Wylde named Bay Ridge Pioneer of Third Avenue

Partnership for NYC president to receive award Oct. 16

September 27, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Kathryn Wylde has received numerous awards over the years. Last year, she was honored by the non-profit agency Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow (OBT). She is pictured with state Sen. Marty Golden (left) and Randy Peers, the former president and CEO of OBT. Photo courtesy of OBT

Share this:

Kathryn Wylde, the president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City who has spent more than three decades helping business owners realize their potential, has been named a Pioneer of Third Avenue by the Merchants of Third Avenue, leaders of the organization announced this week.

Wylde is one of a dozen people who will receive awards at the 24th Annual Merchants of Third Avenue Pioneer of Third Avenue Cocktail Reception on Monday, Oct. 16, at the Bay Ridge Manor, 476 76th St., at 7 p.m.

The Merchants, led by President Bob Howe, hand out Pioneer Awards each year to leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to working to boost the economy and improve the quality of life for residents.

Wylde will receive a civic award, along with Theresa Monforte-Caravallo, owner of the store Grandma’s Love; Walter Ochoa, owner of Right at Home; and Sara Steinweiss, owner of Conflict Resolution Systems LLC.

The business pioneers to be honored by the Merchants this year are Renee Dorsa, owner of Dorsa Group Realty; attorney Joe Elhilow, owner of Elhilow & Associates P.C.; Dennis Taveras, owner of Blue Agave Restaurant; Tom D’Elia, managing director and principal of Blue Ocean Wealth Solutions; and Jeanine Condon, Lisa DeLuca and Melissa Franz, co-owners of the store Charmed.

Danielle Rutuelo, daughter of Arlene Rutuelo, the well known Bay Ridge civic activist, will be presented with the Larry Morrish Community Service Award.

This year, the Merchants will also be giving out an award to a new business. The recipient will be Mike Kaves, owner of the Brooklyn Firefly restaurant.

Wylde has a long and distinguished career in the business community, according to leaders of the Merchants, who described her as an ideal choice for a Pioneer award.

The Partnership for New York City, the organization she heads, represents the city’s business leadership and its largest private sector employers. According to its website, pfnyc.org, the Partnership “works with government, labor and the nonprofit sector to promote economic growth and maintain the city’s position as a global center of commerce and innovation.”

The Partnership also focuses on research, policy formulation and issue advocacy at the city, state and federal levels.

Wylde became the Partnership’s president in 2001. Prior to that, she was the founding CEO of both the Partnership’s housing and investment fund affiliates. From 1982 to 2000, she was responsible for developing and managing affordable housing and economic development programs that are largely credited with having contributed to the renaissance of blighted urban neighborhoods across the city.

Wylde developed a network of business leaders and investors that nurtured the growth of the city’s “innovation economy,” a move that created thousands of jobs and promoted an entrepreneurial business spirit, according to the Partnership’s website.

Wylde has received honorary degrees from Fordham University and St. Francis College. She serves on a number of boards and advisory groups, including NYC Economic Development Corporation, NYC & Company, the Fund for Public Schools, U.S. Trust Advisory Committee, the Manhattan Institute, Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, the Governor’s NYC Regional Economic Development Council and the Governor’s Business Regulation Council.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Wylde served in senior positions at the former Anchor Savings Bank and at the former Lutheran Medical Center in Sunset Park.

Another business leader who thinks outside the box is Sara Steinweiss, who founded her conflict resolution company last year.

Steinweiss, a former teacher at New Utrecht High School in Bensonhurst, founded the new company with a goal toward assisting business owners, educators, families and individuals to deal with every day conflicts. Her goal is to help people address a stressful situation and move past it so that they can grow and prosper in their lives.

Conflict Resolution Systems LLC offers workshops and training techniques designed to fit the client’s particular situation, according to Steinweiss, who said her methods can dovetail nicely with any situation, schedule or communication need.

“Other conflict resolution companies are kind of cookie-cutter,” she told the Brooklyn Eagle last year. “They have one way of doing things and they stick with it. What’s unique about my company is that we adapt to the needs of a client. I can do a tailor-made workshop for your particular organization.”