Bobov Business Expo Explodes with Entrepreneurial Energy

By Yehudit Garmaise

     More than 1,500 participants attended the Bobov Business Expo yesterday that took place from 12:30 to 7pm in the Ateres Ballroom, at 1362 50th Street, to generate business, create networking opportunities, and create enterprising synergy within the community.

     Yesterday’s event, which was the 2nd business expo that took place in the Bobov community, boasted 50 different businesses that each had a booth in which to display their products, and participating business owners were given the mic for 30 seconds in which to explain and promote their firms.

     The businesses, which ranged from tile shops, window treatments, retail shops, accounting firms, and many other service-based businesses, revealed the tremendous entrepreneurial dynamism in the Bobov community.

      “The number of people who showed up, and the extent to which local entrepreneurs went above and beyond the expected in how they exhibited the high caliber of their businesses made the event a smashing success,” said Shloimy Rieger, who owns Direct Blinds, and who assisted in organizing and running the event, which was hosted by Vaad Ezer Lparnosah, a Bobov organization that provides members with assistance in any business matters, such as recruitment, resume-writing, and business plans.

     “I enjoyed the opportunity to present my services to more than 1,000 people,” said Rieger, who added that “it was good to see a room full of yeshiva graduates exhibiting their businesses, walking the aisles of a trade show, and sharing ideas and contact information.”

     Yesterday, on MSNBC, Democratic Mayoral nominee Eric Adams spoke about the need for New Yorkers “to get back to work” after the pandemic, however the many elected officials who attended the Bobov event noticed that a lack of business and employment opportunities and entrepreneurial energy does not seem to be a problem in Boro Park.

     For instance, Brooklyn’s presumptive borough president-elect Antonio Reynoso stopped by, and said he was “impressed on a whole new level with the extent to which the Bobov community creates businesses and jobs.”

     Reynoso also was struck by the extent to which Bobov businesspeople support each other and hire local people from the community.

     Yesterday, Reynoso tweeted that he was “delighted to attend the Central Bobov Annual Business Expo to meet Chassidic business entrepreneurs and talk with so many yeshiva graduates who are creating businesses and many career opportunities.”

     Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, City Council Member Kalman Yeger, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzales, District Leader David Schwartz, District Manager Barry Spitzer, and Pinny Ringel, a representative of Mayor Bill de Blasio, also attended the event.

     “I saw our community members coming together to help each other,” said Schwartz. “That's what our community is: we share successes, and use that success to help others.

     “We often see people in the same fields, generously working together. I'm very grateful for the organizers for bringing this amazing project together.”

Photos by: Achim Lenchevsky