PSEG Long Island recognizes two entrepreneurs for National Black Business Month

PSEG Long Island is celebrating National Black Business Month in August by featuring two of its newest customers: Trinity Opulence in Hempstead and Suite 1937 in Baldwin.

Dr. Nicole Sample-Harris and her husband Trevor recently opened Suite 1937 on Grand Avenue in Baldwin. The business is what Harris refers to as a luxury event space for milestone celebrations, intimate weddings, showers, networking mixers, workshops and community gatherings. Suite 1937 earned a PSEG Long Island Main Street Revitalization grant of $18,750 and also is receiving credits on its electric bills during its first year in operation, thanks to PSEG Long Island’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.”

PSEG Long Island is also recognizing another new business, as Kemi Ajisafe opened Trinity Opulence on Fulton Street in Hempstead, moving into space that also qualified for PSEG Long Island’s Vacant Space Revival program. Ajisafe’s business is what she calls an all-encompassing event venue located in the heart of Hempstead and run by the community. She says Trinity Opulence hosts birthday parties, showers, micro-weddings, traditional engagement and retirement parties, community outreach events, popup shops and corporate events.

“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.”

August is National Black Business Month, which was created in 2004 to celebrate and support Black-owned businesses in the United States. It is an opportunity to recognize the achievements of Black entrepreneurs, like Harris and Ajisafe, and to promote the growth of Black-owned businesses.

“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.”

PSEG Long Island’s Main Street Revitalization grants encourage investment in local shopping districts. They are available for businesses that complete projects to help improve the economic stability and growth of a municipality. Applications must be submitted and approved before construction begins. PSEG Long Island’s Vacant Space Revival program offers financial incentives of up to $10,000 in bill credits for a new business’ first year when they move into space previously unoccupied for more than a year.

For more information visit: psegliny.com.businessfirst