Protection Program. The result, she said, was 6,700 jobs added statewide in May, the unemployment rate dropping to 3.9% and a thriving economic outlook.
Cintron said unlike some countries, which are still struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic, the United States is succeeding in springing back. In reference to the other states and territories under her jurisdiction, Cintron added: “No one does it better than New Jersey.”
Freiman, a Hillsborough resident whose sprawling district includes parts of Hunterdon and Somerset counties as well as Princeton in Mercer County and South Brunswick in Middlesex County, told those assembled that because both his parents were small business owners he understood the valuable contributions small businesses make to the state’s economy.
“It wasn’t about just creating jobs and opportunities for people,” he said. “No one thrives unless business thrives in New Jersey.”
Freiman was vice president of strategy and analytics at Prudential Financial, led mentoring projects with Prudential international teams, and his business and analytic skills have been used to cut through partisan ideology to focus on collaborative measures to benefit all residents.
The family-owned KRE is a real estate investment and property management company that was cited for leveraging its exceptional base of human and physical capital to expand intelligently and take advantage of emerging economic and cultural trends. Master of Ceremony Ezra Friedlander, CEO of the Friedlander Group, also noted that KRE allowed an antenna on its Jersey City offices vital to facilitate communication among Hatzolah of Hudson County personnel.
Zangari serves on his firm’s management and executive committees and is chair of its real estate department. As chair of its redevelopment law practice group, Zangari leads a group of attorneys on brownfield, transit-oriented, central business district and waterfront redevelopment projects, as well as adapting obsolete or vacant corporate campuses and shopping centers for other purposes, and chairs its public policy and governmental affairs practice group assisting hospitals, banks, casinos and other related industry clients on the intersection of government and business interests.
By Debra Rubin
