Bornstein Is Named LaG CC Economic Development Dean

Seth Bornstein, formerly director of economic development for the Office of the Queens Borough President, has been appointed LaGuardia Community College assistant dean for economic development.

Seth Bornstein, former director of economic development for the Office of the Queens Borough President, has been appointed assistant dean for economic development at LaGuardia Community College.

Bornstein will help the college further establish its role in the borough's thriving business community after having served 10 years in the Queens Borough President's office and playing a vital role in the borough's redevelopment.

"For the past 30 years, LaGuardia has been a key force in the economic development of Long Island City," LaGuardia President Gail O. Mellow said. "With Mr. Bornstein's experience and knowledge of the borough, the college will seek to broaden its role in the economic development of Queens and the city."

Bornstein is supervising four economic development programs within the Division of Adult and Continuing Education- NY Designs, New York's first business center for fledgling local design and production firms; the Center for Corporate Education, which develops and provides customized programs for business and industry; the Small Business Development Center, which provides free business technical assistance to start-up and existing entrepreneurs and Government Procurement, a training program in governmental contracting for small, minority, and women business owners.

"With Mr. Bornstein becoming a part of the leadership team of our division, we look forward to enhancing our partnerships with the community by capitalizing on the college's expertise and its nationally renowned education and workforce development programs and economic development." Jane Schulman, vice president of Adult and Continuing Education, said.

Noting that the goal of the college is to continue to work closely with the business community, Bornstein said, "We are going to let the world know that NY Designs is a premiere center for up and coming designers; that the Center for Corporate Education is a great resource for companies seeking specialized training; that Government Procurement shows minorityowned business how to vie for government contracts; and that the Small Business Development Center offers valuable counseling for budding entrepreneurs and those seeking to grow their companies."

Bornstein has been involved in the borough's economy for more than 25 years. His career began in 1979, when he joined the Queens Economic Development Corporation. For 10 years, he worked on commercial revitalization projects at a time when the borough was undergoing economic struggles. One of his major accomplishments was the development of a small shopping center in the underserved community of Hollis. "Now it is commonplace, but in 1985 no one was investing in urban neighborhoods," Bornstein said. "We got Walgreen's to build a drugstore and other stores followed its lead."

In 1990, he left his job and Queens and moved to Nebraska where he worked as a corporate site selection consultant. For six years he traveled throughout the country identifying sites for telecommunication centers for such companies as GTE, AT&T, and DHL. "This was a time when call centers were expanding in the country and before companies started outsourcing this service to India," he said.

In 1996, then Queens Borough President Claire Shulman asked him to return to the borough as director of economic development. As the new director, he assisted a host of neighborhood groups in Queens, including local development corporations, merchants' groups and business improvement districts, on their redevelopment projects. He also worked with the New York City Economic Development Corporation on major projects in Long Island City, Flushing, Rockaway and Jamaica.

When Helen Marshall was elected borough president in 2002, she asked Bornstein to stay on. He continued to monitor the development of the borough and helped initiate the Commercial Corridors program that added greenery, lighting, and signage along commercial streets.

One of the Rockaway projects that Bornstein was involved with was the Joseph P. Addabbo Family Health Center in Far Rockaway, a $12 million state-of-the-art facility. "This was a combined economic development and health project, because Rockaway was a neighborhood that needed both business and better health care," Bornstein who oversaw the project from its conception in 1997 to its official opening last October, said.

He worked closely with the city through the Long Island City Economic Development Corporation and the Long Island City Business Development Corporation to coordinate a plan and design for Queens Plaza. In Flushing, he collaborated with the city and the community to launch mixed-use development projects.

Along with overseeing redevelopment projects, Bornstein advised the Queens borough president on policy issues on economic development and was a troubleshooter for businesses. Now, after 28 years in the corporate and public sectors, Bornstein has entered academe. "It will be a new and exciting challenge," he said.