Huntington Station plans business incubator
One of the six weeks of small business courses in Huntington Station drew students, from left, Marc Henry Chery, John Maguire and Patricia Quijada. This is part of a six week program of courses for small businesses being offered by Farmingdale State in conjunction with the Town of Huntington's business incubator. (Sept. 28, 2010) Credit: Newsday / Audrey C. Tiernan
Business incubators are normally associated with large universities like Stony Brook or labs like Brookhaven National. But in what Huntington officials are describing as a first-of-its-kind on Long Island, the town is starting an incubator in struggling Huntington Station to help people start or grow small businesses.
Doug Aloise, director of Huntington's community development agency, said the town received about $450,000 in state, federal, town and private funding for the incubator, which is to begin operating in early 2011 at former football great Emerson Boozer's old club at 1268 New York Ave.
Aloise said the incubator will be able to accommodate six to eight small businesses, which will get help with planning marketing strategies and starting websites. They will also be offered conference room space.
The businesses are to be selected over the next few months by a committee headed by Huntington Town Supervisor Frank Petrone, who developed the idea for the town's incubator.
Companies housed in the incubator will pay a fee, which is still undetermined, Aloise said.
Aloise added that the town incubator will be different from others. "It's going to be an incubator without walls," he said. "We're going to have two tiers of memberships. If somebody is interested in being a tenant, that's fine. But they can be a member of the incubator without renting space."
The members will get instruction in filing reports with the government or other business-related issues.
The Small Business Development Center at Farmingdale State College began a free, six-week training program Tuesday to help prepare would-be entrepreneurs for the incubator, said Lucille Wesnofske, the center's director. The sessions, at 809 New York Ave., are funded by a $10,000 grant from Citigroup.
A Suffolk official said that nearly a decade ago county officials talked about a program to develop incubators in economically stressed areas but that the one planned for Huntington Station is the only one to get off the ground.
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