Crain’s Breakfast Forum with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will be held at Roosevelt Hotel, located at 45 East 45^th Street (4 miles from OfficeLinks’ Wall Street office, 1.5 miles from OfficeLinks’ Chelsea office, 1.2 miles from OfficeLinks’ Bryant Park office, and 1/3 mile from OfficeLinks’ Grand Central West office) on Thursday, February 16, 8-9:30 am.  Tickets are $75 per person (or $750 for a table of ten) if purchased by February 9, $80 thereafter (or $800 per table of ten). Pre-registration is required to attend this event. To register for this event, click here.

Can’t make it? @crainsnewyork will be tweeting live from the event. Follow #agforum and join the conversation at 8:00 a.m. on the day of the event.

In late 2011, the Wall Street Journal asked its readers “Is Facebook worth $100 Billion?”  I don’t know the answer to that question but I was intrigued.  The article explains that in a world dominated by social media, Facebook is viewed as the “exhibit A” for consumer engagement.  How can businesses capitalize on this trend?  eShakti, an ecommerce fashion site based at OfficeLinks’ 1440 Broadway location seems to know the key to connecting with its customers.  During my conversation with Carmella Heverin, a fashion executive who has been working for eShakti since September, I learned how eShakti keeps its customers engaged though personalizing its product and keeping the lines of communication open.  Consider the company’s mission statement:

eShakti wants you to look your personal best. We know that you are beautiful, confident and uniquely classic. At eShakti, we offer distinctive design and unparalleled fit. Many of our styles are evocative of the past with feminine details and dressmaker finishes for today’s modern woman. Our clothes come in a wide array of fabrics and colors in sizes 0 through 26, and our custom capabilities allow you to tailor any item to your specific requirements ensuring you a flattering fit.

Carmella Heverin, eShakti fashion executive

eShakti has a somewhat cult-like following.  Carmella described her company’s customers as especially loyal.  When I asker her why she thought this was, she credited the fashion choices and the ability to customize the product.  eShakti’s clothes vastly range in sizes; Carmella remarked that women come in all shapes and sizes but clothing usually does not.  eShakti is the exception and believes in offering plus and missy size women the same fashion options.  Further, customers have the option to customize the clothes, changing a skirt length or a neckline for example.  Customers may also tweak measurements to suit their proportions.

eShakti maintains an intimate relationship with its customers.  There is a seemingly ongoing dialogue via various forms of social media as well as blogging, emailing, and surveying.  Carmella shared that they once had 300 responses in just one day.  Quite an accomplishment!  eShakti understands the needs of women directly from the source and creates garments that make women across the United States feel beautiful.

With social shopping on the rise, eShakti is staged for a great success.  This month the company will re launch its website with an ad campaign featuring a mix of “real” and “professional” models.  They asked their customers first, of course, and by no surprise, received an immediate reaction.

Check out eShakti at www.eshakti.com.

We know that not everyone can afford (whether time or money) to enroll in college courses.  However, there is another great local resource available for you to take advantage of: Mid-Manhattan Library.

Mid-Manhattan Library is located less than ½ mile from OfficeLinks’ Grand Central West location and offers a number of free classes to help you gain new skills and improve on the ones you already have.  Some upcoming classes include:

Tuesday, January 17

2:30 pm Teach Yourself Using Online Resources

6:30 pm Getting More out of Cloud Storage

Wednesday, January 18

10:30 am Windows Basics

2:30 pm Visual Resources Online

Thursday, January 19

10:30 am Online Scams and Frauds: How to Protect Yourself

2:30 pm Email Attachments

6:30 pm MS Excel 2

Friday, January 20

10:30 am Teach Yourself: Learn a New Language

Classes are offered on an ongoing basis at Mid-Manhattan Library, so we encourage you to check out their website and get over there to learn something new today!

Mere steps from OfficeLinks’ Chelsea, New York offices, you’ll find the hot chocolate that “changed the hot chocolate landscape” in1990, when it made it’s debut in New York.  Note, I did not say “hot cocoa” – I said, “hot chocolate.”  There is a reason for that.

At City Bakery, located at 3 West 18^th Street, you can sip on decadent treat: hot chocolate made from pure melted chocolate bars, making the word “cocoa” forever obsolete when talking about this cold weather favorite. One sip and I know you’ll be forever changed.

And mark your calendar now: Every February, The City Bakery hosts an Annual Hot Chocolate Festival, a celebration of a menu of hot chocolate flavors such as Banana Peel Hot Chocolate, Vanilla Bean Hot Chocolate, Malted Milk Hot Chocolate, Bourbon Hot Chocolate and Sunken Treasure Hot Chocolate.

City Bakery is part bakery, part cafe, coffee bar and cafeteria, in a two-level space at Union Square, that creates seasonal menus from locally-grown and organic raw materials from the Union Square farmer’s market two blocks away. City Bakery serves world-class breakfast pastry, a salad bar buffet like no other for lunch, soups, sandwiches and specialty pizzas. The bakery is open seven days a week, for breakfast and lunch, late afternoon coffee, chocolate drinks and pastries.

If you haven’t yet experienced real hot chocolate or a Pretzel Croissant, you absolutely must head around the corner a Chelsea gem: The City Bakery.  For more information, click here.

There is still room to grow in New York City – and it’s slowly happening on the West Side of Manhattan.   Immediately following New York’s defeat in its bid to host the 2012 Olympics, the fate of the Hudson Yards was not unclear.  Despite the early uncertainty a new neighborhood is starting to emerge.

Since 2005, residential buildings and new hotels have risen west of Eighth Avenue between 30^th and 43^rd Streets.  And, a boom for office space is on the horizon as well.  Related Companies, a major New York developer, announced plans to build a 51-story office tower, which luxury retailer Coach as the anchor tenant.

Development plans are so ambitious for Hudson Yards the city predicts, over the course of the next 20 years, that stretch of New York real estate could have more office space that Baltimore or Stamford, Conn. – reaching an astounding 24 million square feet of office space for the West Side.

We’ll have to see how the construction of the Far West Side progresses through these uncertain economic times.  Any economic hiccup could derail the lofty goals.

The borders around Manhattan’s central business district continue to expand, leaving businesses with more options regarding office space.  We will be following how the revitalization of this underutilized part of the city pans out.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is typically illuminated from 5:30 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. daily, except on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. On Christmas, the tree is illuminated for 24 hours and on New Year’s Eve the lights are turned off at 9:00 p.m.

Some fun Rockefeller Christmas Tree Facts:

• The Christmas tree that adorns Rockefeller Center is typically a Norway Spruce.
• The minimum requirement is that the tree be 65 feet tall and 35 feet wide, however manager of Rockefeller Center gardens prefers the tree be between 75 and 90 feet tall and proportionally wide.
• Norway Spruce that grow in forests don’t typically reach these proportions, so the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tends to be one that was ornamentally planted in someone’s front or back yard. There is no compensation offered in exchange for the tree, other than the pride of having donated the tree that appears in Rockefeller Center.
• Over five miles of lights are used to decorate the tree every year.
• Only the lights and the star decorate the tree.
• The tree is recycled and the 3 tons of mulch are donated to the Boy Scouts. The largest portion of the trunk is donated to the U.S. Equestrian team in New Jersey to use as an obstacle jump.

Rockefeller Center is located in the center of the complex of buildings between 47th and 50th Streets and 5th and 7th Avenues, less than 2 miles from the Chelsea OfficeLinks location, less than ½ mi from OfficeLinks’ Grand Central West location, less than ¾ mi from the OfficeLinks Bryant Park, and just over 4 mi from the Wall Street OfficeLinks location.  For more information, see the Rockefeller Center Map.

This is a New York City holiday season tradition that should not be missed!

Findings from a new study by the Kauffman Foundation on the Entrepreneurship Gender Gap reveal women only account for roughly one third of all new business launches.  Women entrepreneurs are also falling behind men when it comes to revenue generation.  Less than two percent of female-led small businesses have revenue exceeding $1 million.  In contrast, more than six percent of male-led firms reported revenue of over $1 million.

Keeping this data in mind, ForbesWoman decided to compile its first annual list of the top 20 cities for women in business.  Criteria that were taken into consideration when compiling the list included:

• What cities have seen the biggest growth in the number of female-led firm in recent years
• Where are the most SBA-backed loans going
• Where are women turning the SBA loans into million-dollar profits

At the top of the list were New York and San Francisco.  The study showed women have an easier time finding the funding and resources that can ultimately make their businesses succeed quicker.  Cities that also made the list include:  Tampa, Fla., Bethesda, Md. and Washington, D.C.

On Thursday, November 10, from 5-7 pm, channel your inner queen for a PRISCILLA: Queen of the Desert experience.  Interact with top Broadway Make-Up Artists to learn how the fabulous looks from PRISCILLA are created, join in a karaoke contest of your favorite pop tunes and mingle with cast members from the hit musical.

On Thursday, December 1, from 5-7 pm, get transported to the 60s with hit music and cast members from Jersey Boys. Sing and dance to such songs as “Sherry” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and interact with the cast of the hit musical.

For details about the Karaoke with Broadway Stars, email info@studentslive.net.

Pulse Karaoke also offers a happy hour open bar every day from 6-7 pm for groups of 30 or more and 2 for 1 drinks every day from 6-8 pm for everyone else.

You need to call for reservations, so pick of the phone and dial 212-278-0090. Additional questions? Click here.

And for those who are completely unfamiliar with this New York City landmark, The Battery is one of New York City’s oldest public open spaces, located at the confluence of the Hudson and East Rivers.  The history behind the park is that early Dutch settlers landed here in 1623, and the first “battery” of cannons was erected to defend the young city of New Amsterdam.

Now it is a 25-acre waterfront parkland, making it the largest public open space Downtown.

OK, OK, I know, get to the good stuff: the food! As part of the Battery Bosque project, two distinctively designed food kiosks were created and opened this past June: Zak Pelaccio’s Fatty Snack and Fatty ‘Cue. The “Fatty” kiosks feature Southeast Asian BBQ cuisine and sweets. Fatty ‘Cue’s menu is full of flavor with favorites like an Asian pulled pork sandwich and a refreshing wedge salad.

There is also the Merchants Market, located on Peter Minuit Plaza in the New Amsterdam Plein & Pavilion. Grab a croissant and a cup of coffee on your way out of the subway in the morning or enjoy a delicious panini or “dutch” hot dog at the outdoor cafe.

Take your lunch outside. Get some fresh air. Learn something new. Visit The Battery.

Today’s modern offices and its workers are on a path of constant transformation.  Many employers, aware of how work patterns have changed due to technology and globalization, are looking to proactively align their office environments with the needs of 21^st century workers in order to maximize performance.

As a result, the potential of office design and its role in impacting productivity and creativity is limitless.   Cost containment is also driving changes in the workplace.  Companies looking to reduce their fixed real estate costs are embracing alternative workplaces like shared office environments, which because of their flexibility; enable businesses to hone in on property costs.  Office fluidity is as important as an agile business plan and designers are stepping up their game.

And, while more open spaces and floor plans are being incorporated to fuel collaboration, it may not be preferred workspace for everyone.  There is a quiet debate brewing about four walls versus an open plan.  So are you the type of person that finds comfort behind four walls or in an open plan?

Let us know where you do your best work.