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In this episode, Octavio Blanco and Led Black engage with Jackie Aleman, the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Washington Heights and Inwood. They discuss the vital role the Chamber plays in supporting local businesses, the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the community, and the importance of networking and collaboration. Jackie shares insights on membership benefits, innovative initiatives, and the Chamber's commitment to diversity and inclusion. The conversation highlights the evolution of the Chamber and its future plans to empower local businesses and foster community growth.
Takeaways
Jackie Aleman emphasizes the importance of serving the community through the Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber welcomes all members, including residents and businesses, to participate in community improvement.
Networking events are crucial for local businesses to connect and support each other.
Challenges faced by local businesses include funding, marketing, and navigating bureaucratic systems.
The Chamber organizes events to promote member businesses and foster collaboration.
Jackie believes in embracing diversity and inclusion within the Chamber's membership.
The Chamber has evolved significantly, increasing its membership from 38 to over 100 members.
Future plans include partnerships with the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and workshops for members.
Time management is key for Jackie to balance her responsibilities as a business owner and Chamber president.
The Chamber aims to empower members to create their own workshops and share their expertise with the community.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to the Chamber of Commerce
03:09 The Role of the Chamber in the Community
06:01 Membership and Benefits
08:59 Challenges Faced by Local Businesses
11:40 Networking and Community Events
14:58 Innovative Initiatives and Collaborations
17:46 Embracing Diversity and Inclusion
20:50 The Evolution of the Chamber
23:49 Future Plans and Exciting Developments
Creators and Guests
What is Uptown Voices?
A podcast focused on the Uptown neighborhoods of Inwood, Washington Heights and Harlem. Our neighborhoods have a voice and we want to be heard and felt. We love Uptown.
Each episode will elevate the people here who are making a difference in the life of this community. We’re also committed to “real talk” that seeks solutions that improve the quality of life in our beautiful Uptown neighborhoods.
Octavio Blanco (00:01)
everybody. Welcome to another episode of Uptown Voices. We're so glad to have you here. Led Black is here with us. Led, how are you doing?
Led Black (00:13)
doing good, brother. I want to remind everyone, subscribe to the podcast. Show us that love.
Octavio Blanco (00:18)
That's right. And today we have, a really impressive guest, somebody who is crucial to the development of this community, crucial to the businesses in this community. It's Jackie Aleman. She is the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Washington Heights. And Inwood, Jackie, thanks for being here. How are you doing?
JACKIE ALEMAN (00:42)
I am doing fantastically well. Looking forward to this new year. We had, I know that most of us had a tough 2025, but if we don't have challenges, we don't know the differences between right and wrong. And we don't know how to appreciate the good things that come to us, right?
Octavio Blanco (01:00)
That's right, it's right. You know, we've had a tough year, but like you said, when you know the bad, you can also appreciate the good. And so that's why, you know, I am so appreciative that you're here and I'm so appreciative that you're leading this neighborhood institution, which I'll say, it feels like a reinvigorated, more muscular institution than...
I've seen previously. So Jackie, tell us a little bit about the Chamber of Commerce and what its role is here in Washington Heights and how have things changed for you in the last few months?
JACKIE ALEMAN (01:46)
Oh my God. First of all, I'd like to thank you and Len for inviting me to the show. I watch it all the time and I'm impressed with the work that you guys are doing in our community.
Led Black (01:55)
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
JACKIE ALEMAN (01:59)
Sometimes
when I see some of your show, I get emotional because I know what it is firsthand to give up your time to showcase the issues that affect us on a daily basis. And the only way that we can overcome these issues and tackle them and kind of get rid of them is by doing it together. So thank you very much for inviting me.
as you said, I am the president of the Chamber of Commerce of Washington, NY and for me is a true honor because like I tell my colleagues and my friends, I am serving my community. I am serving my friends, the people that I grew up with because my family had bodegas and supermarkets in the Heights. So for me, it's easy to do right. Because I know mostly everyone and those that I don't know, get to them to the events that I go to and I attend and for the people that
collaborate and participate with. The chamber has been around since 1921. It's not something that I invented. It's not something that I created. It's something that I happen to be elected to lead an organization such as the chamber. And for me, as I said, it's an honor because I get to contribute to the betterment of Washington Heights and England and abroad because we don't turn away.
Led Black (02:59)
Wow.
JACKIE ALEMAN (03:22)
anyone that wants to become a member doesn't matter where you live as long as you are a New York City Refinee.
Octavio Blanco (03:28)
Wow, so 1921, that's incredible. I think that makes you one of the oldest chambers of commerce probably in the United States. My little historical digging showed that the first chamber of commerce originated right here in New York City, downtown. So incredible that you're leading up such a venerable and longstanding institution for the businesses of Washington Heights.
JACKIE ALEMAN (03:36)
Yeah.
Octavio Blanco (03:57)
Tell me, what are the kind of businesses that are members or participants in the Chamber of Commerce? Is it anybody that has a business or who can join?
JACKIE ALEMAN (04:09)
First of all, there are no requirements for you to...
member of the chamber because we also have residents that are members, you people that want to participate in the improvement of our community and that want to have a voice. That's one of the benefits of our chamber is that we don't turn away anyone. You want to contribute, you want to be part of, we welcome you. But we are focused on the small business, on the mom and pop shops.
And we have a, my God, now we are over 100 members and we have an array of businesses. I can tell you from grocery stores, restaurants, T-Mobile, Presbyterian, Columbia, Yeshiva University, Los Amigos Restaurant, Mejia Tirado Accounting Services. We have canning services, we have bakeries, we have cafes, Amores Cafe, right on 215 when they have allocators.
Led Black (04:42)
Wow.
JACKIE ALEMAN (05:05)
⁓
We have doctors, have health centers, we have clinics. I mean, it's such a vast list. It's an eclectic list, I'm gonna call it that. And people help each other and interact. We encourage that. One of the things that we created in order to get the members to interact more with one another is a discount exchange program.
right? So they swap discounts with one another and that helps improve business sales, it helps network and it also kind of binds them together when you sell it right away for going forward and to be stronger.
Octavio Blanco (05:47)
And you also have one other kind of business, production companies. Our production company is a member we joined last year and we're really excited to be a member and to take advantage of all of the opportunities that you are offering to businesses. So tell us just before we move on to anything else, how do people become, how do businesses or individuals become members? How much does it cost?
Tell us a little bit about that because I know the answer and I find it to be quite approachable
JACKIE ALEMAN (06:15)
Well, the fee is paid on a yearly basis, it's only one time. So we have for individuals, whether you're a resident or just an entrepreneur starting off, it's $100 a year.
And for not for profits is $200 a year. For for-profits corporation is $250. And for bigger institutions like the Deceivers of the World, the Presby, Columbia University.
the YMCA and so on, it's $1,500. So you say, why the difference so much and why the gap in cost? Well, the big guys kind of support the little guy. And that's the way it's supposed to be. You take them by the hand, they're contributing. However, the people that have the most help the ones that don't have as much. And that's how we structure our feed.
Led Black (07:00)
That's right.
And so how do I, if I want to become a member, where do I go? What's the website? What do I do?
JACKIE ALEMAN (07:15)
You can go to the Chamber of Commerce website, which is www.ydechamber.com and there you click on membership and it's a simple form. You put in your name, your address, your phone number and your metro name and that's all there is to
Led Black (07:34)
And Jackie, one thing I find interesting that you're so emblematic of a lot of the guests that we have here, right? That it almost seems like there's this incredible synergy between who you are and what you do, right? And the fact that you bring this decades of experience on the other side, like being in the business that didn't get help, that had to figure it out.
and now you're extending that to the other business. I think that's beautiful and I think that's why you're here today. But can you tell us some of the unique challenges of your businesses and what's unique to them as uptown businesses? What are the things, the hurdles that they have and the setbacks and the challenges?
JACKIE ALEMAN (08:16)
Well.
I am glad that you asked that question because a lot of people have asked me, do you own a business here? Absolutely. My office is on 4470 Broadway on the second floor. I provide expediting construction consulting services. What pains me, pains my members. What hurts you, hurts me. I live by example, you know. I have been burdened by all the economic changes and all the financial changes that this
Led Black (08:38)
Mmm.
JACKIE ALEMAN (08:46)
administration that go in not to get into politics whether it's good or bad but I've also been affected I've been affected by the lack of friends I've been affected by the lack of funding I've been affected by not being able to afford to pay an accountant or not being able to afford to pay someone that does my marketing those are the things that mainly hurt a small business someone that wants to grow so when you come to the
you find the support in this family where everyone has a specialty and everyone has the same vision and mission. We want to help each other because we know that stronger, that we become stronger by doing it together.
So I'm a perfect example of that. So I can speak a lot to that. As I said, what pains me, I know that it pains everyone else.
Octavio Blanco (09:36)
You
Led Black (09:43)
Yeah, and it's funny because one of my favorite restaurants, Florida Mayo uptown recently closed, right? And again, I can't help that I think the city kind of hurt that place because it took them a long time to get the liquor license so they could sell nutcrackers. That's what they're famous for, right? So when you go to Florida Mayo, you just don't want fried rice. You also want the nutcracker. And I think not having that liquor license for a few months really hurt them. And you know,
So how do you do that? do you help your members' challenge, you know, kind of navigate that system? Because it's so opaque.
JACKIE ALEMAN (10:18)
Well.
You know, let me just say that the same feeling that you felt when Clodomaya went out of business, that's the same, probably the same feeling that I felt when Carol Hodges had to give up her location at 215 in Broadway, Amores Cafe, which was an icon in our community. You want to be close to the Dominican Republic, you go in there, you're walking, you have your sandwiches, and you have all your typical dishes, right? With Carol and her kids running around the restaurant.
Led Black (10:37)
That's right.
JACKIE ALEMAN (10:48)
It killed me when Carol had to close the door. So we had a conversation and Carol decided that she was going to continue in business but running it out of her apartment. And what we do at the chamber to support people like Carol Hodges is that when we have an event, we bring you in, we hire you, we promote you on our social media, on our pages, on our newsletter, we refer you. I get a lot of calls for referrals.
you know I need a catering service can you send me my members and I do when we have our own networking event you came to our holiday party it was at a member's venue and that's what we do we go around rotating so everyone can rip from the benefits if you will you know
Octavio Blanco (11:35)
Yeah, I really loved that holiday party. It was my first time in person interacting with other members of the chamber. I was a little bit nervous at first because I didn't know what I was gonna, what to expect. You never know when you join an organization, like who are the people there? But I will say that from my personal experience, everybody that I met there was very warm, they were very welcoming.
very friendly. I thought that the venue itself was really interesting. And I can see how I would have just walked by it without having had the opportunity to actually go in there because it's a fairly small front door and it doesn't have a lot of signage. But once you go in, it's a really neat space for.
organizations and people that they can rent out and have their their events there. So so that was that was very cool. And I got to say that the people that I met there were were really, really kind. So tell me what are some of the other networking events that you guys have? And is there like a big annual event that you guys host that people businesses are interested individuals can participate in?
JACKIE ALEMAN (12:52)
Absolutely, in May we're going to have our annual policy breakfast.
is the biggest event of the year. A lot of people may defer because now that Corona on holiday is celebrated, the biggest event for the chamber, but to me is our annual policy break. And I'll tell you why. It's because at that event, I ensured that we get a different perspective from electoral officials and directors of city agencies, where the businesses can actually go up to them and ask them that question that's been burning inside.
Ask them directly, why are we losing parking spots? For example, right? We have the commissioner, the neighbor of the commissioner come on to the policy breakfast and we were able to talk to him and ask him directly. Adriano Spallara, our congressman, has been to our policy breakfast. The commissioner of the liquor authority has been to our policy breakfast. The commissioner of small businesses and so on.
You need the CEO and the director of many organizations that are in this neighborhood that normally you probably see them on TV or see them from far away but at our annual policy breakfast they sit right next to you and that's the difference. In the atmosphere I'm going to say that it's almost like the holiday party. Everyone, it's like a brotherhood if you will and that's what I envision for the chamber.
where you don't feel prohibited or restricted to go up to anyone and ask them the hard questions because if we're all part of this fabric, right? We're supposed to talk to each other. We're supposed to collaborate. We're supposed to make it better together.
Led Black (14:36)
I love that Jackie and I really want to commend you also for not shunning certain businesses and being forward thinking and open minded, right? Because I'm referring to the Happy Monkey event that you coordinated that I was able to interview one of the owners, my good friend, Vladimir Batista, you know, and you, you know, that's a cannabis store, right? It's a legal dispensary on Dyckman in a historic spot, because that's what Dyckman Electronics was, right?
And you could have been like, marijuana is bad. instead you said, no, we're going to highlight them. We're going to invite the community in. We're going to record it. We're going to do this big thing for them. Why? That's so beautiful and I commend you on it. But why stick your nose out like that? Why? Because again, sometimes I'm Dominican, right? Like old school Dominicans don't, they look at marijuana like it's like, you know, heroin, right? So for my mother, no difference between marijuana and Monteca, right?
That's a very, very smart position for you to take. Why is that important to you? And why go out of the lim when you don't really have to?
JACKIE ALEMAN (15:40)
Let me tell you something, Vladimir to me is an example. He's perfect example. And he's a north to pattern. I'll tell you why. If you ask me questions about anything, I don't judge people for what they're doing or what they're doing. I judge people for they are to me.
And that's what he means to me, Archimedes. Into the chamber, we celebrate when you beat them.
We celebrate you as a business. We support you as a business. We support you as an individual. And Vladimir is established business here. It's a legal business. Not legal by my standard, legal by the powers that be, right? By the agencies, he has all the credentials. They're very strict when you go in there. And I tell you, I go in there and I see how they work and I see how they function. And if I see anything that needs his attention,
I will call him up and say we have that kind of relationship if you will but he's also an employer in this community. understand? He's in business because this community is consuming what he's selling.
Led Black (16:40)
Right.
Right, right.
JACKIE ALEMAN (16:47)
So who
are lying to shun away from that? And in addition to that, if we look at it from the human perspective of it, he's demonstrated leadership that anyone here in this community that knows him, that when he was young, when he was a child, his youth years, if you will, he's overcome a lot.
Led Black (17:00)
for sure.
right.
JACKIE ALEMAN (17:13)
And
he is an honorable businessman today. He turned his life around and that to me is to be commended and celebrated. And if he can turn someone else's life around by being an example, so be it and I will support that.
Led Black (17:31)
That's beautiful. And I couldn't agree more. Like I think Vladimir and Ramon, they're both good friends of mine. I seen where they went to where they're at now and to have a legal dispensary again. But again, I want to underscore how brave that is of you though, right? Because again, our community has a stigma. it's on, know, Tecato or whatever. And you didn't do that. And I really want to commend you for say, hey, look nice. I'm your manito. Tamo junto. You know what saying? Because sometimes we can be very funny with each other.
And I'm glad you set an example. again, you definitely deserve that commendation.
JACKIE ALEMAN (18:05)
And let me just add that sometimes it's ignorance. Sometimes as humans we follow other people's and conversations and we don't even know what it means. So until someone explains it to you, you know, I am sure that sometime in your life it has happened to you. I know it's happened to me. You know, we have those blackout moments as I call them, you know. But who am I to judge? Because what, you know, I could be standing here and thinking that my life is perfect.
And you can be on the other side of this camera and say, who do you think he is? So I can't control that. I can't control what I think and what I do and say. That I am responsible for, but I can control other people's thoughts. And I think it all goes on education. The more we talk about it, the more people get to know it and the more people get to accept it. He is a part of the community.
Octavio Blanco (18:56)
And it's also, it should be noted that actually launching any business, whether it's mom and pop or anything, startup or whatever the case may be, is challenging. It's got a lot of challenges. Launching a legal cannabis dispensary has even more challenges. But I think, you know, as being a business, a person who's also launching my own business here in the neighborhood,
Led Black (18:57)
for sure.
Octavio Blanco (19:21)
I was very, I felt very comforted meeting you because it was clear to me the amount of care, dedication, and just giving of yourself, your love that you give to the people that are the businesses that are in this community. I felt that and I still do. You've got a huge heart. So I think that that's also to be commended and recognized.
I wanted to ask you about the chamber itself. How has the chamber been evolving? Have you had challenges that you've had to overcome? Can you tell us a little bit about that?
JACKIE ALEMAN (20:01)
Well, let's start from the beginning. I was elected president in March 2004. My initial thought was like, my God, what am I getting into? But as days passed, I started looking at things and say, we need to assess what's going on from today on. I don't care what happened in the past. So we started looking at the membership list, started purging, some people did not come back.
dropped out and so on. At the end of the day we ended up with 38 members. Yes, yes, that was tough for me to swallow. Then as I go on, as the day go on, then we identify, my God, we lost our 501c3 status. I said, what do we do? Right, now we're gonna have to be taxed as a corporation? Because that's one of the...
Led Black (20:27)
Wow.
Octavio Blanco (20:28)
Wow. Wow. Wow.
JACKIE ALEMAN (20:45)
disadvantages when you lose from the 501c3 status, right? And let's not talk about the loss of reputation and all that kind of stuff, right? So I had to create a list of what priorities were. At moments, plans seem like everything is a priority. I had to really, really discipline myself and say, okay, let's do this. And I started working hard to the sleep at getting our 501c3.
when we did in December. It took me a year and so, but I didn't give up.
Led Black (21:16)
Nice, congratulations.
Congratulations.
JACKIE ALEMAN (21:20)
Yeah. And, and, yeah, and to add, back in March of 2024, I said that I ended up with 38 members, active members, right? Because everybody else dropped out. So today, we stand with 103 members of the chamber. If you ask me, yeah, if you ask me what I'm focused on now is quality versus quantity.
Octavio Blanco (21:22)
I get chills, I get chills hearing that.
Led Black (21:40)
Almost triple. Yeah.
JACKIE ALEMAN (21:47)
I want those 103 members to support them, to give them the tools, resources necessary to stay in business, number one, because that's the challenge for every entrepreneur, every small business owner today, right? To stay in business, but the bigger vision is that they open up a second door.
Octavio Blanco (22:00)
Yeah. Yes.
JACKIE ALEMAN (22:08)
So you can expand and you can grow and pass it on to your children if that's what they choose to do to follow on your footsteps. But the idea is that you stay in business and you grow. So that's the focus here. New members will always be welcome. But for me, I want you to stay in business.
Octavio Blanco (22:27)
Yeah, I appreciate that. I want us to stay in business too. And to thrive. I want us all to thrive and I want us all to make money and be able to support our families. But I will also say that the people that you, that the businesses that are participating, you also now have a very robust and active board.
JACKIE ALEMAN (22:31)
Me too!
Octavio Blanco (22:51)
And so can you tell me a little bit about the board and how you interact with the board and what are some of the plans that the board is coming up with so that the membership can benefit but also to include the membership in this really interesting time of growth?
JACKIE ALEMAN (23:09)
Well, let me just say that our board is very diverse. There's 19 of us. We have as Vice President, P. Teo, who's the Vice President of Rector C1 University. We also have on the board Mike Fiddlesman, the CEO of United Palace. They're also a member.
We also have Rolico production, another production company, Jorge Taveras, know him as Tuto, right? They just finished producing Cuentos con Santa at the United Palace, which is a huge hit. We have Sandra Rodriguez from Highland Residential.
Led Black (23:32)
another day out.
Mm-hmm.
JACKIE ALEMAN (23:43)
We have Bruce Robertson, Lynn Badducken from Compass Brokerage. We have Sandra Harris from Presbyterian, Julio Batista from Columbia University. So you have, Aaron Sims, and they will kill me if I forget to mention ⁓ it. Yes, Aaron Sims from Inwood.
Led Black (24:01)
What up, Aaron? ⁓
Octavio Blanco (24:06)
Artworks.
JACKIE ALEMAN (24:07)
Artworks,
yes. ⁓ We have a radio hotel on our board. We have FDLA Albani Rosario fashion. And the list goes on and on and on. Okay, so we have 19 members. What do we do? First of all, we work very closely together because we all understand what the vision and mission is.
Led Black (24:08)
Mm.
I know I've in. Yeah, she's a really cool person.
JACKIE ALEMAN (24:34)
That was one of the things that we did as a collaborative was to define the vision and define the mission. And once we nailed that down, we were all in sync. Okay. And our last policy breakfast of this last May, we introduced to our community a new training developed by the Yeshiva University with our collaboration.
basic training for AI because talking to our members, we identified a need that in people in our community, particularly in small businesses, are staying high with the new trends in technology. So I sat with John Greenfield, our Vice President, and Mr. John, because she was very close to us.
We're neighbors, we're partners, we're collaborators. Why don't we do this? And I pitched the idea. And John said, well, let me talk to my team and see what we can do.
So at the end of the day, I ended up with my own avatar. And now we have an AI course. $75 to non-members because one of the caveats was that I required that they open it to the community and $50 for the members. You can take it from any device, your computer, your phone. You take it on your own pace. It's 14 lessons and you get a certificate from it.
at the end of the training. Now you tell me, would you get a certificate anytime from Yeshiva University for 50 or 75 dollars?
Led Black (25:58)
Wow, that's amazing.
That's awesome.
Octavio Blanco (26:09)
That's awesome. mean,
say what you will about whether or not AI is good or bad. I think it's important for us to understand it. I think that learning about it and learning how it works is extremely important and making this available to the community at this price point and with a certificate. That is so important because certificates...
Led Black (26:19)
Mm-hmm.
Octavio Blanco (26:34)
that you can put on your resume, that you can tell people, I have studied this at Yeshiva University, which is a credited, well-known established place. That is really a huge thing. So it goes beyond just like networking. goes beyond, mean, not that networking is not important. It's very important, but it goes beyond networking. goes beyond just being, just doing promotions, which again are very important. You need to be, you need help in your promotions.
It's education. I love that. And I hope that there's more of that down the pike.
JACKIE ALEMAN (27:06)
and let me add that I review a lot of documents
Led Black (27:07)
Yeah, go ahead Jackie. No, go ahead Jackie. Finish, no finish.
JACKIE ALEMAN (27:18)
And I started to notice that. What used to take me two to three days is not a value of time. Time that I could use to do other things. And you know, when people tell me, why should I do that workshop? Why should I take that training? And I said, you know, 10 minutes makes me plan to come to my office and I'll show you.
And I sit there and I show them and they're like, my god. And I said that was exactly my initial thought. my god. So I invite everyone to take a chance. Take a basic course. When I started looking into what the course was or what the Shiva had developed for us, usually you take one at MIT or any of those universities, you may need to view them for tip. Now most of the time they do the three workshops and...
and training online, but the basic training is up there. It's about $1,500 and plus. So it's very expensive to go out on the open market. Take a chance and take the course with us. All you have to do is go online to our website and purchase a program.
Octavio Blanco (28:17)
I definitely will.
Led Black (28:18)
That's mind
blowing, Jackie. I want to really get, that's amazing. And one of my questions is, know, like Latinos in general, and I think Dominicans in particular, you know, we could be very suspicious of like, what's a chamber of commerce? Like we're not used to someone coming in and helping us. You know what I mean? Like a lot of times, right? What is the pitch that you make to them? Like to get them on board? How do you say, hey, look, this is for the betterment. Like, how do you...
Like I understand everything you're saying, but how do you get a businessman or a businesswoman that's kind of suspicious and doesn't really trust you, that don't know you, how do you break through?
JACKIE ALEMAN (28:51)
For me, it's simple. I let the other members speak for themselves. I invite them to attend one of our networking events. And the other members sell the program. Of course, I recruit when I go to the bench and so on. But I don't know, it's just something that comes about naturally.
I really can't pinpoint what it is that I say or do, you know, but I think now the chamber sells itself. You know, you see, for example, I'll give you a perfect example. Every month we select one member and we feature them on our website. We also have a YouTube channel where we feature them as well.
We blasted a LinkedIn on all the social media and the members themselves talk about what they do.
how they came to have that idea, how the business was developed, and what the Chamber has done for them, and what it means to them to be a member of the Chamber. So they talk about it, you know, the live-on experience. And I think that helps us tremendously to recruit other members. For example, this month we have the founder and owner of Naturkish.
is a Turkish shop on Sherman Avenue. I don't know if you've been to that place, but that place is beautiful.
Led Black (30:16)
Yep.
I've passed by, I've
Octavio Blanco (30:19)
I've been there, yeah.
Led Black (30:19)
passed by, yep.
JACKIE ALEMAN (30:20)
I think that place is amazing. We also had Jorge Taveras talk about his book two months ago. In December, we have Mike Filston, the CEO of United Palace, because these are the people that make the places run. For example, everybody knows United Palace, but the United Palace doesn't run itself. It's not a self-propelled machine.
Led Black (30:36)
Bye.
That's right.
Octavio Blanco (30:46)
Hahaha
JACKIE ALEMAN (30:46)
There's
a Mike Fiddleston back there pulling the strings and making sure that when you walk through those doors, you're entertained and that you get your money's worth for that show and that you get quality because that theater right there is our radio city of Washington, Heights and Inwood So he understands what that means to this community. And who better than to talk about that than Mike.
Led Black (30:49)
That's right.
JACKIE ALEMAN (31:13)
I urge you and I really invite you to take a look at the YouTube channel so you can see some of my past interviews. What we do is that once every three months we rent a studio at Noma and we record a few interviews and that's how we package them and we promote them because who better than you to tell your own story.
Led Black (31:13)
point.
That's all true and shout out.
Octavio Blanco (31:36)
I found it very helpful
to go to... Sorry, go ahead.
Led Black (31:40)
Go ahead, ahead.
No, go ahead. Finish off brother. Go ahead.
Octavio Blanco (31:43)
All right, now I was just gonna say I find it really helpful. Before I went to the holiday mixer, I did go to the YouTube, your YouTube channel and I watched I think almost all of the all of the interviews there but a lot of the people that were at the mixer, I felt like I already knew them because I had seen their videos and I was able to, it really helped me in the networking. So I was able to say, you're the owner of such and such. I watched your video and we were able to like.
JACKIE ALEMAN (32:00)
Thanks.
Octavio Blanco (32:10)
really connect that way. So I do encourage everybody to go to the YouTube channel of the Chamber of Commerce of Washington Heights in Inwood.
Led Black (32:19)
Yeah, and then what I wanna say shout out to Mike Fittelson I love Mike Fittelson. That's my good friend, my brother, United Palace. And I think in a lot of ways, Jackie, like he's the kind of person that reminds me of person like you in a sense that like a person that just, you know, who they are and what they do are one and the same. And he opens doors just like you open doors. And I think when you were talking earlier, I think you...
You know, think one of the reasons of the success is really you though, right? You bring this infectious energy, you know, it's like to meet you is to like you because you're just positive. So I think you're a big, you are the cause of this kind of renaissance that's happening there. But because it is an old institution that's been around forever, what are some of those challenges to kind of redefine it for new times? What are the things that you come across and you're like, this is.
This is tough or this is not tough or you don't even think about that. You just plow forward.
JACKIE ALEMAN (33:11)
I don't think about that because you're always going to have challenges no matter what.
You have challenges with your children, with your wife, with your mother-in-law. There's always problems. There's always issues. It's just how you confront them. It's just how you look at them. To me, they're not problems. To me, they're situations that are in my attention. That's all. You know, if I look at it as a problem, it will become a problem because then I'm going to start thinking, oh my God, I have a problem, instead of taking that energy and putting it into the solution.
Led Black (33:32)
Hmm.
JACKIE ALEMAN (33:45)
So I redirected and I said, this requires my attention. And I give him my attention, but I give him my attention to resolve it. I don't wanna see it, at least not even for five or 10 years.
Led Black (33:45)
Right.
So, Jackie, what are your, what are you, go ahead, go ahead Jackie.
JACKIE ALEMAN (34:00)
I'm sorry, Octavio.
I was going to say that our board is very supportive of one another and that helps a lot. Because when anyone identifies that there's something that requires attention, we all come together and resolve it. And that helps me out a lot. I'm not alone out there. I'm not in a place that I'm just resolving things and finding things to do.
This is an effort by everyone.
Octavio Blanco (34:30)
One of the things that I really also appreciated, and that surprised me, okay, this surprised me. And I don't know if it was fair for me to go in with these preconceived notions, but I was concerned about whether or not I would fit in to this group. I was concerned that maybe it was gonna skew an age group that was older than me, or maybe it was gonna skew
Led Black (34:30)
It's amazing.
Octavio Blanco (34:57)
more Dominican and I'm Mexican American, not Dominican American, or maybe it was gonna skew differently. But when I looked into it and when I actually attended the event, one of the things that really struck me was that it really represents the community, the neighborhood. By ethnicities, it represents everybody.
religions, it represents everybody. Age groups, that's the one that I was also kind of like concerned about. It represents everybody and what I really appreciated about that, it wasn't all young people or it wasn't all somebody, some other type. It was this real intergenerational situation. And I think that that's powerful because you get to see the experience of people who were here before you.
and learn from that as a younger entrepreneur. And the older generation can learn some of the tips that the younger people bring to the table. for anybody who's concerned about how this group is composed of, I think that this representation of the neighborhood in such a comprehensive way is powerful.
How do you see it when you see the older, more established businesses or the older, more established members interacting with the younger, newer businesses or the younger members?
JACKIE ALEMAN (36:28)
We have an open-door privacy, I already said that, right? And that brings us variety. That brings us different kind of people with different backgrounds, different mission. I mean, good.
I don't select, you know? I don't push you away because whatever reason it might seem to me giving up to reject you. No, we have an open door policy. You need our support. We're here whether you remember or not. I get a lot of people in my office sometimes tell me, you know, I need you to read this letter because they can't speak the language. I'm not going to sit, no. I have the time. Give me a minute if I can do it right away. And in addition to that,
You never know who our next elected official will be in five, ten years. It could be one of those youngsters that walk in through that door to one of our member working events. There's a two-sided story to this. We all can learn what the new is doing and improve whatever it is that we've been doing. And then younger generations can learn from the older members and mix that together and we create
within our world. So I maintain an open door policy. It's not for me to reject anymore. We need help as a group and if we can provide it in whatever capacity then we will.
Led Black (37:57)
Jackie, mean, that's amazing though, the kind of effort. So what is a typical day? How much time do you spend? Because you have to like, this is an everyday thing, right? Like this has to be so all consuming. How do you run a business and then run the business of the businesses? How do you do all that? What do you do to stay sane? How does that work?
Octavio Blanco (38:14)
Yeah.
JACKIE ALEMAN (38:17)
well.
It's all about time management. I can tell you this. I get asked that question all the time. It's time management. I get home late. But I also have time for myself. For me, personally. I'm not talking about being with family. I'm talking about Jackie's time. And when I set apart that time, comes in the... Nothing can penetrate that. I can tell you that much.
It's all about creating time for yourself so you can continue being fulfilled. I find that a lot of people spend time redirecting their energy outward instead of inward. So I try to create a balance where I can still do what I love, which is to help others. However, I still find that time to give me pleasure.
And once I have that balance, everything else is possible in the future.
Octavio Blanco (39:21)
And Jackie, what is one thing that you're most excited about in the new year, being that we're in that time now where we're looking and making plans? What's the one thing that you're so looking forward to?
JACKIE ALEMAN (39:37)
my God, we are working on so many new partnerships now. So I have been meeting with the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, right? So because I, you know, through all my travels and conversations with members and neighborhoods and friends, I realized that the LGBTQ community here in Washington Heights doesn't have representation. So why not? They're members of our community.
Led Black (40:06)
That's right.
JACKIE ALEMAN (40:07)
You know?
Why exclude anyone for that matter? We've been talking about this throughout this hour, right? That I have an open door policy. Well, guess what? We're gonna have an event where the LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Nice Chamber of Commerce is going to collaborate on providing that networking event. We are thinking of making, I'm not giving away too much, but like the marketplace where businesses can come out, display the,
product showcase their talent sell whatever it is that they're selling but that the LGBTQ community can also see and feel and be part of which the support is not there now so why not be the pioneers to do this and continue to do it because like I said and I will be saying this we're all in this together
Led Black (40:50)
That's beautiful.
Beautiful, I love that.
Octavio Blanco (41:03)
That's amazing. And
I think that's true. think part of having, sometimes it's not good enough to just have an open door policy. Sometimes you need to have a sign outside of your door that says, you're welcome here.
JACKIE ALEMAN (41:18)
Another thing, let me just say another initiative that we started at the end of 2025.
It's mentoring and empowering our members that provide good and services, help them create their own workshop to be in front of the public and sell what they sell and share what they know. And what better way to do it than in your own backyard and your own community. So we have the likes of Roberto Franca, who's an insurance broker. He's done a couple of workshops. We have Gladimaris Rodriguez, who is a tax expert.
She's also done that. We have had help from the Legal Aid Society. We have had help from Santa De León, who was a long-time CEO of East Harlem Improvement Corporation, come out to do business plan workshops. So we're all this initiative, but we're definitely going to focus in 2026 on getting the participation of more members and empower them to do their own workshops.
Because that's the only way that you're going to improve sales is by people knowing what you do and what you sell.
Octavio Blanco (42:30)
That's really, really good. think that's, I agree with you that the importance of that. In the beginning, when you were talking about the policy breakfast, and I think that the policy breakfast sounds like an amazing event, but what other kinds of, how do you guys work more regularly with the different sort of
government entities like the Community Board and the Small Business Solutions Office and the bid. Do you guys work closely with those other groups that are here providing resources?
JACKIE ALEMAN (43:08)
Yeah.
we do referral exchange. If there is a service that is here in Medina over at the bit can provide that we don't, we refer them. And we do so with other agencies and entities. We work very closely with the office of Manny de los Santos, right? In Carmen de la Rosa. We collaborate on events. We fund sometimes a portion of the event where the community gets to
to enjoy the benefits or enjoy the knowledge that they are providing. For example, when Neelamat, that new building at the foot of 273 was opening up, we were there helping the residents of this community fill out applications so they can participate in the lottery to get apartments in those buildings and will continue to do so. The Turkey Drive that Carmen had at United Palace, we were there distributing food.
We were there providing donations for the residents as well. When Maggie has an event, we also get called upon and we're there as well. You know, when Sandra Harris has an event that requires the participation of businesses or residents, she calls me and she says, I need you to help me promote this. Hispanic Federation, who recently we've been working with, just reached out yesterday. They're going to be offering
Apple computer workshops and training at CUNY over at 215th Street and Broadway in those facilities. We're also working with them to help the community get the word out to the community for those trainings. A lot of times what I do is that I promote the event by saying I will be there taking the class too, coming out with me. And believe it or not, that works and I
sit there and take the training. I don't have a problem with that because you know what I figured that if I have the time I do it it doesn't cost me anything and what's the work that can do I learn something new I'm all for that.
Led Black (44:57)
Hahaha
Octavio Blanco (45:10)
And you also have a powerful newsletter that you put out every, I think it's every week. And that's a great way to highlight and inform the public as well. Beyond social media, you can be, if anybody's in the community and wants to have access to the information, the newsletter is a very powerful tool.
JACKIE ALEMAN (45:28)
Yes, let me just say that I have to give a shout out to Jonathan Oman who is our graphics consultant. He does a fantastic job putting our newsletter together twice a month and also upkeeping our website. So John, thank you. But yeah, it is and it continues to improve, you know, because every day we have other needs. Our membership has needs as well that we try to meet. And if not, you know,
We grow into things and we, just like every other business, if the chamber needs to expand its services or how we do things, we're open to that as well. Because our primary goal is to be the voice of the small business in the community and to give you that outlet that normally you wouldn't have. You can have a voice for us.
Led Black (46:20)
It's funny because you just mentioned John Oman and he was just calling me right now. We had dinner the other day. So shout out to my brother, John Oman.
JACKIE ALEMAN (46:26)
that is right.
Octavio Blanco (46:26)
Well, look, I appreciate that you're here. I am also looking forward to being a member, to participating in your events. But I want to give you sort of the last word. Let our viewers know how they can connect with you, how they can join the chamber, how they can sign up for the
for the newsletter, where do they need to go? What are all the addresses? All the stuff, all the things.
JACKIE ALEMAN (46:56)
Okay, website is wahichamber.com You can go on our website to join and to see the membership, the members benefits and to see all the app to offer. We also have an
It's wahichamber.info at gmail.com
Octavio Blanco (47:10)
Yeah.
JACKIE ALEMAN (47:14)
can come to 4470 Broadway on the second floor and stop by and say hello. Try to call me before
the phone number
is 212-928-6595 have too many phones
Led Black (47:27)
Jackie, thank you so much. That's amazing. Thank you for the work you do in the community. Super needed, super important.