Latest news with #Syracuse-based
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Destiny USA owner, Pyramid Management Group, defaults on loans owed for Buffalo-area mall
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Syracuse-based Pyramid Management Group, the owner of Destiny USA, has defaulted on a multi-million-dollar loan related to its Walden Galleria mall outside of Buffalo. The lenders filed a lawsuit against Pyramid Management Group in Erie County State Supreme Court on Thursday to initiate the mortgage foreclosure process. The company owed more than $230 million as of April 2022. In May, Pyramid CEO Stephen Congel told Buffalo Business First that he was optimistic about his team's negotiations with the lenders. In early May, representatives for the lenders sent a letter to Pyramid Management Group demanding 'immediate payment in full of the matured indebtedness.' By failing to pay, the letter states, the mall's current owners risk losing rights to manage the property or foreclosure, among other penalties. Spinoso Real Estate Group, also Syracuse-based, has applied to take over management of Walden Galleria as a court-approved receiver. Spinoso took over management of Pyramid's foreclosed Palisades Center near New York City last year. The company lost Champlain Center in Plattsburgh, Hampshire Mall in Massachusetts and Aviation Mall near Lake George. Many worry Destiny USA could be next. Last August, NewsChannel 9 reported Destiny USA was threatened with 'enforcement action' for Pyramid's inability to pay back $430 million in debt for the construction of the mall and its expansion. In a statement last year, the CEO of Pyramid Management Group, Stephen Congel, said, 'We are currently engaged with the special servicer regarding modification of the loan and will continue to provide an exceptional experience for our 17 million annual guests and employees.' Pyramid Management Group has not responded to NewsChannel 9's request for comment related to the pending foreclosure of Walden Galleria. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
TGCPlayer workers fight back against ‘union busting'
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR) — TCGPlayer workers, unionized with Communications Workers of America Local 1123, are preparing to lose their jobs after finding out eBay's motives to shut down the Syracuse-based location. eBay alerted Syracuse employees on Thursday that their operations would be consolidating to Louisville, Kentucky. But 100 soon-to-be-let-go workers, and their supporters, displayed a united front during a rally Tuesday afternoon. 'When we fight, we win,' protestors said in unison. 'We're coming for you, eBay.' TGCPlayer workers fight back against 'union busting' Town of Onondaga, city to see upcoming I-81 lane reduction Most Syracuse councilors dodge questions about cuts to city budget, except two running for mayor It's been a wet May in Syracuse, but cool too? 'It's an ugly bill'; Schumer says Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' will cut SNAP for 100,000 Central New Yorkers Union members accused the global online marketplace of 'union busting' with the decision to close their center and cut over 220 jobs. 'They dropped this on the workers and only notified our union about five minutes in advance of the closure,' Ethan Saleriusm, former TCGPlayer employee, said. 'They didn't bring it to the bargaining table at all. We've been with them at the bargaining table for over 600 days.' On that fateful day, six-year employee Richard Vallejo remembers the morning starting like any other in the office. The donuts were in their typical spot on the breakfast table, but the termination email was out of place. 'We all feel like the floor has just been completely dropped out from below our feet,' Vallejo said. In the middle of the rally, employees cried, consoled, and supported one another as they realized they were about to lose their family. 'It is absolutely unconscionable what eBay is doing to them right now, and so I wanted to be here to support these workers and, importantly, call on eBay to return the generous tax breaks and public dollars they received when they acquired TCGPlayer,' Alexander Marion, City Auditor of Syracuse, said. Currently, the next step for employees is demanding compensation and respect before walking out the door for the last time during the summer. 'The severance that TCG is offering right now is frankly unacceptable and insulting,' Salerius said. 'The members want, you know, as much severance as they can possibly get because they've poured their lives into this company and they deserve to be compensated for that.' eBay also responded to NewsChannel 9 about allegations regarding emotional and physical abuse from trained security guards at the Syracuse location. 'We take the well-being and safety of our team members around the world extremely seriously. We are committed to ensuring that all eBay safety procedures are consistently followed and that our workplace remains respectful and secure for everyone.' Sharing a few points on background: We are conducting an internal investigation following recent claims to confirm that personnel followed protocol and conducted themselves in line with our policies. Security staff are not permitted to physically engage with anyone under any circumstances, and we have strict protocols in place to ensure their conduct aligns with these protocols. We consistently monitor and enforce these protocols to maintain a respectful and secure environment for all team members. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Samaritan announces move to new patient billing partner
WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) – Samaritan Medical Center has announced a new partnership with a Syracuse-based billing partner. SMC has partnered with Kopp Billing Agency to manage patient billing services, effective May 1. This transition 'follows a comprehensive search to find the best partner for our patients and our organization, and we are confident that Kopp Billing Agency will provide enhanced customer service and a patient-centered approach' according to the hospital. Samaritan Medical Center's Annual Physician Recognition Dinner Samaritan head been working with their former vendor since 2012, and are excited to transition to Kopp. The new partner is 'well-regarded billing agency with extensive experience in serving hospitals and healthcare organizations throughout New York State. Their commitment to excellent customer service and a strong focus on patient experience made them the ideal choice for our community.' According the hospital, they processes over 10,000 patient billing statements each month, and as such, we rely on a trusted partner to assist with these crucial billing services. Kopp Billing Agency will begin receiving patient billing information starting May 1, and will assume full responsibility for all patient billing activities moving forward. During this transition, there will be a five-month period where both the former billing partner and Kopp will work with patients as they continue to receive bills from two different partners. This overlap ensures that patients have adequate time to manage their bills and that the transition is as seamless as possible for all. This transition does not impact any current staffing at Samaritan, this is only an agency change. SMC provide support through our website and phone line, 315-786-4900, for patients who may need additional assistance or have specific questions. Our team will be available to guide and support patients through this transition. For more information or questions, please visit our website or contact our Patient Billing Support team at 315-786-4900. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
30-01-2025
- General
- The Independent
A food bank netted a huge haul of 13,000 fresh salmon. The catch? The fish were still alive
A New York food bank was offered a huge donation of fresh fish this month — but it came with a catch. LocalCoho, a soon-to-close salmon farm in the small upstate city of Auburn, wanted to give 40,000 pounds (18,100 kilograms) of coho salmon to the Food Bank of Central New York, a mother lode of high-quality protein that could feed thousands of families. But the fish were still alive and swimming in the farm's giant indoor tanks. The organizations would need to figure out how to get some 13,000 salmon from the water and then have them processed into frozen fillets for distribution to regional food pantries. And they'd need to do it fast, before the business closed for good. LocalCoho is ceasing operations this Friday. Thanks to dozens of food pantry volunteers willing to help staffers scoop up the salmon, the team was able to empty the tanks in a matter of weeks and cold pack tons of fish for shipment to a processor. 'The fact that we only had weeks to execute this really ratcheted up the intensity and the anxiety a little bit,' said Brian McManus, the food bank's chief operations officer. 'I knew that we had the will. I knew we had the expertise.' Tackling food waste has been a daunting challenge for years both in the U.S. and around the world. More than one-third of the food produced in the U.S. is never eaten and much of it ends up in landfills. On a recent day, workers waded through knee-deep water teeming with salmon to fill their nets. Christina Hudson Kohler was among the volunteers who donned waterproof overalls and gloves to grab the fish-laden nets and empty their contents into cold storage containers. 'It's a little bit different,' Kohler said during a break. 'In the past, my volunteer work with the food bank has been sorting carrots or peppers, or gleaning out in the field.' LocalCoho is a startup that had been piloting a sustainable salmon farming system employing recirculated water. Its facility west of Syracuse had been supplying coho salmon to wholesalers and retailers, including high-end Manhattan sushi restaurants, with the goal of building regional farms across the country. But company officials said they could not raise enough capital to expand and become profitable. Thus, they decided to wrap things up at the end of January. With a shutdown looming, farm manager Adam Kramarsyck said they didn't want the fish to go to waste or end up as biofuel. That's when they reached out to see if the fish could be donated as food. 'It's 'lemonade out of lemons,' I guess is the phrase,' Kramarsyck said. LocalCoho can process about 600 fish a week by hand. But there was less than a month to clear the tanks of many times that number of fish. Enter the food bank. McManus was excited by the offer to land so many fish — and nervous about the challenge. But while the Syracuse-based operation knew how to distribute canned or frozen seafood, they're not set up to handle fresh fish. How could they turn thousands of fish into frozen fillets in a tight time frame? Kramarsyck said it took 'tons and tons of logistics.' The food bank enlisted 42 volunteers to help out. A local business with refrigerated trucks, Brown Carbonic, offered to ship the fish for free to a processor an hour away in Rochester. And LocalCoho staff pitched in to get the job done in time. 'A lot of companies going out of business would just be like, 'Take what you can get, we'll do the best we can.' I mean, they're working extra hard,' said Andrew Katzer, the food bank's director of procurement. The salmon was being processed and quick-frozen. It will be distributed soon among 243 food pantries, as well as soup kitchens, shelters and other institutions in the food bank's network. All told, the catch is expected to yield more than 26,000 servings of hard-to-source protein for the hungry. ' Protein, animal protein is very, very desirable. We know that people need it for nourishment and it's difficult to get. And so this is going to make a very large impact," said McManus. 'I don't anticipate this being here very long,'' he added. "We've had salmon before, but not like this.'
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
A food bank netted a huge haul of 13,000 fresh salmon. The catch? The fish were still alive
AUBURN, N.Y. (AP) — A New York food bank was offered a huge donation of fresh fish this month — but it came with a catch. LocalCoho, a soon-to-close salmon farm in the small upstate city of Auburn, wanted to give 40,000 pounds (18,100 kilograms) of coho salmon to the Food Bank of Central New York, a mother lode of high-quality protein that could feed thousands of families. But the fish were still alive and swimming in the farm's giant indoor tanks. The organizations would need to figure out how to get some 13,000 salmon from the water and then have them processed into frozen fillets for distribution to regional food pantries. And they'd need to do it fast, before the business closed for good. LocalCoho is ceasing operations this Friday. Thanks to dozens of food pantry volunteers willing to help staffers scoop up the salmon, the team was able to empty the tanks in a matter of weeks and cold pack tons of fish for shipment to a processor. 'The fact that we only had weeks to execute this really ratcheted up the intensity and the anxiety a little bit,' said Brian McManus, the food bank's chief operations officer. 'I knew that we had the will. I knew we had the expertise.' Tackling food waste has been a daunting challenge for years both in the U.S. and around the world. More than one-third of the food produced in the U.S. is never eaten and much of it ends up in landfills. On a recent day, workers waded through knee-deep water teeming with salmon to fill their nets. Christina Hudson Kohler was among the volunteers who donned waterproof overalls and gloves to grab the fish-laden nets and empty their contents into cold storage containers. 'It's a little bit different,' Kohler said during a break. 'In the past, my volunteer work with the food bank has been sorting carrots or peppers, or gleaning out in the field.' LocalCoho is a startup that had been piloting a sustainable salmon farming system employing recirculated water. Its facility west of Syracuse had been supplying coho salmon to wholesalers and retailers, including high-end Manhattan sushi restaurants, with the goal of building regional farms across the country. But company officials said they could not raise enough capital to expand and become profitable. Thus, they decided to wrap things up at the end of January. With a shutdown looming, farm manager Adam Kramarsyck said they didn't want the fish to go to waste or end up as biofuel. That's when they reached out to see if the fish could be donated as food. 'It's 'lemonade out of lemons,' I guess is the phrase,' Kramarsyck said. LocalCoho can process about 600 fish a week by hand. But there was less than a month to clear the tanks of many times that number of fish. Enter the food bank. McManus was excited by the offer to land so many fish — and nervous about the challenge. But while the Syracuse-based operation knew how to distribute canned or frozen seafood, they're not set up to handle fresh fish. How could they turn thousands of fish into frozen fillets in a tight time frame? Kramarsyck said it took 'tons and tons of logistics.' The food bank enlisted 42 volunteers to help out. A local business with refrigerated trucks, Brown Carbonic, offered to ship the fish for free to a processor an hour away in Rochester. And LocalCoho staff pitched in to get the job done in time. 'A lot of companies going out of business would just be like, 'Take what you can get, we'll do the best we can.' I mean, they're working extra hard,' said Andrew Katzer, the food bank's director of procurement. The salmon was being processed and quick-frozen. It will be distributed soon among 243 food pantries, as well as soup kitchens, shelters and other institutions in the food bank's network. All told, the catch is expected to yield more than 26,000 servings of hard-to-source protein for the hungry. 'Protein, animal protein is very, very desirable. We know that people need it for nourishment and it's difficult to get. And so this is going to make a very large impact," said McManus. 'I don't anticipate this being here very long,'' he added. "We've had salmon before, but not like this.' Michael Hill, The Associated Press Sign in to access your portfolio
