Lights! Camera! Action! TV and film production is just one of the projects launched and managed by the Town of North Hempstead (TONH) Business Tourism and Development Corporation (BTDC). At the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce meeting at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Inn at Great Neck, its guest speaker, introduced by Elliot Rosenblatt representing Chamber President Scott Zimmerman and Chamber Program Chairperson and Town of North Hempstead Councilwoman Lee R. Seeman, was Kim Kaiman, executive director of the BTDC.
The BTDC acts as a liaison between town government and the business community by facilitating economic opportunities and development, job creation and development, and tourism, according to Kaiman.
In addition to receiving a JD degree from City University of New York Law School with a background in municipal government management, the BTDC executive director is also an accomplished stage and screen actress, who has appeared on TV in two Emmy Award–winning commercials for Time Warner Cable NYC as well as an episode of The Mind of a Murderer on the Investigation Discovery cable-TV channel. Prior to working for Supervisor Judi Bosworth and for the BTDC, she served as director of Legislative Affairs for former Town Supervisor May Newburger.
Kaiman described the BTDC programs that have been launched and are available to the business community, including quarterly BTDC business seminars; Business Buzz, a North Hempstead TV program (NHTV) on which she explores local businesses and engages in the “daily routine or activities” of the business being featured; Downtown Beautification Matching Grant Program, which offers matching grants for eligible beautification projects in local downtowns; and most recently, expanded filming opportunities in the town for TV and movie production companies.
“TV and film companies want to come to our town due to the close proximity to New York City,” said Kaiman. “The attraction is the diverse environment of our incredible town. We have everything from hills to ocean front, open space and parks to crowded business districts, and many different styles of homes and neighborhoods which lend themselves to many different types of productions. Productions underway include major-TV primetime shows and cable-TV limited series.”
Kaiman also spoke of the BTDC seminar held this past fall, which featured a consortium of the TONH, the Town of Oyster Bay, City of Glen Cove and Workforce Development Board. As a result of the seminar, three special-needs people successfully networked and gained employment from companies who attended.
“It is truly wonderful to know that there was such a favorable outcome for these individuals, who might have not been able to find work, and now are now in the employment process or are gainfully employed,” she said.
Program Chairperson Lee Seeman was pleased with the presentation. Several chamber members told Kaiman how “…delightful it was to see someone who was so enthusiastic about her presentation and who clearly enjoys her job.” Others agreed that the stories she told the members were “informative and sometimes hilarious.”
In a Q&A session following the presentation, attendees asked many questions concerning opportunities for their businesses and how to avail themselves of what BTDC has to offer.
To learn more, contact the BTDC at 516-869-7739 or kaimank@northhempsteadny.gov. For additional information about the Great Neck Chamber of Commerce, call 516-487-2000 or email info@greatneckchamber.org. The next chamber meeting will be held on March 16 at 8 a.m. at the Inn at Great Neck.
