Showing 29 results for:
tenants
Popular topics
All results
Celebrities have played a big role in coronavirus relief efforts. From Megan Thee Stallion, ASAP Ferg, and Diddy to Fat Joe, many have done their part on and offline to be a resource to the rebuilding of the community. However, rapper Desiigner is taking on an active role in coronavirus relief to assist New York residents in managing rent payments. The Grammy-nominated artist revealed in a virtual interview with Forbes that as a landlord of multiple New York properties, he is giving his tenants a break on paying rent amid COVID-19. “Some people can’t afford rent right now and I have to hold that. How are you going to be able to live for the next couple months?,” he said to Forbes. “You gotta take it easy on your tenants, be understanding of what’s possible right now. I have to take the hits because I also don’t want to see anybody on the street. I can help so I do.” The pandemic especially hits home for the Brooklyn native, who has family members who also need resources to help stay...
Nelson Management Group — the landlord of the 700-unit Atlantic Plaza towers in Brooklyn — is getting backlash from its tenants now that it wants to use facial recognition technology to approve and deny requests for entry, according to News 4 New York. The group wants to replace tenants’ key fobs with the facial recognition technology, but many tenants feel that it is an invasion of their privacy. A group of 130 tenants are trying to block Nelson from building it, and are now using legal action to do so, according to Patch . “It’s my biometrics, it’s my identity and we don’t want that in anyone’s hands,” Tasliym Francis, a tenant of Atlantic Plaza towers, told News 4. What’s happening in Atlantic Towers goes way beyond people being mad about the invasive nature of having facial recognition technology where they live. Tenants and lawyers are arguing that putting facial recognition tech in Atlantic Plaza is actually a violation of rent stabilization laws, which prohibit landlords from...
A new hub for Black-owned businesses is opening in Evanston, IL. Led and owned by a team of predominantly Black community leaders, The Aux is a 16,000-square-foot commercial space that will feature a wellness studio with services provided by practitioners of color, pop-up marketplaces for healthy food entrepreneurs, flexible space for small business owners, and office and co-working areas, according to information on its website. “We are transforming a vacant property into a beautiful, environmentally sustainable building that emphasizes a quadruple bottom line for cultural, social, economic, and environmental impact,” The Aux website reads. The Aux acquired the property in 2021 and in that same year announced it was seeking a $6 million raise to renovate the space — a project managed by Black-owned, Chicago, IL-based firm Ujamaa Construction. The project’s final cost increased to $10 million with support from public and private donors, per the Evanston Roundtable. In 2022, the City...
Flo Rida made history when he purchased a shopping plaza to champion local businesses. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, Flo Rida—born Tramar Lacel Dillard—purchased the Cloverleaf Plaza shopping center in Miami Gardens in 2023 alongside his business manager, Lee “Freezy” Prince. The fully leased property was secured in a $10 million deal . This investment came on the heels of Flo Rida’s legal victory against Celsius over a breach of contract, which resulted in an $82.6 million award, per CBS News. “You might own a house and things like that, but growing up just looking at highrises and things like that, the first thing is not to think that you can own it,” Flo Rida told the Miami Herald. “Maybe you have a spot there, but you won’t really own it. So to actually own our own plaza is just phenomenal.” The plaza is home to several businesses, including Cloverleaf Beauty Supply, Creole Kitchen, Boost Mobile, Top Notch Cigars & Smoke Shop, and Flowers by Grace, a staple for three decades...
Gmail users may have been confused when they opened their email accounts and saw pop-ups about Gemini . Instead of Google sending out big “coming soon” announcements about their next-gen flagship artificial intelligence (AI) model, Gmail users just saw a subtle star in the right-hand corner of their screens. With Gemini, ChatGPT and China’s DeepSeek, along with plenty of other programs, it’s clear that AI is sticking around for the long haul. So is it worth newbie investors investing in AI, and how is this possible to do anyway? African-American Investors Are Getting Younger A new report from Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) confirmed that African-Americans tend to be much younger than white investors, with 49% of African-American investors between the ages of 18-34 while 51% of white investors were ages 55 and older. Growing up in a tech-dominant age, African-American investors are using social media to get their investment education and to learn about trading...
Udonis Haslem understood the power of collaboration as an NBA player, and he is carrying those learning lessons to improve underserved communities. The Miami, FL, native entered the league as a free agent in 2003 and remained with the Miami Heat throughout his 20-year career. He won three national championship rings and would be seen as a well-respected veteran on the team, even leading former players LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh — known as the Big 3— to take pay cuts to keep him on the Miami Heat roster in 2010, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “When I talk about LeBron James and Dwayne Wade and being a part of that process, that’s one thing that I was able to understand, it’s that even though we were friends, we respect people for who they are and what they are. You know what I mean?” Haslem said on the “Black Tech Green Money” podcast. “ And LeBron, Dwyane, they already respect me for who I was and what I was. They were Southeast guys. I was a Miami guy. They were...
Buying a home can be an overwhelming and expensive purchase. On Friday, August 30, 2024, the current national average interest rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 6.38%. The interest rates have gotten so high that John Hope Bryant , the founder of Operation HOPE , is trying to convince people that a 40-year mortgage plan is more fair. But when first-time homeowners and first-time investors are listening to Realtors, real estate attorneys and mortgage lenders discuss percentage rates, it may not seem as clear. That is, until new homeowners see property and interest (P&Is) really affect their monthly budget. (Varying property taxes can make budgeting even more complicated.) Photo credit: ArtTower Using Chicago as an example, if you bought a home in the Windy City right now (with very good credit between 700-739) for the city’s average home value of $305K , you’d pay about $1,729 per month for P&I. If that sounds high, the average rent in Chicago is $1,836 per month for a...
Despite being an industry veteran, Meagan Good reveals she was finally paid her worth on her latest film. While promoting “Divorce in the Black,” she spoke candidly about her experience with the film’s director, writer, and producer, Tyler Perry . She described him as an “angel” during an interview on NBC’s “Today With Hoda & Jenna.” On the show, Good confirmed that Perry was the first to compensate her properly for her role despite her working as an actress for “over 30 years.” “I actually cried because what I love about Tyler is not only is he an angel, not only is he a genius, not only is he unapologetic as a leader, but he also makes you feel valued and seen and appreciated, and he goes out of his way to do that,” Good explained to hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. “I think about how people pay it forward, and I don’t know if anyone paid it forward to him, but he most certainly pays it forward to everyone else.” While Perry willingly paid Good accordingly, the actress...
Teenage twins Taylan and Tylan Walker have united their individual interests to become entrepreneurs. WAVE 3 News in Louisville, KY, reports the pair was looking to open a brick-and-mortar store to start selling shoes when they completed high school. At the age of 13, Tylan had already started buying and reselling shoes on the market, while Taylan was watering his interest in cameras and videography. As the business of selling shoes grew, it became clear to them it was time to scale the venture. ”When I was in my house I was getting a bunch of shoes, and I was getting more and more shoes until like I was getting to the point where I needed to change locations because I had too many shoes in the house basically,” Tylan told the outlet. This led to the storefront Finest Kicks opening its doors in Louisville. The venture was supported through the brothers’ earnings from restoring and cleaning shoes as well as sales from buying and reselling shoes on the market. View this post on...
Bookstore owner Jeannine Cook will be able to remain in business after receiving support from her community. Cook is the owner of Ida’s Bookshop, located in Collingswood, NJ. The shop opened in 2021 to amplify women authors, artists, and activists, and it is the sister shop of her first bookstore located in Philadelphia, PA, according to Black In Jersey. On Jan. 3, Cook shared with the New Jersey community that Ida’s was on the brink of closure due to the landlord increasing the price of rent. This would mean the store won’t be able to cater to local customers in-store for Black History Month since its lease is set to expire during February. “Just so folks aren’t alarmed if we potentially have to move/close, our landlord is going up on rent into a rate that we cannot afford-all we sell are books- and if you can imagine the margins ain’t great. Our lease ironically ends in February (Blk History Month) which could mean sadly one of a handful of Blk owned businesses would be closing...
Starting a business comes with highs and lows. On the one hand, an entrepreneur may feel endless optimism as they launch a new concept and see how the market responds. But conversely, fears over being scooped by the competition — especially bigger brands — can make even the most confident individuals second guess their decisions. And in particular, steep competition from established businesses is a major caveat that an entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a new concept. This is because a competitor with a more established firm often has access to resources, a deep network and name recognition by consumers. This means that even if an upstart business is first to market with an idea, it can still be overtaken by the competition and lose its edge. This is where choosing to be a stealth startup can be a calculated and smart decision. What Are Stealth Startups? Stealth startups are exactly as the name implies — startups that maintain a low profile and enter into the market with...
Beyonce’s hit song “Diva” defines the term as a female version of a hustler. This cultural reference and meaning gives literal context to New Orleans, LA, native and entrepreneur Britni Ricard. Her journey hasn’t been easy, but she has turned all her “Ls” into lessons. This holiday season, Ricard is paying it forward by covering the rent of all the tenants in a 10-unit apartment building she owns.
A new commercial space has been established for 14 small Black businesses in southeast Raleigh, NC. The city’s ABC11 reports the Montague Plaza has opened its doors to tenants through a $4 million project led by real estate developer James Montague in partnership with Raleigh-based software company GlobalXperts. The property is only two minutes from the project apartment where he and his family used to live.
A$AP Ferg is giving back to the unsung heroes of New York City by spotlighting local mom-and-pop corner stores. According to Variety, the Hip-Hop star took note of how the COVID-19 pandemic was affecting the plight of the city’s independent corner stores, so he teamed up with Snapple to develop a merchandise line and raise money for them. Funds raised from the partnership will reportedly go toward the Bodega and Small Business Group (BSBG) — a Hispanic organization that helps support small business and bodega owners located in New York. “As a native New Yorker on the pulse of music and art, A$AP Ferg was the perfect creator to collaborate with on this initiative,” Katie Webb — Keurig Dr Pepper’s vice president of brand marketing — shared with Variety. “It’s an authentic partnership that gives back to Snapple’s roots and highlights the enduring culture of New York City.” In addition to raising money, BroBible reports that Ferg also worked alongside Snapple and director Shomi Patwary...