PSEG Long Island is marking National Black Business Month by highlighting two new customers: Trinity Opulence in Hempstead and Suite 1937 in Baldwin. Both businesses have recently opened their doors with support from PSEG Long Island programs aimed at revitalizing local business districts.
Suite 1937, located on Grand Avenue in Baldwin, was launched by Nicole Sample-Harris, M.D., and her husband Trevor. The venue serves as a luxury event space for celebrations such as weddings, showers, networking events, and workshops. Suite 1937 received an $18,750 Main Street Revitalization grant from PSEG Long Island and is also benefiting from credits on its electric bills during the first year of operation through the utility’s Vacant Space Revival program.
“As new small business owners with no prior experience, we had no idea how much goes into transforming a building into a functioning event space,” said Harris. “The PSEG Long Island Main Street Revitalization Grant helped offset unexpected renovation costs and gave us a much needed cushion to preserve the aesthetic vision we had for the space. We’re incredibly grateful as this support allowed us to stay true to our goals while navigating the steep learning curve of starting a new business.”
Trinity Opulence opened around the same time on Fulton Street in Hempstead under owner Kemi Ajisafe. The venue describes itself as an all-encompassing community-run event space that hosts birthdays, showers, micro-weddings, traditional engagement parties, retirement celebrations, outreach events, popup shops, and corporate functions. Like Suite 1937, Trinity Opulence qualified for bill credits through PSEG Long Island’s Vacant Space Revival program.
“As we converted this vacant building into the beautiful space it is now, we encountered an enormous amount of damage which required me to utilize personal funds to upgrade,” said Ajisafe. “Our bill credits through PSEG Long Island’s Vacant Space Revival program will help me recoup some of those pre-opening expenses and free up some additional funds to fine tune issues that need attention within the building.”
“We are so proud to support our Black business owners and entrepreneurs, and to honor Kemi and Nicole for National Black Business Month,” said Veronica Isaac, manager of Customer and Community Partnerships at PSEG Long Island. “With PSEG Long Island’s Business First program, we are able to help small and medium sized business owners with grants and rebates. We also deploy our Business First Advocates to provide a personal concierge service for busy business owners with timesaving account services.”
National Black Business Month takes place each August as an occasion to celebrate Black-owned businesses across the United States since its creation in 2004.
PSEG Long Island offers several economic development programs designed to encourage investment in local shopping areas. The Main Street Revitalization grants are available for projects that aim to boost municipal economic stability but require application approval before construction starts. The Vacant Space Revival program provides financial incentives up to $10,000 in bill credits for new businesses occupying spaces that have been empty for over a year.
For more details about these programs or other economic development initiatives offered by PSEG Long Island visit https://psegliny.com/businessfirst.
