One of the great things about working in public relations is that we get a front seat to history in the making. We were so pleased to play a role in the new partnership between Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) and Albany County.  Under the new agreement SCCC will open an extension site, taking 10,000 square feet of space in the Albany County office building, which will allow 1,000 students to attend classes in downtown Albany. This is a win-win for both organizations, and a major win for downtown Albany and for higher education opportunities in the Capital Region.

SCCC Board of Trustees Chairwoman, Denise Murphy McGraw and Albany County Executive, Daniel P. McCoy.

The SUNY Plattsburgh Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter honored Gramercy Communications at PRSA’s Northeast District Conference  on Thursday, November 8th. Gramercy Communications sponsored the SUNY Plattsburgh chapter for the 2012 conference.

Tom Nardacci with PRSSA members at the Northeast District Conference

Gramercy Communications announced its sponsorship of 25 students from the SUNY Plattsburgh PRSSA Chapter to attend the upcoming 2012 PRSA Northeast District Conference on November 8, 2012 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Troy. The announcement comes after SUNY Plattsburgh invited Gramercy Communications and public relations professionals to campus for their annual PRSA Day.

The Cardinal Points, SUNY Plattsburgh’s student paper highlighted Gramercy Communications’ contribution to the SUNY Plattsburgh PRSSA Chapter.

View the Cardinal Points article.

Register to attend the 2012 Northeast District Conference at PRSACapitalRegion.org

PRSA Day at SUNY Plattsburgh

Gramercy Communications was recently profiled in the latest edition of The Business Council Connect newsletter. The member profile highlighted our recent move into the historic 225 River Street building in downtown Troy and our grant provided to the Troy Public Library to fully digitize their original copies of the Troy Sentinel newspaper.

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Gramercy Communications would like to thank all who attended our open house last Friday, August 17. We enjoyed having the opportunity to share our new space with family, friends and the community at 225 River Street in Troy.

Gramercy Communications provided the Troy Public Library, 100 2nd Street, with a $2,324 grant for the digitization of the library’s collection of the Troy Sentinel newspaper. The firm was able to transport the collection from the Troy Public Library with the assistance of Focused Technologies of Menands, to be digitized by Kirtas Technologies, Inc. in Victor. Kirtas Technologies is a company that specializes in document imaging, the grant allows the Troy Public Library to be the first library in the world to provide digital access to the historic newspaper.

The grant was inspired by the firm’s recent relocation to the building formerly occupied by the Troy Sentinel newspaper at 225 River Street. The famous poem ‘’Twas The Night Before Christmas” was first published in the building and in the Troy Sentinel newspaper on December 23, 1823. The completion of the Erie-Canal in 1825 also occurred during the midst of the Troy Sentinel’s publication period. Today the building continues to tie in the connection as it rests on the banks of the Hudson River in downtown Troy.

The condition of the nearly 200-year-old Troy Sentinel collection required the most advanced digitization methods, provided by Kirtas Technologies. Gramercy Communications was referred by one of New York’s leading digital imaging and scanning companies, Focused Technologies of Menands.

Gramercy Communications is pleased to announce that we are expanding and moving operations to the 2nd & 3rd floor of 225 River Street in Downtown Troy, NY.

The building has been a part of many historical  events in Troy. The famous poem “‘Twas The Night Before Christmas” was first published in this building and in the Troy Sentinel newspaper on December 23, 1823. The building’s structure has also faced its trials, surviving the Great Troy Fire of May 10, 1862, which stopped at the building’s doorstep. A plaque and marker on the building’s entrance recognize these two events. In more modern times, several movies have been filmed on this portion of River Street, and it is not uncommon to see commercial photo shoots taking place on the block.

The rear windows and doors of 225 River Street open directly on the Hudson River, a National Heritage River, and our view shed includes several locations where the Hudson River connected to the 363-mile Erie Canal. It was this intersection of these important waterways that allowed the United States to grow westward and established New York as The Empire State. This development was all happening about the time the Troy Sentinel was publishing.

Our offices feature beautiful architecture and an open, creative floor plan for our growing staff. Our fit-up took into account green building methods and we reused materials where possible, we kept historical architecture exposed and intact, used environmentally friendly supplies such as low VOC paints, and installed energy efficient LED lighting.

Journalism and public relations are industries that have always been synonymous. We saw no better fit for our company’s expansion than a building that once housed the Troy Sentinel newspaper.  We look forward to this positive change and hope for continued growth and success.

Gramercy Communications hosted a special Public Relations Society of America Capital Region Chapter event in May at Victory Café in downtown Albany. Tom Nardacci & Eric Wohlleber spoke with peers in the public relations industry and business leaders about the newest tool used to effectively reach targeted audiences with a powerful message, video.

Currently, video is trending as one of the best methods to tell a story. According to the Pew Research Center, 71% of adults are watching online videos.

Several of our client case studies have proven the effectiveness of video, the impact video can have on a target audience as well as the recognition and credibility its message can bring to an organization. The way in which we communicate will continue to change, video is an important tool to master and utilize.

Gramercy Communications is pleased to introduce Matt Cannon as Director of Integrated Media and Mike Bohne as Public Relations Coordinator.

Matt Cannon earned his bachelors degree from Northeastern University and has nearly a decade of experience in multiple aspects of the communications industry. Prior to coming to Gramercy Communications in October, Matt was employed as a Coordinator for the New York State Assembly, where he produced relevant communications products for multiple Assembly Members. Cannon began his career working in sports broadcasting in Boston, where he worked with major TV networks ESPN and NESN doing freelance production of major sporting events including the Boston Marathon, World Series, Monday Night Football, NBA and NHL playoffs.

Matt is currently serving as the Communications Co-Chair for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Capital Region Chapter.

Mike Bohne has been with Gramercy Communications since July 2011, where he started in the company’s paid internship program. A graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University, Mike managed the broadcast, media relations and marketing of Utica radio station, WPNR 90.7FM, as a student. He has also volunteered his time assisting with media relations for the Northeastern Association of the Blind at Albany.

Mike is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and was previously an active member of the PRSSA Student Chapter at Utica.