Today volunteer firefighters in New York State train for over 150 hours. Firefighters from various stations in Central New York attribute the 20% decrease of volunteers over the last three years to the new training requirements. Career firefighters are more expensive and stations will have to start hiring more of them if this trend continues.

Startup companies in the drone industry have moved to Syracuse to participate in a yearlong business competition.

The GENIUS NY competition selected five companies from around the world to compete for a $1 million prize at CenterState CEO’s Tech Garden. GENIUS NY is the world’s largest business competition.

The owner of a diner in Camillus, NY is a recovering drug addict. Eddie DePalma has been clean for three years and is now providing a community for those that want to connect with others. He chose to open up Second Chance Diner to share his story and inspire other people.  

Produced by Jeremy Hochman on February 12, 2020

After close to nine years, Resource Cycling moved their location to increase their business.They do more than bike repairs. They are involved in the community whenever they can and provide their customers with advice on training, how to ride and where to ride.  

Three women from Venezuela await a ruling on their asylum in The United States. They were chosen to sell their food at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn, bringing their unique recipes to New York City and showing their journey through their food.

Produced and partly filmed by Jeremy Hochman in August 2019.

Thanos Import Market is a Mediterranean deli and grocery. This year is the business’s 100th year anniversary and they are changing up the sandwich menu after the new year. Owner Soula Carni has worked for four other businesses and has been in the food industry for 30 years. Thanos has been at its current location for three years.  

After four years at 713 Westcott Street, Westcott Barber is moving its location to a different spot. But still on Westcott. In addition to walk-ins, they will be expanding from five barbers to seven, creating a faster turnaround by allowing employees to take more appointments.  

Meals On Wheels is a service that provides two meals a day to homebound seniors and people who are unable to shop and cook. This fall, the staff has seen less volunteers than normal. Tina Casella, the volunteer coordinator, said that their volunteers work in the kitchen to prepare the food and drive to deliver the meals during the lunch hour.